Timeline
While competitive first person shooter (or FPS) games tend not to have much of a story, companies have recently been making a push to include more LGBTQIA+ characters in these games. LGBTQIA+ community members seem to show overwhelming support for this, but a substantial amount of people view this as unnecessary and irrelevant. We plan on focusing on games similar to Overwatch and Apex Legends, games that include LGBTQIA+ characters in their lore, but the lore isn't significant to gameplay. We hope to describe how such a seemingly minor addition to the lore of a character can cause so much joy in one community, while causing uproar in another.
Due to the anonymity of online environments, it is common for people who harbor anti-LGBTQIA+ thoughts to feel more comfortable publicly stating them. This means that in many online environments, LGBTQIA+ people often feel unsafe and unwelcome. This exists in all online environments, especially in FPS games.
Although there is a scarcity of LGBTQIA+ video game characters in general, there are even less in our particular area of focus, FPS games. Nevertheless, it is important to note that inclusivity is not the only objective, rather it is how representation can be depicted properly. Taking steps towards destroying stereotypes and tropes is critical.
Although some games may give players the opportunity to choose any partner in the game, LGBQTIA+ relationships in games can often result in a more difficult and emotionally challenigng gameplay. This can cause players to view LGBTQIA+ relationships more abnormal and challenging than straight cis ones.
While the LGBTQIA+ community has made progress in gaining acceptance and exposure, it is becoming increasingly evident that many companies do not have their best interest at heart. Queer baiting, a practice in which a queer relationship is insinuated, but is not explicitly defined, has become an interesting and extremely controversial topic of debate.
Many gamers react negatively to LGBQTIA+ inclusivity in video games, deeming it unnecessary to the plot, resulting in a lot of hate speech towards LGBQTIA+ players and characters. Even some LGBTQIA+ people might react poorly to inclusivity, as it can feel like an easy way for a company to "support" the LGBTQIA+ community without making any true progress.
While your average player might not find an LGBTQIA+ character to be important, LGBTQIA+ characters in media can act as role models. They can help under-informed people expand their views, and help those who are questioning themselves feel more confident in their identity. Well-written minority characters help players challenge their prejudices.
This post explains why adding LGBTQIA+ characters to video games should not concern people, or even be an argument. It does not alter one’s gameplay at all, and it could even inspire a kid who is afraid to come out.
This post acknowledges that many people feel that being straight and white is the “normal” thing in society, but that is not the true reality. There are many different types of people in the world.
This post demonstrates how companies mold their games to “fit in with the times” or gain a more diverse audience. In this case, they are introducing a supposedly new gay character, but it seems the company is releasing this new information just to appear pro-LGBQTIA+. It is not because they support it, or else they would have included it in the game from the start.
This reply post shows the two sides of the reaction in including LGBQTIA+ characters in games. Some, view it as pointless, spreading negativity in the gaming community, while others make it a point to emphasize the importance of inclusivity and the necessity of LGBQTIA+ characters in the video game world.
This comic features how unsupportive homophobic players within a gaming community can be, as many believe that queer representation in video games is unnecessary. It is important to understand how significant queer inclusivity is, regardless of how minor it may be.
During Pride Month, it is significant to note how companies are rebranding their image in order to attract queer customers. However, it may be seen as a corporate and marketing tactic, instead of actually supporting the LGBTQIA+ community.
Tim Bowers - "Sharing Joysticks"
While this may have fewer pictures and graphics than a standard infographic, we feel that our interactive approach to web design allowed us to convey our message yet still use multimodal visual design. The use of a website gave us much more control over the visual design, and allowed us to create a completely unique infographic. While everyone contributed to finding sources and conducting research, everyone also had a specialty that they focused on.
