Representations of non-Heteronormative Characters in Video Games Released Between 2015 and 2022

Abstract

Due to uninformed choices by the mainstream game industry, until changed, representations of identity are inevitably affected adversely. The objective of this study is to explore how the mainstream video game industry privileges gender depictions based on profit motives over authentic representations of the queer community experience of itself and how poorly formulated non-heteronormative narratives have impacted game design and depictions of queerhood. The study investigates how changes in the hegemony of the game industry away from heteronormative, white privileged cis-gender power has affected game design and what a game is perceived to be: no longer seen as a time-consuming. violence-based. vengeance-narrative. but moving towards a timely learning-based, constructive narrative accessible for both consumers and content creators; especially creators with little programming expertise. It assesses the effectiveness of these changes and the impact these changes have had on the gaming industry to conclude that community-based gaming is a hopeful trend with the potential to challenge mainstream game norms. While diversity among the players remains, so remains the potential for equal, representative and safe expressions of that diversity in video games leading in time to a transformation of the gaming industry entirely.