So, what now?
Dys4ia is not a long game to play. In fact, I finished playing in about 5 minutes. There is no way to level up or gain points. The only thing to do is play through it to understand the storyline! Playing again actually seemed tedious, since I already knew Anna’s story, and there was not another incentive for me to improve on my gaming skills. In some ways, this almost makes Dys4ia seem less like a game and more of an interactive story, however, that would also discredit it. It is very clearly “playable,” and although there is not a way to make any personal gain, that might just be the point.
The player shouldn’t really have anything to gain from Anna’s story except knew knowledge and awareness of her transitioning. The next step after playing through the game is to actually live it out. The player is left with the interpretation of Anna’s story and their reactions to it. They may decide to write it off completely or become an ally. In a sense, we are able to “level up” by stepping out of our comfort zones and learning more information about gender dysphoria.
I highly encourage the playing of this game for any adults who want to learn more about gender dysphoria. The game is interconnected with a lot of other games created by similar authors to share their stories. Thus, this could open a whole other world of information for the player about what it means to be inclusive. The end result might be more personal growth than they were originally expecting.
Educational Tech | Kate Brunn 