That might not be what some people would think of as a gaming audience, but the fact is that almost everyone plays games now—two-thirds of all Americans, to take just one statistic—and of course, queer people have always been part of this community. If anything, queer people are overrepresented in the gaming population. 21% of all people working in the games industry identify as LGBTQ+, according to a recent survey by industry champion Ukie. Until very recently, however, this was not reflected in the games themselves, whose developers and marketers seemed resolutely committed to making games starring either white straight men shooting things or anthropomorphic animals. When I was growing up in the 90s, even female representation in games was dismal, let alone queer representation. But things are changing, and gaming is reflecting the increased visibility of LGBTQ+ in TV and film. A series like Mae Martin’s Feel Good, about an ex-straight-presenting woman in her first relationship with a non-binary queer person, didn’t exist in 1999. Neither did a game like Life is Strange: True Colors, a mystery by small-town story about a bisexual psychic, which won three awards at the Gayming Awards. Bisexual psychic… Life is strange: true colors. Photo: Square Enix “We’re seeing games include LGBTQIA+ characters, queer stories, and queer relationships,” says Stephanie DeBiase, gaming and future technology coordinator at the youth-focused It Gets Better Project. “Increasingly, games are giving players more options to create characters that reflect them, de-selecting binary gender, creating character customization that allows for subversive and diverse gender expression, including non-binary pronoun options, and more. Games that offer the opportunity for romance are starting to give players LGBTQIA+ romance options. This representation not only makes games more enjoyable for LGBTQIA+ players, but also helps players explore their queerness in safe, virtual spaces.” It’s an art form that speaks to many different people and backgrounds, and the more we include all those people, the better. The life simulation game The Sims, which first launched in 2000 and is now in its fourth iteration, has been the mainstay of queer representation in video games — though as the New Yorker reported in 2014, it wasn’t fully at first intentionally. The decision was made during the initial development of The Sims in the late 90s to remove same-sex romantic interactions between characters, but they were restored by a developer named Patrick J Barrett III – himself a gay man – who was working from an old design design. which made no reference to this decision. After two female Sims went off-script at a wedding during a live demo of the game in 1999 and began making out passionately in front of a room full of reporters, developers Maxis waited for the suits at publisher EA to demand a change – but it never happened, and thus The Sims became one of the first games to depict homosexuality and bisexuality. These days, the developers working on The Sims 4 at Maxis are much more intentionally queer and trans-inclusive, catering to one of the most diverse player communities in video games. Since May, Sims players have been able to choose their characters’ pronouns (although the gender binary is built into the game’s eight-year-old code, so there are some limitations to this feature). An update this week also lets you intentionally specify a Sim’s sexual orientation – although until now, all Sims were happy bisexuals who craved relationships with other Sims regardless of gender, so as one player pointed out on Twitter, what’s actually happening is that the game is finally introducing straight people. “I’m an openly gay man who works in the games industry, so for me I have a strong interest in greater inclusion not only in the games we play, but in those who make games,” says John Faciane, associate producer at Maxis. the Sims developer. “It’s an art form that speaks to so many different people and backgrounds, and the more we include all those people, the better it is… A big reason I felt comfortable coming out when I did, even though I have a wonderful, supportive, loving family, seeing representation of gay men in games – knowing there were other people out there like me. Seeing people in media and games living their truths helped me feel more comfortable with who I am.” Includes… The Sims 4. John came out relatively late – in his late 20s – as did Phill Ring, executive producer at Maxis, who believes that games are now playing a role in today’s teenagers’ journeys with sexuality and gender expression. “The next generation can see that representation, they don’t have to have the same experiences that others may have had growing up. [Decades ago] There wasn’t much you could see in the gaming space or even in the media in general where you felt like that was your identity. Now you can see more of it, and it’s really important. I am optimistic that the industry can begin to rise to this challenge.” In addition to representation within games themselves, the way communities gather around games has also been a driving factor in changing the state of gaming: queer gamers – or gaymers, as many playfully identify – are also more visible. Discord chat servers, Twitch streaming, and of course social media have brought people together and created sub-communities where queer gamers find each other. This year’s TwitchCon featured a drag showcase alongside the usual competitive gaming tournaments. “Every year it gets bigger and better,” says 34-year-old Ben Austwick, who streams on Twitch under the name BiggusBennus. “Funnily enough, when I started streaming, I never advertised that I was gay, nor did I bring it up on the stream… I quickly realized that was stupid. I know that with streaming you have a lot of influence on those who watch you. By being someone who is an out and proud member of the LGBTQIA+ community, you provide a place for other LGBTQIA+ members to be themselves, whether they can at home or not. I wish I had something like that growing up.” As Ben points out, however, gaming’s general reputation for toxicity isn’t entirely unwarranted, and outside of explicitly LGBTQ+-friendly spaces, there’s still a lot of homophobia around. “I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that the gaming industry has a huge problem with homophobia, transphobia and other forms of bigotry, but it’s being tackled at all stages by publishers and developers who don’t want their games to be tainted by it, which is encouraging to see. It’s sad that we have to create our own groups, clans, or forums to make sure we play while feeling safe and comfortable being who we are, but it’s becoming more and more common to allow us to do this, and some publishers are promoting it with special LGBTQIA+ events.” “I know you’re very influential” … Pull streamer BiggusBennus. Photo: Courtesy of Benjamin Austwick DeBiase believes that such publisher-led celebrations of queer gamers through, for example, in-game pride events send a strong message of support and welcome. “LGBTQIA+ gamers want to see themselves in the games they play… I played games from a young age and often find myself in a heteronormative world, controlling a character that doesn’t reflect me,” he says. “Gaming for me has always been about endless possibilities, about exploring worlds other than my own, so seeing the same social constructs played out in the gaming space was denying that desire for escapism. “I found myself turning to games like The Sims because you had control over the majority of the world. I could create a character I identified with, explore new possibilities through self-expression, choose which characters I wanted to develop relationships with, and of course express myself in ways that might not have been possible or safe for me to do. actually world. Now, I’m only drawn to games that give you those options to explore freely.” When I was going through adolescence, my queerness felt like something I kept best to myself. Opportunities to explore who I was came later, as a student, when I started spending time in real-life queer spaces (I would highly recommend a summer in Berlin to any confused teenager). Today’s queer teens and tweens see people like them in places I never did – on TV, online, and in video games, a medium I loved as a kid but whose fan community never felt very welcoming to queer women like me. Looking around the room at the Gayming Awards, I’m surrounded by people whose status and love of video games are both important parts of who they are – and these days, they’re no longer at odds.
