Bodies That Count: Augmentation, Community, and Disability in a Science Fiction Game

Carr, Diane

Journal of Literary & Cultural Disability Studies (2020), 14, (4), 421–436.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3828/jlcds.2020.28
Language: English
Pages: 16

Abstract

The article examines the overlaps between disability studies and digital game studies through an analysis of the science fiction digital game Deus Ex: Mankind Divided. Using an adaptation of Mitchell and Snyder’s work on disability and narrative prosthesis in literature, the power implied by erasure-by-metaphor is considered, as are issues of migration, appropriation, and the grotesque. By examining ability, disability, and tangibility in relation to the game’s rules, game-play, and narrative elements, this analysis demonstrates the relevance of disability theory to science fiction games.

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