Melbourne Queer Games Festival spotlights unique inclusion in gaming #PinkInOurLives #PinkPress #GailyNews

Melbourne Queer Games Festival spotlights unique inclusion in gaming

Celebrating lo-fi games that reflect the queer experience from around the world, the Melbourne Queer Games Festival is back. The 7th Melbourne Queer Games Festival connects international and Australian game developers to queer culture. The showcase includes 74 games that anyone can play.

“Some people have struggled to find us since we stopped using Twitter, but we feel good about this year’s 74 games.” Creative Director Luke Miller said. Over a decade ago, Miller created the gay-themed science-fiction adventure game My Boyfriend the Space Tyrant.

Seeing a gap in LGBTQ+ representation in gaming he created the annual Queer Games Festival. “It was an opportunity to create space for queer artists to talk about their art,” he said. “If we don’t do it ourselves, then the work doesn’t get seen so creating this space was important. When I started, I was in the dark about what a gay hero in a game looked like. That has changed a lot, which is great to see.”

New generations of queer gamers

During the first few years of the Festival, entrees were people making queer games for the first time meeting underserviced representation. Seven years on, that trend has shifted, and Luke feels we are starting to see the professionalization of queer games. “In the last few years, we’ve seen people who have grown up with queer games realizing that we can do better. This year, we are starting to see people who are, in ways, making a career out of it. In hindsight, people have been making queer games since the 90s, but if you didn’t know where to find them, then they simply wouldn’t exist.”

The Melbourne Queer Games Festival creates such a platform to explore LGBTQIA+ representation in gaming.

Just some of the highlights from this year’s showcase include;

Ghost Sweet as Sugar: where a cute ghost girl bullies a cute girl, as the game explores transness and two women thirsty tension.

DESERT OF ASH: a post-apocalyptic gay sex simulator where you hook up in a world that’s burned to nothing.

Trainwreck: Bisexual disaster Dan is invited to a party but is forced to compete in a deadly killing game.

Queer Picnic: an affirming bitsy game where you attend your first queer picnic and embrace community.

Someone to Hold Me: a visual novel about an asexual girl and her internal and social tribulations. Grand-

Nya: a wistfully cheerful visual novel about two old ladies in love.

True Colours: as the villain, you try to shed your toxic habits and win over the love of your life.

Representation you don’t see in the mainstream. “We get games from all letters of the rainbow and are proud of that kind of inclusivity,” Luke said, “We judge things a little differently, looking at whether it is saying something we haven’t seen before.”

A great opportunity for people who don’t play video games to explore something new. The Melbourne Queer Games Festival explores ideas you don’t often see in the gaming. Why not explore yourself and your identity through these queer games. The showcase award winners will be announced on October 7th as part of Melbourne International Games Week.