The University of Lower Silesia in Wrocław will implement the project “Fragile avatars. Representations of disability in games for children and young people in the language, visual, fictional and structural layers”. The research grant is funded under the competition organized by the State Fund for the Rehabilitation of the Disabled.

University scientists will analyze dozens of video games and board games. They are aimed at determining the degree of stereotypicality of characters with disabilities presented in games. Researchers will focus on the visual contexts of character avatars and their impact on the plot, mechanics and language layer of games.

The research will also determine the scope of availability of games with characters with selected forms of physical and cognitive disability for various recipients among children and adolescents. The project will start on January 1, 2021 and end in October with a scientific conference combined with the presentation of a bilingual research report.