The Power of Representation

We’ve talked about this before and we’ll talk about it again—representation matters. From young ages, people want to see themselves show up on screen and feel the freedom of exploring their identity. Gaming is the perfect solution to this, combining the best of character customization with unlimited worlds to call home. 

As adults you will know, the world has not been a welcoming place to the LGBTQIA+ community. To this day, people spend large parts of their lives denying themselves the freedom of being who they want to be, hiding from the judgement of others. Online gaming platforms, while no substitute for the comfort of self expression in the real world, do hold many benefits for queer folks. 

A sense of community and belonging is crucial for living a happy healthy life. No matter your background, finding the people who understand you and your way of living can feel like a light in the dark. Creating spaces where queer individuals can connect with others who share similar experiences and identities is no exception. Games offer a lot of space to be playful and expressive. By their creative nature they are now often adaptable to each player's own choice of journey whether that's where they explore, how they look, or even who their partner will be. Games that allow players to craft their own identities provide the first and arguably most important step in representation. Adaptable playable characters can reflect sexual orientation, gender identity, race, and much more. With this option available, queer representation automatically improves in online gaming—and the power belongs to the players. 

Another benefit of online gaming is naturally the communities that can be found or formed online. This is most valuable when young individuals are feeling isolated in school, at home, or in social situations offline. Nowadays, many games—and even more gaming communities—actively promote inclusivity and have policies against harassment, making them safer spaces for queer individuals. Keeping spaces like these safe means young people have more access to education around the LGBTQIA+ experience from those who have lived it, or are currently going through the same experience of self-exploration. Games with diverse narratives and characters aren’t just important for people who relate to these narrative. Playing games with characters from a different lifestyle can educate players about different aspects of the queer experience, and help to foster empathy and understanding among non-queer players. 

Some gaming communities and developers actively engage in advocacy for LGBTQ+ rights and awareness, hosting events, fundraisers, and campaigns to support queer causes. These initiatives help to raise awareness and foster greater acceptance within and outside the gaming community where players can take this new perspective with them offline.

There are many games on the market exploring and developing the depths of queer representation. Though sometimes met with mixed responses, these characters strengthen the experiences of queer gamers and are crucial to know about when thinking about developing new games. 

For instance, in The Last of Us, Ellie stands out as one of the first major characters in a AAA title to be a lesbian. Her rich life is filled with grief, but this does not define her sexuality. In Tell Me Why, Tyler became the first leading trans character. Although the game addresses issues related to his identity, he is portrayed as multifaceted and is never subjected to deadnaming—an important detail reflecting many real-life experiences. Sir Hammerlock in Borderlands could have easily become a token character, but he escapes this stereotype with his charm, humor, and engaging missions. His story includes a long, loving relationship that culminates in marriage.

As we create the WoU Game, we are actively exploring how young people engage with topics such as self-expression and, deeper within this, gender expression. This is a key step in making sure our game can accommodate all levels of self-exploration within a safe space. Through playtests, young players aged 8-13 have reviewed our avatar creation process and from this we have learned so much about how young people see themselves and the people around them. All of this question asking is never in vain—each of these young people is helping to build a world they want to play and explore in.