Se jouer des situations : Usages de mondes « virtuels » en contextes de handicap

Abstract

This article is a continuation of ongoing research to
understand the uses of online gaming by people with physical
disabilities. By emphasizing the epistemic and methodological
contributions of online ethnography, it points to the heuristic
limits of the traditional distinction between a supposedly real
world and that which would be repeated in the virtual. The spe
cific use of video games in this example, makes it possible not
only to question the virtual-real dichotomy, but also to ques
tion the traditional definition of the game which starts from the
premise that the rule is distinct from its concrete execution.
Analysis of the recreational practices of disabled people also
points to the need for attention to modes of bodily appropriation
of techno-communication devices. In the end, it is a question of
considering video entertainment experiences like "instances of
proxy," authorizing the sensitive exploration of worlds that are
less disconnected and instead are in constant interaction.