Xbox Games Studios has released the first transgender character to lead a storyline in a video game, ‘raising the bar’ for the industry.
France-based DONTNOD Entertainment received warm praises after announcing the transgender male at the center of its plot.
The ‘Tell Me Why’ game is set in a small town in Alaska. The player is placed in the middle of a mystery where identical twins Alyson and Tyler Ronan reunite after 10 years apart. Their ‘supernatural bond’ allows them to share memories of a loving but difficult childhood.
The Game Director, Florent Guillaume, said of the game: “The core mechanic of the game is the special bond Tyler and Alyson share and is also a theme strongly anchored into the DONTNOD storytelling approach.
“Over the course of the story, players will explore the identical twins’ different memories of key events and choose which memory to believe.
“Ultimately, the choices players make determine the strength of the twins’ bond—and the future course of their lives.”
DONTNOD said that they have worked closely with the LGBTQ media advocacy organization GLAAD and Microsoft in shaping Tyler.
The Director of Transgender Representation at GLAAD, Nick Adams, said: “Microsoft and DONTNOD have approached Tyler with a real commitment to authenticity.
“Tyler is a fully-realised, endearing character, whose story is not reduced to simplistic trans tropes.
“Creating a playable lead trans character – and taking such care to get it right – raises the bar for future LGBTQ inclusion in gaming.”
Mr. Guillaume also added: “Tyler and Alyson are both playable characters and equal heroes in the story.
“We love them both and we are especially grateful to Microsoft for its full support, openness and help regarding Tyler’s identity and character, as a transgender man.”
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Replaced!