Let’s get this straight, video games do have a massive impact on the society we live in and on the people that exists around us, especially the young aged ones. Video games have gone through a lot of changes in the last decade and developers have worked really hard for more than 10 years to make that possible. Video games can really create an impact on a person’s life more than one can imagine. That is the reason why big names in the industry do have a lot of responsibility on their shoulders while making this games for the people out there.
Video games and disability have counterattacked each other many a times. A lot of people have blamed developers to not focus on the people with disabilities and released their products. Visit https://papergames.io/en/connect4 and play a quick game to take a break from work right now.
Challenges addressing disability in video games
Inclusion along with diversity has become a very big factor of discussion in the gaming industry for the past decade. More and more people are talking, playing and developing games than they have ever before. Everyone has developed a strong feelings regarding the games they play and also about what they are playing. And as a result, the backlash do comes in common.
The most frustrating thing about the whole idea is that discussions and debate regarding the representation of the games do feel like a severe afterthought. It is a much more common thing to talk about whether games of this decade are playable by those who are suffering from some disability or not and in what content the games themselves imply about the disabled individuals.
However, as we step in 2020, there are some games in the past decade which stand out at least much more than others in terms of representation of disability in both positive and negative ways.
Wolfenstein: The New Order – a really special game in terms of representing the disabled, the Wolfenstein: The New Order offered two disabled characters at the centre stage – Max Hass and Caroline Becker. Hass has suffered a massive brain injury during childhood and a large portion of his skull had to be removed as a result and in the other hand, Becker takes the help of a wheelchair in order to get around. Players can control both the characters at different stages of the game and pass through a lot of missions for an exciting experience.
Dishonored: Death of the Outsider – the Dishonored series is a really great franchise which has offered fantastic game play and features to the gamers. At the same time, it’s main protagonist Billie Lurk, is a fun character to play at the center stage, who has a very troubled history and serves as the contrast between political struggle in the rest of the game. With a black, queer and disabled figure on the cover of the game, it was a huge deal back then.
Watch Dogs 2 – Ubisoft made a huge impact by making the Watch Dogs series. This exciting and challenging open-world hacking game has represented disability in a great manner. The game totally focuses on the diversity of race, culture and the presence of people of all kinds in the game. It fits into the questions of disability in a solid manner. One of the main character, Josh is found to be autistic and the game handles his impact and responsibilities in a way which hardly anyone could have anticipated.
Borderlands 2 – the developers of Borderlands 2 deserve an applause for their excellent idea of representing the disabled in an efficient manner. The game included a great character named T.K. Baha whom the gamers adores. Not only was he blind but he used his disability to create an impact in a way which no one could expect.
So, these are some of the games which helped to represent the disabled feel that they do have a place in the virtual world and that these games are made keeping in mind everyone out there. Make sure to check them out and expect more from such fantastic developers who pay much attention to this really thought provoking topic.