Meet the Pride Warriors who are battling to save pride!
Pride is a protest and these warriors are here to fight!
Pride Warriors is a three episode animated web series created for the LGBTQA community to celebrate Gayming Magazine’s DIGIPRIDE 2020. It follows the hilarious misadventures of three LGBTQA superheroes, as they try and save pride from white supremacist terrorists infected with the Moronavirus.
Pride Warriors is hand-illustrated and animated by artist Gary Adrian Randall and brought to you by Seagull Fish Entertainment, an LGBTQA owned and operated company.
The three episode mini-series will be released over the next six weeks and you can watch their battle for Pride unfold. Following the third episode, the Pride Warrior Game Jam commences! Gather your friends and tell your own story of Pride with free use of the Pride Warriors assets. Up for grabs is hard cash plus the potential to bring your game to market working in partnership with Seagull Fish Entertainment!
I spoke to artist Gary Adrian Randall about the Pride Warriors:
Robin: Gary, the Pride Warriors look amazing, why is their story important to tell now?
We are living in a time of extreme social unrest, and our rights are once again being called into question. This dumpster fire administration is personally attacking marginalized communities, such as the LGBTQA community, and people of color. Their goal is to divide us, to make us easier to control. My goal is to unite us, because visibility is more important now than it ever has been. It’s time to say we’re here, we’re queer, and we will not live in fear. As an artist, I feel it’s my duty to make a statement about the injustices we face. Pride Warriors is my way of uniting the LGBTQA community and celebrating PRIDE inside.
There’s some powerful political messages in the story and I know you don’t pull punches, why is it important to be so blunt?
I wouldn’t call myself blunt, I just feel like Donald Trump is literally the antichrist, as per the book of revelations! This administration has been waging war on the American people since 2016, and spinning it as a division between conservatives and liberals. We have been painted into two extreme corners, neither of which fit any of us perfectly. But when one side has decided to go to war, the other cannot sit idly by.
And as an artist, my role in all of this is to create change. I always strive to create art with a message that is difficult to look at. I aim to create a conversation that makes people second guess what they have been taught and told. And hopefully it spurs them to share my art, creating other conversations. All those tiny conversations are ripple effects that spread outwards. They are my small way to try and change the world, not just for my LGBTQA brothers, others, and sisters, but for humankind in general.
That’s awesome, so introduce us to the Pride Warriors
Like any good gay story, the Pride Warriors origin story starts with costumes and makeup. My best friend Nadia and I decided to make costumes for World Pride in New York last year, and we went as a gay gladiator and a trans valkyrie. We wanted to represent our individual communities in a creative way, which organically led to the creation of the project.
Gay Gladiator, AKA Gajax, is a vain homosexual with a heart of gold, and insecurities that make no sense whatsoever – much like many gay men. He is the runt of a tribe of warrior gays from Fyr Island. His power is to manifest Pride energy into weapons, and tease the internet with thirsty photos – much like many gay men!
Transgalactica, AKA TGirl, is from a pair of twin planets separated by biological sex. Her transition created a war between the planets, which led to a chip on her shoulder bigger than Kelly Anne Conway’s botox bill. She can control cosmic energy.
Pandroid 5000 is an android from the planet Pandromedon, where everyone claims to be sexually diverse, even though they all look exactly the same. He escaped from his hypocritical planet with the help of his sidekick Shantiffany Rae and joined the Pride Warriors in protecting Homotropolis shortly thereafter.
What are you most excited about with the Pride Warriors campaign?
Telling a story! I’ve always known that the point of my existence was to tell stories. I am stoked to be able to share my art, make people laugh, hopefully, and make a political statement all at the same time. My hope is that people will rally behind my message, and the Pride Warriors can be used as a tool to unite the LGBTQA community, both with each other, and with other marginalised and oppressed communities such as POC, immigrants, and women. THAT is the only way we can defeat the chokehold of the white patriarchy.
Tell us about the Game Jam that’s coming after these three videos have debuted… how is it judged and what’s the prize for the winner?
A lot of people are understandably frustrated at the current state of events. There are rioters in the streets, innocent POCs being murdered by cops, pride events around the country are canceled, and people simply don’t know how to contribute and make a stand in their own way.
The Game Jam is a chance for developers to do just that. We are calling for developers to use the Pride Warriors in a game of their own making – we don’t want to put too many guardrails around what should be done so there is only one rule – use our characters in some way to create a game that makes a statement. We will provide the art to use but in no way are developers relegated to using the art we provide. For example if you want to use the Pride Warriors and turn them into pixel art – go for it! If you want to create your own enemies or obstacles, by all means!
The prize is $400 and the potential to bring the game to market in conjunction with Seagull Fish Entertainment.
The judging criteria is based on four key areas: originality, fun factor, social impact, and pride factor. Anyone can vote on Itch, so it’s not just us who will be judging!
We encourage developers to have fun with this and express themselves however they want, good luck!
The first episode of Pride Warriors will debut here on Gayming Magazine on 1 July.
For more information on the Pride Warriors and the game jam, visit www.pridewarriors.com
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