i’ve been saying for a while now that supposedly lgbt-friendly game developers like bioware only see queer people (lgb people, at least) as consumers. nothing could make the point more clearly than bioware’s decision to add gay romances to star wars: the old republic – on a single planet in the galaxy, which players have to pay for the privilege of visiting. pay to enter a dystopian future where queers are exiled to a far-off, backwater planet!
my usual spiel is to talk about how the only real queer representation we’re going to see in games is going to come from queer people making their own games and telling their own stories. and wouldn’t you know it, porpentine and merritt organized a twine jam for this weekend! and i was just this same weekend freed from a terrible obligation that’s been sapping a lot of my creative time and energy.
so i made a game, my first in a while.
EDIT: you can download the twine source for HUNT FOR THE GAY PLANET here.
21 comments
Hey! Have you been playing Vincent Baker’s _Apocalypse World_? Rad!
YEAH AS A MATTER OF FACT I HAVE
though not enough lately
Another wonderful piece.
That was too good. Made my day. :D
Great stuff, as usual.
I also enjoyed the AW shout-out.
Make a sequel called The Hunt For Gay October.
Somewhere between production schedule land and a lack of ulterior motive town lies consumer conspiracyville. And here, firmly, lies the Gay Planet.
A little research goes quite a ways. Not only the book point, but this point. There are many more LGB and yes T/T Bioware writers than you would like to or would ever acknowledge. But then again that doesn’t fit the narrative, so I’ll sweep myself under the rug now.
doesn’t matter how LGBT they are if they aren’t representing themselves or aren’t permitted to represent themselves
yeah that just makes me really sad that WOW THERE ARE DOZENS OF BIOWARE WRITERS THAT IDENTIFY AS QUEER yet those dozens are so silenced that they only get a gay planet
hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm not much of a conspiracy to me
As PATV so eloquently put it: “Take the gaming company leading the charge in same sex relationships and make THEM the asshole.”
Brilliant.
I don’t know, maybe it’s a bit simpler. Like which Bioware game didn’t ship with those relationships, and which Bioware game was licensed? Could it possibly be the people silencing the queer voice were the license holders and not the developers?
Right thought, wrong martyr.
“leading the charge”
uh huh
To Bioware’s credit, they make sure that their queer romance options are just as shit as the hetero ones.
Lovely story, by the way.
@Yijiao: I suspect that going after Bioware for not being perfect in place of going after other companies for not even trying is likely something of a tactical move on Anna’s part. Bringing someone who’s trying to reach out to you- even if they’re debatably not doing a very good job of it- in line with your particular agenda is both easier and more likely to succeed than attempting to convince someone apathetic to care at all.
- HC
why does all discourse have to be an attack? are we unable to offer criticism without it being framed as an act of war?
i’m tired of an extremist gamer mentality that leaves no room for playfulness, wit, or actual communication. i’m a prankster playing a prank. why are some of you always so humorless?
HAHHAHAHA
MA’AM
hey you guys that dont even bat an eye when another war game comes out, when i make a game thats not about war why do you… oh… ah….
something something comfort zones
@Auntie: I’m suggesting that you’re choosing who to prank partially based on who you think is receptive to complaints about their LGBT representation in their games. Why does that bother you?
@Daphny: When a game that’s not about war comes out, I play it if it looks interesting, or maybe I shrug and move on with my life if it doesn’t. I’m not sure where this implied accusation of brogamerdom is coming from.
- HC
its coming from the majority of games being about war and shooting duhhh
Oh, my god somebody at the Twine Jam has visual snow! I’ve had it since childhood and asked doctors about it repeatedly and got nothing more than dumb stares. I learned what it was from Erowid. I suspect the stigma associated with drug use is why we’re just now studying it. As of May 2012 we finally have evidence to support the idea that this happens to non-users as well. It’s likely we’ll see some serious research now that people aren’t just written off as drug users and given some moral lecture.
It’s so strange to me to find that playing games mentioned on your blog cause me to hear not only new voices, but the voices of people with experiences similar to mine on a regular basis. That’s a lot more powerful and affirming than I expected it to be. If that’s what gaming could be, then the way it is doesn’t just annoy me, it makes me angry.
vicki this comment melts my fucking heart for real! WHO ARE YOU IS THERE A WAY WE CAN HANG OUT GET AT ME ON TWITTER @DAPHAKNEE
I don’t think you can blame game companies for “seeing queer people as customers”, because they see anybody else as customers too (and it is a sane commercial relationship); they are failing the public, and perhaps their employees, in much more specific ways.
As offensive and/or ridiculous the “gay planet” and similar great ideas can be, misguided (or even dishonest and insincere) attempts to appeal to LGBT players are a significant step forward from being insensitive or actively sexist, or not even trying to acknowledge their existence.
I am not on twitter yet but I will be soon. I’ll totally contact you!
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