Identity Play as Identity Work: Representation, Identity Integration, and Possible Selves in Digital Games

Abstract

This paper examines how marginalized players conceptualize representation and identity in digital games through a mixed-method analysis of discussions across LGBTQ+, disability-focused, and neurodivergent gaming subreddits. While representation is often framed as demographic visibility, our findings show that players experience it as a multilayered process shaping access, self-expression, and meaning-making in play. Using theory-driven keyword clustering and reflexive thematic analysis, we show how identity-focused communities articulate accessibility needs, identity desires, emotional longings, and imaginative futures for more inclusive games. We introduce the Representation Triad to describe how structural, aesthetic, and experiential design layers collectively shape identity exploration and integration. Our findings demonstrate that meaningful representation emerges not only through visual similarity but through accessibility structures, expressive customization, and resonant narrative and relational systems.