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Author: Lauren Brady

What more can the games industry do for the LGBTQIA+ community?

It’s June, which can only mean… it’s Pride Month! Every year – pandemic or not – it’s cause to celebrate everything the community has achieved as it pushes for true, worldwide equality. We talked at length about it last year, running through many of our favourite examples of LGBTQIA+ representation in video games.

The industry has been one to really embrace everything the community has to offer. Last year’s list featured developers big and small creating realistic, down-to-Earth characters that speak to people looking for characters and stories that are just like them. They’ve done so much and are dedicated to doing so much more.

But that begs the question: what is more? For all that the video game industry has done, where can they go from here? Because I believe there are still ways we can, as the leading entertainment industry, create greater representation.

What is representation?

The first step is to acknowledge what ‘more’ is. While we’ve made great strides, it’s an opportunity to look beyond gay side characters or gay romance options. These are amazing to see, but by taking it to the next level, we can move beyond tokenism. What comes next is representing the true reality of what it is to be part of the LGBTQIA+ community.

That’s not to say there is one particular way to do it. Ask 100 people, and you’ll get plenty of answers as to how representation should be approached in video games. Do you dive into a true LGBTQIA+ story, with all its pros and uncomfortable cons, such as in Gone Home? That game represents the internal conflict of coming to terms with your sexuality and expressing it to your family; it will be a feeling many are familiar with.

But there’s also a growing voice for ‘real’ stories that aren’t Greek tragedies. Ones that treat the LGBTQIA+ experience as normal, indistinct from straight counterparts. To dip our toes into the world of TV, part of why Schitt’s Creek became such a lockdown phenomenon was its depiction of a male-male relationship. They were treated no differently than the countless straight relationships we’ve seen on TV for decades. There was very little coming-out angst, worries of what the townsfolk would say, or hiding part of who you are. It was unashamedly, unabashedly gay. And that does a lot for representation.

It’s about bringing real LGBTQIA+ existence to the forefront. What is the gay/lesbian/bi/trans experience? Where is it outside of the cutscenes and wink-and-nod romantically explicit moments? Where are the gay couples eating breakfast before work? Where are the two mums trying to raise their kids?

Going beyond

Not every game is driven by a narrative and has the device to bring LGBTQIA+ experiences to the forefront. But it doesn’t mean it can’t be there. This year, Rainbow Six Siege announced its first gay operator. Does it make a difference? Not in a game sense. But it’s representation for those who need it.

So what are some other ideas we can add? Can we do more than a rainbow flag? Pride is a whole month, so there’s space to include Pride events in games. Persisting online games regularly add new content and events, so why couldn’t the same be done for the LGBTQIA+ community? Other games might take the time to explore Christmas or Halloween, but never Pride.

Why not make the most of the month and give LGBTQIA+ fans something to revel in? Especially in this past year when Pride marches can’t happen – wouldn’t an online alternative do wonders?

It’s a tough balancing act. Not everyone is at the level of acceptance that the western world is. Not even everyone within our own country is. But isn’t that the point of representation? To show naysayers that this isn’t going anywhere; that LGBTQIA+ people are here to stay. Part of the exposure is to get people used to seeing queer people amongst the masses. We have to stand up to the toxicity and lead by example.

Another part of the fight is giving LGBTQIA+ people the chance to tell their stories. To be developers, writers, programmers, artists, actors, PR, and marketers. They can bring their experience to the table and give an honest, genuine point of view that reflects what life is really like. 

The video game industry is beginning to give support to the queer community. They’ve been there to lift people up and there are plenty who want to tell these stories. But part of growing is accepting you have room to be better. So let’s all pull together, and as a wider gaming community, commit to doing more.

We want to thank all of our LGBTQIA+ members of staff and those amongst our clients. This month – and this article – is for you.

Subnautica wins Best Animation / Special Effects at the Vega Digital Awards

We are delighted to announce that REALTIME has won a Vega Digital award for our work on the Subnautica: Below Zero trailer!

Out of 1,392 entries submitted from 33 countries, our trailer was chosen for the award in Best Animation / Special Effects – video campaign (single).

The launch trailer for Subnautica: Below Zero is the third cinematic trailer created for the open world survival action-adventure game. Set two years after the original game, and in the arctic region of Planet 4546B, the game marks a new chapter in the Subnautica Universe – a story we were delighted to help bring to the screen.

Huge congrats to our incredible team & thanks to the jury and our friends at Unknown Worlds Entertainment, who trusted us with their vision.

How video games tell us stories

May is National Storytelling Month, and we never underestimate the power of a good story.

For our latest trailer for Unknown Worlds Entertainment, Subnautica: Below Zero, we crafted a short film about the mundane daily grind becoming increasingly dangerous as our hero character finds himself fighting for survival on Planet 4546B. To date, the trailer has reached over 2.8 million views on the official YouTube channel, earning huge acclaim with the legion of fans of the game.

But what is it about the trailer that works so well? REALTIME’s Art Director / Director of the trailer Stu Bailey, puts it succinctly: “We latched onto small details as being relatable. So, sipping on a hot coffee before the daily grind begins, with the steaming aroma wafting up your nostrils, or beating down into the icy ground as warm breath vapours escape through your mask. It all adds to the viewer experience, and it matters a lot!”

When a game gets storytelling right, no one can resist it’s appeal. Video games also have a unique advantage in that you’re not only viewing a story, but also participating in it. Whether they be roller-coaster journeys or winding paths of discovery, let’s explore how video games tell their own stories.

A linear narrative

Video games have always drawn inspiration from the world of film. Hideo Kojima has talked at length about his love of Taxi Driver and how Solid Snake was inspired by Robert De Niro’s character in The Deer Hunter. Video games are just another medium we can use to take players through a twisting narrative – a heart-thumping action set piece from Uncharted or a tender moment from Telltale’s The Walking Dead.

Naughty Dog has long been a special feather in Sony’s wing, and The Last of Us Part II may well have been their magnum opus. This standout from 2020 elicited fierce and deep emotions as it weaved a dark tale of the fruitless outcomes of a dogged pursuit of revenge.

And Neil Druckmann, the game’s director, wanted to draw out this response: “The whole thing was constructed in such a way as to say, in the beginning of the game, we’re going to make you feel such intense hate that you can’t wait to find these people and make them pay.”

“So the exploration with this game is how can we start with that state and then make you reflect on it? And then maybe, maybe… if something happens in the world outside of the game, there’s some of that is left over so you at least pause and say, OK, what is it like to be in this other perspective?”

It was a deeply personal story for many, highly lauded by critics, but leaving some conflicted with the nuance of the ending. What video games can do that you don’t see in other mediums is put you in that perspective, in a position to reflect. In EA’s Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, we pondered responsibility and fate, in a game where nature and oppressive industrialisation juxtaposed one another.

2K’s Bioshock and Spec Ops: The Line asked us if we’re really in control of ourselves, twisting the player’s position on its head. The Stanley Parable, the video game equivalent of an M.C. Escher painting, played with our expectations even just walking down a corridor. Linear games guide you and take you on an experience like no other.

Open world, open mind

But video games thrive when we drive the narrative. When where we go and who we talk to is in our hands. You might think that a game where you can go wherever and do whatever would be directionless, with the story taking a back seat. But it just presents an opportunity to tell a story in a different way.

For Bethesda’s big open-world ventures, such as Skyrim and the Fallout series, it’s less about drawing out this narrative, but creating something each player will find unique.

In an interview with Time, Todd Howard said: “I think it’s up to us to make all of those avenues meaningful for what they are.”

“I think there’s always going to be this huge percentage that the majority of our players never see, but when they talk to somebody about it, that moment of sharing their experiences, they end up different and that’s a really good thing.”

Creative director behind Watch Dogs: Legion, Clint Hocking, put it well: “It’s our responsibility to look at the things that are happening in the world around us and have something to say about that, to create something that’s meaningful, that people can look at and engage with, and it speaks to the world that they live in.”

Open world games still have something to say; a story to tell. But how they go about it is different, but no less engrossing. Then there are games with no apparent story but dripping with lore. FromSoftware’s games, such as the PS4 exclusive Bloodborne, relish in creating a world where you have to work to uncover the mystery.

As The Guardian puts it, the world is “leaden with dread and portent” and “uniquely inhospitable”, and therein lies its appeal. Drawing from gothic and cosmic horror, if you want to know exactly what is behind the terror, you have to look for it yourself. It’s a completely player-driven exploration.

Stories will always be important to humanity. It’s how we connect with one another, passing lessons through the generations. Video games are now part of that and can deliver compelling narratives on par with literature and film. With so many creative people behind the scenes, we’ve only just begun to tap what we can achieve with storytelling in video games.

At REALTIME, storytelling is at the heart of what we do. If you want to discuss your next project, get in touch with me at [email protected].