The Nintendo Power article that's responsible for my interest in Japanese culture and video games

Here's a piece of news that should shock no one who has visited this blog on a somewhat regular basis: I've been interested in--some would say obsessed with--Japanese culture and video games for a very long time.

How long? According to the filled-out-but-never-turned-in "Player's Poll" I just found in my well-worn copy of Nintendo Power's premiere (July/August 1988) issue, the answer is 26 years. (On the above-mentioned poll, I listed my age as 11.)

As for what the first issue of Nintendo Power has to do with all of this, well, if memory serves, the article above--which I just scanned from said issue--is what prompted me to fall in love with the Land of the Rising Sun in general and its video games in particular.

Seeing that throng of people standing in line, waiting for their copies of the just-released Dragon Quest III set my hear aflutter, as did the screenshot of the Famicom game's overworld. (For whatever reason, making all four party members visible while traversing said overworld completely blew my young mind.)

Assuming at least some of you have a similar fascination with Japan and its games, what pushed you in that direction?

So, how would you 'translate the gay experience' into video games?

If you have a few minutes this morning, and if you're at all interested in the subject of gay characters and storylines in video games, you may want to check out an interesting article that was published at 1up.com yesterday.

The article in question, which was written by Cassandra Khaw, focuses on how designer, developer and writer Robert Yang thinks the "gay experience" can be translated into the gaming sphere.



A few choice quotes for those of you who may be unsure as to whether or not you want to click on the link above:

* Yang says one reason developers should include gay characters and storylines in their games is that "if I can't escape from reality through video games, [heterosexual people] shouldn't either."

* While talking about BioWare's games in particular, Yang quips that "sex is the result of talking to an NPC, saying pleasant things to them, then watching some barely PG-13 dry humping. I doubt that's how most people think of sex. Sex is one of the most compelling interactions in the realm of human experience, and the best we can do is a cut scene that you get by (easily) manipulating others?"



* As for how Yang would like to see developers deal with this topic: He shares, at one point, that instead of saying "this is how [LGBT] relationships are," game makers would say something like "this is how a transgender person dealt with body image at this particular time and place." A good game about relationships or sexuality, he adds, "will actually question how it goes about abstracting it."

Do I agree with the assertions Yang makes in this article? For the most part, yes. Although I can understand, somewhat, why many developers and publishers continue to shy away from making games that feature, say, openly gay protagonists, I think only the most disingenuous person would argue that's the only option for the folks interested in creating more LGBT-friendly titles.



Personally, I'd be happy if developers began by spending a bit more time thinking about who will play the games they make. Maybe if they realized that some of the people who buy and enjoy their products are gay, or lesbian, or bisexual, or transgender--or, hell, even straight women or folks of either gender who aren't white--they'd find it much easier to make all-inclusive games.

Those are just my thoughts on this topic, though; what are yours?

Calling all LGBT gamers

Mathieu Dehlinger, a journalism student at Paris' SciencesPo, recently approached me and asked if I would be willing to answer a few questions for an article he's writing about LGBT gamers. (The resulting article will appear on Ludique Ta Mère, a game-focused blog started by some of the school's students.)

Anyway, Dehlinger wrote me earlier today and asked if I knew any "average" LGBT gamers who might also be willing to respond to his questions. My first thought, of course, was to see if any of you (yes, you) would be up for it.

Dehlinger's questions are pretty straightforward. What do you think about the term gaymer? Why are sites like gaymer.org and gaygamer.net needed in this day and age? How do you feel about games with gay characters and storylines? Why are games still behind the curve when it comes to representing the LGBT community? That sort of thing.

If you consider yourself to be a member of the LGBT community and you'd like to be included in this article, send me an e-mail (bochalla at yahoo dot com) with "calling all LGBT gamers" in the subject line and I'll forward it to Dehlinger so he can contact you.

Note: The design above was created by Andrew Kovacs (aka hige91 on deviantart.com).

'I think that developers are worried about getting it right more than anything else'

The quote above--attributed to Chris Shroyer, a designer at Florida-based developer n-Space--appears in "Playing It Straight," an Edge magazine article about LGBT characters in video games.

Here's the rest of the openly gay Shroyer's quote, by the way: “I don’t think there are many on the development side that are opposed to including LGBT-related content, but I think there is a fear of offending publishers and consumers."



Also quoted in the article: GayGamer.net's David Edison, Jeb Havens, an openly gay designer who works at California-based developer Slide, and a number of other gay and straight "industry insiders."

Although the three-page article--which is followed by a trio of intriguing case studies of Bioshock's Sander Cohen, Bioshock 2's Brute Splicer and Fable III's Reaver--doesn't really tread new waters, it's still well worth your time. Read it here.