Gender in gaming is a contentious issue. Recently, when Pokemon-esque MMO Temtem dared to ask players to select their pronouns when creating a character, chaos ensued. Chicken tenders were thrown at the screen. Refunds were demanded. People who say "you mad?" and call others "snowflakes" got upset about an option in a video game for children.
While flashpoints of gender in gaming are characterised by controversy, the medium is becoming more inclusive. In recent years, character diversity has been on the rise, but there's still a long way to go. One game seeking to be truly groundbreaking though is the upcoming PC and Xbox One game Tell Me Why, developed by DONTNOD, the studio which brought you Life Is Strange.
The title will be the first triple-A game to feature a transgender protagonist that isn't a create-your-own avatar, in the shape of Tyler Ronan. I caught up with August Black, the voice actor behind Tyler, as well as game director Florent Guillaume and narrative director Stéphane Beauverger to find out the story behind Ronan's creation.
"Given the themes we explore and the nature of the story, it resonated to the essence of our game to have Tyler be a trans man," Guillaume explained. Tell Me Why has two central protagonists: Tyler and his twin sister, Alyson. It's clear that Guillaume and Beauverger see Tyler as much more than his trans-ness, but as with anything which breaks new territory, he (and Tell Me Why) will inevitably be defined by it.
"We understood the risks but also the responsibility it would mean to create a character as realistically as we possibly could," Guillaume says. "We decided not to shy away because we believe in the force of our story." Considering the very idea of pronouns can cause controversy in gaming, Tell Me Why is definitely a risk. But it's an admirable one, maybe even a necessary one.
Being transgender right now is like being Billie Eilish: fairly recently very few people even knew who you were, and now your entire existence is being debated in the media, on the socials, and by that one old guy who used to be funny but now is just sad. It's great that people are more informed, and that's brought support, but there's also a lot of people who don't understand and seem to inexplicably dedicate large swathes of their identity to hating you.
Fiction is often tempted to paint minorities in broad strokes, but Guillaume explains that Tell Me Why has avoided that pitfall: "We know that we can't possibly represent every trans experience. We tell one trans story of Tyler Ronan and we hope that people will feel moved by it."
So what exactly is Tyler Ronan's story? "Because of his difficult past, Tyler does not easily trust anyone, except his twin sister Alyson," Beauverger explains. "When our story starts, Tyler has left a centre for troubled youth, and finally feels ready to live his life by becoming a park ranger." He seems to be a character of deep contrasts, one who has shut himself away from the world yet embraces what nature has to offer. He's "work[ing] to find his place in a world he often perceives as hostile" – an experience many trans people can relate to.
One such trans person is August Black, Tyler Ronan's actor, himself a trans man. "It's such an important story," he tells me. "The transgender narrative is not a story a lot of people are exposed to and this game will give a massive platform to it. I'm so excited for people to get to know these characters! Tyler has so much to offer and his experience as a trans man is just a part of it. Tyler is amazing because he is tangible. The writers have created such a beautiful three-dimensional character. Having a video game character that might look like you is great, but more importantly having a character who feels like you do gives young trans kids a connection they might not have anywhere else."
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Meet Tyler Ronan, the first transgender triple-A video game protagonist
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