to a T and the Social Model of Disability
Keita Takahashi's to a T is a narrative game that follows the day to day life of a teenager who is stuck in a T-pose. Structured like a Saturday morning cartoon (replete with opening and closing themes), the plot plays out episodically and gently considers the logistical and social realities of having a physical impairment. Despite being the most down-the-line game Takahashi has made, this still involves (but not limited to) anthropomorphic giraffes, chaotic traversal mechanics, alien typography, a dog's cute little butthole, underground forest ninjas, decapod crustacean hair stylists and beyond. But its more conventional mode allows Takahashi and studio uvula to handle complex subject matter with a surprisingly deft hand.
It's worth mentioning here that I am a visibly disabled person. The stuff this game gestures toward is a bracing reality for me. Still, this personal experience gives me some ability to appreciate how special to a T is. Acknowledging my possible ignorance, I have never encountered a game that engages with, mechanically and spiritually, the social model of disability.
By way of vulgar explanation: the social model contextualises disability as a problem with the world and not the person with the impairment or condition. It takes the position that such an experience only becomes a disability because the individual's surroundings cannot accommodate it. Near or far sightedness is an impairment, but it's not (typically) considered a disability because there are opticians everywhere and corrective eyewear is abundant. The social model makes the case that all impairments should be supported to the point where they are not a disability. It does not consider this utopian fantasy: it argues, correctly, that this is a fundamental tenet of a civilised society.
to a T gently insists on such a world. Some of the first tasks the game has you do is use Teen's modified tap to wash their face and to eat breakfast with a specially lengthened spoon. It asks, and answers, what if specific adjustments could be made to daily life to let an impaired person reach their full potential? To live with dignity? Teen is so full of joy and energy. They're resilient in the face of hostility and judgement. They're enabled to a point where they can even discover new skills unique to them. The game doesn't overstate it, but Teen's material circumstances have a massive role to play in their strength and the sense of possibility. It is a deeply hopeful experience for someone like me.
Perhaps it's overselling it to suggest to a T fully represents the experience of a disabled person. The younger target audience means that punches are pulled and the general desire for a breezy experience necessitates it never digs that deep thematically. But that light touch has a disarming effect. It allowed me to imagine a world where my disability did not mediate every aspect of my public life. It let me run around a beautifully rendered seaside town with only the slightest resistance, offset by a cast of deeply warm and supportive characters. It let me imagine a world that seems so simple to achieve and so natural to inhabit. I never expected to experience such an intense escapism playing this game, but it speaks to how to a T is special experience, and just how fucking grim it is to be disabled in the UK.