Quantifying Queerness: How Interactive Storytelling Balances Plot and Queer Identity

open_access
Open Access
Author:
Painter, Zakkary
Area of Honors:
English
Degree:
Bachelor of Arts
Document Type:
Thesis
Thesis Supervisors:
Christian P Haines, Thesis Supervisor
Claire Mary Colebrook, Thesis Honors Advisor
Keywords:
Queer Identity
Video Games
Representation
Heterosexual Default
Playersexuality
Queer Representation
Video Game Mechanics
Abstract:
This thesis analyzes the way two video games, Stardew Valley and Fallout: New Vegas, choose to implement the representation of sexuality into both their mechanics and storytelling. By looking at the ways mechanics and storytelling interact with specific regard to queerness, it is possible to attempt to evaluate how well a character actually represents queerness, while simultaneously evaluating how this representation impacts the effectiveness of the game as a storytelling device. Both games take a different approach, with Stardew Valley being an example of the increasingly common phenomenon of “playersexuality” and Fallout: New Vegas opting for more concrete identities for its queer characters. This thesis hopes to analyze these aspects of interactive storytelling to not find ways to make queer representation more accurate, but to also strengthen the storytelling of the media that incorporates queer characters.