Playing With Identities: The Representation Of Dissociative Identity Disorder In The Videogame "Who Am I?"

Who am I: The Tale of Dorothy (WAI) is the first videogame ever that addresses the treatment of an individual suffering from dissociative identity disorder (DID). WAI describes the life and internal experience of a 14-year-old girl named Dorothy who suffers from DID. The goal of this videogame is to integrate all Dorothy's dissociated identities. Notably, several symptoms of DID are correctly portrayed in the game, such as identity confusion, identity alteration, amnesia, and psychotic-like experiences. Furthermore, WAI identifies the developmental origins of DID in the individual's exposure to severe traumatic experiences in the attachment relationships during childhood, which is consistent with current empirical evidence on the developmental precursors of the disorder. Therefore, WAI may represent an innovative possibility for illustrating the main features of DID to gamers, students, and lay people. Accordingly, playing WAI can have important educational implications, as it might serve to reduce mental stigma toward people suffering from DID.