Hi, everyone More and more people start making games that are important to them, the branches of that tree will start to grow in all kinds of new and exciting directions (Shaw, 2018). Video games have become a part of LGBTQ culture, and queer games are developing in a more diversified direction. A gayme is literally just a game that's gay. Some would use it to insult people, but others use it to describe the game. For my Tumblr example, the ga(y)me I chose is Life is strange. This game contains many queer elements, which also presents queer culture. The video mainly talks about that the main character Max saved her good friend Chloe from a tornado. And in the process of salvation, they fall in love with each other. In the process of playing, players will face many different multiple choices, and each choice will affect the protagonist's self-identity. Different choice will also lead to different endings. The game Life is Strange has helped highlight the importance of emotion, characterization and plot in games, emphasizing that gaming is a genre to be reckoned with, just as much as film.
In addition, Life is strange also contains some political elements. Historically, attempts to politicize game studies have been fraught with trouble. “Trouble” here takes on an expansive meaning. It brings to mind interpersonal (and intergroup) conflict, productive (and circular) intellectual dispute, political (and consumerist) agitation, and more (Phillips, 2020, p. 23). But Life is strange well-balanced politics and games. It contains immigration, gun violence and racism. In the video, Max actively resisted gun violence by reverse time and bravely proposed in public to let more people see the love between two girls. The plots design is based on the virtual premise that the protagonist has "super ability". Therefore, the protagonist's resistance to stereotype has become more reasonable and accepted by most people. "We were going to treat queerness as incidental, as matter-of-fact.” Garriss states. “Not casually and not disregarding the intricacies, but we let that not be the most important thing going on. 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’s two girls.” (Felicity, 2018). I think people will establish contact with the Max and Chloe in this game. This game has brought subtle changes to the world and reflects the real life of modern Americans.
Phillips, A. (2020). Gamer Trouble Feminist Confrontations in Digital Culture. NYU Press. Shaw, A. (2018, October 24). Reclaiming Video Games’ Queer Past before It Disappears. THE CONVERSATION. https://theconversation.com/reclaiming-video-games-queer-past-before-it-disappears-104045 Felicity. (2018, November 17). How Queer Is Life Is Strange Really? Medium. https://medium.com/@frosemartin/how-queer-is-life-is-strange-really-de732f36eb0b
