A stork and a wild pig in Breath of the Wild are distinct species only in a decorative sense, as mise-en-scene of the open dynamic world. As prey however they are simply the same: moving targets and soon-to-be raw meat. At first glance, a horse in Breath of the Wild is defined primarily by its vehicular potential. it is closer to the motorbike or speedboat in Tomb Raider. What distinguishes it is not in effect its mimesis of a horse’s appearance and movement but its horse-like behaviour and the horse-trainer-like behaviour it demands of the player.
Notes and slides from ‘The achievement of animals: an ethology of the posthuman’, here:
https://www.efolio.soton.ac.uk/blog/sg1d14/2019/07/26/the-achievement-of-animals/
from the ‘Posthuman Creativity’ panel (with Danielle Sands, Matt Hayler, Dan Ashton and Megen de Bruin-Molé) at Cultural Histories Creative Futures conference, Winchester School of Art, University of Southampton, 16th July 2019.
