{"id":15784,"date":"2018-03-23T22:17:00","date_gmt":"2018-03-23T22:17:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gamasutra.com\/view\/news\/315784"},"modified":"2018-03-23T22:17:00","modified_gmt":"2018-03-23T22:17:00","slug":"lgbtq-devs-players-speak-up-about-the-need-for-authentic-queer-culture-in-games","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/2018\/03\/23\/lgbtq-devs-players-speak-up-about-the-need-for-authentic-queer-culture-in-games\/","title":{"rendered":"LGBTQ devs & players speak up about the need for authentic queer culture in games"},"content":{"rendered":"

As the 2018 Game Developers Conference draws to a close today, writer and videographer Matt Baume took to the stage to talk about some of the ways games are intertwined with the LGBTQ community — and what game devs can do to better support and speak to queer culture in their work.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is important because queer people are people — people who make games, play games, critique games, sell games, talk about games, and contribute to all parts of the game industry.<\/span><\/p>\n

But Baume, a journalist who produces podcasts and YouTube videos, says he and his collaborators took a long look at the industry and felt like there was a lack of discussion about how it succeeds — and fails — at being inclusive of queer culture.<\/span><\/p>\n

“We saw a need to talk about the ways game culture and LGBTQ culture intersect that wasn’t really being met,” said Baume. So he and his team filmed interviews with over 125 people around the world, compiling over a hundred hours of footage as part of their ongoing documentary project Playing With Pride.<\/span><\/p>\n

Clips of those interviews made up the bulk of Baume’s talk, and are well worth watching over on the Playing With Pride website<\/a>. However, Baume\u00a0was quick to point out that these are personal stories that are intended to provide you with new insight and perspectives, not a total understanding of how queer culture and the game industry intersect.<\/p>\n

“These are stories from people we talked to; it is not<\/span> the complete queer experience,” Baume said.\u00a0“For many of the people we talked to, when they were young…games were safe. When they got older, that changed.”<\/span><\/p>\n

‘Game culture’ can often feel directly at odds with queer culture<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Baume says a lot of queer folk have often felt cut off from game culture. Often, they felt like being queer and being \u201cinto games\u201d were mutually exclusive; they\u2019d be ostracized by many game enthusiasts, and they also have a hard time talking about their passion for games while dating.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI thought the queer world was pride parades, and clubs and stuff,\u201d said one game dev interviewee. \u201cAnd then there was the game world, where I had to be super serious and just make this shit.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe feeling that a lot of people [we interviewed]\u00a0talked about, about feeling unwelcome, closed a lot of them off from\u00a0games,\u201d sid Baume —\u00a0who counts\u00a0himself among them.\u00a0\u201cFor most of my 20s, in the 2000s, I just didn\u2019t see queer people in games. And I felt like I was intruding whenever I\u2019d talk to \u2018real gamers\u2019.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

But games can also be a safe place for queer people to express themselves and meet each other<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Baume says many of the folks interviewed for this project\u00a0<\/span>sought out games\u00a0that intentionally included queer people, or used their imagination to insert themselves into games\u2019 stories.<\/span><\/p>\n

He played a long clips reel of many different interviews, and in many of them people celebrated strong women game characters like Samus Aran and FemShep as being deeply important and meaningful to them.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPeach was a big one growing up… I always really identified with her, and it was nice seeing her up there on the screen,\u201d said one transgender woman. \u201cI was actually really aware of what I was doing; I was like, I\u2019m picking her because I identify that way.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Robust character creators were also a very big deal for many of the folks interviewed. Baume says that character creators can help transgender people experiment with their virtual body and appearance, for example, if they\u2019re gathering courage to express their gender in real life.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cCharacter creators were such a safe place,” one interviewee said. “Where I could just pick whatever gender, and the character creator would let me create it.”<\/span><\/p>\n

On top of that,\u00a0Baume says many queer folk get a lot out of\u00a0the intersection of character creators and romance in games; when devs\u00a0take the time to implement these systems well, they give players space to create their ideal self-image, or their ideal partner —\u00a0and then play through that relationship in a very safe way.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe like to make big muscle guys with beards and mohawks\u201d said one interviewee.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we play Saints Row<\/em> we like to build big guys and run around naked,\u201d his partner added, with a laugh \u201cIt\u2019s all about the beards and the muscles, really.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Many queer folk interviewed said they also appreciate online games’ capability to bring people together and afford them a safe space to build relationships together.\u00a0Baume himself met his longtime partner James (who’s a veteran of the game industry) through a mutual love of Final Fantasy<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThat was how we got talking to each other, because we\u2019re both shy nerds,” he said.\u00a0“It\u2019s just this common thing, that games bring couples together.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

“Confirmation that you exist is an amazingly powerful thing”<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Baume says many of the people he and his team talked to experienced significant changes when they encountered elements of queer culture in games. It\u2019s an acknowledgement of their existence, their validity as people and as game enthusiasts, and help them assert themselves authentically.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cConfirmation that you exist is an amazingly powerful thing,\u201d said one interviewee.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSeeing the character in Undertale<\/em> portrayed as they…it\u2019s validation,\u201d said another. \u201cIt\u2019s seeing that somebody out there is willing to sing part of your song.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Representing queer people in your games isn\u2019t just validating and reassuring to people like them; it can also comfort and appeal to folks who are adjacent to queer culture.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cRight after my sister passed away, I got a key for Gone Home<\/em>, and there\u2019s this moment in [the game]\u2026.call it an epiphany, or an ah-ha moment, but a character is doing a bit of voiceover, and what the character is voicing about her sister is really echoing a lot of the feelings and emotions I had about my sister and her sexuality,\u201d said one interviewee.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI guess you could say it revealed to me some of how she might have been feeling. It put me in her shoes, in a way. It was kind of like, this might sound odd, but it was kind of a way for me to get closure…it really gave me some peace, honestly.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Things are better now, but there’s still work to be done<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Baume acknowledged that a lot of good progress has been made in the past few years; a number of\u00a0folks interviewed said they now felt comfortable and included in game culture at times, especially at offline queer-focused games meetups like GaymerX.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a really supportive, positive, and unique space,\u201d he added. \u201cThe community in more cities has really expanded compared to where we were at 5 years ago.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

He says that\u2019s slowly but surely changing the way queer people interact with the game industry — many of those interviewed said they felt more comfortable now making games and\u00a0talking about games publicly.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe whole reason I started my Twitch channel in the first place was because of all the homophobia and homophobic stuff I was seeing from so many gamers and streamers,\u201d said one interviewee. \u201cIt\u2019s now my job to help [queer people] create a safe space on there to share their stories with each other.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of gay people, a lot of trans people, will come and ask me a lot of questions when I\u2019m streaming, \u201csaid another. \u201cIt\u2019s because they don\u2019t have any other outlets.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

And when game makers listen to these queer voices and work with them in good faith to build better, more representative games, the results can be a big success. One clip in particular, featuring Dragon Age Inquisition\u00a0<\/em>lead editor Karin Weekes talking about the origins of\u00a0Inquisition<\/em>‘s well-written transgender character Krem (pictured), was particularly striking.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe character [Krem] in Dragon Age Inquisition<\/em>\u00a0actually came pretty much out of…sort of a panel, more of a discussion we had at PAX Prime,\u201d said Weekes.\u00a0\u201cAnd it was specifically geared towards the LGBTQ community, and it was pretty much…what do you want to see more of, what are we doing right, what are we doing wrong. And a trans woman\u00a0got up to the microphone and said: ‘I\u2019d love to see someone like me in a game, who\u2019s not a monster.’\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In the end, many of the people Baume interviewed said that making games that authentically represent and support queer culture feels more feasible now than it has in a long time — though there’s still a lot of progress to be made.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we\u2019re seeing now is that a lot of companies are changing their practices to listen to those voices and incorporate their feedback into the production process,\u201d said Baume.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cVideo games are what I love to make and they also pay my bills,\u201d said drag queen Kitty Powers. \u201cHaving suffered for so much when I was a kid, I thought ‘well if all these young kids are going to be watching video of\u00a0this game [Kitty Powers’ Matchmaker<\/em>] being played then at least they\u2019re getting some kind of exposure that I didn\u2019t get.’ If kids can\u00a0see that, and see that\u2019s being treated as normal, that\u2019s a good thing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

“I own a game studio now, and that was my literal dream when I was six,” said\u00a0Lab Zero Games chief Peter Bartholow.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPeople aren\u2019t being quiet about it anymore, and that\u2019s a great thing, \u201csaid another interviewee. \u201cBut it can\u2019t just be the tiny indie studios\u2026.it needs to trickle up to the big studios.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

BONUS:<\/strong> Devs curious for more examples of games which handle this subject well should know that after the talk, Baume asked the audience to share some examples of games that represent queer culture in a way that resonated and inspired them. Lots of great answers were shared, including\u00a0Night in the Woods<\/em>\u00a0(specifically, Angus and Greg’s relationship),\u00a0The Last Of Us<\/em>, and the works of game developer Robert Yang.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As the 2018 Game Developers Conference draws to a close today, writer and videographer Matt Baume took to the stage to talk about some of the ways games are intertwined with the LGBTQ community — and what game devs can do to better support and speak to queer culture in their work. This is important […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":15785,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15784","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15784","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15784"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15784\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15785"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15784"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15784"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15784"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}