Chapter 3. Linguistic aspects of disability in games

This chapter of the report discusses in what way various disability contexts are represented both in the linguistic layer of games and in the discourse of players. Therefore, we have conducted a two-way analysis. The first part concerned the dialogue lines of characters with disabilities, focusing on both various statements of these protagonists and those concerning them, as well as on the textual layer of the selected games. The second part investigated the results of the analysis of the players’ discussions on these characters, based on the study of the selected Internet forums and discussions in the comments below the articles in the

industry press.

Ultimately, both parts of the analysis can be referred to as a study of the “same” linguistic layer of games, given how the linguistic aspects of games are addressed in the literature on the subject. Astrid Ensslin (2011, p. 6) listed the following levels of linguistic communication in games:

1. language about games and gaming used by gamers across different media and communication platforms;

2. language about games and gameplay used by industry professionals, such as game designers and developers;

3. language about games and gaming used by journalists, politicians, parents, activists and other media stakeholders;

4. language used within games as part of their user interfaces, scripted dialogues, instructions and backstories and

5. language used in instruction manuals, blurbs, advertising and other ‘peritexts.’

The analysis has comprised all levels distinguished by Ensslin (within the selected scope): the analyzed players’ discourse (level a) concerned discussions on press articles in a few cases (therefore the analysis also applied to the journalist language—level c), the statements of the industry representatives were also cited (level b); the first part of the chapter investigates the “language in games” (level d), and the language of peritexts and texts about games (level e).

In the analysis, we have addressed the problems indicated by Tejasvi Goorimoorthee et. al. (Goorimoorthee et. al., 2011), who wrote about linguistic ideologies in the discourse of

video games, analyzing the emphasis of characters statements, which, according to them, is an example of stereotyping characters by forms of sociophonetic othering. In the case of the report, we have sought to draw attention to the instances in which linguistic stigma is used to make people with disabilities “different.”

Research on the linguistic layer of games

Characters’ dialogue lines, which could be a confirmation of a disturbed or alternative linguistic competence, characters’ statements about their own disability and disabilities of other characters, audio and text messages constituting elements of the game world, such as diaries, journals, audio records, were carefully chosen from among the studied linguistic components. In the selected cases, peritexts external to the game, which characterize heroes with disabilities, such as comic books about them and their profiles on websites—both those created by game developers and game fans (portals like Wiki), were also used.

Disturbed or alternative linguistic competence of characters with disabilities

It is frequently more difficult to adequately convey the specificity of particular diseases and limitations in the linguistic layer in video games with representations of mental disabilities and mental problems. Gazi is a mentally disabled character featured in Dying Light. The protagonist is presented in a quite schematic way as a person with a low intelligence level, attached to his daily rituals, who, after his mother’s death, treats the effigy kept in his apartment as her embodiment. The dialogue lines related to this character do not reflect the linguistic competence characteristic of oligophasia. The only technique, quite trivial, is the use of third-person verbs in conjunction with the name “Gazi,” such as “Gazi is watching.” The remaining sentences and entire statements are devoid of grammatical errors, and vocabulary is also the same as that of other characters. In the textual layer, which can be analyzed on the basis of Gazi’s diary, the only sign of linguistic problems are numerous writing errors; there are few syntax or inflectional errors, or they are so occasional that they in no way suggest a disturbed linguistic competence.

The game Watch Dogs 2 features a character with the autism spectrum and/or Asperger’s syndrome, who is able to formulate short, specific statements, and jokes accurately when no one expects it. The accuracy of jokes can be surprising since autistic people may have a specific sense of humor that needs to be learned. The weakening of communicative competence is manifested in, for example, the absence of communication initiative.

Josh rather responds to the contact, does not initiate it, even though he always replies in a competent way and according to the situation. From the perspective of autism and Asperger syndrome, the statements and text messages of other characters about Josh deserve analysis. In one of the scenes in the expansion pack—Human Condition, featuring non-binary Lenora Kastner, Josh is called “puppy,” “cute,” and “plum” because his shyness associated with autism seems attractive to this character. Josh has also been extensively discussed in the so-called Horatio’s Report, an audio log prepared by one of the protagonists. It says that the hero uses a specific style of expression, that his official files indicate he is emotionally unstable and mentally immature, which contradicts the real facts. Horatio presents Josh as someone with a black and white vision of a reality in which there is a clear division between what is fair and unfair, which he believes can be both refreshing and fun for the group.

Josh is an example of a character with an extensive biography posted by Ubisoft outside of the game. The profile includes information on how he functions in a group, about the family he was brought up in, and how his sense of humor shows. This method of creating supplementary materials about characters with disabilities is quite common. Such materials can also be mentioned in relation to Overwatch characters. In the comic book devoted to

Symmetra, the fans find the protagonist’s statements which suggest that she is a person with the autism spectrum; this was later confirmed by a game director, Jeff Kaplan, in an official announcement. This type of linguistic representation of disability can therefore be defined as postulative or declarative disability—the protagonist is characterized, for example, as a person with Asperger’s syndrome, but there is no real representation of disability.

The game Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice is an elaborate attempt to recreate in the linguistic layer the mental states of a person suffering from psychosis. In the audio layer, this psychosis is manifested in the constant presence of various voices in the head of the title character, the so-called the Furies. Sauna discusses with them; they frequently comment on her actions, give her orders, and partly explain game mechanics to her. This presence creates a very special emotional atmosphere of the game. The Furies reinforce the psychological profile of the heroine and make us perceive her as a complex and multidimensional character struggling with acute psychosis. The dialogue with invisible voices is a linguistic image of psychotic disorders. Specific disintegration of speech manifests itself in scarcity of the linguistic skills—statements are frequently limited to single words, short, simple sentences dominate. These syntactic simplifications may be linked to working memory

dysfunctions, such as those seen in schizophrenia, which make it impossible to store more information in the memory, necessary for constructing longer, syntactically complex statements (Woźniak 2018).

An interesting example of linguistic communication, which is a reflection of mental disability, are the dialogue lines of Max Hass, the protagonist featured in Wolfenstein: The New Order and Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus, mentioned in the previous chapter. Due to his brain damage, Max uses simplified linguistic messages, limited to his own name and surname, which replace all other statements. In the plot, Max is often a mirror character for others who, feeling safe and not afraid of rejection or criticism, confide in him with their problems. These types of dialogues reflect the complex relationships between the characters, and Max Hass also appears as a complex character with a great deal of empathy. The characters settle with their past in his presence, share their fears, reveal secrets. Unfortunately, the dialogue lines reflect a quite frequent negative attitude towards people with intellectual disabilities known from real life. The characters, often impatient, shout at Max or patronize him. This happens particularly when Max exhibits hidden abilities that no one expects. He has amazing motor coordination, can draw beautifully, and solves complex tasks and puzzles. One of the heroes, a scientist Set Roth, has called him a “stupid Golem” after losing a game of chess to him; others mock his “friendship” with Rosa, the pig found on the submarine. These statements, even though negatively charged, accurately reflect the actual linguistic acts of oppression against people with communication problems.

Among games that relate to disability in the linguistic layer, attempts to use sign language deserve attention. Sign language is featured in the game entitled Moss, discussed in the previous chapter. Furthermore, the heroine featured in Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales is noteworthy. Dark-skinned Hailey Cooper is a deaf character whose presence in the game has been proudly indicated by the developers. She uses American sign language and is a local activist. As a screenplay writer, Mary Kenney told, Hailey’s deafness “is an aspect of who she is but it’s not what her story is about. Her story is about what she wants to do for her community and how she expresses that” (Zornosa, 2020). Sadly, Hailey is only a minor character, and therefore it is difficult to discuss any interaction mechanics. The scenes with the heroine are complex sequences of communication and expression in sign language, which deserves recognition. Importantly, the character is based on a real deaf dark-skinned actress, Natasha Ofili, who participated in recording movement sequences in which the developers used the motion capture system.

Characters on disability

Wheelchair Simulator is a game to begin the analysis with; it comprises the highest number of comments about disability among the research sample games. The game has been narrated by a real person—a Ukrainian, Dmytro Schebetyuk, who is in a wheelchair after suffering a spine injury. The linguistic layer is full of diverse statements that concern both the gameplay and the narrator’s life. Launching the game menu, we instantly learn that Dmytro had a skiing accident in 2012. While playing another game mode (Tricks), Dmytro also thoroughly covers the first moments and months after the accident, during which he had to be intensively rehabilitated and had moments of great depression, but he also realized that the limitations are only in his head. The narrator’s statements contrast strongly with the character of the gameplay, which is rather comedic, as the creators have confirmed (mechanics of the game and the physics of its world discussed previously are simplified, collisions with vehicles and characters are rather amusing). It seems as if the developers tried to soften the reconciling and recollective style of certain of Dmytro’s statements with the unrealistic world of the game. Nonetheless, Dmytro also expresses less serious statements related to disability. For example, he points out that he should not be called a hero because he managed to cross a busy road, but would be one if he managed to rescue a cat stuck in a tree from his wheelchair. There are more of such “easy-going” statements; for instance, Dmytro says that when crossing the street, he is frequently followed by children, trying to imitate him, and none of this group ultimately reaches the other side. Comments also apply directly to the gameplay: a player cannot ram people in the street because it is illegal, or when the road is blocked with various equipment, it means is Monday after Black Friday. Numerous comments during the gameplay are related to disability—Dmytro says, for instance, that one of the heroes invented a medicine, thanks to which he was able to complete the level on his feet; therefore he was referred to as a cheater. Another time, Dmytro urges a player: “come on, you have wheels so move faster.” The theme woven into the game is that the barriers in the minds are more important than the architectural obstacles.

A very interesting narrative technique was employed in Lucid Dream, in which the main character—Lucy, a girl in a wheelchair—hardly speaks about her disability. The idea behind the game is the girl’s desire to save her mother, deeply depressed after losing her husband. The woman is exposed to long-term suffering and limitations in family and social functioning. The absence of Lucy’s statements about her disability makes her an exceptionally active and inventive entity, showing great determination to act, and not, as is frequently the case in

game plots, a passive person who needs help. Her dialogue lines focus on statements related to exploring the environment and not on reflecting on the past. In turn, due to the extensive dialogues of the girl’s mother, including memories about Lucy’s father, a player can be directly confronted with the symptoms of depression and its impact on family relationships. Lucy does not talk about her disability because her problem seems less important and life-devastating to her than her mother’s illness. The girl’s disability is “covered” by her mother’s illness; therefore it seems irrelevant to dwell on the health problems of the main character. A dysfunctional family is a greater obstacle to functioning than a motor disorder—perhaps that is why it is left unsaid. Furthermore, the girl wanders through the lands of dreams without her wheelchair.

Numerous times in games, the statements of protagonists with disabilities about the circumstances of its occurrence are a way of presenting the events that precede the plot and current events. The set of these statements most frequently accords with the idea of Mitchell and Snyder’s “narrative prostheses,” which the authors of games can use to “enrich” and dramatize the plot; in this way, they are able to justify various forms (characteristic of the main part of the game) of “repairing” the heroes with dysfunctions by means of sophisticated prostheses which completely eliminate disabilities or bring the protagonist powerful benefits. Out-of-Date featured in Biomutant seems to be an exception here; we learn from the hero that he uses a wheelchair because Porky Puff bit off his leg. In this case, the disability is not repaired, and the main character’s motor disorder becomes a universal metaphor for the world created in the game, in which the consequence of the ecological devastation of the Earth is the appearance of mutations and bloodthirsty Worldeaters, such as Porky Puff. Out-of-Date is a character who is a treasure trove of knowledge about the past world and the circumstances of the catastrophe; therefore the past tense prevails in his statements; there are numerous archaisms and complex sentences, but this is not a consequence of disability. Out-of-Date seems to be a kind of narrative topos of the “wise man in a wheelchair,” which may also appear in other games or forms of the presentation, such as movies, novels, or comic books.

A special example of linguistic representations of disability are the statements of two characters featured in the Borderlands series: extremely colorful Sir Hammerlock and T.K. Bahas. Their presence seems to confirm an open attitude of games towards minorities. Hammerlock is a man of color married to another male protagonist, Wainwright Jakobs. He suffers from numerous physical disabilities—his arm and leg have been replaced with prostheses, and he has a cyber eye. During the gameplay, the character is self-mocking at times:

“I see you’re admiring one of my many scars! Yes, I’ve seen my fair share of danger -- the odd skag ambush here, a stalker mauling there. Really gives one an appreciation for the creatures of this planet. And a hateful desire to wipe them all out.”

At another time, he also comments on the background of his disability:

“Old Slappy removed several of my limbs the last time we met. One hopes the scent of my extremities will bring him out of hiding -- make him eager to finish the job, as it were. Plant my hand outside Slappy’s lair in the highlands.”

T.K. Baha is a blind widower who has lost his legs in a fight with a local monster and uses the prosthesis of one of them. The disability becomes a pretext for him to formulate sarcastic jokes and “intimidate” the able-bodied heroes of the game. On the first encounter, for example, he says “You should see your face!”; even though he cannot see anything, he obsessively repeats: “See you later.”

One of the most interesting games in which issues related to disability are raised in the dialogue lines is Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. On numerous occasions, the protagonists reflect on personal traumas related to participation in warfare, the consequences of which are disabilities. The very subtitle of this part of the game indicates its main theme; however, the entire series comprises numerous protagonists after amputations of their legs and arms caused by war injuries. Benedict “Kazuhira” Miller is such a hero who frequently refers to the trauma of disability in his statements. One of such quotes has been entered into the canon of speeches used in battlefield simulations:

Kazuhira Miller: “Why are we still here? Just to suffer? Every night, I can feel my leg... And my arm... even my fingers... The body I’ve lost... the comrades I’ve lost... won’t stop hurting... It’s like they’re all still there. You feel it, too, don’t you? I’m gonna make them give back our past!”

Another time the hero says:

“We hold our rifles in missing hands. We stand tall on missing legs. We stride forward on the bones of our fallen. Then, and only then, are we alive. This ‘pain‘ is ours and no one else’s: a secret weapon we wield, out of sight. We will be stronger than ever, for our peace.”

Such statements play an ambiguous role in the game. On the one hand, the game has a somewhat pacifist character—the hero is bitter, and his disability serves as an illustration:

it indicates the brutalities of war. On the other hand, the hero’s desire for revenge, and in a more general sense, assignment of the game to the genre of the so-called stealth games, which are based on sophisticated ways of neutralizing opponents on the battlefield, make the pacifist tone at odds with the enjoyment of killing enemies that players derive from the gameplay.

Disability in the game described as an illustration of war trauma is again a “narrative prosthesis,” but is also used in a dangerous way as an excuse for the characters’ revengeful actions.

Stigmatizing nomenclature

In relation to the oppressive language built around the community of people with disabilities mentioned in the introduction, it is noteworthy that in certain games, such a stigmatizing nature is already indicated by the names of characters. The first part of Borderlands features a whole group of enemies called midgets (a midget psycho mutant, a midget shotgunner, a midget zombie, and many others). The authors of the game, probably having noticed the inappropriateness of this term, modified it in the expansion pack— Borderlands: the Pre-Sequel. The characters are referred to in this part as ‘lil’ (short for “little”). In Borderlands 3, all opponents in this class are referred to as Tinks (short for “tinkerers”). Thus, the name does not refer to being short in stature, but a common profession of those opponents who were initially psychotic murderers and now have become “more” intelligent and technically skilled.

Occasionally, this linguistic stigma does not take place at the stage of game development but within the gaming community. The Dark Souls series features opponents, known as Titanite Demons, which can be found quite often in various places. These characters function as “cripples” in the gaming community. One of the focus group participants who brought these characters to our attention pointed out that, while the name is amusing, Titanite Demons are one of the most difficult and annoying classes of opponents in the game. Thus, the term “cripple” may, in this case, be an expression of negative emotions towards these characters.

Players on disability

The study of the players’ discourse on representation of disability in games has been based on the analysis of seven discussions that appeared on Reddit and below the selected industry articles. A total of 177 posts have been studied.

Among the forums that deal with disability in video games, attention should be paid to the discussion on Reddit (type2cryabetes, n.d.). The discussion covering 23 posts started 10 years ago and deserves mention because its initiator—the user type2cryabetes, has been clearly looking for information about characters who are defined as the ones with disabilities. The user is aware that games often feature pseudo-representations of disability, shown as characters with bionic limbs, which make them properly able-bodied and even extraordinarily fit. The discussion includes a list of various characters with disabilities. The authors of the posts have drawn attention to both characters with physical limitations and the heroes with cognitive and mental problems (for example, Piggsy featured in Man Hunt). Furthermore, they have frequently regretted that some interesting characters with disabilities, such as Castile, a girl in a wheelchair featured in Phantom Brave, are non-playable characters. A Reddit user—deleted, has provocatively replied to the main question of the discussion (“Why there are so few characters with disabilities in games?”) that their presence would make platform games rather boring. This comment has received negative reactions from the debaters, and type2cryabetes has replied that the essence of games is overcoming challenges, and disability is, after all, a significant challenge. This user has also pointed out that the characters in games are constantly “temporarily” disabled, probably referring to frequent limitations imposed on various game characters, including able-bodied ones. The universality of disability, already mentioned by scholars in the disabilities studies stream, is an interesting topic in the discussion. Another user, Lasertoplasma, has written admittedly jokingly, but with some conviction about “unaware” references to disability in games such as First Person Shooters, that countless heroes of these games have problems with communication because for long hours, days and months, they do not say a word. It is difficult to assess whether the negative reactions to the statement of the user deleted have been dictated by the actually perceived lack of heroes with disabilities in games or rather by a certain self-creation of debaters. Regardless of the reasons, negative reactions should be assessed positively.

Another discussion worth thorough analysis are the statements posted below Joe Parlock’s article entitled “Video Games and Disability: Looking Back at a Challenging Decade” on the Polygon website. The article has brought numerous interesting observations on the representation of disability in games, but the discussion in comments below it, which comprises 22 posts, deserves separate consideration.

It has begun with doubts about cyborg characters in games that, according to one user, Andy Butula, should not be treated as heroes with disabilities because “they have all the same

capabilities as a typical human, frequently more.” Butula has pointed to specific examples. Sir Alistair Hammerlock from Borderlands 2 lacks an arm, a leg, and an eye, yet he sees, moves, and acts like the other members of the group. Caroline Becker, featured in the Wolfenstein series, as a wheelchair user receives a special suit in the New Order part, which allows her to operate without any obstacles or limitations. In the discussion in this thread, the players have pointed out that the problem of using technology to overcome disability-related limitations is widely commented on within the disability community, and showing heroes who can be recovered entirely by means of technology is a distortion of this problem. Thus, in this case, similarly to a “narrative prosthesis,” we may speak about a “visual prosthesis.”

At this point, the debaters have also indicated other heroes with disabilities. A user Mimikkyu has emphasized that among characters with mental disabilities, Sam Porter Bridges featured in Death Stranding, suffering from fear of touching or being touched (haphephobia), deserves mention. Mimikkyu’s statement has shown in a very specific way how people with disabilities perceive heroes with similar problems and what they expect from such characters. Mimikkyu has admitted to germaphobia and obsessive-compulsive disorder. This allows the user to appreciate the fact that the creators of the game have been able to subtly communicate the inability to form ordinary relationships with other people. Mimikkyu has also claimed (which recurs in relation to other games) that in Death Stranding, this form of disability representation is much more important to her/him than the values that other players attribute to this game.

IndigoAK, suffering from a borderline personality disorder as a result of emotional and physical abuse in childhood, has formulated the statement in a similar vein. Nonetheless, the observations are rather negative here. The user has disagreed with the way of representation of personality disorders related to schizophrenia, bipolar and borderline disorders. This user believes that these images are very poor and carelessly created only to justify the “unhinged nature” of a character. For IndigoAK, the complete lack of empathy in portraying these characters is genuinely devastating.

The users notice the absence of well-constructed characters with the autism spectrum; Josh, a hacker featured in Watch Dogs 2, stands out positively among them. The discussion has also included the idea that well-constructed characters with disabilities are those whose

disability is an inseparable part of their nature and does not give the impression that a character is inferior because of it. In this way, the values of the whole group of characters, such as Huey Emmerich, Peace Walker, V, “Kazuhira” Miller, featured in the Metal Gear Solid series,

have been emphasized. The user Cleretic has indicated that these are not positive heroes and role models, but their various forms of disability, which are most frequently the result of war wounds/injuries, are an important element of their unsimplified images. Two other users—Lopogyn and Arkayjiya, have argued in a similar vein with the author of the article about Nathan Prescott, the main antagonist featured in Life is Strange. They have disagreed that schizophrenia and bipolar disorder only serve to justify his functioning as a “dangerous psychopath.” They have indicated the character’s in-depth image and the fact that he has become evil in the aftermath of mistreatment and rejection due to mental problems. The character evokes sympathy rather than disgust in both discussion participants.

Throughout the discussion, the players’ high awareness prevails that disability is not a shortcoming to be cured and remedied and that representations of disability are often superficial and not reflected in character mechanics, behavior, or communication. Disability is frequently an attractive visual ornament that does not involve any major consequences. It seems important in this context that the discussion participants have represented both the community of people with disabilities and able-bodied players.

The discussion in the comments below the text in the “Eurogamer” magazine (Henley, 2021) is also multi-threaded and comprises as many as 95 posts. The text has caused controversy related to the main thesis endorsed by the author, who believes that the newest Dragon’s Age game shall lack the Inquisitor—the main player-controlled character featured in Dragon’s Age: Inquisition because of the hand loss in the final part of the previous game. The author claimed that it is easy for the game developers to resign from this hero in the next part as he is no longer able-bodied and thus attractive for a player. Voices prevail that the author is wrong because the change of the main characters in the subsequent parts of the Dragon’s Age series is typical. On the other hand, numerous more general statements about the presence of characters with disabilities in games have appeared, which seem particularly relevant to our report. They have been formulated by both able-bodied players and players with disabilities.

An ableist point of view has been expressed in numerous posts. The user Ikanly believes that: “Anyway disabilities are ok, but forced ones in an RPG? a genre all about our choices with our characters? no. You can’t force people to play as disabled in an RPG”. In turn, StingingVelvet wrote: “Ideally the game will allow a wide variety of class choices, and a disability would limit those choices.” The statement of the user MaSeKind is particularly poignant. He/ she believes that games are designed to entertain players, and therefore characters with disabilities do not fit into them because there is nothing funny about being disabled.

Other discussion participants have attempted at arguing with this statement. Britesparc has claimed that this is the point of view of an able-bodied player and that the aim of the author of the article has been to show the plot potential of the Inquisitor’s development as a character with a disability. Furthermore, this user has given an example of Arkham Knight: poison-infected Batman hears the voice of the Joker in his head, and has hallucinations, but his condition does not make the game stop being fun. MaSeKind has replied that disability in games is misrepresented, which may be considered offensive to people with disabilities, such as when a wheelchair in a game placed in front of the stairs suddenly activates the hovercraft mode and simply flies over the stairs. Therefore, a wheelchair is not a typical indicator of a disability since it provides its user with “superpowers.”

Several users have indicated that disabilities hidden by means of the use of prostheses, robotic and magic enhancements, or exoskeletons prevail among in-game representations of disability. Thus, disability is, in this case, overcompensated, or these solutions are a cover for justifying the efficiency. Prostheses, as the debaters have written, suppress disability or make it unfeasible for us to deal with it anymore.

The players with disabilities have expressed slightly different opinions in the discussion. Disabled Gamer has claimed that he does not play games to remind him of all disability problems in real life; on the other hand, he has insisted that: “we need more representation the disabled community, as actual people with lives, in all our nuanced glory.” Super-eve, a user who lost her leg at the age of five, has also emphasized that she is not looking for characters with disabilities in games but plays games for their mechanics. JakubKorinek has confirmed that gamers play primarily to escape the hardships of life and relax, and he does not mirror himself in the game but plays a role like an actor. The war veteran, DisabledVet, has claimed that there are numerous games, for instance, Overwatch, that show characters with disabilities in a much more favorable way. Johann_Popper has expressed a very negative view of the representation of disability in AAA games. The user has indicated that:

“The worst and most subtle form of abelism is rooted in scientific ignorance. Disability doesn’t begin from the neck, down. So-called AAA games are replete with disabled characters -- the constant disgusting demedicalized demonization of the mentally ill (i.e. those who suffer from brain diseases that affect cognition, insight, and mood) as practically every villain in every game.”

Even worse, actually, is when “positive” portrayals of disfunction are superstitiously demedicalized, and physical issues are conflated with psychological problems or the classic goto of primitive thinking: demonic possession.

This post illustrates a broader problem with disability representations in games, namely their decidedly strongly simplified, schematic, and frequently superstitious or stereotypical character.

Numerous posts have been deleted throughout the discussion by the moderator. They may have included the content that could be disrespectful to people with disabilities or to the author of the text, which is also a significant element of this discussion as it reflects the level of emotions associated with it.

Furthermore, the discussion mainly devoted to physical disabilities has also occurred in the Girl Gamers community on Reddit (“Games Featuring Physically Disabled Protagonists,” n.d.). It appears that the majority of 21 statements have focused on identifying those games in which actual mechanics of disability are reflected. The discussion participants have pointed out that such mechanics appear in Mass Effect 2 in relation to Joker. Such characters are also wheelchair user, Harman Smith, featured in Killer 7, and one of the Mayu sisters, who permanently limps due to a former injury in Fatal Frame 2. Xenoblade Chronicles features Dunban, who has lost his hand during the gameplay, and since then, he has to master one-handed use of weapons, due to which he develops specific skills related to it. Apart from the examples of representation, the discussion participants have indicated more general issues. Disabled Jadis4742 loves Mass Effect 2 because by feeling the limitations of characters in a wheelchair, she recollects that people with disabilities can be both useful and heroic. Beargrowlz has emphasized that the implementation of disability into game mechanics should not be a difficult task due to the fact that in hundreds of games it is attainable to play characters with various possibilities and limitations. Therefore, this user has regretted that characters with disabilities appear so rarely in games.

A short (five posts) but important discussion has occurred in the comments below Nick Jenkins’ article in “Game Skinny” magazine (Jenkins, 2017). An autistic gamer, Sean Handler, has not been surprised that there are no characters with disabilities in games due to the fact that the faulty presentation of disability in a game can provoke huge opposition and therefore the developers are afraid of creating such characters:

“Nobody wants to offend anyone, so they avoid the topic altogether.” Glitchieetv has agreed that more characters with disabilities are needed and has compared this situation

to the literary circulation in which reviewers, most frequently those with disabilities themselves, regret the lack of well-written roles for the protagonists. Among a few games with well-constructed characters with disabilities, the commenter has mentioned Perception and Life is Strange.

Quite unexpectedly, a more vibrant debate about characters with disabilities has not appeared in the disabled gamers community on Reddit. The discussion thread entitled “disabled video game protagonists?” contains only eight not exhaustive posts, comprising mainly a list of very few games with protagonists with disabilities. In another thread: “Need Help: List of Disabled Characters in Video Games,” there are only three responses, and the author of the thread—aemagic, has listed instances of 16 heroes divided into positive and negative representations.

In the games presented, the linguistic layer most frequently reflects the individual features of characters with disabilities. Due to this, they are more complete as characters; they decide about the uniqueness of a given game. Games in which the characters’ language reflects their complex states and mental problems, for example, in Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, deserve attention. Nonetheless, it turns out that also in the case of physical disabilities, which would seem to mainly affect game mechanics, it is possible to create rich dialogue lines. A particular example is Wheelchair Simulator, in which, despite the extremely “entertaining” nature of the game, the developers managed to strengthen its message and context related to disabilities precisely through the extensive narrator’s statements. Furthermore, Lucid Dream Adventure constitutes an example of how to build characters drama through their language. The dialogues between a mother and a daughter create a very complex relationship between the protagonists’ different diseases—both physical and mental, as well as different time frames (happy past and the terror of the present), making the gameplay immersive. Despite the use of traditional types of mechanics known from point and click adventure games, Lucid Dream Adventure has an original and unique character.

In the studied research sample, extensive dialogue lines accompany, above all, the selected genres, such as adventure, RPG, and FPS games, which is primarily determined by the specificity of these genres more than others oriented towards the plot. Nonetheless, “Wheelchair Simulator” proves that with a little effort, also games embedded in other genre

conventions, normally not associated with the extensive linguistic layer of characters, are able to expand this layer and thus also increase the possibilities of representing disability in an original way.

It is noteworthy that the game developers have numerous possibilities to communicate various aspects related to disability in the linguistic layer. While most frequently characters’ direct statements are an opportunity to present the background of disability, as well as to define the character’s attitude towards their own limitations, nuanced contexts related to disability can be developed both with textual elements inside the gameplay and with external peritexts. Such solutions have been employed by, among others, the developers of Watch Dogs 2, in which players can indirectly learn about the specifics of the autism spectrum by reading reports about Josh available to the game heroes. Blizzard Entertainment studio has also utilized numerous forms of expanding knowledge about the various contexts of characters’ disabilities, for example, additional videos or comic books. They present events from the heroes’ past or alternative threads indirectly related to the main game. In this way, a player can learn about the battlefield injuries that have caused physical disabilities or the psychological traumas of the characters. Sharing with players ideas and concepts from the production phase as well as conceptual assumptions related to a given protagonist is another opportunity for explanations (for example, regarding Symmetra’s autism). In this way, the character with disabilities is not only a closed construct and a narrative and structural element of the game but becomes the result of a complex and multi-threaded discourse going beyond the gameplay.

The analyzed examples of the players’ discourse related to disability have proven that articles on industry portals and posts on social media regarding the representation of disability in games are an opportunity both to manifest the needs of the community of players with disabilities and to increase the sensitivity of able-bodied players to problems of fellow gamers with disabilities and to the ways of presenting disability in games. The analyzed statements have indicated that this sensitivity and knowledge of representations is increasing— players are aware of misrepresentation and simplifications related to showing disability in games. They are also quite aware that disability in games cannot be stigmatized and that its frequent absence in game plots is not due to any objective reasons but stems from intimidation of the developers by this subject or their lack of interest. Another reason for overlooking characters with disabilities in games may be the lack of awareness of the need to balance the representation of individual groups. Media culture, in a broader sense, is still learning

to “supply” representation of various minorities but mainly focuses on those related to skin color, nationality, or sexuality—disability is still not “attractive” enough.

Ultimately, the analyzed discussions have also shown that game users with disabilities best perceive that both at the stage of game development and in use, players cannot be divided into able-bodied and those with disabled because they are all one and the same community. An interesting thread comprises the statements of the players with disabilities who do not want disabilities in games because they play for fun, not to increase social awareness of disability, and prefer to play able-bodied characters to feel like “ordinary” players who do not have to struggle with limitations. The game allows them to break away from difficult reality, it eliminates the opposition of the disabled—the able-bodied, and in this sense, it can be therapeutic and relaxing. This is an important voice in the discussion about disability in games because it comes from the community of people with disabilities. The possibility of choosing and carefully introducing characters with disabilities to a game is significant from this perspective. Unfortunately, it requires time and effort from the game developers but also increased awareness of the subject.