While diversity in video games has greatly improved in recent decades, there is still plenty of room for improvement. Although a hugely diverse group in itself, people with disabilities seldom get a look in. One group within this demographic who have had a little more representation than most – though not enough – is wheelchair users.
Over the years numerous video games have featured characters who are wheelchair users. Unfortunately, playable people in wheelchairs are few and far between, but, gaming developers have provided a range of characters over the years. And, while it is perhaps time game designers create more playable wheelchair-using characters, this is a list of some interesting characters in their own right.
8 Alessa Gillespie / Heather Mason - Silent Hill
A recurring character in the classic horror video game franchise, Silent Hill, like many on this list Alessa Gillespie is only in a wheelchair for a small portion of her onscreen time.
Gillespie is a main character who has a range of psychic and spectral powers that she uses to aid the game’s lead protagonists. Possessed by a malevolent deity, Alessa is an intriguing and resourceful individual who is reborn under the name Heather Mason.
7 Code Talker - Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain
Featuring in 2015’s Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, Code Talker is not the only individual who might be considered a mad scientist here. A big fan of parasitic research, this highly intelligent person spent much of his time fighting against his US homeland.
This elderly individual, who may be using a wheelchair due to their age, was responsible for the development of a biological weapon designed to disrupt the languages of specific ethnic groups.
6 Harry Stewart - Deadly Premonition
An intriguing addition to the Japanese psychological horror game, Deadly Premonition, Harry Stewart is a gas mask-wearing elderly wheelchair user who gives the players the odd cryptic advice.
Ultimately, Stewart is a corrupt millionaire looking to keep his past a secret and the FBI off his back. At 73 years old, he is a wheelchair user who has been labeled a mysterious capitalist. Known to be an eccentric entrepreneur, Stewart owns most of the town and is constantly working behind the scenes to increase his stock.
5 Dr. Finkelstein - Kingdom Hearts
Another mad scientist, this individual is a major antagonist in the movie, A Nightmare Before Christmas and has racked up a fair few video game appearances. Featuring in four Kingdom Hearts games and an array of Disney games, Dr Finkelstein.
As is the case with many-a-mad-scientist, Finkelstein likes to concern himself with creating life. Making his way about town in a motorized wheelchair, Dr Finkelstein’s inventions bring along the Heartless enemies in Kingdom Hearts.
4 Jardineiro - Viva Pinata
For fans of the Nintendo Switch series, Viva Pinata, Jardineiro will be no stranger. This strategy game requires players to rejuvenate the once-beautiful garden that is gifted to them at the outset by Leafo.
Janineiro, a wheelchair user, was once the greatest gardener on the planet and was the original owner of the once-beautiful garden players must restore. Along the way, visiting him at his home, Janineiro will provide must needed upgrades to equipment and land.
3 Faust - Guilty Gear
Next up, is our third and final mad scientist, Faust. A recurring competitor in the Guilty Gear fighting series, this character, whose former name is Dr Baldhead, is not a wheelchair user out of physical necessity, more as an aid to attack their opponent.
Faust is a genius serial killer, who is haunted and driven mad by the death of a young patient. First appearing in the 1998 seminal Guilty Gear, Faust learns that he was not responsible for the patient’s death. Placing a paper bag over his head and arming himself with a scalpel, Faust sets out to seek revenge on those responsible.
2 Harman Smith - Killer7
An occasional playable character in the PlayStation 2 classic, Killer 7, Harman Smith is the leader of the assassin group known as Smith Syndicate. An elderly wheelchair user who rocks an all-black suit and rimmed hat that the last Gunslinger, Roland Deschain would be proud of.
Also known by lofty titles, The Master and God Killer, Harman Smith is a mighty force to be reckoned with. Not only does Smith contain the ability to absorb the personalities of deceased people to call upon in need, he also conceals an armour-piercing rifle at the back of his chair.
1 Stephen Hawking - Science Kombat
While some might remember the 1997 fun-packed educational video game, Stephen Hawking’s Life In The Universe, it is the 2016 near-classic fighting game, Science Kombat that is listed here. An online action-filled game that pits the world’s most famous scientists against each other.
Stephen Hawking, who is perhaps the most famous wheelchair user ever, is a playable character that fans of science can use to beat up the likes of Einstein and Pythagoras.
While games are certainly lacking in main characters who are wheelchair users, there are several more who feature in comic and TV adaptations. Marvel’s Professor Charles Xavier is in several notable titles including X-Men Legends. While DC’s Barbra Gordon appears in a wheelchair in Gotham Knights. Wheelchair users from TV to game adaptations include Grandpa Marsh & Timmy from South Park, Joe Swanson from Family Guy, Charlie from Happy Wheels and Andy Pipkin from Little Britain’sPlayStation 2 release.
There are numerous other wheelchair users in other games that perhaps deserve recognition one day. And, it is important to note that while these individuals have the use of wheelchairs in common, this tells us nothing about their persona, as evidenced by the diverse people here.