Gayme On! A Queer Game Thesis

To see the full thesis document: https://escholarship.org/uc/item/9qx5t9t2

Gayme On! A Queer Game Thesis consists of four separate games from various genres: “Bury Your Gays and They’ll Just Pop Right Back Up,” “Escape from Straightsville,” “The League of Extraordinary Bisexuals,” and “Roll That Gay Saving Throw!” “Bury Your Gays and They’ll Just Pop Right Back Up” is a visual novel about the relationship between the couple Tomasa and Shoshannah and what happens between the two when Shoshannah is killed in a violent hate crime but then resurrected from the dead. “Escape from Straightsville” is a text adventure game about an unnamed non-binary narrator (later revealed to be named Em in “Roll That Gay Saving Throw!”) who is running away from home and is forced to journey through one of four bizarre, fantastical scenarios in order to successfully escape. “The League of Extraordinary Bisexuals” is a Twine-based interactive fiction game following three different characters—Rosa, Indi, and Jay—who are superheroes that each go on their own heroic adventures as they try to defeat a villain representing a biphobic myth. “Roll That Gay Saving Throw!” is a choose-your-own-adventure comic book about a normal Dungeons and Dragons session led by the Dungeon Master Tessa and played by the various queer characters from the previous games: Tomasa, Shoshannah, Em, Rosa, Indi, and Jay. All the games deal with themes revolving around queerness, with “Roll That Gay Saving Throw!” serving as the comfort of queer community produced after various moments of pain from the games before.