Just finished The Missing and, aside the clunky controls, I absolutely loved it!
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It has become one of my favorite games I have played in the last year. I am not trans or intersex but I would consider myself to be an ally to those that are, and with my limited experience of what it is like to undergo such pain with one’s identity, other than through the lens of sexual orientation, I would say it nailed it.
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Absolutely. You can almost touch the anxiety in that game. It’s asphyxiating. I had trouble sleeping after finishing it, my mind going through so many thoughts and feelings. I anticipate I’m going to replay it in the not too distant future.
I put this in my review on the main site, but I’d like to get your thoughts on a detail after the ending. It felt very weird that “post game JJ” is the male JJ. In video-game language, that kind of post-ending stuff is usually a reward or some form of indicating that the hero (in the true literary sense of the word) has gone to some transformation and now you can restart the journey using that new “improved” form. By that interpretation, playing as male JJ feels really shitty. I’m sure is not meant with malice, but still. Even under the most charitable interpretation, it felt incredibly uncomfortable for the game to do that. It felt akin to dead-naming. I might be overly sensitive or I might even be misinterpreting the story, but there you go. 🤷️
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I would have to agree with you. Upon restarting in the campsite after finishing the game, and seeing that “costume” as a reward, I would say it was unnecessary at best and embarrassing otherwise.I understand that the developers would want to include the pre-transition of J.J. in some sense but at the same time, in a game that bases its story around a character that is female and presented as such, and after such revelations to include that as an option to play as just left a bad taste in my mouth. J.J. nor anyone for that matter should be characterized by their gender, sexuality, etc, but even giving the player that option takes away from the story, which was so gripping. I cannot imagine playing through the game again with that costume equipped.
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Right! I’m puzzled by the fact that no in-depth article on the game that I found mentioned that part. Again, I might overly sensitive, but I felt pretty awful when I selected the “Post game JJ” costume and found that it was her pre-transition model.
But then again, if I’m being charitable, might that be the point? It might be a mark of success that the game pushes the point so strongly that you actually feel bad playing as pre-transition J.J.? Maybe it’s the game trying to make the player feel what J.J. felt?
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Possibly, but I am not sure. From my playing experience, I felt quite a bit of emotion and pain, and general sadness already, but who knows if wanting the player to feel more was intended.
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Yeah, admittedly it’s a stretch. Most likely it’s there just as an usual “post game reward” without much thought from the dev.
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Recently played If Found…, which is a gorgeous visual novel with a strong story about a trans woman in a small Irish town. Is short and highly recommended:
Related to that, this article is really nice as an example of the power of games to shape people’s lives.
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I just added If Found to my backlog. Also, the game being published by Annapurna gives me a lot of joy as they have created some truly beautiful games in the past, with Flower and Journey being some of my favorites.
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I’ve JUST played Flower and was a delight. Yes, as I was getting If Found I realised that every single game I played published by Annapurna was either a masterpiece (Outer Wilds, for example) or at least interesting and enjoyable (The Pathless).
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Hello all:
I’m unsure if there have been any other topics of this same vein that have been created recently and if so, I apologize for utilizing this thread instead of the newer iteration. It has been well over a year since the last response and I am curious as to any developments anybody has, new or old to this thread on the topic of LGBTQIA representation in the medium of gaming.
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Hi, and thanks for making this thread visible again, I had no idea it existed!
This is an especially fitting time for me to find out about this topic. Earlier this year, I realized I was trans. Lately I’ve been reflecting on what games helped me come to this realization and how.
Queer representation is of course very important. In my case, I need games like Celeste to know that it’s possible to be trans, and that it doesn’t make me abnormal in any way. That being said, I don’t really have a lot of examples besides Celeste. Instead, I have many examples of games with no explicit queer elements or themes, but that helped me sort out my gender identity in subtle ways, although I can only realize that now, with a lot of hindsight 
Here is one way games can help: letting me play as the gender I prefer. Many games do that, and many trans people have a history of picking their “opposite” gender (the one they were not assigned at birth, you see what I mean) when offered the choice. Personally, though, I was always too deep in denial to do this. I would repress my desire to select/make a female character every time, because I felt I wasn’t allowed to.
So what worked for me was rather games with female protagonists. If I had to pick one example, I would go with Control. I actually played it not long before my trans “epiphany”, so it might have played a big part in that 
Control is a third-person action game, you play as a woman called Jesse, you fight with psychic powers and you explore a spooky infinite office building called the Oldest House. It’s really fun and even sometimes beautiful, I recommend it.
Now, playing Control made me feel incredibly good. I remember reading reviews afterwards, and feeling frustrated because no one seemed to capture the kind of euphoria I felt playing it, even among the positive ones. As I understand it now, Control is simply the kind of game I needed in order to explore my gender in an affirming way. It is a power-fantasy with a female protagonist, and it is set in a world that is weird and uncanny, but at the same time never oppressive. Somewhere in the middle of the game, Jesse has a line that I really like, about the fact that despite every disturbing event she witnesses in the House, she feels more sane here than anywhere else. This mirrors how I feel about my own transness remarkably well, although maybe I’m pushing my personal interpretation way too far at this point
Anyway. Sorry I didn’t talk so much about actual LQBTQIA representation, I made a rather personal post instead. To make up for it, here’s a recent video about queerness in Nintendo games that may be relevant to the broader subject:
I don’t have a comment on it right now, but I’m really happy that someone took the time to research that subject! I always felt like something about gender in Nintendo games was being overlooked, in Zelda games especially.
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@Adef, thank you for being so open about your experience and recent realizations and reflections with being trans. You also don’t have to apologize for not sticking too closely to representation in gaming as well.
While not being trans myself, I can only understand so much about it, mostly from the community and how it gets interpreted within different mediums, gaming being one. A game I fell in love with that may be of interest to you is The Missing: J.J. Macfield and the Island of Memories. I found the game to be poignant, never cruel or demeaning to the character their experiences, and very visceral. It was both a beautiful yet very painful game to play, as it in my opinion doesn’t seem to hold back in the gameplay department and how it may relate to being trans but that may be my interpretation as well.
A good read on the topic and the game is below:
This queer horror game forces you to literally tear yourself apart.
I have also always been one to play as the opposite sex/ gender when able as I consider it one of the only ways I can somewhat experience it without making changes to myself in real life. I can listen and study and do more but at the end of the day, I can’t force myself to be something I’m not.
You made a comment as well below,
I can say that when it comes to Celeste, I can see how that would affirm your thoughts that you not only exist but are not a mistake or abnormality. I see the world aligning more with that day after day, albeit slower than I’d like, and it is through the medium of gaming where I see a lot of strides being made, and can say that it is super important for more representation not only when it comes to being trans but queer in general. I look forward to seeing what other games comes out over the next couple years as they obviously have a big impact on those still yet to discover themselves fully, or who may feel uncomfortable for whatever reason doing so.
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I like Scott Pilgrim the game; it has Wallace [Scott’s cool gay roommate]. I also loved Celeste, though I mostly related to her anxiety-wise
I’ve seen that Poison [from Final Fight] is popular amongst some people; I’d like to see one where you can play as her. I saw a rom hack but unfortunately it seemed to be unavailable at the moment
Maybe they’ll put Final Fight Revenge on Switch later; she’s in that one
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I can’t believe I didn’t see this thread before. How cool. Ah, what to say, what to say, it started off with Persona 4 and while that game leaves quite the bad taste in my mouth I can see why people connect with it so deeply. Kanji really was the best boy. Regardless of the source material or the spirit of that said material, there’s something really valuable to be had in finding a part of yourself reflected. It feels like “that truth” has become material. Yeah, what wishy washy words, but that’s what it’s like!
Keeping in theme with Persona, I was always really appreciative of Innocent Sin’s focus on Jun and Tatsuya’s relationship. It’s a large part-- In fact, a driving focus of the whole first game-- that effects the entire cast immensely. Leaving the player character standing around idly will prompt him to flick open a lighter. It’s old and silver and engraved with the words “The most precious things cannot be seen”. And Jun, he keeps a watch that he received from his friend, although you’re given the option of pursuing a relationship that’s a step after that. It makes sense. And everyone accepts it without complaint. After all, the two considered the other a reflection of himself.
I think an odd memento in my Epic Queer Gaming Adventure is the game Baroque-- yes, that one, the crusty Sega Saturn enigma from the old days-- and how it intertwines with some other works that were quite special to me. I was uncomfortable in my body and didn’t understand why but the rust covered, pained world screaming through the screen called forth some odd empathy. I think maybe it was because the story was so focused on flesh and bones and escaping that, how you carried guilt but didn’t know why, how the bodies around were unwell. Much later I became a fiend for old shojo comics and delved into a classic called The Heart Of Thomas which in turn lead me to chasing after the film somewhat adaptation Summer Vacation 1999 WHICH IN TURN had an incredible secret waiting for me: The main actress of this dreamlike, haunting gay-ass movie was actually the voice actress for the protagonist of Baroque in an old commercial, not to mention the fact that the film has a clear thematic influence on the game. And so the snake eats it’s tail! The punished hero in Baroque was trans, I was trans, everything made sense all of a sudden and I felt the intense euphoria of being understood. Ah, how good it felt, to make sense of it. So that’s how I got hit with the queer beam. Through flesh and gritty digital bones.
I’ve noticed that the games I’ve mentioned focus much less on the specific topic of gender and sexuality and more on self reflection, but because queerness is so personal I feel like a rare moment of reflection is invaluable. Thus, the power of video games. One of the first patches for anything I came across on the internet was a fix for Harvest Moon Friends Of Mineral Town. It was titled “True Love Edition,” and swapped the gender and pronouns of the player sprite, thus inventing GAY MARRIAGE! WOW! Nowadays there’s a remake that happily allows you to marry who you please (the thought of Cliff calling me his husband makes me want to cry), but the fact that people went out of their way to doctor the original makes me smile. There was people like that, working hard to see themselves reflected.
I’ve rambled on a ridiculous amount and it ended up being a whole gooey mess, but that’s fine, video games are cool and I like to read personal experiences like that. I’ll leave off with a short but powerful game I played recently. It’s called An Outcry, and it’s a very raw little RPG about transness and fascism and birds. Lots and lots of birds. It’s really quite good if you’ve got the gut for it. That’s all!
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Thank you for being so open. I love that this site/ forum and this thread in particular can be such a welcoming place, where people of all types and from all walks of life can open themselves up, whether it pertain directly to a game or not. I appreciate it all.
I have never played Baroque but I may have to check it out. I unfortunately didn’t have a Saturn back in the day but am slowly catching up with what I’ve missed.
Being pan, I can relate to others feelings of being isolated, and not quite sure of oneself and where they fit. I knew something was up when I was younger, but couldn’t quite put my finger on it and when I started to, it was terrifying. I don’t think I’ve flip flopped on one thing as much as I have pertaining to my sexuality and sense of self; I was the dictionary picture for fence sitter and thinking back on it, all the pain I caused myself, it sucks, but what can you do but move ahead as best as one can.
Being a parent now, and seeing how the world is changing and has changed, I can only hope that my children will not have to endure anything resembling what myself, friends and acquaintances had to go through. Bringing it back to games, I consider this a golden age for Queer gaming. While it may not be in as many AAA games as I’d like and if it is, always considered an alternate, the indie space, especially itch.io is a treasure trove of games related to being gay, trans, bisexual, questions, etc. Some of the best games I’ve played in the last couple years have been through that channel as well.
I like to think of this thread as an ongoing space where people can visit, relate, bullshit and feel that they are not only human, but valued and seen.
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It’s been a bit since this thread was brought up but I’ve been reading more, and one book I am reading and almost done with is The Out Side: Trans & Nonbinary Comics. While this doesn’t pertain specifically to gaming, I find that it does correlate perfectly with Queer life so I amended the thread title to better fit with a broader discussion now and in the future.
While I am not trans or nonbinary myself (Pansexual), I have had many a friend relate their experiences as well as through secondhand instances (unfortunately mostly negative depictions through news stories/ media examples [though the latter is getting better here and there]). As a parent and just generally hardworking (at being a decent human being), I try to remain as open as possible and to constantly grow and even though this isn’t my wheelhouse, I find it important to be not only an ally as I find that term to be a bit condescending, but moreso be a companion if that makes sense. Being human is hard, and it doesn’t need to be made harder by bigots (both familial and otherwise), so I find it important to remain knowledgeable about various topics and others experiences and how they relate to that whole human experience.
I am about halfway through but I would fully recommend it to those who are trans and nonbinary, as well as those who are not, as the book and various comics within provide a good starting point to seeing people as just people and not as an other or something less than.
In my opinion, times are getting scarier for various reasons, but it’s nice to see more open examples of trans/ nonbinary people compared to how it was even 10 years ago.
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I stumbled on this recently
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Honestly I’m not surprised. I would assume that the buearacry/ business aspect of the gaming industry is still focused on catering to the white, cis male, while honestly neglecting that there is more diversity in the world and it isn’t the 1990’s.
I came across this as well which helps add to what you provided and this issue as a whole, and yet when it comes to gender and sex, the industry seems to still cater to the male gaze, hypersexuality, etc.
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Very interesting but not surprised by this sadly. Some industries take years to change and it looks like gaming industry is no different sadly.
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