Proxied embodiment describes the experience of feeling “in” a game avatar — the sense that the avatar’s body is one’s own, mediated entirely through visual and auditory feedback from real-time control. Swink cites Jonathan Blow’s observation that players develop a felt sense of the avatar’s body in space (virtual proprioception) — they know instinctively where the edge of a platform is without calculating it (Swink 2009, see source-game-feel).
Proxied embodiment is what makes poor input response feel violating and excellent game feel feel natural. It explains why high input latency is perceived as physical discomfort rather than a logical error.
Related: game-feel, presence-and-immersion, virtual-reality-fundamentals, unity-rigidbody2d