Philosophical aspects of posthuman communications in video games: gamers, techno-bio-objects and the movement of affects

The article presents the philosophical foundations for understanding human-machine interactions in video game reception. A popular form of entertainment – video games are considered in the context of the so-called «nonhuman turn», within the framework of the ideas of posthumanism and New Materialism. Video game reception is determined by the affects circulating between objects and human bodies. The appeal to philosophy of affects and affective states allows us to consider them not only as special psychological states, but also as a communicative means and an essential condition of modern media communications. By performing game actions, gamers enter into a kind of assemblages with game objects and other players, in which affective forces circulate, forming «techno-bio-objects». Each game, each game mission creates an invariant of the player’s «build» in a specific situation. The gamer’s «body» is formed in relation and through the relationships of other bodies and is a partially organic, partially inorganic formation that arises through building connections with game objects and processes. It is argued that affects can be considered as a special way of perception of game techno-bio-objects. Affect and human intelligence work together in video game activities. The actions of gamers enhance the movements of affect, and the affects themselves can influence the thinking and actions of players. It is concluded that affect is involved in video game reception, which provides new opportunities for human communication and self-realization. Affective communication in video games could contribute to the formation of special human thinking skills by operating with invariants of the possible. Philosophical posthumanism partly explains the video game practices of creating body-object assemblages and affective attunements.