Intersections Between Gaming and Dis/Abilities (Roundtable)

This Roundtable discussion deals with the frequent academic contextualization of accessible gaming in the realm of serious gaming, meaning that video game research focused on accessibility is usually related to inclusion or therapeutic and educational contexts. Disabled gamers or gaming is thus dominated by an extraludic context which seems to transform games played by people with disabilities into serious games, that is, games that are not primarily intended for amusement. In addition, game devices such as the Microsoft Adaptive Controller are marketed and advertised as assistive technologies that have a function, relevance and impact on a sociopolitical level that goes beyond mere leisure activities. One of the leading questions of the roundtable then is why it is that gaming with disabilities seems to require a serious context or purpose—like ‘fixing’ the player—while gamers who do not identify as disabled normally consider video games as pleasure or entertainment. Another urgent question asked by the discussants is, whether it is possible to destabilize the border between dis/abilities in the context of serious and non-serious gaming or at least describe, discuss and discursify it in a way that renders it flexible, dynamic, and processual.