How to get your game on a better store than Itch.io : 101
Seeing the discourse about pride having to be "family friendly" this year, I guess It's a good moment to share one of my game, that talk exactly about that, but in the video game industry context.
beware of the Content Warning before playing it.
The next Harry Potter video game will allow players to customize their characterâs voice, body type and gender placement for the school dorm
I did a long ass thread in French on twitter to explain how much this is shit. But I think it also worth repeating in English.
Because it's not just shit. It's like several layers of shit with dozens of flies on top of it.
First the feature itself. You can make a trans avatar in the next Harry Potter game ? whaou so awesome. How does it works ?
Because it is extremely rare to be able to customize a character to make them trans. generally, the game is going to give you a pronoun option, like Monster prom (where you can even choose they/them). Or In Animal Crossing New Horizon you can change whenever you want how the other character has to address you (with only a binary option. but a really fluid binary option). But this isn't "customisation". It's just how other in-game character speak to you.
The best thing I know is Dream Daddy. Where there is a customization of the character : In any case, you always play a man (it's a gay game call dream daddy. so that logical). But you can make make your avatar wear a binder (as explained in this article). that a trans specific feature. that made many trans people happy.
So. What is the great plan of Warner Bros ? Well... You can give a deep voice to an avatar with a feminine body. And a high pitched voice to a masculine body. And that.... That not fucking trans representation. That bullshit.
For one thing cis people with a voice not reflecting their assigned gender exist. So yeah.
Secondly... where does this idea come from ? I mean, I'm more specialised in queer video game, than general queer culture. And I suppose there are many trans art and performance focused on voices. But this is.... Shit ? In a such normalized fandom like Harry Potter, saying "we do trans representation with voice performances." sound like a fucking mess.
But that me asking myself to much questions. because this is not a reflection on trans voice and passing. This is a cheap way to get a "diversity" cookie, and nothing else. And it's not even though for us. They had the bodies, they had the voices. They just allowed the player to be able to mix this 2 elements however they like.
Plus, this is going mainly against trans people lives and struggles. In a world where voice can cause dysphoria, this is mainly giving us a toxic option to remind us that we don't pass, that we stand out, that we don't fit. Especially if the game doesn't make other character having feminine voices with masc bodies or vice versa. (and I'm pretty sure that won't happen)
voices are a delicate subject for trans people, but also, more generally for marginalised gamers. women get harassed when men recognise there feminine voice. Dr Kishonna Gray did several articles on how linguistic profiling could result into racism and sexism on black people and women of colours in Xbox live (such as "Collective Organizing, Individual Resistance, or Asshole Griefers? An Ethnographic Analysis of Women of Color In Xbox Live"). On a more personal note, I have trans friend playing online. And some told me their voices is also a problem.
So for me, the topic of voice/bodies mixing is too sensitive to do anything so thoughtless in video-games . It's also completely irrelevant to trans people wishes in term of representation. And finally, no effort have been put behind this. no sensitive reader/player has been consulted. there is also literally zero research on trans representation in general. Which is even more stupid knowing that they are several guidelines and books existing on the topic.
So that "trans character feature" is shit on every level.
But let's imagine for a second : what if it was good ?
Yes. What then ? Imagine a good trans avatar. Or even just a good trans character ? Well. Trans representation is generally not great. there is this good conference of Hibby Thach, which studies tropes around trans characters in video game. It's only based on the content of the LGBTQ game archive. But if we look at the numbers, the corpus is at first composed of 63 entries. and in it there is many transphobic representation in it.
So yeah. trans representation is not fully here yet. And trans players want more.
But do we want to give JKR any money ? since the beginning of that rant, I speak like if I could spoke for everyone, which is false. I'm sure some trans people have a different opinion on this. But we all agree on one thing : no more money to that terf.
So yeah. If this was any good, Warner Bros would have us stuck between some good representation in a beloved franchise for many trans people, and the fact that in order to get it, we should give money to a woman who hate us and who is advocating to take our rights away.
And I think this is the most pervert commercial thing I ever saw in my entire life. At least, the companies I know that do pinkwashing, generally they don't give the money to people against those they are advocating their produce too.
So not only this trans feature is the laziest shit I ever saw, but the intentions behind are fucking vile. they shouldn't try to get us back into buying their produce with this kind of cheap tricks. We are boycotting for a reason : JKR is dangerous for us. a trans feature, even good wouldn't change that.
And this is just more proof that Warner Bros doesn't give a single fuck about us, our rights and our live.
@thilb0burrit0 Err... Okay. I didn't knew this feature (I don't play Sims. I generally don't play a lot of computer game. mainly because my computer is shitty). WHat I found on the subject was a 2016 update on Sims4. is this it ?
So I went to watch a video about it on youtube, and then I went to read the entry on the LGBTQ game Archive.
So... I think trans people actually playing the game would be better placed to speak about it than me. And like if you are one on those player, really trust your instinct about it. not my opinion.
But here my opinion.
It's not perfect, but It's a good try.
the system is close to the Harry potter one in some way. You have can match whatever elements you want together. body structure, voice, characteristics and gender. and finally you can do any hair style or clothes. some that give out either very binary conventional bodies, or bodies completely out of gender conformity
It doesn't seems to have specific trans feature (like chest scars or binders). So That kinda a miss. There is also the fact that there is also still two genders. (I actually did have hope so I'm kinda disappointed. But also that on me for having expectation).
But first, I like that tackles the pregnancy. you can choose if your character can be pregnant, get other pregnant or neither. And like... that a thing that goes for me right into some trans experience. In France (my shitty country) for trans people, especially for trans women, it's hard to have children. right now the government is passing a law to allow women couple to have children with sperm donors. But if one of the woman in the couple is trans, she CAN'T use her own sperm for this procedure. Which is extra fucked up. So the topic speak to me. And the fact the Sims let us choose how you want to create your Sims family is (from my point of view) pretty positive.
plus. I like the fact that you can change very easily all those gender and appearances setting (or at least, it looks easy ? is it not that easy ?). And It also seems that you can change all of this parameters for all the Sims ? So O don't have like one character that will throw to my face the fact I don't fit in society. I will have an all trans, genderqueer society.
And that logical with the Sims. Those people were the firsts to develop a program to make characters gay of het according to variables. And this game is a place for experimentation. When I was in high school, the past time of all my friends was to kill their sims. when I arrived at university, this game became a place where the same friends would begin to create diverse queer family, with gay couple, single people, adoptions everywhere, and etc... And if now It allow everyone to explore gender, go beyond representation, and create more families. It can be awesome.
My problem is really that Non-binary gender are not an option when there are so many physical options. Also the fact than (at least when the upload was done in 2016) they didn't automatically change some characters to show the possibilities. And the fact that they are no trans specific options.
(I also kinda want to worry about pro gamergate gamers playing with this kind of features. But that worry exist with all queer games or game with any diversity)
So yeah, from what I gathered in y few research: could be better, but already pretty nice.
But you certainly played it ? What are your thoughts on it ? I'm pretty sure it would be more interesting.
The next Harry Potter video game will allow players to customize their characterâs voice, body type and gender placement for the school dorm
I did a long ass thread in French on twitter to explain how much this is shit. But I think it also worth repeating in English.
Because it's not just shit. It's like several layers of shit with dozens of flies on top of it.
First the feature itself. You can make a trans avatar in the next Harry Potter game ? whaou so awesome. How does it works ?
Because it is extremely rare to be able to customize a character to make them trans. generally, the game is going to give you a pronoun option, like Monster prom (where you can even choose they/them). Or In Animal Crossing New Horizon you can change whenever you want how the other character has to address you (with only a binary option. but a really fluid binary option). But this isn't "customisation". It's just how other in-game character speak to you.
The best thing I know is Dream Daddy. Where there is a customization of the character : In any case, you always play a man (it's a gay game call dream daddy. so that logical). But you can make make your avatar wear a binder (as explained in this article). that a trans specific feature. that made many trans people happy.
So. What is the great plan of Warner Bros ? Well... You can give a deep voice to an avatar with a feminine body. And a high pitched voice to a masculine body. And that.... That not fucking trans representation. That bullshit.
For one thing cis people with a voice not reflecting their assigned gender exist. So yeah.
Secondly... where does this idea come from ? I mean, I'm more specialised in queer video game, than general queer culture. And I suppose there are many trans art and performance focused on voices. But this is.... Shit ? In a such normalized fandom like Harry Potter, saying "we do trans representation with voice performances." sound like a fucking mess.
But that me asking myself to much questions. because this is not a reflection on trans voice and passing. This is a cheap way to get a "diversity" cookie, and nothing else. And it's not even though for us. They had the bodies, they had the voices. They just allowed the player to be able to mix this 2 elements however they like.
Plus, this is going mainly against trans people lives and struggles. In a world where voice can cause dysphoria, this is mainly giving us a toxic option to remind us that we don't pass, that we stand out, that we don't fit. Especially if the game doesn't make other character having feminine voices with masc bodies or vice versa. (and I'm pretty sure that won't happen)
voices are a delicate subject for trans people, but also, more generally for marginalised gamers. women get harassed when men recognise there feminine voice. Dr Kishonna Gray did several articles on how linguistic profiling could result into racism and sexism on black people and women of colours in Xbox live (such as "Collective Organizing, Individual Resistance, or Asshole Griefers? An Ethnographic Analysis of Women of Color In Xbox Live"). On a more personal note, I have trans friend playing online. And some told me their voices is also a problem.
So for me, the topic of voice/bodies mixing is too sensitive to do anything so thoughtless in video-games . It's also completely irrelevant to trans people wishes in term of representation. And finally, no effort have been put behind this. no sensitive reader/player has been consulted. there is also literally zero research on trans representation in general. Which is even more stupid knowing that they are several guidelines and books existing on the topic.
So that "trans character feature" is shit on every level.
But let's imagine for a second : what if it was good ?
Yes. What then ? Imagine a good trans avatar. Or even just a good trans character ? Well. Trans representation is generally not great. there is this good conference of Hibby Thach, which studies tropes around trans characters in video game. It's only based on the content of the LGBTQ game archive. But if we look at the numbers, the corpus is at first composed of 63 entries. and in it there is many transphobic representation in it.
So yeah. trans representation is not fully here yet. And trans players want more.
But do we want to give JKR any money ? since the beginning of that rant, I speak like if I could spoke for everyone, which is false. I'm sure some trans people have a different opinion on this. But we all agree on one thing : no more money to that terf.
So yeah. If this was any good, Warner Bros would have us stuck between some good representation in a beloved franchise for many trans people, and the fact that in order to get it, we should give money to a woman who hate us and who is advocating to take our rights away.
And I think this is the most pervert commercial thing I ever saw in my entire life. At least, the companies I know that do pinkwashing, generally they don't give the money to people against those they are advocating their produce too.
So not only this trans feature is the laziest shit I ever saw, but the intentions behind are fucking vile. they shouldn't try to get us back into buying their produce with this kind of cheap tricks. We are boycotting for a reason : JKR is dangerous for us. a trans feature, even good wouldn't change that.
And this is just more proof that Warner Bros doesn't give a single fuck about us, our rights and our live.
The thing that gets me about most arguments against accessibility features in video games is that theyâre not just grossly ableist, theyâre also hypocritical as hell. Video games have always had accessibility features: we just documented them poorly and called them âcheat codesâ. Indeed, having a robust library of difficulty-modifying cheats was considered a mark in a gameâs favour! The only difference is that a cheat code is theoretically a secret, which allows it to be framed as elite knowledge, even though itâs functionally identical to having an âinfinite livesâ switch on the options screen.
Hereâs a thesis for you: the Konami Code was the first well-publicised accessibility feature.
Iâm going to assume youâre not being disingenuous here and take this as a serious question. In brief, very few people are generically âbad at video gamesâ; in most cases, difficulty engaging with interactive media stems from one or more of a wide range of physiological conditions, including:
visual deficit (including colourbindness; colourblind individuals often have difficulty identifying threats in action games because they donât stand out from the background for them)
repetitive strain injury in the hands, wrists or forearms (common for anyone who performs manual labour for a living)
arthritis and other degenerative joint conditions (both those due to age and those comorbid with many autoimmune disorders)
dyslexia (a common symptom of even mild dyslexia is the inadvertent mirroring of sensory-motor responses under pressure, e.g., moving your hand left when you meant to move it right - which is a big problem for action games!)
sensory processing disorders (delayed reaction to visual stimulus is a common symptom)
spatial processing disorders (see above)
chronic pain
propensity for motion sickness
This is, of course, only a partial list. Many of these issues are individually rare, but taken together, weâre looking a huge chunk of the population - up to 40%, by some estimates - who have at least one condition that would impact their ability to play the shooters and action-platformers that are held up as the gold standard for hardcore gaming.
hot tip: if your disability makes you bad at a thing, maybe either put in the extra effort to get good at it or just donât do it instead of demanding people make the thing easier?????
Hereâs the a better question: why is it an issue for you? Accessibility features in video games are entirely transparent to those who choose not to use them. Your experience of play isnât affected by their existence in any way whatsoever unless you deliberately turn them on. Complaining about the mere existence of such features is like claiming that your viewing experience of a movie is being ruined by the fact that the disc has a subtitle feature on it, even though you havenât actually turned subtitles on.
(And no, donât try to frame this as video game developers somehow being victimised by unreasonable demands. The vast majority of developers are more than happy to include accessibility features in their games - and quite sensibly, because, you know, theyâre businesspeople, and they want to sell things to as wide an audience as possible. The popular backlash against accessibility features is entirely on the player side.)
i just want to appreciate the genius in this thread who unironically typed what amounts to âif your disability makes you bad at a thing, try being good at the thing insteadâ
I did my master thesis on video game accessibility. and I had to read it all from devs and players.
you donât like the accessibility feature ? donât activate it for you.
âbla bla yes there isnât accessibilityn in this game but itâs the artist visionâ. well in that case the âartistâ is a week ass bitch who no nothing about computer sciences and the possibilities it offer. so a bad artist.
Also according to the level of consentement you put in it, you can interpret the relationship between Glados (portal) and the player as a D/s lesbian relationship
So... I played fastar. Itâs a game yo can buy on google play. I had it in a promo, for 0⏠and... Damn Iâm happy I didnât pay for that.
In the game, you play a kind of fae. You have two strings of drawing coming to you. You have to click on the side where the star is, and not take the cloud or the skull.
and... That it ?
When you have enough stars, you can make your creature evolve. you can also buy bonuses to last longer when playing. And that all I saw in the game.Despite people bought it, there is still in game sells.
And that all i saw in the game. itâs a pretty game. there is a nice music when you play. But the sound of when you click on a star annoy me too much to want to have the sound on when playing.
And... We miss the goal of the game. my creature keep evolving, but I donât know what is the final form Iâm trying to get. The google play page show images, but I donât see what they represent in the game. and there isnât tutorial to explain you on what to click to get what. for example I discovered the bonuses myself by clicking on everything. but they werenât indicated by anything.
So yeah. not a great experience. this game is just... to repetitive and lacking of content for me.
for me, a thing missing is Pokemon Go is to take into account the love we have for our pokemon.
when our team leader evaluate one of our pokemon, he get a fix number of stars. (between 0 and 3).
for example, my raichu :
He has zero stars. But... I love Alola Raichu. So I walked a lot with him (for nothing. I really didnât need the pikachu candies) and fought with him. But despite the time we spend âtrainning togetherâ, the number of star still donât change.
So either I need to train more with Raichu, either Itâs just that he is a âweakâ, âuselessâ pokemon. And if itâs the second one, it would be really nice this rule change, so like in the classic games, we can train our favorite pokemons.
It is not only Detective pikachu that has an ableist plot, but the all pokemon world who is not accessible to disable people. We see pokemon helping humans in every part of their life. But like in our world, disable poeple does not appear, do not get access to the outside and to places where we could see them either as players or fans of the anime. Even Pokemons with their power seems to not help them to have more access to the world.
The lack of accessibility of Poemon Go and Pokemon Letâs Go is the perfect reflexion of the ableism of the pokemon world, not even accessible to us player with disabilities, when we want to go live this adventure through a consol. the idyllic pokemon world is badly done by nitendo who could offer disable poeple good positive representation, and actually make their game accessible to everyone.
version française sous âafficher dâavantageâ
the first queer game I played for this pride month : missed messages.
I want to say right away there are triggers warning : suicide, speak of suicide, and depression. I think the creators kind of underestimated the triggers they putted on steam.
In this game, we follow the story of a lesbian girl (who also have the trans flag in her room, even if nothing is said about it). She has to revise, but she gets messages from goth_gf to which she wants to answer. meanwhile the door on the other side of her room stay closed...
First thing : this game is beautiful. The drawing are beautifuls and poetics, the chara design are astonishing... I love it.
This game is also sad. I cried. I looked at the comments of others people who played it. They all cried. So you are warned.
This game is easy to play. It gives you choices between objects, actions, or answers to what an other character told you. you choose, and then the story goes on until the next choice (which often come very quickly). this was actually very frustrating for me, because sometimes I liked none of the choices, and the story wasnât taking the road I wanted it to take. But it was a really good frustration that just made me push forward to find the right path.
But most importantly, this game have a narrative twist that I had never saw before. it make you really want to finish, and succed to have an happy ending.
Anyway.. This game has four endings. I have to say I was emotionally exhausted after I played it once, So I donât think Iâll play it again before some time. But itâs beautiful, and breath-taking. The game is free on Steam and Itch.io. So if you are looking for strong emotions, donât hesitate ! (But if the triggers I gave are your triggers, avoid it, and play âone night hot springâ instead ^^*)
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Gifs take on the itch.io page of the game : https://zephyo.itch.io/missed-message
dans Skybolt Zack, on contrĂŽle un personnage (je suppose que câest lui, Zack ?), et le but, câest de taper sur les ennemis. Pour cela, rien de plus simple : la couleur de lâennemi correspond Ă la couleur du bouton sur lequel tu dois appuyer.
 Enfin, quand tu commences Ă tomber, le jeu Ă un effet de ralenti trĂšs cool pour te donner le temps de trouver lâennemi le plus proche, appuyer sur la bonne touche de couleur, ET BAM ! repartir Ă toute vitesse !
Bonjour tout le monde. AprĂšs le jeu un peu dur d'hier, je vous propose aujourd'hui d'explorer une visual novel allant complĂštement dans l'autre sens.
De plus, la musique est mignonne, les dessins tout choupis, et il y a mĂȘme une aide si on a peur de se tromper, pour profiter complĂštement de la petite histoire.
Je mets quand mĂȘme un trigger warning pour transphobie et deadname. Mais si vous ça ne vous affect pas, allez jouer a cette perle.
Sur ce, je vous dis Ă demain pour un nouveau jeu ^^