LGBTQ+ Representation in Games All Year Long
Despite what rainbow capitalism wants the masses to believe, queer people are all year round. The rainbows in our DNA do not evaporate with a Thanos snap on July 1st, and we queer folks go into hiding. One of the coolest features in games, especially life-sim, co-op, and shop-management sim experiences, is when gamers can rep our identities loud and proud.
Here are some of my favorite games where you can do just that.Â
Dead by Daylight
In 2021, Behaviour Interactive, makers of Dead by Daylight, began their Into the Rainbow Campaign as a celebration to not only celebrate Pride but to use their massive influence to raise money for the Trevor Project. They worked with queer artists to create Dead by Daylight Pride emotes and kicked off an annual tradition that would only seek to improve year after year. In 2022, Dead by Daylight introduced LGBTQ charms that Survivors could wear on their hips in-game and Killers could decorate their hooks with. While the first set of charms was limited, and one of the Pride charms had to be earned through gameplay, it was a solidified cultural shift in the game. Because let’s be real, Dead by Daylight has always belonged to the rainbow gang.Â
Each Pride for the past five years, more Pride Flag charms have been added, including the Asexual Flag, Demisexual Flag, Aromantic Flag, Transgender Flag, and so many more. In 2023, with the introduction of banners and player icons, the ability for queer representation expanded. Behaviour Interactive, specifically Dead by Daylight, regularly engages with feedback to make the gameplay experience not only more fun but also more inclusive. While they do not always hit the mark, they do always try to do better and be better. Codes for Pride Flags never expire!
Spirit City: Lofi Sessions
Spirit City: Lofi Sessions is a gamefied co-working/study tool that allows you to customize your character and space while providing tools that help with task management and focus. Outside of the customization and using the tools for task tracking, Sprit City: Lofi Sessions is generally an idle experience. You can choose the activity your character and their spirit companion do, and have a large collection of lofi music to have in the background as you work. You can customize your cozy virtual space with many decorations that include Pride flags! There are Pride flag ribbons, mugs, clothes, and more.
With every expansion, Pride flags are the first decor I look for because having the Asexual Flag and making my character wear cozy ace socks gives me a cozy feeling while I work. My favorite mug IRL is my ‘Asexuali-Tea’ mug, so to have that filled with green tea on my desk while my character in Spirit City: Lofi Sessions also has the same setup is comforting.Â
I do hope for the future that they expand their representation so more queer folks can also have representation!
Sticky Business
In Sticky Business, you run your own sticker business, where you create, pack, and ship orders for customers. You can create your sticker business however you see fit. If you want a flower and pizza sticker shop, you can make a bunch of stickers that follow that theme. For me, I made an Aspec witchy flower sticker shop where all my stickers revolved around that theme. Sticky Business has had 3 expansions, and the queer sticker selection is vast, vibrant, and creative. I enjoy creating queer planners and having customers buy all of my queer witchy stickers while they share their stories.Â
The Sims
The OG of life simulator games has had an interesting path when it comes to being inclusive on many fronts. In the first iteration of The Sims in 2000, you could have same-sex relationships but you couldn’t have a ‘Joined Union’ until The Sims 2. In The Sims 3, you could finally have same-sex marriage. It wasn’t until The Sims 4 that you could customize your Sims’ gender expression, attraction or lack their of, or customize your spaces with Pride flags.
While it’s a good thing The Sims franchise has gotten better with inclusion, it was always an oddity that it took so long for a life sim game to reflect people’s real-life experience. However, seeing how in society things are slow to progress, perhaps it’s not really that odd, but more frustrating. I am glad that I can make my Sims asexual and ‘live out’ an experience in the game as an asexual player!Â
I am a firm believer that art reflects society, and it can also influence it. I am happy for the representation we have now in The Sims, and there is always room for improvement.
Disney Dreamlight Valley
Disney Dreamlight Valley has celebrated Pride since its launch, which includes in-game cosmetics and accessories. In 2023, Disney Dreamlight Valley announced the ‘Live Colorfully’ Pride collection that included Pride t-shirts your character could wear around your valley.
Each year, Disney Dreamlight Valley’s Pride celebration collections expanded to include not only cosmetics but also accessories and home decor. I am a firm believer that Disney should take a firmer stance on standing up and protecting marginalized communities. Gameloft, the developers of Disney Dreamlight Valley, have developed and published iconic games that often have plots featuring marginalized people and underdogs taking their power back. Hopefully, in the future, we can see more representation come to the valley along with more cute pride designs! Pride codes never expire in Disney Dreamlight Valley!Â
When game developers include multiple Pride flags in their games, especially the aspec flags, it always fills me with joy. My hope for the games industry is that more work is done to represent, protect, and uplift queer communities all year round and not just in the month of June.
Along with in-game Pride collections, it’s amazing to see when collections are coupled with action. For example, Behaviour Interactive raises money for the Trevor Project every year with Into the Rainbow, and earlier this year when they introduced their first trans character, donated the proceeds earned from Orella’s cosmetics to CHU Sainte-Justine Foundation’s major funding campaign, Grow Beyond, which aids pediatric health across Quebec.
Video games are art, and art is political. Video games impact many people’s lives, and such have the potential to influence change in society, making it a safer place for queer people, especially in these trying times.
Representation matters and so does action.
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