Year: 2025
Type: conference-paper
Abstract: This paper offers a phenomenological distant-play (Fizek 2022) reading of The Longing (Studio Seufz 2020), an underexplored semi-idle game that challenges traditional gameplay paradigms through its metareferential, philosophical, and contemplative structure.Our central argument is that The Longing uses its unconventional mechanics to explore themes of time, agency, and existential longing, thereby offering a distinct commentary on how contemporary players engage with themes of spatio-temporality, passivity, and self-realization at the intersection of literary and ludic experiences.
Authors: Kübra Aksay, Astrid Ensslin, Sebastian R. Richter
Institutions: University of Freiburg, University of Regensburg
Language: English
Topic: Digital Games and Media
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
OpenAlex ID: W4411973719