About Disputed Existences: Dys4ia’s Conflicted Status between Game and Autobiography
In 2012, Anna Anthropy released her computer game Dys4ia about her experiences with hormone replacement therapy. Described explicitly by her as an autobiographical game, Dys4ia inevitably invites comparison with the genres of autobiography, computer game, and digital life narrative. However, it appe...
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| Format: | Article |
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University of Groningen Press
2025-07-01
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| Series: | European Journal of Life Writing |
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| Online Access: | https://ejlw.eu/article/view/42318 |
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| author | Felix Tenhaef |
| author_facet | Felix Tenhaef |
| author_sort | Felix Tenhaef |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In 2012, Anna Anthropy released her computer game Dys4ia about her experiences with hormone replacement therapy. Described explicitly by her as an autobiographical game, Dys4ia inevitably invites comparison with the genres of autobiography, computer game, and digital life narrative. However, it appears to be at odds with all these categories. Within the framework of automediality, introduced by Jörg Dünne and Christian Moser in 2008, this paper seeks to explore these discrepancies. First, it will analyse how Dys4ia relates to notions of autobiography and common types of game. Second, Dys4ia will be compared with weblogs, a prevalent form of digital life narratives. Third, by looking into the discourses surrounding the game, the paper aims to explain why Dys4ia was designed in this manner and to identify the discursive limits of this design. Thus, the article makes an important contribution to current research on computer games as media of life narration and self-expression. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-c2a61b9a1a1f4f40bf6498d4e8b0ae1b |
| institution | Matheson Library |
| issn | 2211-243X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | University of Groningen Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | European Journal of Life Writing |
| spelling | doaj-art-c2a61b9a1a1f4f40bf6498d4e8b0ae1b2025-07-04T12:23:45ZengUniversity of Groningen PressEuropean Journal of Life Writing2211-243X2025-07-0114LD110LD14010.21827/ejlw.14.4231831985About Disputed Existences: Dys4ia’s Conflicted Status between Game and AutobiographyFelix Tenhaef0https://orcid.org/0009-0007-3032-7230Universität InnsbruckIn 2012, Anna Anthropy released her computer game Dys4ia about her experiences with hormone replacement therapy. Described explicitly by her as an autobiographical game, Dys4ia inevitably invites comparison with the genres of autobiography, computer game, and digital life narrative. However, it appears to be at odds with all these categories. Within the framework of automediality, introduced by Jörg Dünne and Christian Moser in 2008, this paper seeks to explore these discrepancies. First, it will analyse how Dys4ia relates to notions of autobiography and common types of game. Second, Dys4ia will be compared with weblogs, a prevalent form of digital life narratives. Third, by looking into the discourses surrounding the game, the paper aims to explain why Dys4ia was designed in this manner and to identify the discursive limits of this design. Thus, the article makes an important contribution to current research on computer games as media of life narration and self-expression.https://ejlw.eu/article/view/42318digital life narrativesautomedialitycomputer gamesautobiography |
| spellingShingle | Felix Tenhaef About Disputed Existences: Dys4ia’s Conflicted Status between Game and Autobiography European Journal of Life Writing digital life narratives automediality computer games autobiography |
| title | About Disputed Existences: Dys4ia’s Conflicted Status between Game and Autobiography |
| title_full | About Disputed Existences: Dys4ia’s Conflicted Status between Game and Autobiography |
| title_fullStr | About Disputed Existences: Dys4ia’s Conflicted Status between Game and Autobiography |
| title_full_unstemmed | About Disputed Existences: Dys4ia’s Conflicted Status between Game and Autobiography |
| title_short | About Disputed Existences: Dys4ia’s Conflicted Status between Game and Autobiography |
| title_sort | about disputed existences dys4ia s conflicted status between game and autobiography |
| topic | digital life narratives automediality computer games autobiography |
| url | https://ejlw.eu/article/view/42318 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT felixtenhaef aboutdisputedexistencesdys4iasconflictedstatusbetweengameandautobiography |