Chapter 6. The analysis of conducted focus group interviews

Additionally to the quantitative analysis, the research team decided to conduct a focus group interview with players with various disabilities, in order to supplement the analysis of disability representation in video games with the opinions and experience of the players with disabilities, in accordance with the interpretivism and participatory model of research. The primary principle of interpretivism states that in order to understand the segment of reality under research, it is required to rely not only on existing data but also to immerse in the studied community and learn about the studied problem directly from those affected by it. A focus group allowed not only for collecting players’ opinions but also for exchanging these views and confronting them. Anecdotally, it can be stated that the surveyed players expressed quite similar views on showed representations; however, they were quite different from theoretical assumptions described in the scientific literature. Beliefs shared by the participants further strengthened their opinions on the issues discussed during the interview. From the entire spectrum of video games analyzed, we decided to choose six titles: three each from AAA and Indie segments. We kept an equal division as for the divisions from which the games originated to establish whether the interviewees identified any differences in the developers’ approach to presenting disability. The way of representing disability was a significant issue in the selection of the titles, which is why our focus group was based on the following topics for the discussion: disability as power, unwanted medicalization, breaking down barriers, types of simulations, and demonizing disability. We also posed more general questions. It is worth beginning the analysis of the focus group with one of the viewpoints concerning the representation of disability in general:

There might be a problem with that because there is a common tendency in the media that people generally don’t want to watch things which are uncomfortable, and disability is uncomfortable; on the other hand it would be worth showing it, because it is something that just exists. [Respondent 2]

Disability as power

The first title selected for the discussion was Ninja Theory video game Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice. It tells the story of a Nordic warrior who has chosen to travel to Helheim—the Nordic

hell, in search of her loved one, where facing the demons of the past and present, she is trying to find a person important to her. The biggest demon, however, appears the disease that affects the heroine. These are psychotic states, in particular attacks of schizophrenia, which turn out to play a crucial role in the game mechanics. It is noteworthy that the developers of Senua put great emphasis on accurate representation of the psychosis from which the main character suffers. Consultations with psychiatrists and psychologists, and more importantly, with people with such mental problems, allowed the game developers to almost perfectly recreate certain aspects of the diseases that affect the protagonist. This representation was also noted by the players participating in the study:

I played “Senua” and I greatly liked it because it was also done wisely; because when I looked later at the carpet, I saw these different faces etc. [...] Yes, it was very well reflected, because I couldn’t stand it for more than an hour while playing in headphones in a dark room, because I already felt that too much was going on. [Respondent 3]

This view was confirmed by another participant, who came across Hellblade. In his opinion, such productions demonstrate problems that are related to a specific disorder and disability that may result from it:

So if you don’t have this kind of disability [psychosis], you could actually feel like that. [Respondent 4]

When analyzing Senua’s disability in the context of her power, it is noteworthy that the heroine gains two skills as the result of her psychotic states, which become one of the game’s major mechanics.

The first is the ability to see runes, which allows a player to open secret doors (comparable to the Detective Mode of “The Batman Arkham” series).

The second skill consists in slowing down time during the fight with an enemy, which allowed for a significant expansion of the combat system presented in the game. The focus group almost unanimously stated that such presentation of disability is a promising direction for the future. Depicting disability as something that develops the hero, and does not detract from his capabilities, allows the recipient to become accustomed to a greater degree to the problem of disability. Disability is frequently perceived as a taboo subject, something mentioned carefully or not discussed at all but commonly considered a taboo by the able-bodied. One of the respondents said: “and the disabled is not some other species, this is also human,”

which is why representing disability is crucial; and showing it in a manner Ninja Theory did in Hellblade received positive opinions from people with disabilities.

Picture 11. Senua seeing runes—a skill resulting from psychosis

(Alternative description: The picture shows a Nordic warrior, Senua (third-person perspective), with long hair in dreadlocks. She has a faded tattoo on her right arm. She is standing on stone steps in front of a huge gate made of wooden poles. There are ancient runes on the gate; they are a manifestation of the power of a warrior. The runes are red and surrounded by a golden circle.)

Well, I like such an idea too because it can be an example how to do it on a large scale [...] There are many possibilities here, ideas where gameplay can present a disability in a good light. [Respondent 1]

It was great that she was so strong in a positive way. The story continues the way she […] fights the demons of the past, and that’s generally cool. [Respondent 3]

Positive views on this representation developed into a discussion of what disability can do for people in the real world. The players stated that, on the one hand, disability has changed some part of their lives or limited their activity, for example, by making them unable to walk, contrastingly—it showed them another aspect which today they consider a kind of power presented in the game discussed during the panel.

In my opinion, it’s quite accurate either way, because we experience these disabilities, we see a spectrum of other features which we probably wouldn’t pay attention to if we had power over the whole body or if there were no difficulties; for example, in my case: if I hadn’t had a stroke and hadn’t lost control of almost the entire left side of my body, I wouldn’t think about becoming a psychologist because I wouldn’t have some interesting problems that need to be taken care of. [Respondent 2]

This viewpoint was not formed by chance. Becoming familiarized with six short fragments of games in which disabilities were presented in various contexts allowed the players to reflect on their own problems and discover a certain parallel with the fate of the heroes. Representation of disability conveyed by Senua not only illustrated that disability may appear to be something partially positive, but also that it can bring a kind of enlightenment and motivate to seek other ways to find or regain happiness or life balance lost as a result of disability.

Rejection of help

Using the RPG game Deus Ex: Human Revolution, we wanted to learn the participants’ viewpoints on ways to “remove” or “fix” a disability, which is not always desired by people who experience it; the game was presented to the interviewees as the second. The main protagonist, Adam Jensen, lives in a utopian version of reality, where bionic implants, also known as prostheses, cure-all disabilities and diseases. Adam opposes people’s modifications and belongs to that group of inhabitants of the utopian world who cannot imagine improving their own bodies. He is employed as a bodyguard for the director of one of the corporations managing body modifications; however, he believes that it is work like any other. Once, during an attack on the aforementioned corporation, he has been fatally wounded. Adam’s management has decided to save him with bionic prostheses and life-support systems to make him a powerful tool in the corporate machine. The cut-scene we shared with the respondents showed the moment of “saving” Jensen; the player sees the suffering of the main character during the implementation of new limbs or setting systems inside the body. The entire surgery is probably carried out on a completely conscious hero, as illustrated by screams while cutting his skin.

The respondents also noticed that he is a tragic figure. They stated that help offered to a dying character deprives him of his humanity even more.

On the basis of this piece, each prosthesis implementation looks from the protagonist’s perspective as if he was losing some part of his humanity. [Respondent 2]

Picture 12. Adam Jensen during surgery

(Alternative description: There is a man screaming in pain (Adam Jensen), lying on the operating bed. The man has wounds on his chest and abdomen. There is a mechanism that allows for the fitting of a mechanical limb in place of his missing right arm. In the background, there are robots operating on the man.)

I can see it this way, I didn’t play, I only saw this trailer, as if he had it implanted because they save him, and not because he wants it, whereas it is generally shown in games that the characters modify themselves, because that’s what they want to gain something more and they generally agree to it, then it’s so unwanted here. [Respondent 3]

One of the interviewees pointed to the positive aspect of frequently equipping game heroes with prostheses. He emphasized that he is a fan of Warhammer 40,000, the plot of which presents modifying the human body as something remarkable, but noted that medicalization of disability presented in the game deprives the protagonist of something instead of helping him. This demonstrates that Eidos studio, the game developers, made an effort representing Adam Jensen’s disabilities.

I don’t know why, but I like Deus Ex, but I am a child of “Warhammer” so I can be skewed about this thing (laughs); here the narration is dark and it’s not just like now he’ll be better off, but in fact he loses something, this is like a quid pro quo. [Respondent 1]

Several focus group participants expressed important opinion about prostheses and their use outside the virtual world. Somewhat, they agree with the views of the protagonist of Deus Ex series that prostheses should not only serve as “reinforcement on demand.” Games should demonstrate that, just like in the real world, prostheses allow you to return to previous abilities; they do not make patients stronger but rather restore their condition to the pre-disease state.

The main character in “Cyberpunk” is all about supporting himself. To me, when it comes to this, there is a big minus that he has lost something and then gained something thanks to these implants and without getting into how he views it, and from a psychological point of view there is such a big minus about disability and then if there is a plus, it is a return to normality, not an upgrade. But how to show it in a game which has several hours of storyline and will that be attractive at all? [Respondent 4]

Furthermore, the players indicated positive aspects of using prostheses. Each of the respondents, alongside other problems, experiences various motor disabilities. They felt that they would be pleased if they had the opportunity to use such prostheses. Nonetheless, they cautiously pointed out that a prosthesis is not always something definitely positive.

It would be nice if there were such prostheses. [Respondent 2]

I also think that it would be great, but if everyone thought it was great, we still know that disability is two things: how we perceive ourselves and how others perceive us. And the latter very often affects us and it seems to me that “Deus Ex” it is precisely the narrative of how others can perceive someone like that rather than how to benefit from these prostheses. [Respondent 1]

Breaking down barriers

To portray characters with disabilities who overcome their own limitations to help others, we chose the pilot Jeff “Joker” Moreau from the Mass Effect series. Despite the fact that the game takes place in a technologically advanced world, where a leap between planetary systems lasts only a moment, technology has not been able to cope with all the health problems that characters from this fictional world may experience. Joker suffers from Vrolik’s syndrome, which results in extreme fragility of bones of the lower limbs. With persistence and a desire to become the best, Joker is eventually assigned to pilot the most modern spaceship humanity has ever seen. Being the “home base” and the main means of transportation for the

characters of the series, this spacecraft is fundamental for the game plot. Joker’s tenacity is best illustrated by the scene in which the ship has been attacked by a hostile race of alien— Collectors. Although the pilot is not the main protagonist, he appears in the production as an independent character and is controlled by the player for a short time. Despite his bone fragility, Joker rises from behind the controls to play an essential role in saving the crew of SSV Normandy 2.

This part of the game received positive feedback from the respondents.

It’s probably positive, it’s a kind of moralistic motive... No, I don’t like it (laughs). Such a very nice moment, but I generally like such moments in games, not only when disabled people have it, but generally, and I like it even more here. [Respondent 1]

Another issue noticeable for the players was the manner the game developers portrayed Joker’s walk. Due to his illness, the hero has to step on the spacecraft’s deck cautiously to avoid an accident. It is worth noting that Joker does not use any prostheses or crutches in this stage of the game to maintain a stable and safe position.

It’s very nicely presented that he has to step carefully so as not to break his legs. [Respondent 2]

Picture 13. Animation of the way Joker moves

(Alternative description: There is a man (Joker) wearing a black uniform with white elements. There is an orange logo of the organization (Cerberus) on his shoulders. The character is leaning, which indicates movement limitations. The man is shown in the same posture from four perspectives, starting from the front and rotated every 45 degrees (the perspective changes in the picture from left to right.)

Joker’s heroic character, on the presentation of which BioWare concentrated while creating the character, gained recognition from the players watching this part of the gameplay. Moreover, the presented situation was characterized by the fact that the crew of the spaceship at certain moments wants to protect Joker: its members call him to hide behind fit soldiers and wait the attack of the enemies out. Nevertheless, Joker turns into another section of the spacecraft to get to the security systems, even though he has no technical education and is not familiar with such an advanced space A.I. Like every hero, he puts at stake not only his health but also his life, so that the entire crew may live to see a better tomorrow.

I don’t know, but in the dialogue they say: “Come on Joker, we keep you save,” but they were also worried about him, it wasn’t like “Joker, you are supposed to do it and you got a job to do and that’s it,” but there was such a part that he may not be able to cope and there is no such thing that he is standing like the rest of the soldiers and has to do the job, there was also a cover over him. [Respondent 4]

And he ran in a different direction to help, that’s one, and the second—it’s great that they have shown that a person with a disability can break down their limitations. [Respondent 2]

Different approaches to disability simulation

The subsequent two titles are almost fully concentrated on presenting the problem of disability; however, in each of them, it is executed distinctively. The first, entitled Wheelchair Simulator, is a game covering physical disabilities. On the one hand, this production recognizes the seriousness of diseases and spatial limitations related to the need of using a wheelchair; contrastingly, it refers to a convention that could be characterized as comedy. The game takes place in virtual reality with the application of devices such as Oculus Rift, which aims at making the simulation of using a wheelchair more realistic. Before presenting the game to the interviewees, our team wondered if a satirical approach to the problem of physical disability would be too upsetting for them since such an approach may seem inappropriate to outsiders. Unexpectedly, the views concerning this comedy representation were positive. One of the respondents, who himself uses a wheelchair, stated that reflecting certain gameplay elements, even though sometimes exaggerated, can help make people realize and remember what wheelchair users have to struggle with on a daily basis.

I can rate this game, it’s epic for me and this is how my life looks like (laughs), I have it every day, thank you (laughs). Maybe from this perspective I’m not able to see a deep-

er idea, but I’m sure that I’d have fun in this game, but apart from this comedic abstraction, because if there is something, a stick on the road, you won’t ride over it, but I like the idea that it’s shown in such an old arcade style and it’s made for fun, but it looks cool and I like it. Seemingly a base gameplay, that is, collecting points and level completion, but a little bit, and actually it is to show that limitation is only in people’s head. [...] The player will surely remember about those sticks on the way (laughs). [Respondent 1]

The satire and arcade-style (as the interviewee mentioned) are certain foundations of Wheelchair Simulator.

Picture 14. Arcade approach to simulating wheelchair riding

(Alternative description: There is a man (third-person perspective) wearing a red T-shirt and a white helmet on his head; he is riding on the road in a wheelchair with a red back. There are many obstacles on the road in front of him. The one closest to the rider is a worker wearing a white T-shirt and a yellow helmet— he is coming out of the sewage drain. There are tree branches and boughs scattered on the road. There is a construction site and yellow diggers around the character.) The focus group pointed out that the presentation of disability should be accomplished by means of a “small steps” method in order to familiarize media recipients with it in an unobtrusive way. As stated by the interviewees, the problem of disability is something normal and not hideable in the social reality. The players compared this method to the way of imple-

menting brutality in video games, where elements such as blood or attacking virtual people were slowly introduced, and in today’s reality, brutality in games has become something that we do not take note of anymore; we do not treat it as a taboo.

Honestly, in my opinion, these should be just such small steps; like in the first shooters in Doom you shot at aliens, and then at people. It seems to me that such a complicated problem like disability and such an approach to it can also change this perception. Before the first shooters they hit their brutality level, there were as if carton boxes dropping,38 and also here I think it’s just “there you go, complete the level and collect all the coins, and some are hidden then you have to find them,” the tour is a bit more casual and appropriate form of presenting this topic than if it was a real story that someone had an accident and now places are blocked and so on, and as if on a smaller scale, but with progress and to slowly bring this problem closer to people. [Respondent 1]

I like the fact that games, instead of creating martyrdom around this disability, show it in a humorous way, so that you can get used to the fact that it exists, because in the conservative perception of many groups of people disability is something which is practically not the case. [Respondent 2]

The second title focusing on disability simulation presented to the respondents was Perception. Unlike Wheelchair Simulator, it is much darker and more serious. Perception tells the story of a blind woman who gets to an abandoned house. There she wants to solve the mystery haunting her dreams. The developers of the game implemented mechanics to simulate the phenomenon of echolocation. Each step of the protagonist or the sounds of tap of her cane and the surroundings allow for noticing the objects on the screen for a brief moment.

The mechanics employed allow the player to feel, at least to a small degree, what people with visual impairments face on a daily basis. After watching a part of the gameplay, a discussion began among the players participating in the FGI as to whether methods of presenting disability in games should be largely dependent on the type of disability.

It certainly depends on a disability, because making an easy-going game about some illnesses, mental problems might not work out, because someone might come to the conclusion that this is mocking. [Respondent 1]

38 The respondent implies that the virtual characters resembled shooting targets.

Yes, that’s just it, as if, for example, psychically, in fact, this world was more colorful, this brightness can also make it possible that for such a person we perceive [reality] wrongly, [we believe] that this person is worse off, but both of these people see the world in these colors; but such disorders, you have to approach differently, because you have to choose [approach] well, because if we have such a topic as in shooters, you won’t make a good Sunday game [casual game] with POW camps, then it will already be too much for the average gamer. [Respondent 1]

Picture 15. Simulation of echolocation in Perception (snow shows the heroine the way)

(Alternative description: The picture shows a large wooden house with a porch in a snowy blizzard. The road leading to the house is paved with stones, and there is a low stone wall on its sides. There is blue mist in the picture, which simulates echolocation.)

Contrasting the two presented forms of disability simulation in games, the interviewees pointed out that the recipient at whom a given production is aimed is equally significant; hence, in the case of casual players who look for pure entertainment in the game, a convention of Wheelchair Simulator would be proper, while a player looking for some depth in a video game presumably reaches for games with solutions implied in Perception or in the previously presented Hellblade, which also emphasized serious representation of disability.

In my opinion, it all depends on the target and what we want to achieve with this; we can, if we want to overcome a disability, show what it is, what it is about, we will

also target people who are looking for something more in games, like deeper experience and then by showing a disability such as psychosis from “Senua,” we will aim at the deepest possible representation of it; and if we aim at such entertainment just for fun and, not nicely speaking, as if for such a not very demanding recipient, then we can go towards comedy and we can do “Wheelchair Simulator.” [Respondent 2]

Well, it seems so to me and if someone plays and is a casual player and runs a more ambitious game, it will make it clear to him that this is a difficult topic, but if is it a casual player who gets a foolproof game then he’ll deduce that this is a casual topic. [Respondent 1]

On the other hand, you can’t do something like “WS” if you take the topic of OCD or schizophrenia, because then it’ll come out too mockingly. [Respondent 2]

Demonizing disability

The last title that appeared during the meeting with the players was a horror game entitled Tormented Souls. The game consists in exploring other halls of a huge mansion, full of traps and enemies, in which two children have gone missing. The opponents, because our presentation concerned them, are shown in the game as deformed monsters, combining the bodies of former patients of the center and doctors working there with deadly mechanical implants and upgrades. It is problematic to call these characters human; however, they have clear signs of disability—they have sinister prostheses, they are in wheelchairs and have no legs. We considered these monstrous deformities of the opponents that the player meets on the way to be representations of disability, but before starting the discussion, we thought of this case as an instrumental use of disability, which is mainly a pretext to scare recipients and make them feel uncomfortable.

Unexpectedly, the players participating in the interview did not consider these images to be exploitation. They indicated two important aspects: the developers of Tormented Souls used disability as a “scaring technique,” and they obtained something like dulling vigilance of the game user, because, as the respondents stated, due to their condition, the disabled characters are not considered a threat.

This is such an interesting scaring technique because, for example, we aren’t afraid of little girls or dolls, and a horror can be like that—the dolls scare, and we don’t expect the disabled to go at us and attack us. [Respondent 4]

Picture 16. One of the monsters in Tormented Souls

(Alternative description: There is a monster (human) sitting in a wheelchair. He is on a ventilator attached to the back of the wheelchair. There is an oxygen mask on the monster’s face. His lower limbs have been cut off, and his right hand has been amputated and replaced with claws. In the background, there is a photograph of a psychiatric hospital.)

It is like that, because in fact it is something that we don’t expect, and it really is this wheelchair and hence the fear element. [Respondent 3]

Nonetheless, it was the second group of views on this game that surprised us the most. The players found that such representations like disabled monsters should appear in games or movies more frequently. They argued that, for example, in the case of the narratives of fictional zombie epidemics, everyone, including people with disabilities, should be among the infected and turn into mutants. As specified by the focus group, a film or game without a zombie with a noticeable deformity that occurred before the mutation, for example, as a result of disability or disease, would make them feel omitted as disabled people. As one of the respondents stated:

A disabled person is not some other species, this is also a human being, and he can be bad, he can be good. [Respondent 4]

On the other hand, as you gentlemen mentioned this demonization. I think it’s a bit like that, but when there is any other zombie or a ghost of a little girl, we have no problem with that and the question is whether this is that fine line, OK, it’s highly controversial, but shouldn’t we implement it in pursuit of normalization? [Respondent 1]

I also think it’s OK and it seems to me that if there are characters who are bitten and walk, a zombie may well be a person who is in a wheelchair and has no legs, no arms and turns into this zombie; and if I was playing a game in which people only normally walk and there are no others, then a topic is omitted and that’s why I think it’s [the presented game] actually cool. [Respondent 3]

In summarizing the findings of the focus group, it is worth noting that, in addition to gathering feedback on the video games analyzed by our team, we gained added value in the form of important recommendations for the game development industry proposed by the interviewees. The proposals which we seek to present in this section of the report shall address in what way, according to the players with disabilities, disability representations should look like, and what direction the industry should take when creating an appropriate image of both people with disabilities and impairments themselves. One of the most frequent issues raised during the FGI was the use of disability as game mechanics. The first example of such application is taking into consideration disability at the initial stage of building and modifying the hero in the so-called character creation screen. If a player decides to create a character with a disability or with a disease, the focus group postulated that this character’s attributes need to fully reflect this choice, for example, by increasing or decreasing a certain indicator, providing the hero with a unique set of skills or items.

In, I don’t know, “Cyberpunk” [a player] now has the most extensive character creation options, where you can choose practically everything and, for example, choosing impairment or some specific thing that would affect something else, it would be great to choose already while building a character that, for example, we cut off the leg and insert an implant and, for example, a mechanical leg gives us +10 to agility. [Respondent 3]

And for example, facial paralysis that’s -20 to interpersonal contacts, but someone has to guess what our emotions are, because you don’t show them. [Respondent 1]

That’s what I thought, it reminded me that when we have a combination of a character with a prosthesis and a character without a prosthesis, then if someone has a mechanical arm, then technically shouldn’t he get some bigger armor on that arm? Because he doesn’t feel pain in this arm, because it is mechanical, so even such simple mechanics, because he is the only one [such character], he doesn’t have this arm and this is a substitute. A character in a wheelchair can be resistant to physical damage to legs, 10 out of 10, 100% of realism, and within team utility 100% damage relocation (laughs). [Respondent 1]

Another recommendation regarding gameplay mechanics concerns the introduction of the comparison mode. One of the interviewees illustrated it using the example of the game Medium. It does not focus on the problem of disability, but the main character, Marianne, sees the world in two versions, real and spiritual. Interestingly, the mechanics appear on the screen simultaneously as a split-screen. The players indicated that such a mode in terms of representation of disability would be worth implementing in some productions, for example, in various situations, the player may use echolocation, as in Perception, which would allow for finding a hidden segment of the game, and in others seeing as if the character had fully functional sight. Another example was the option to choose between the ability to walk and move in a wheelchair.

The game “Medium” has such comparisons, admittedly there is no disability, but this main character sees two worlds: one terrible, spiritual and the other, a normal one, and there were also such interesting mechanics that there was a screen divided and you could see the same place, but from two different perspectives, and I have always liked it: showing worlds from different perspectives; and it seems to me that in such a perspective of disability, whether mental or motor, we will complete the same level with a character who has a problem with walking, or a character who walks normally and for me it has always been very interesting to have such comparison, so that the audience can deduce that it more difficult and realize it. [Respondent 3]

The last postulate related to technical aspects of the game was to provide greater accessibility to players with disabilities. The respondents concentrated on competitive games. Using the example of RTS games, they discussed the need to equalize opportunities for

players with disabilities so that they could perform actions uniformly, quickly, and efficiently with their manual limitations.

In the case of competitive games, it would be nice if they introduced some reaction time boosters, because there are, for example, RTS games, when you play “Warhammer: Dawn of War,” then there is a bit of an obstacle (another player confirmed) and when you quickly click the building icon and you set it, it takes seven seconds, and if someone does it with a keyboard shortcut, it takes three. [Respondent 1]

In the case of MOBA games, the players indicated that one of the methods of compensating manual limitations of players with disabilities during the gameplay is playing the so-called glass cannons, that is, characters that cause a lot of damage but are susceptible to attacks. Glass cannons can be created through the so-called builds, a unique combination of character skills and item properties. A glass cannon has only such weapons in their inventory which allow for inflicting maximum damage at the expense of items that provide protection. Therefore, the respondents postulated providing the access to a bigger number of items and characters allowing for build creating in MOBA games. The focus group pointed out that even though the phenomenon of the so-called glass cannons exists, they are introduced by players rather than developers.

In all MOBA games based on character building there are popular builds, the so-called glass cannons, which means, that these are characters who have such a low level of life that they practically bite the dust immediately, but also get opponents in one shot. [Respondent 2]

This is actually already happening, not from the developers’ side, but from the players’. [Respondent 1]

After seeing such different representations of disability, the interview participants expressed insights on the very approach to presenting characters with disabilities in games. They indicated that it would be advisable to present disability in a broader context:

The main character in “Cyberpunk” is only to support himself, as to me, when it comes to this, there is a big minus that he has lost something and then gained through these implants and without getting into how he views it and there is such a big minus about disability from a psychological point of view, and then if there is any plus it is a return to normality, not an upgrade. But how to show it in a game which has several hours of storylines and will it be attractive at all? [Respondent 4]

Apart from the development of plot lines related to the story of the ailments with which the virtual character struggles, the manner of presenting disability is equally crucial. As stated by the players, in order to do this properly, it would be best to implement methods that Ninja Theory has chosen to employ to represent Senua’s psychosis. Representation of mental illnesses received special attention in the statements. In the opinion of the players with disabilities, a serious convention should be applied to such severe cases as schizophrenia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, or other such diseases.

It certainly depends on disability, because making a more casual game about some diseases, mental problems might not work out, because someone might come to the conclusion that this is mocking, but it probably depends on the creator how he wants to approach this problem. And this is players who choose how to approach it, as it was in “This War of Mine” or perhaps as in “Call of Duty” that you get a gun and have fun with it. It seems to me that these two trailers are different narratives, but I would have a lot of fun with both of them, in the second— “Perception” I like sharper narrative. [Respondent 1]

The last view nearly seems like an appeal to the game developer community. The players pointed out that disability should not be marginalized in games, and it is simply not to be feared.

If I were to give some ideas to developers, we are now even moving into such a stage of developing in which taboo topics are broken and these topics are dealt with, more outlined, and it seems to me that disability is such a minimalist topic raised in general both in the negative and positive [context], it’s generally not discussed and in my opinion developers shouldn’t be afraid to talk about it in any way, like the topic of gays, lesbians etc. Because these are such topics that people have to be cautious about, but in my opinion when you talk about it, it’s already a great success and we shouldn’t marginalize it. [Respondent 1]

To summarize the focus group, there are a few ideas that we should regard as both game and disability researchers as well as game developers. The opinions collected during the study surprised us more than once; however, they were rather of positive nature. The players invited to the meeting were content that there are the creators who are not afraid to show disabilities in the games. Certain games, which we thought of as negative examples of disability representation, were assessed differently by our reviewers. The surprise that we have

indicated further reinforced our belief that the interpretative nature of the research should become the domain of studies on the role of video games in the lives of users.

During the presentation of Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, the interviewees appreciated the way the mental illness of the heroine has been presented and the fact that despite the difficulties associated with it, the developers were able to convert this problem into her power. The interviewees did not concentrate on the fact that these powers develop the mechanics of the game; for them, the most important aspect, in this case, was that the main character has become stronger, and this strength allows her to overcome further adversities on the way to finding her beloved husband. An interesting aspect that the players highlighted was that, not only in games but also in life, a disability could show a person some new skills and opportunities that can eventually be converted into their own power, for example, after a neurological incident that resulted in disability, one of the invited players became interested in psychology to understand his problems and help others as well.

According to the focus group, prosthetic support for a person with disabilities does not always have to be associated with positive aspects of medicalization. Frequently, prostheses in works of culture, including video games, are treated as an improvement of the human (for example, in the utopian vision of Deus Ex); however, the players we spoke to denied such a statement. They believed that the essential benefit that a prosthesis can provide to a person with disabilities is the return to the previous ability.

Joker from the Mass Effect series was for the participants a great example of breaking down the barriers related to disability. Representation itself gained recognition from the interviewees due to the attempt at making real the way the character with disabilities moves.

Wheelchair Simulator and Perception, two simulation games, allowed for determining appealing conclusions, which, in particular, should be acquired by the game developers. The players noted how important it is to take into consideration the type of disability when representing it. In the case of Wheelchair Simulator, where the problem of using a wheelchair is presented in a comedic way, this superficial convention is still acceptable to the respondents. Nonetheless, they pointed out that it is a known condition and, more importantly, understood. With regard to conditions such as blindness or mental illness, the developers cannot afford such simplified representations. A satirical approach could result in disgracing/ridiculing of the disease and the sick. Another consequence of a trivial gaming convention would be pushing a disease into the background.

Analyzing Tormented Souls, the players stated that “scaring with disability” should not be perceived as an instrumental treatment of various ailments. Furthermore, the whole group agreed that disabilities should not be forgotten when talking about epidemics presented in games because everyone can be affected by such a disease, both the able-bodied people and those struggling with a problem of disability. The lack of such representation in this type of games implies, in their opinion, nothing but another discrimination against people with disabilities for the sake of not addressing a controversial and problematic topic.

Disability should not be marginalized or ignored because it is inconvenient, and due to a slow method of “small steps”—the implication of disability topics in video games—it may cease to be a taboo subject, as stated by one of the players: The disabled is not some other species, this is also a human being and this is how we should look at the problem of disability, being aware of its limitations, but not rejecting the awareness that ultimately each of us is human.