EMMYCH'S PROFILE

OMG...a release BEFORE the expected release?? Unity, you are an RPG maker queen. <__<;

I'm really looking forward to this! From what I played of RoI, you do some wicked sweet battles, and I remember the demo for this being super cute. ;w; *shakes pom poms*

author=GreatRedSpirit
Ended up preordering on steam, their conversion rate to CAD is way better than ordering in USD now that our dollar is back to its natural state (in the gutter)

Wait, did our dollar randomly get better...? That'd be nice <__<;

Also i have to admit, the MV allure is alluring. wISH I HAD MORE CASH MONEY TO PRE-ORDER WITH but alas, it is not to be at this time
...i'll just wait til next the IGMC Humble Bundle, i guess.... OTL

Sooz asked some cool things so I will answer these.

What attracts you to the idea of adding in minority types?
Because the world is diverse! Throughout history, literally everywhere has been filled with diverse ethnic groups and cultures, genders and sexual orientations, etc. We often take for granted the world we have now as being The Way It Is, when that is blatantly untrue. Even if our society operates one way, that doesn't mean that all societies throughout history have operated in that way or been Different.

So, basically, I'm attracted to fiction because I can place myself and people like me in ~a narrative~, and I'm especially drawn to historical fiction for that reason. A lot of history about folks like me has been suppressed or forgotten, so we're left to rely on crumbs of fact. It's disheartening! So having stories can be a Big Deal for folks who don't read about themselves in textbooks, y'know?

Other than that, I want to actively challenge my own ethnocentrism and deconstruct the idea of what Normal People are like. I can work a lot of that out through the fiction writing process, so HEY NEAT i will do that.

How much have you done?
Literally everything I've written in the last 5 or so years has featured either LGBT+ characters, non-white folks, and non-men in central roles. I haven't hit DIVERSITY NIRVANA~ yet, obviously, but I'm working on it! The idea of writing things about straight, cis, white people (even if they are women) is super dull to me now.

What kind of research do you do, if you're writing someone whose circumstances are so different from your own?
I follow a lot of blogs kept by folks who are Different than me on tumblr, especially if they talk a lot about how their identity shapes their life experience, and read stuff that's been written by folks don't share my particular grouping of identities. Listening and showing respect is probably the most important aspect of research wrt other people. Other than that, I do what Sooz does and look up what stereotypes exist for the group I'm wanting to write about and common complaints that group has about characters like them.

The most important thing I do during research, tho: I don't treat folks in the group I'm researching like an encyclopedia. It's not fair to assume they're up for answering all of my -- potentially ignorant -- questions! If I really can't find what I'm looking for, I'll look for blogs dedicated to helping folks get info rather than messaging some rando who HAPPENS to have the identity I'm researching.

Is there any kind of identity you've intentionally avoided thus far? Would you ever consider writing that?

Absolutely! And there are two reasons for this:
1) The selfish reason -- sometimes I'm not in a place where I can take the inevitable "you fucked up". This is Fair and Fine, but it is also my problem to work past, and certainly not exclusive to feedback about characters I don't share an identity with.
2) I haven't done enough research yet!

So the answer to both of these is "sure, I'd give writing those groups a shot when I'm ready."

If you're some flavor of minority, what sort of things would you like to see in games about your status?
Real tired of folks like me cropping up as Weird or Evil or Deviant or a joke. Also real tired of my perceived gender being showcased as Titties and Sexy. I would really love to see some non-conventionally attractive women in games? Since, yeah, even the Cool Ladies are amazingly attractive and I dislike that.
...really i'm sick of conventionally attractive people in my media. Give me more "ugly" people pls.

And I say "percieved gender" because most people look at me and think "THAT'S A WOMAN~~~" when that is not how I ID at all! So for my REAL gender, that is, some flavour of non-binary... I'd like to see some representation. Any representation. Being invisible is Just Awful.

How do you feel about what's available now?
*fart noises*
half the games with people like me are Porn Games so like
PTTTHHHHBBBBTTTT

Are there any examples you can point to of really good or really terrible depictions?
Undertale was Great because you had a canon agender/non-binary protag, there were agender/non-binary people everywhere, two of the romantic relationships in the game were same-gender relationships, etc.

Basically I liked it because it was all v in your face, but there was no educational bs about it. Your protag was just A They and you could like it or get out, y'know? I like representation that is unquestioningly visible, but doesn't exist to Make A Statement to your dominant group audience.

Like, here's a Bad Example, imo: Krem in DA:I is a trans man, and the game is pretty shit about it! Your Inquisitor can interrogate this guy about his gender so cis people can Understand It, which is actually p typical, invasive behaviour directed at real trans people. That whole dialogue tree was personally uncomf because lmao I've sure gotten it before. To top it all off, Bull is Weird about his gender (there's some shit about ~oh he's masculine so he's a man i guess!!!!!~ iirc, it's been awhile), and Krem is legit played by a cis woman actor. All of these things are a perfect storm of Bad Trans Representation, even if Krem is framed in a relatively positive light. It was p clear Krem existed for the Cis Gaze rather than someone trans people could relate to, which imo is missing the point of representation.

@Craze: DO IT DO IT DO IT DO IT

author=Sooz
There were ten games, but only one can be the grand prize winner.

Technically we have little effect on the actual winner because there is one game that is way in front. It is definitely not one of my top ones but whatevs.

JEEZ SOOZ SPOILERS~~~~ ;T
aw man i can't wait to see who wins, tho, then I can stop being stressed out all the time... OTL

author=Sooz
OK now I'm gonna have to actually draw it...
Or just leave y'all hanging forever! >:D

PS Emmy there's this:

I am really fond of letting the player decide what level they want Celesta and Melchior's relationship to be, but I shamelessly ship 'em. :3

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH

i really need to finish this game ;___;