In class we played through Dys4ia. It focused on a character’s experience with gender dysmorphia and the struggles throughout transitioning. Interestingly, the game never shows the character with a face. It allows the audience to empathize better as the character has no inherent race or body. Sometimes the character is a shield or sometimes a strange blob, which we play through many minigames with. The uniqueness of this game is that it is inclusive and also quite aged in a sense. The old school feel is interesting and allows the previously mentioned blob to be easily implemented because the game doesn’t have the normal extremely detailed graphics or style that is used today. The topic of diversity transitions well with the article from class.  “they’re all trans sharon” talks about minorities and their use of fanfictions to re-express themselves into video games. Although we can find games like Dys4ia, which directly displays a minority, many modern games don’t include minorities as protagonists nor do they create intensely diverse environments. Normally, the protagonist is the generic straight male. 

So, people find new ways to represent themselves within those games. I’m familiar with Undertale and its very expressive community, where there are side characters who are already lesbian and are written about quite often. This is mostly in the realm of shipping, which is seen in more than just games. In shows like Doctor Who, Sherlock and Supernatural, it is common to see male characters paired with each other, regardless of their actual sexuality. Its hard to tell though if this is just fetishizing gay men or lesbian women. I´ve never heard of men publicly writing stories of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson together. It’s obvious that many women like to combine male characters. In the same way, men like to put two female characters in a relationship together. Would this be actually inclusive or are we just creating a new problem? It’s not new news that people enjoy drama and romance. If someone likes men, why wouldn’t they want to see their favorite male characters together in a romance? “Fan fiction provides an opportunity to critique a game by rewriting or expanding on its different elements (Dym, Brubaker, Fiesler).” This is the positive way to look at it, but then again everything might have some sort of drawback. Another thing to note is the writers uses of tags to critique the failing of companies to include more diverse characters. Many tags focus on the idea that everyone in the world is trans or some specific sexuality or characteristic that is not within societal norms. This is definitely more in the realm of what the article had in mind, but it is essential to note that not all fanfictions are overall positive.

In general, Dys4ia is the example of a game without the stereotypical video game protagonist. It is a step above fanfiction. However, the fanfiction is capable of expressing personal experiences like Dys4ia. It does not just fight for equality. It has some negatives as characters are paired for fetishing and not due to diversity. However, how does one pinpoint a fetish versus diversity? It is a topic I hope to understand more about.

Work Cited

“Game Studies.” Game Studies – “They’re All Trans Sharon”: Authoring Gender in Video Game Fan Fiction, gamestudies.org/1803/articles/brubaker_dym_fiesler.