As the graphical fidelity the latest technology can produce has plateaued, gamers are increasingly revisiting the retro games which often defined their initial passion and love for the medium. The rapid transformations the medium has undergone in a few decades imply that research simply needs to be afforded the time and space to delve deeper into the ecocritical value of retro-aesthetics and to consider the ways they can inform new paradigms of contemporary game design. I propose that to go forward we must first go backwards and unpack the eco aesthetics found within the medium’s past. To do this I will be considering the works of Víctor Navarro-Remesal, Alenda Y. Chang, Graeme Kirkpatrick as well as a host of retro games, including my own retro-inspired project, Nautilus Epoch.
Bios:
Roko Zaper is a researcher, illustrator and video game designer based in Sydney, Australia, currently undergoing a PhD at the University of New South Wales. His main area of interest is how video games can be designed to reflect less anthropocentric relations with animals and environments. He has also worked extensively in media and education and is passionate about pushing the creative boundaries of multimedia and creating novel forms of storytelling.
| 18 June 2026 3pm – 4:30pm |
Vitalities Lab 