I don't remember, anymore, where I wrote this -- it was probably handwritten in noteshelf somewhere now buried.
The place I would like to go . . . abstract pixel art appeals to me, I often place a player character on these screens as a center. But what would happen if I were to remove the player? Does the player character avatar draw too much focus?
Creatures, Earthtongue, Dwarf Fortress . . .
In these games the player has agency which is something that I shall call "nonrepresentational" -- it does not represent any force in the world, is not channeled through an avatar, cannot be ascribed. I suppose another way of saying this is "nondiegetic player". I like that.