Characters with disability

[Brillenpinguin]

Hello everyone!

I proposed this topic to a different forum a few months ago and thought it might still be a very inetresting topic to talk about with you.

In an older thread I asked for some advices on how to portrait a mute character without using dialogue in my game. When I read those I remembered that old thread, in which I asked why there are so few disabled characters in videogames.

The general sentiment of the thread seemed to be, that disabilities are usually nothing more then a cosmetic feature to a character and not something that has impact on their everyday life or role within the story they appear in. They also seemed o not like the idea of using disabilities as a basis of game play ideas, because they thought it might be "too restrictive" to be enjoyable or even inspiring.

Personally I don't think so. I would love to see more disabled characters in games, partly because I think disabled people deserve to be portraited as badasses too, and secondly because I see some very interesting game-play or story-telling ideas in certain disabilities. Sadly most disabled characters I know are either "inspiration porn", magically healed of their disability by the end or their disability has no impact on their allday life (looking at you, every character with an eyepatch) - and that includes not just games, but other media as well.

I'm curious to see your pov on that topic:

Would you like to see more characters with a disability in your games, either physical or mental?

How would you portrait a disabled character, without reducing their personality to their disability?

Are there game-play elements you know about that are inspired by a disability? Or do you have ideas of your own?

And who is your favorite videogame character, that has a disability?

 

[jwideman]

I think it is important to portray people with disabilities in a positive light, and this isn't done enough in media. I will point out that people tend to learn to work around their disability. So while it affects their everyday life, they are still able to live it. On that note, service animals should be included too. There's a lot of confusion about what service animals are and what they do, and this causes trouble for people who rely on them.

 

[trouble time]

There a tons of disabled badasses though, granted, most of the ones I could name are blind like Zatoichi or Mortal Kombat's Kenshi. For other example there are the two protagonists from the movie The Crippled masters, one with no arms, the other with no legs (they inexplicably hook together at the end of the movie, one fights on the others back). Technically based on a true story but the main character of Aiki is in a wheel chair and practices Aikijujutsu (which has techniques used from a sitting position). So yeah, martial arts films at least are filled wth disabled badasses. Not trying to say there's no reason to make more, I'm just saying that they're there...especially in martial arts films for some reason.

 

[Bonkers]

Would you like to see more characters with a disability in your games, either physical or mental?

How would you portrait a disabled character, without reducing their personality to their disability?

Are there game-play elements you know about that are inspired by a disability? Or do you have ideas of your own?

You can check out the link my signature for my perspective.  My game concept revolves around a wheelchair bound child who solves puzzles and is a detective.

The restriction is exactly what I built the game play and story around to make it more enjoyable.    They have moments they shine.

 

[Brillenpinguin]

@Palladinthug: Oh wow, the game looks great! I followed the topic so I won't miss the demo

@trouble time: I think it's because disabled people are usually seen as weaker and so it seems more awesome when they suddenly become martial arts masters.
Also: I didn't know Kenshi was blind. But then again I never played Mortal Kombat myself XD
(BTW nice Pucci icon...I approve! Johnny Joestar is also a great disabled character)

@jwideman: Agreed. and you make a good point! I actually thought about including an animal companion for one of my characters before, who'd be sorta like a service animal, but I dropped the idea due to world-building-problems.

 

[StrawberrySmiles]

Yes, because I'm disabled.

FUN FACT! 4 out of 5 of us in my game dev team have a disability!

WEIRD FACT! I just realized creating disabled characters doesn't even happen with us regardless.

Is it because we play too many games with non-disabled characters that we don't even think about it?

This is something to bring up for our next meeting... XD

 

[trouble time]

@Palladinthug: Oh wow, the game looks great! I followed the topic so I won't miss the demo

@trouble time: I think it's because disabled people are usually seen as weaker and so it seems more awesome when they suddenly become martial arts masters.

Also: I didn't know Kenshi was blind. But then again I never played Mortal Kombat myself XD

(BTW nice Pucci icon...I approve! Johnny Joestar is also a great disabled character)

@jwideman: Agreed. and you make a good point! I actually thought about including an animal companion for one of my characters before, who'd be sorta like a service animal, but I dropped the idea due to world-building-problems.

Yeah, Johnny is my 2nd favorite Jojo, behind Joylene/ Joseph. I have more examples of badass disabled characters, actually two from the same game, Baiken and Zato-1 from guilty gear. Zato-1 is blind (and until recently he was also dead) from sacrificing his sight so he could gain a forbidden beast named Eddie who took over his body when he died (though he was ressurected as of Guitly Gear XrD) Zato's a bit of a scumbag though, mostly preresusrection, after he comes back he's much...calmer. The other example is Baiken who is missing an arm and an eye, and she uses a prosthetic arm with hidden weapons in the sleeve where her missing arm would be (up to and including a dragon-head shapped cannon). Baiken is my favorite disabled character in video games BTW, unless you count Big Boss (in which case don't make me choose). I'd definitely be on board for more characters like her.

EDIT How could I forget Hawkeye who's got impaired hearing, he wears hearing aids, I don't think he does in the movies though, but everyone knows he's more badass in the comics...usually.

 

[Brillenpinguin]

@trouble: I like Joseph too, and Josuke can't wait for Season 4 of the Anime!

Anyway back to topic: It's good to see there are many disabled characters in other media, however I feel like they are getting more rare for some reason? Or is that just me?

(I'm mainly familiar with the German Maker scene so I can only speak from that pov)

@Strawberry: I get that feeling. A lot of people make characters that resemble themselves especially when they are part of a minority. I think it is great to see more diverse characters in that regard.

 

[Point08]

One thing I liked about The Book of Eli is that most people didn't realize Denzel's character was blind, until the end. (I'm certain some people picked up on it earlier, but most that I know and most in the reviews I've seen, did not.) If you then watch it a second time, already aware that he is blind, you pick up on a lot of subtle clues to that fact. I think it was a great way to handle a character with a disability.
 
I think what you mentioned in your first post is a big reason I rarely care for characters with a disability in games: because it's mentioned they have a disability, maybe it is graphically portrayed (e.g. eyepatch), but it doesn't actually affect anything. To me, in that instance, you either lack attention to detail, or you only included the disability to try and earn points for sensitivity/diversity. However, you botched it, so you actually lose points in my book.
 
Having said all that, one of the main characters in my current project is blind. It certainly impacts his daily life, and it is obvious in multiple aspects of the game, from dialogue to combat mechanics. That doesn't mean he can't do anything though. One way it shows in game is, he doesn't like people to see his face unless he knows them. This is because for him to "see" someone's face, he has to touch them, making it somewhat intimate (note for clarity, I don't mean sexual intimacy), and so to him it is rude that someone would see and stare at his face without even knowing him. A personality quirk, that is a direct result of his disability. Another example is in the spoiler, if you're interested.
 

Spoiler

 
In fact, when we first meet him, he owns a bookstore and is able to help people find books on the shelves. He's even seen sitting in front of the fire, reading a book? This is all due to, his books are marked with a coded system, as are the shelves, which is how he finds them. He has a book written in something similar to braille that contains the codes and titles. He likes to sit and hold a book, he'll feel the cover and the pages (and it looks to some like he is reading), and then stare at the fire (since like most blind people, he isn't 100% blind, he can see a faint blob of light when he stairs at the fire, but as far as enough site to be considered functional, he is completely lacking there). While he sits and stares, he imagines in his mind what the story in the book might be. He started this as a child, with some encouragement from a parent, and it explains why a blind man, loves books he can't read so much, that he owns a bookstore.

TL;DR I think disabled characters can be amazing if done well. If not done well they are gimmicky at best. I only hope I manage to do my blind character justice.

Edit: just fixed a typo.

 

[jonthefox]

A character in Soul Sounder is in a wheelchair (I'm not naming who for spoiler purposes) for the majority of the game, and it was semi-important because of the main story.   I thought it was done well, but the person who made the game since it really limited his mapping, since he couldn't use too much elevation or stairways.   

 

[StrawberrySmiles]

I'm hearing a lot about physically disabled characters.


Any exist for those with mental illness? That might be harder because I bet most people think it's all part of their personality unless it's stated outright somewhere.


Also, I watched a harem/ecchi anime lately about monster girls where they came across situations as if they were "disabled". For example, a mermaid girl was limited to a wheelchair on land (which is I think is genius). Other girls had to have doors and ceilings larger for them. It's kind of interesting to me.

 

[cabfe]

I'm hearing a lot about physically disabled characters.

Any exist for those with mental illness? That might be harder because I bet most people think it's all part of their personality unless it's stated outright somewhere.

Also, I watched a harem/ecchi anime lately about monster girls where they came across situations as if they were "disabled". For example, a mermaid girl was limited to a wheelchair on land (which is I think is genius). Other girls had to have doors and ceilings larger for them. It's kind of interesting to me.

Actually, mental illness is fairly common in games but it's often the same kind of illness.

One game that comes to my mind is Alan Wake, where you don't know if he's completely nuts and imagine this nightmare, or if it's real.

Another similar game is Fahrenheit/Indigo Prophecy, although it's a little on the supernatural side.

A classic adventure game praised for its surreal world is Sanitarium.

But, as I said, it's often the (roughly) same kind of illness, where the character and the player don't know reality from imagination.

 

[Brillenpinguin]

@cabfe: Yes, that's a fair point. It's usually something along the lines of schizophrenia, memory loss or delusions. However I think these are usually only used as plot-devices or for "artsy effects" and to be fair not an actual portrait of mental illness. "Sanitarium" (which I still have to play tbh) is a pretty realistic approch on mental illnesses I've heard, but again, it's just more of a rough concept of a mental illness rather then a specific one.

What bugs me with mental disabilities (or actually any illness or disability) portraited in media in general is that it tends to be romanticized or oversimplyfied. I mean, it's the Google area. I can type in any illness into my phone and find enough information about it to make it at least seem realistic...but nope, that character there? Yeah, they totally have depressions and stuff, look how sad they are... :/

@Strawberry: That does sound interesting! Because it shows how people work around certain problems. and fits into @jonthefox's comment too. For mapping disabled characters could be a challenge, speficically for wheelchair-bound people, but at the same time, making an elevator shouldn't be that hard?

@Point08: I'm sure you will dothem justice You seem to try and put effort and research into it, so I'm sure your character will be good. I hope to achive that with my mute character too.

 

[cabfe]

I haven't played it but if it can be considered a "mental illness", maybe Depression Quest can be mentionned too.

 

[Probotector 200X]

I think mentally disabled characters in video games are fairly common...as sociopathic villains. I'm pretty sure being a sociopath is considered a mental illness or disability. I'm not talking about genocidal demon lords, I'm talking about the token psychopath sadist henchman. Not the most favorable representation obviously...

Anyway, for physically disabled characters, I used to only do what others did. Give characters eyepatches because eyepatches are cool. With a blind badass or one-armed badass thrown in.

Then again, I did have a few characters with hook hands or something similar. It affected their equipment. Like if they used a sword with their hand and had a hook hand, then they couldn't use a shield. If they had their sword in hand, they couldn't grasp anything else, like a doorknob, or climb a rope or ladder, although some instances a hook hand would work.

I hadn't designed a wheelchair bound character until semi-recently (that was years ago actually) She was a mage I think. I didn't even think of the ladder or stairs thing...huh...

 

[jwideman]

I am reminded of Steve Jackson's GURPS. For those that don't know, it's a tabletop RPG system similar to D&D but has rules generic and universal (thus the G and the U) enough for any genre. Characters have advantages and disadvantages, with a lot of the mundane disadvantages being either physical or mental disabilities that affect the game mechanics and the point values of these reflect the impact they have. A character with one eye has problems in melee combat because of the lack of depth perception, but is unaffected using weapons with sights. An observation many have made is that most GURPS player characters seem more like escaped mental patients than heroes because mental disabilities don't usually affect combat directly but give you an extra 20 points to spend on skills. The only people playing characters with physical disabilities, in my experience, were people with physical disabilities themselves - or were close to someone who did - because they knew how to focus on what the character COULD do rather than what they couldn't.

 

[CallMeKerrigan]

It's funny you say this. I just bought RPGMaker about a month ago, and my first project I was really inclined to do something really personal to me. I was diagnosed with bipolar 2 years ago, and it's been an uphill battle. I wanted to make a game about what it was like.

I felt depression quest is similar to the problems you have about characters with disabilities. They're not portrayed correctly, and it felt like an infomercial. I wanted my main character to work around her disability and discover it, and to be honest, by playing it you probably won't get that she's bipolar unless I either tell you, or you really think about it. It's pretty metaphorical. Her disability is portrayed as a humanoid that influences her and forms a relationship with her, and is not exactly a state of mind. That's an option you always have when expressing a disability. =]

 

[Kes]

I may have missed it, but I don't think anyone has mentioned Palladinthug's game 'Wheels and the Leg Girl'.

 

[cabfe]

I may have missed it, but I don't think anyone has mentioned Palladinthug's game 'Wheels and the Leg Girl'.

The man himself did it, but humbly only mentionned to check his signature.

Thinking again about disabled characters, I remember that there is a free Visual Novel named Katawa Shoujo, said to be a good VN, where all the girls have some disability. I don't know if the main character is disabled too, I haven't played it yet.

 

[trouble time]

The man himself did it, but humbly only mentionned to check his signature.

Thinking again about disabled characters, I remember that there is a free Visual Novel named Katawa Shoujo, said to be a good VN, where all the girls have some disability. I don't know if the main character is disabled too, I haven't played it yet.

He is, he has a heart condition.