How Video Games Advocate for People with Autism

Photo credit: EU Battle.net

Overwatch allows the player to choose a character to role-play. These characters are very customizable, with dozens of intricate details in both appearance and personality. Samuel surprised himself when he found he preferred a female avatar, Symmetra. She was fast, smart, and had a strong gun that absorbs energy from her enemies. Though she had a slight frame, she was surprisingly powerful when played by an experienced gamer.

As Samuel played, he began to learn even more interesting things about Symmetra. Her character had some unique behaviors. She often didn’t understand the jokes of her teammates, and she got really uncomfortable when things were chaotic. Symmetra thrived off structure. Samuel felt like he identified with Symmetra. He noticed that Symmetra always took her teammates jokes literally, something Samuel tends to do as well. He also noticed she would miss a lot of social cues, something he himself had struggled with while growing up.