Would anyone be interested in playing a disabled character?

General
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In the case of my character, it’s a combination of both. :thinking: He absolutely needs them just to be able to breathe in general, but he also upgraded them when he was older to allow him to breathe what would otherwise be toxic air.

Even then, something like Bucky’s arm could very well be considered a disability as well. If you take away the benefits of the serum and someone manages to hack or disable his cybernetic arm… He’s technically physically disabled. It might only be temporary (or maybe situational is a better word) but I’d still say he runs the risk of suffering from complications. Cybernetic enhancements have some pretty big cons, particularly when they’re full-limb replacements. The idea of someone hacking and manually controlling your limbs sounds kinda terrifying. :scream:

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Even so, how does that make Bucky any more susceptible? Of course with the serum and the arm he runs the risk of those things, but those can make him even less diminished; in a sense, having the cybernetic arm doesn’t make him more susceptible to fault. Of course the arm can be hacked and the effects of the serum can be diminished, but a regular persons arm can take much less damage and still be incapacitated. A simple hack to the arm and they’re down. Same with a regular persons body; they’re just as vulnerable if not more than a super soldier to every single type of poison that could take Bucky down. Someone manually controlling your limbs is quite an unnerving thought, yes. But realistically, without the possibility of a hackable limb, the enemy would likely be forced to go with the option of disabling it permanently i.e. severing it. Which would be just as incapacitating, much easier to do, and that way you don’t still have a limb after the hacking has expired.

People seem to forget that everything that can affect a cybernetic enhancement would have just as good a chance as taking down the regular version; people can just see the words ‘cybernetic enhancements’ and sometimes think of negatives without even realising said negatives affect the regular, fleshy version even more. Same with the breathing apparatus of your SWTOR character; how is disabling the breathing apparatus any more open to risk than slashing said characters throats or hitting them with a toxin that closes up their throat?

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The difference between upgrade and prosthesis. One to simply function another to surpass.

I dun think cyborgs or cybernetics qualify as disabled

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Depends on the story

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I dunno.

If someone is using a prosthetic does that mean they’re not disabled?

There are some Paralympic athletes, for instance, who’re not allowed to enter the Olympics because of the belief that their prosthetics give them an unfair advantage. Does this mean that they’re not disabled?

What about Geordi La Forge on Star Trek The Next Generation? He was blind but had a prosthetic that allowed him to see. In fact his vision was, at times, better than most others, and allowed him to see ranges that other people could not. But, there were also times that his disability affected him.

What about hearing aids and cochlear implants? What if someone was hard of hearing/deaf and had one of those and it allowed them to pick up on a sensory range of sounds others could not hear? Would super-enhanced hearing mean they don’t qualify anymore?

I think in part if a person doesn’t want the disabled label, they shouldn’t have it. But it’s also not as simple as either you are, or you aren’t.

I just remembered Day of the Triffids! A catastrophe happens, where most of the world’s population is blinded, and those who were already blind, and thus used to it, were at a significant advantage.

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That’s my meaning. The majority of fictional cybernetics “enable” the disabled or outright make them superhuman. Current real world cybernetics are battery powered prosthetics which fall short of flesh and blood qualifying as a disability, then there’s @FairyGodfeather s mention, those athletes seemingly having ‘an unfair’ advantage in efforts of overcoming their disability. This muddied the water in the issue of “are they disabled or enabled” (I’m using the term enabled for real world humans with super prosthetics now lol) depends on the point of view I guess.

. Though if there was some wholly detrimental that came as a consequence of said cybernetics then that side effects would be the disability.

Onto another set, mental and developmental disabilities are much less prevalent it seems. I’ve never seen a dyslexic badass but I don’t see why that couldn’t be a thing.

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Percy Jackson was written specifically to have bad-ass characters with dyslexia and ADHD.

Rick Riordan’s son, Haley, has dyslexia and ADHD. Aged nine, he refused to read, but loved Greek myths so Rick turned his boy into a latterday hero – Percy Jackson – in a series of bestselling books and now a Hollywood movie - Percy Jackson: My boy's own adventure | Family | The Guardian

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Cool.
Though I have ADHD but I haven’t thought of it as a disability in a long time. It’s mighty weapon once one masters the hyper focus that comes with it… not easy though… horrendously frustrating. Much like laundry list of other issues I have but that’s what fascinates me with these types of characters. I empathize with them.

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Any characters with traits that makes them differ from the typical population should be included to enhance the story. If a character has a disability, how does it aid the plot or the character’s personal story?

I included a wheelchair user in Zombie Exodus as the leader of a survivor group. I did it to show physical limitations of an otherwise formidable opponent and that even someone in a wheelchair can survive with a strong enough will.

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I think that’s interesting too. The idea that some conditions are just a matter of perspective.

I’ve got an article bookmarked that explores the linking of creativity and mental illness, for instance.

What is normal though? And why does disability only have to be included if there’s a reason for it, or if it aids the plot in some way? Which isn’t to say I don’t like the stories where it does, where it can even be an asset. But sometimes it’s nice for it to just be.

I did like how in Zombie Exodus we’d to get Emma and Heather’s medication for them. That Heather’s ADHD was never really a plot point, it just was.

And I liked that guy in Zombie Exodus, how he wasn’t actually good, that he was an antagonist, and that he had managed to survive. I thought he made for an interesting character, for all that we didn’t see that much of him. I think you write nicely nuanced characters.

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I didn’t say normal but typical :smile:

I may have not explained myself well. If you think to include a disabled NPC, ask “how does that disability enhance the plot or character’s development?”

If the reason to include it is for the sake of inclusivity, you run the risk of a flat character. If you add a disability to make him/her/them “real” it may be a crutch (no pun intended).

She showed attention deficit too, which I tried to do through action and dialogue.

Thanks! I try. That NPC in the bandit camp was based on me, though he’s more clever.

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hmm, I don’t know. I’m visually impared, and I’d be ok with someone making a game with a disabled character.(or rather another game, now there are some with disabled characters :stuck_out_tongue: ). For me there’s more things integral to my personality, but think if it was done well, and there wer a good selection of choices and personalisation in general to help me connect it could be good :slight_smile:

Like the way snoe and JimD have written their disabilities minimalistically, with the challenges in zombie safe haven not overshadowing the other features if you like, and in a freak it just tackles being mute, and there’s plenty of other personalisation and choices that shape your character.

I guess the only other thing is how they connect with the story. Like realistically, someone in a wheelchair would have a hard time surviving in many of the action packed games, but it could work in other genres, or if they had some other strength.(like professor X :stuck_out_tongue: ) Unless it was written really well too, I’d find any kind of tropes pretty cringy.(like a blind person being able to hold his own due to his reflexes and super hearing etc.)

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@Bruno_Frank_Hill - Did you find the newest Hero installment “acceptable” with regards to the MC’s sister? ( The Hero Project: Redemption Season)

The character in that story was used too much as both a crutch for the author and a “prod” to force the MC to act in proscribed manners in my opinion. I was wondering if you felt the same.

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Okay! Typical. :slight_smile:

I think it’s I’m just used to people suggesting that anything that’s not able-bodied white straight cis male seems to require justification, as if said fictional man is the default, and everything else must only exist if relevant.

And my first reading of what you said, was along those lines! BUT it can just be, think of how this impacts your character. Your protagonist who uses a wheelchair, likely won’t be hopping over a wall, but that doesn’t mean the zombies are going to eat them.

I thought you did it well. It fitted for her, without it ever being a case of “oh no we can’t put Heather on watch, or make her responsible for anything, because of that ADD she has.” It was never a defining personality trait of hers.

Oh! And just remembered another story about a teenage wrestler who’d won all his matches.

Debate rages over whether or not his disability is an advantage on the wrestling mat. Being legless gives him a low center of gravity and makes it harder for opponents to grab him, but it also deprives Hawthorne of the ability to arch his back to avoid pins. - https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/02/22/this-teenage-wrestler-has-a-perfect-record-and-a-state-title-he-also-has-no-legs/

@Bruno_Frank_Hill

Slightly on topic. Human echolocation - Wikipedia I know, it’s the exception not the rule.

But, what about being better able to navigate in the dark? Or immune to flash grenades and other powers that render people unable to see? Or immune to any sort of illusions, since they generally rely on visuals first and foremost, but if you’re paying attention to other things you’re less likely to be tricked?

If you don’t want to be all Daredevil, or even Geordi, how do you think it would work?

Depends on their reason for being in a wheelchair. There’s some wheelchair users that are far more athletic than I am. There’s some expensive wheelchairs that are suited for going over all sorts of terrain. Also push to near future and skip the electric wheelchair and mobility scooters reliance on battery and you remove other problems.

Of course there’s others who use wheelchairs where that’s not the case. But even then… Barbara Gordon as Oracle! Professor Xavier!

Long John Silver, complete bad-ass, uses a crutch to get around. (I’ve actually really enjoyed how Black Sails has been tackling Silver losing his leg, because it’s not been as simple as just getting a prosthetic, and it has impacted him.)

@Eiwynn

I think Zachary had good intentions.

BUT

I really disliked how Heroes Rise: Redemption Season portrayed disability, in regards to Starsoar and his mental illness. I found the whole plot-line extremely triggering.

That the sister’s storyline was focused upon you working to get a cure for her… as opposed to her doing it for herself… and that it was super-powered based. I didn’t actually play much of Redemption Season. There’s a lot I’d need to unpack about it.

And of course there’s Black Magic and their room full of mentally handicapped people that they drain life-force off of…

Fumbles though, guy with prosthetic legs, I think he was fine.

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Only read the first bit so far tbh, as know you have to play as a animalistic hero, and not too keen on those kind of powers lol. Preferred the MCs powers in the first three games :stuck_out_tongue: will let you know if I do get round to finishing it though. :slight_smile:

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Agreed; I am still unpacking it and the “Black Magic room” morality issue. At the time I read the first series, I did not see the room the way others have; this sort of unpacking might have to wait until the second or even third of the new series is released.

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na I love to play as all orientations and genders, though of course I have my preferences :stuck_out_tongue: But I guess it’s the same kinda situation as with the trans thread, in the sense in a zombie apocalypse, a wheelchair user for example would face additional challenges, but only really a wheelchair user would know fully what those challenges are, and how they can be overcome.

also you raised some good points, but yeah, since the average person like me wouldn’t really know how those challenges could be overcome, if again sticking with the wheelchair example you wanted to go into details such as type of wheelchair, individual conditions etc, it’d take a lot of work, and would be best to tackle that one disability, to make sure it’s done properly.

I think too, even if you try to be inclusive, or try to write or imagine other perspectives, you’ll still feel more comfortable and knowledgable in your default, and naturally tend to see situations from this perspective. Plus, this is just me but I wouldn’t want to play as a visually impared person in say, guns of infinity, as I know I’d die! :stuck_out_tongue: so I guess again it comes back to only the person with the disability knows what their limits are, or what feels unrealistic.

again some good points and good suggestions :slight_smile: personally I’m partially sighted, not fully blind. so I’d add to that list maybe people under estimating you due to your sight(or any disability really.), being able to empathise with people with disabilities or similar/the same condition better. But the list of potential strengths a blind person could have is numerous really. I guess they wouldn’t be intimidated by people’s appearances, they’d have better memories, better able to handle bad situations etc. But I think the better hearing/reflexes can work if it’s done properly. Maybe have them practise martial arts and practise walking about in more challenging environments to help improve their mobility?

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A little late to the discussion but I felt like I would like to weigh in. I rather enjoy playing games where the player has a difficulty they have to over come.
In most games these challenges are fairly simple stuff like being too weak or a basic misunderstanding. However when a pc has a challenge or disability that they can’t simply overcome with perseverance it gives a depth to the pc trying to adapt to it.
At present my favourite example of this is “Freaks: amidst the neon lights” where the pc is completely mute and still forced to find ways to communicate with those around them.
I also enjoy “myrmidon” (hope I spelled that correctly) where the pc has no memories of the life of the person they are based on, and unlike typical amnesia stories where you get the memories back, the pc in this case can’t since those memories were destroyed.

Also, @Snoe brings up an interesting idea of adding mental illness as another addition to these games. As someone with minor schizophrenia I would be interested in seeing how it’s done in a game.

(side note: I read a text game awhile ago but I can’t remember the name where the pc had a missing leg and arm, I remember it being really good but sad.)

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Ahhhh there’s so many people!

Ummm I would like to clarify one thing first, is that I don’t actually intend to write a game with disabled MC. This topic was originally included in another tread, and I was just musing out loud if people would have been interested to play such an MC, because CoG is mostly about choices, but having disabilities would limit your choices signifigantly, depending on the setting and plot of the game itself. It really just started as a curious musing I didn’t expect so many people to pay it attention, not that it’s a bad thing. :smile: I don’t like arguments, but friendly discussion is totally fine! :smile:

I was thinking this because I remembered a game on NewGrounds, I think was called “You Are Disabled”, where we play as all sorts of characters who have disabilities, I think there is one particially blind, one who has schizophrenia and the last one can’t walk. I actually think the game was very good considering it was meant to raise awareness of the inconvenience with people with disabilitie, but a lot of people find issue with the potrayal of the characters, expecially the one who has to crawl. :worried: Because it’s heavily implied all the disabled characters end up as sex slaves.

I think my main question is where do we draw the line of what is “accurate representation”, and what is just “pity”? I understand the importance of accurate research, but when we put a disabled character in a game, I don’t think we want to do it just so the readers can pity them. But at the same time we can’t make all disabled people badasses, because that’s not accurate representation. :confused: I guess that’s my main problem with writing disabled characters, or characters who would be considered different from society “norms”.

Again, I don’t mean to disrespect anyone, I’m just honestly curious. Thanks. :slight_smile:

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No, we are okay with your curiosity. :blush: We living humans are curious. :wink: