Disability, particularly intellectual disability, is rarely represented in games. Furthermore, when intellectual disability is represented in games, harmful stereotypes abound. However, Supergiant’s Pyre (2017) offers a fairly nuanced representation of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) with the moon-touched girl. In its representation, Pyre subverts common stereotypes, addresses the relationship between disability and society, and begins to examine the intersection between disability, poverty, and gender. The game’s representation has some flaws--most notably in the game’s ending--but it ultimately provides a rare, complex representation of intellectual disability.

This paper was presented at the National Communication Association's game studies preconference.