We are taught to care about other people’s feelings, but we rarely think about the emotions of objects around us. What if those objects, especially the ones we use daily, had emotions and wills of their own? This question inspires OBJ.SCAPE, an interactive game designed to explore power dynamics and the often unnoticed ways we control and manipulate others, whether people, animals, or even virtual entities.

In OBJ.SCAPE, users interact with inanimate objects in a virtual space, a mobile phone and a note pad, using hand gestures like poking, dragging, and capturing, and could see how these objects respond in their “native language”. Each gesture triggers different emotional responses in the object—ranging from calm to surprise, panic, and anger.

Through OBJ.SCAPE, we aim to visualize subtle manipulations in our interaction with others, and in this way call for reflection on how we treat those in weaker positions, should it be about social relationships or interactions with inaimate objects.