{"id":592,"date":"2022-02-03T08:30:00","date_gmt":"2022-02-03T13:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.virlan.co\/tech\/?p=592"},"modified":"2022-02-03T07:24:08","modified_gmt":"2022-02-03T12:24:08","slug":"is-life-is-strange-a-lgbt-game-what-about-other-lgbt-games","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.virlan.co\/tech\/gaming\/is-life-is-strange-a-lgbt-game-what-about-other-lgbt-games\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Life is Strange an LGBT Game? What about other LGBT games?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The heart of the Life is Strange<\/strong> franchise has always seemed to be diversity and inclusion, especially when it comes to the LGBTQIA<\/strong>+ community. From the very first Life is Strange<\/strong> game, players could have a protagonist involved in a same-sex relationship without it being fetishized or out-of-place. This trend only continued throughout later releases, as Life is Strange<\/strong>: Before the Storm and Life is Strange<\/strong> 2 both have a variety of LGBTQ<\/strong>+ characters.\u00a0<\/p>\n

How Queer Is Life is Strange Really?<\/h2>\n

Life is Strange and Before the Storm both feature a reasonable amount of queer activity. Before the Storm features an explicitly queer character in Stephanie \u2014 one of Chloe Price\u2019s friends and an adorable nerd. However, Price\u2019s own relationships are constantly up for debate. Is she in love with Rachel or is it just a friendship, does Max see her as a childhood friend turned into something more or do they remain best friends?<\/p>\n

The game can include as much subtext and even text as it wants but ultimately these choices are left up to the player to make. Lead Writer Zac Garriss does address this problem in an interview with Game Informer where the maintaining of relationships becomes a point of good game writing.
\u201cGame writing is weird and unlike other kinds of writing, because you have to think discursively. If you\u2019re really going to embrace player agency in the narrative, you have to think about multiple branches simultaneously. I think in writing Rachel, it was important to us to try to do both of those things \u2014 to say we\u2019re going to tell a love story and we\u2019re going to tell a story about best friends. But what we\u2019re really telling a story about is neither love or friendship; it\u2019s about people that completely change your life. And that can be love and that can be platonic.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whether or not the relationships Chloe has are explicitly romantic or not, they are certainly life changing. It is also important to point out that Deck Nine has learnt from what fans wanted in the first game and adjusted the plot structure for the second \u2014 there are infinitely more options to explore a romantic relationship in Before the Storm, whereas the original game heavily focuses on the friendship aspect and the romance is more incidental.<\/p>\n

This is also likely to be because of the type of relationships involved \u2014 Rachel and Chloe are exploring something new together and whether that becomes a friendship or a romance is up to them, whereas Chloe and Max have a shared history irrevocably tying them together. When you are given the choice to explore the romance options, they feel natural, and are often more rewarding (with longer cutscenes and more character development) than alternate options. \u201cWe were going to treat queerness as incidental, as matter-of-fact.\u201d Garriss states. \u201cNot casually and not disregarding the intricacies, but we let that not be the most important thing going on. When they kiss, it\u2019s just going to be a romantic kiss. And we set it up to be as lovely and as crazy and awesome as it could be and just not care about the fact that it\u2019s two girls.\u201d<\/p>\n

How about its queer content?<\/h3>\n

While Life is Strange, has explicitly included queer content in the first two games, there remains the disconcerting feeling that an unwilling player could easily sweep it all under the rug. The creators of Life is Strange use twitter and meta-text to emphasise the queerness of its characters, leading players to believe that while there are choices, the \u201ctrue\u201d end are the ones where Chloe in particular is a queer character and, ultimately, dies.<\/p>\n

It would be lovely to see this flipped on its head in the next game. What we have seen so far leans towards an examination of brotherly love and coming-of-age rather than growing into ones powers and life direction. The characters of Life is Strange 2 are younger and still learning about the harshness of the world. We know they are also on the run \u2014 but we don\u2019t know yet what exactly from \u2014 it is a supernatural force or the more regular terror of a slowly failing justice system?<\/p>\n

Life Is Strange: LGBTQ+ Representation & Character-Drive Story Are Standouts<\/h4>\n

So far all of the Life is Strange games have had LGBTQ protagonists and Life is Strange: True Colors follows that trend. Although, this game sets itself apart from its predecessors by including two equally complex characters as love interests. In past games, some players found the love interests to be one-sided and had obvious biases toward one character over another. But with True Colors, fans are not pushed in one direction over another; indeed the game does not force a love interest at all, and while Alex’s bisexuality is a canonical part of her character, romance is not the focus of this game.<\/p>\n

True Colors is a story about empathy, morality, and what it means to be human. Players will experience an emotional rollercoaster as they discover the secrets of Haven Springs, and grapple with Alex’s supernatural abilities. For fans of deep character interactions and thought-provoking storylines, this game is a must-play. Life is Strange: True Colors will offer an escape to a quiet place where neighbors care deeply about each other, and one girl can find closure, even if it hurts.<\/p>\n