GLAAD Gaming Highlight: Lindsay Ishihiro Talks Representation, Queer Complexity, and the Politics of Selection in ‘I was a Teenage Exocolonist’

Northway Games’ I used to be a Teenage Exocolonist is about rising up, but additionally about rising wiser. With nearly all of its creation having taken place in the course of the pandemic, it’s no coincidence that this coming-of-age RPG feels uniquely formed by the political and social circumstances that surrounded its growth. And but, the teachings present in I used to be a Teenage Exocolonist are extra related than ever. This is a sport that chooses empathy even in conditions the place life appears at its most dire and prioritizes the inclusion of queer characters who’re imperfect, contradictory, however hopeful. 

We spoke with lead author Lindsay Ishihiro about creating characters with company, writing by means of crises, and why the sport’s dilemmas refuse to supply simple solutions.

This interview transcript has been edited for size and readability. All pictures courtesy of Northway Games.

Annabelle Cook: Not to start out off with a troublesome query, but it surely’s one of many questions I like opening up conversations with: If you may choose one sport that you just maintain nearest and dearest to your coronary heart, what would that sport be?

Lindsay Ishihiro: See, folks ask me that query and it’s like, “Oh, I’ve never played a game in my life.” Let me open my Steam. Nearest and dearest… Probably, I’d should say the classic Final Fantasy VII.

Cook: I can’t argue with a title as iconic as that one.

Ishihiro: When I used to be an adolescent, it was one thing I bought actually into, and I met numerous pals by means of it. I truly ended up assembly my eventual husband by means of it as a result of we each actually favored it. The very first thing he ever did for me was draw me fanart of a fanfic that I’d written. It was my literal first fanfic, like child’s first fanfic, proper? And he had finished fan artwork for it.

Cook: I like understanding what creators first fell in love with as a result of it provides you a way of the place they’re coming from. Even although we’re principally going to speak about Teenage Exocolonist, I do need to acknowledge that you just’ve additionally finished numerous work outdoors of video video games, particularly in comics and each writing and visible artwork. I’m admittedly curious how you bought into video games, as a result of it doesn’t look like one thing you simply naturally stumble into.

Ishihiro: Yeah, no, it’s one thing folks usually should work actually onerous to get into. When I went to Simon Fraser University simply outdoors of Vancouver, I got here in and was like, “I’m going to do English Lit.” And then I went, “I don’t want to do that anymore. I’ll go do pre-med.” I used to be truly pre-med for a yr. And then I took a geography class and fell in love with it. So I used to be like, “I’m going to be a geography major,” and I graduated with a geography diploma.

Then I bought a job as an govt assistant, you understand, doing workplace issues. On the facet, I began merchandising at conventions, promoting prints of my fan artwork and stuff like that. I had a child, went on maternity go away, and got here again to work. But work wasn’t actually conducive to having a child. So I dropped out of the workforce and began an autobiographical comedian known as How Baby about my expertise being a queer feminist mother who struggled quite a bit with that transition into motherhood and preserving the identification of who I used to be as an artist. People actually favored it, and thru that, I began doing Motherlover, which is a comic book about two mothers who fall in love.

While I used to be doing that and looking for my house once more, I joined a sport jam that a few of my pals had placed on. One factor led to a different after which a pair years later, I began working at a studio known as Anemone Hug Interactive. And, you understand, as one does in video video games, I bought laid off. A good friend of a good friend advised me that Sarah Northway was hiring for Exocolonist. Sarah was on the lookout for a background artist to interchange Sarah Webb, who’s simply a completely phenomenal background artist. They’re unimaginable. I had nothing occurring on the time, so I checked out that and stated, “Oh, no, absolutely not. I’m not living up to that. Can I offer you literally anything else?” And she stated, “Yeah, sure, you can do some creature art.” So I did some creature artwork.

Cook: And it goes with out saying that the creatures are completely attractive within the sport.

Ishihiro: Thank you! I used Sarah Webb’s idea artwork and did the manufacturing artwork. After I gave it to Sarah, I noticed her at PAX. She was frightened about having a thousand occasions to jot down for the sport. It ended up being round 800. And I used to be identical to, “Well, I write things. I write my own comic. I think that I could help you write your video game.” I used to be terribly fortunate that I used to be there on the time she wanted a author. She took an enormous probability on me as a result of I’d by no means written a sport earlier than, and he or she mentored me into the place. So my first correct games-writing gig was on Exocolonist. 

Cook: I keep in mind within the one-year Finji interview, you stated that you just began particularly with the love occasions. And these are, after all, among the strongest elements of the sport due to how diversified, uncompromising, and trustworthy that they really feel. For you, what are the hallmarks of romance? When do you get into the meat of one thing after which notice that you’ve one thing good there?

Ishihiro: That’s an fascinating query as a result of these occasions themselves are usually not essentially about romance. They’re a few deepening intimacy and reference to somebody which will or might not bloom into romance. One of the enjoyable issues with Exocolonist is that you may full somebody’s complete storyline with out having so far them. That units it other than a relationship sim the place there are romance paths you go down. 

The factor that I like in a romance is the sensation that the NPC desires to be with you as effectively. That they’ve a want. And after all, they’re not actual. And any kind of want exists solely within the author’s and the reader’s thoughts. But the sensation or the phantasm that this can be a one that might want you on your selections and on your traits is admittedly compelling. It’s extra than simply placing in a kindness coin – an idea from Michelle Clough – and getting out what you “deserve”, however relatively it’s your selections and who you’re that assist progress these paths.

Cook: As somebody who’s most likely performed by means of this sport 15 or so occasions as a result of I couldn’t cease spending time with Dys and ignoring everybody else…

Ishihiro: You’re in good firm, sure.

Cook: I did discover that the characters didn’t really feel written to serve the participant. For occasion, and proper me if I’m fallacious, Cal will go away you for those who specific not eager to have children, or typically characters like Marz will break up with the participant just because a eternally romance simply isn’t for her. So I did respect that stability between giving gamers fulfilling platonic and romantic relationships whereas additionally staying true to the precise core needs of the NPCs.

Ishihiro: Yeah, I felt it was actually necessary that they existed as folks whether or not or not Sol [the default name for the main character] paid consideration to them, and that they’d their very own needs, drives, fears, worries, and hopes for their very own futures that the participant might or couldn’t be part of. I do know it’s onerous for lots of people typically as a result of, particularly with characters like Tangent, they need to be in love together with her eternally. And not one of the characters are to be received. Tangent shall be with you for so long as she want to be with you. And identical to actual life, there’s nothing you possibly can actually do to vary your habits to win somebody. I believe that relationship sim gamers had been slightly shocked as a result of that’s not a factor that occurs in relationship sims. But narrative gamers had been actually having fun with that facet.

Cook: Well, clearly the relationships that you may kind as Sol are very effectively written, however I don’t need to gloss over the relationships that NPCs kind between one another – platonic and in any other case. Because video video games naturally are likely to take this player-centric strategy by making nearly each state of affairs or occasion middle the participant, it’s a talent to make gamers care about character relationships that don’t essentially revolve round them.

Ishihiro: Honestly, considered one of my favourite issues was discovering – not deciding from the start outright, however discovering as I used to be writing – “Oh, these two characters would probably spend time together.” Marz and Tangent had been by no means speculated to have slightly will-they-won’t-they form of factor occurring. Or Nomi and Dys changing into pals. All these little relationships are actually enjoyable. Also having the ability to signify the characters who’re aromantic or asexual in several methods.

Cook: I need to shout-out how good the scene was the place Dys confides within the participant about Tangent, his sister, and he very casually talks about her being trans and the way he knew that she was his sister 5 minutes after she did, however he feels very insecure about how she’s all the time recognized precisely who she is and he’s residing in her shadow. I like that perception into these facet relationships that the participant may by no means see in the event that they by no means get near characters like Dys.

Ishihiro: Yeah. I like hiding these issues too, like understanding that you may discover one thing out on one playthrough that you just may not see on the subsequent one – or vice versa relying on who you paid consideration to. We purposely hid numerous data within the corners of the sport that, on repetitive playthroughs, you’d be capable of perceive greater than the primary time.

Cook: And it lends to the replayability of all of it, particularly. Talking about characters like Tang and Nomi-Nomi, one thing fairly distinctive about Exocolonist is that it particularly provides house for conversations about Tang being trans or Nomi-Nomi being nonbinary and demisexual. I’m form of curious: for you, what was the method of deciding how gender and sexual orientation had been seen on the planet of Exocolonist?

Ishihiro: Generally what I see within the media is that when there’s a trans character, being trans is usually the start and finish of their story. When fascinated by Exocolonist, one thing I wished for a personality like Tangent is for her transness to tell who she is and be a vital a part of who she is, however not be the whole, completed story for her. Her society is aware of that she’s a girl – and that was so necessary – however there’s so many different issues occurring with Tangent and her relationships. Dys is aware of and loves her as his sister, however on the similar time, he feels uncomfortable due to issues that occurred round her transition, like her drifting away and getting nearer to Instance [the chief engineer and mother-figure to Tangent] and folks giving her all this optimistic assist that he’s by no means skilled. These are difficult emotions that typically occur when somebody transitions which are very actual and never transphobic.

And then Tangent can also be like, “I’ve transitioned, and I still hate my body.” For her as somebody who’s additionally a transhumanist, having what may be seen by others as a whole transition will not be sufficient. I wrote her to honor the trans ladies in my life who’re transhumanists and complete nerds and absolute gender rebels. What they had been doing on the time – and truthfully what trans ladies are doing nonetheless to this present day – is so revolutionary and unimaginable. It’s coming from some people who find themselves like, you understand, “‘Trans-ing’ my gender is not enough. I need to destroy it.” That was so inspiring to me, and Tangent is my love letter to these ladies. It’s been actually, very nice that numerous trans ladies have clicked with Tangent, and I’m actually glad that it landed.

In phrases of sexual orientation, there’s Nomi-Nomi who’s demisexual. The sport explores gender and sexual orientation, after all, however I additionally wished to discover different axes of orientation like, “Where do you lie on the ace and aro spectrum?” There’s numerous clamor within the visible novel and romance sport group for video games which have asexual characters that you may get near with out essentially, you understand, all the time having to go down a sure path. And so I wrote Rex and Nomi collectively to discover how their relationship would work. I don’t know for those who’ve bought this a part of the story, however they will truly get collectively, which is so, so enjoyable and sudden as a result of they’re fairly reverse folks. Yet the consolation they discover in one another lets them navigate what their relationship means to them, and simply keep on with the core ideas of what they love and the way they uniquely look after one another. They simply have a mismatch of their drives, proper? So I truly requested some asexual pals to perform a little learn of that occasion the place Nomi confesses to Rex, and I bought a thumbs up from them, which was actually, very nice. It was actually necessary for me to jot down that into the story.

Cook: Absolutely, it’s so onerous for me to call many video games, particularly within the mainstream, which have character routes which are explicitly aromantic or asexual. And seeing that Nomi-Nomi had a route that didn’t ignore their demisexuality delighted me as a result of, as you had been speaking about earlier, romances have typically conditioned gamers to anticipate intercourse as a reward for ‘correctly’ participating with a personality. Is their demisexuality one thing you needed to think about about their character from the get-go or did that simply come up naturally?

Ishihiro: I do know that is horrible as a result of asexual persons are typically stereotyped as being infantile or uninformed, however Nomi’s character bio initially was that they’re infantile. I imply, they’re two or three years youthful than Sol, in order that they’re actually infantile. And we had been combating uphill in that case as a result of we didn’t need to feed into any stereotypes that asexual persons are simply just too younger to know any higher. But on the similar time, their demisexuality went hand-in-hand with how Nomi acted and interacted with the world. That childishness was a part of their persona – they selected to grab positivity and childishness in response to a world that felt out of their management. So these two issues got here collectively, ranging from a stereotype till we thought, “What if we respected the fact that Nomi Nomi is all of these things, and this is a deliberate way of living for them?”

Cook: It feels like whether or not Nomi-Nomi being demisexual was one thing intentional or by happenstance, numerous the characters in Exocolonist confront stereotypes or how folks consider these characters ought to act or exist based on their gender or sexual orientation, after which form of buck these expectations.

Ishihiro: And but, a personality that solely bucks all expectations can also be form of annoying. I discover that while you’re writing characters and also you’re like, “Well, I don’t want to write any tropes. I don’t want to write anything that anyone’s ever written before,” you’re not going to jot down character as a result of folks don’t kind connections and kind their personalities in a vacuum, proper? One of the fascinating issues about Nomi – that I held my breath about, hoping that folks would see the way in which I supposed it – was afterward within the epilogue the place, in case you are an allo individual [a person who experiences sexual attraction] and also you’re with Nomi, it mentions that Nomi ultimately decides, “Hey, maybe I want to try this with you.” And you might have that form of relationship with them. And I actually, actually, actually didn’t need that to return throughout as… “Well, they just changed their mind.”

Cook: Of course. I do keep in mind noticing that element in considered one of my playthroughs. There’s so little media that depicts flexibility inside sexual orientation, in order that was one thing actually touching to see.

Ishihiro: I wished to respect ace folks as individuals who can determine, “Well, I’d like to do this – and it doesn’t change who I am, but I’d like to do it, for whatever reason.” People are great and distinctive, and I believe that locking somebody right into a label and saying, “Well, you have to be one way. And if you’re not, you betrayed the entire community” is admittedly gross. I do know for some folks, their labels are crucial to them. For different folks – like I used to be mentioning about people who find themselves throwing out gender – the thought of a label is minimizing or restrictive. So I wished to have that on Vertumna [the planet where Exocolonist takes place] in Exocolonist, the place nobody truly makes use of labels. Actually, I believe Nomi says “demi ace bros” sooner or later or one thing. So Nomi truly makes use of labels, but it surely’s so, so in character for Nomi since they’ve entry to media from Earth. 

Cook: It’s simple to get caught up in what we predict we all know versus the truth of how diversified the world truly is. I’m curious the way you approached writing characters whose identities may need differed from your individual lived experiences. You’ve talked about the queer group round you, however this sport was, after all, a results of a smaller staff. Numerous bigger groups typically have extra entry to consulting teams or sources, however I assume you may need had extra restrictions on that finish.

Ishihiro: Our staff was pretty small. Sarah was the lead on the whole lot, clearly, and I used to be the one individual writing. There was one other individual drawing character artwork, and we had two folks doing background artwork. Then we had numerous beta testers and folks doing our music and our trailer and stuff like that. But the core staff was fairly small. In phrases of writing, I’ve all the time been part of a queer group as quickly as I noticed that that was a factor that would occur.

My personal identification is one thing I’m pretty personal about, however these are my pals. These are my folks. I imply, I’m not gonna write a speech about what it means to be a homosexual man, clearly. I’m gonna let homosexual males try this. But when it comes to writing these characters, it’s about writing them from a spot of affection and companionship – understanding that they’re my kin – and never falling again on stereotypes, however writing them as full, actual folks whose identities are a part of them and necessary to them, however not the one factor about them.

Writing Exocolonist was fairly eye-opening for me. It was additionally in the course of the pandemic, and a complete lot of individuals went in a single gender or orientation and got here out one other gender or orientation, myself included. That was after I was writing Exocolonist. I consider that numerous writing is pondering. And there’s a lot of writing in Exocolonist. So I did numerous pondering. But it simply comes again to these are my folks, proper? And I need to write them the identical method that I’d write anybody that I like – with care, respect, understanding, and wanting them to be seen.

Cook: I assume nearly all of the work on this sport was finished in the course of the begin to center of the pandemic, which is, after all, arguably not over but.

Ishihiro: Yeah. It was a deep lockdown time.

Cook: And this sport does go to some very darkish locations. You can get endings, each micro and macro, that basically do eat away at you. And this actually resonated, particularly once we had been throughout some very socially and politically fraught occasions. I’m curious how a lot the central subjects of the sport had been influenced by what was occurring on the planet in the mean time.

Ishihiro: I discussed this within the anniversary stream yesterday, but it surely was written throughout 2020. So you possibly can think about that some villain figures had been extremely influenced by villain figures of the time, particularly regarding Lum, Noctilucent, and the assorted different antagonists. The addition of colonialism too – like Lum coming in and explicitly saying, “No, no, we are colonizing this place on purpose” – was a midway-through addition since we wanted to make that man related to life on Vertumna. And including within the Pioneers poem was simply getting actually, actually on the nostril there of exhibiting, “This guy means colonialism”, proper? Because we wrote a sport with colonists within the title. Our sport is in dialog with colonialism always.

Also, your dad can die of a respiratory illness, whereas everybody in the actual world was masking and frightened about dying of a respiratory illness. Numerous our ache and concern about COVID is within the Shimmer [a respiratory illness on Vertumna] to the purpose the place typically we thought-about pulling again, as a result of it was truthfully traumatizing. Five years later, the mind blessedly forgets the ache. At the time, I keep in mind being actively traumatized by what was occurring and pondering, “Am I going to write this into the game?” And ultimately deciding, “Yeah, I am because it’s extraordinarily real and present, and it’s the realest thing I know how to write right now.” So at some factors we pulled again, and at some factors we leaned in, and what’s within the sport is the leaning in. 

Cook: I respect the truth that the staff did lean in with these onerous topics, particularly with the villains, since you don’t shrink back from letting unhealthy folks do unhealthy issues. I believe it’s equally necessary that the sport additionally permits good folks to do unhealthy issues. It provokes this dilemma the place one of many participant’s pals is doing one thing unhealthy and also you perceive precisely why they’re doing what they’re doing but it surely’s as much as the participant to determine, “Is it my responsibility to talk them out of this? Do I have the power here to help them make a better decision for themselves?” 

Ishihiro: Yes, that was one thing that was crucial to me. I don’t even need to say characters are morally grey as a result of that seems like a cliché, however such as you say, there are story moments about seeing good folks you like do unhealthy issues. For instance, Tangent primarily will get radicalized into engaged on the genocidal remedy, and Dys will get groomed into working for the Gardeners [a native hivemind species of Vertumna]. These are your childhood pals, and also you get to see the steps that led them down that path.

That was actually essential for me on the time to indicate as a result of if somebody has finished one thing unhealthy, you will need to humanize them in your head. The different is that you just go, “Well, I’m not like them. They are not human. They’re bad. And I am good. I would never do a bad thing like they did because I am good.” Instead, for those who can perceive how they bought there, you possibly can just be sure you by no means get there, too.

I believe it’s actually compelling for somebody to simply consider that they’re good. They devour the precise media, they eat the precise meals, they put on the precise garments, they love the precise folks. Therefore, they’re morally superior, and they’ll by no means do unhealthy. And I believe that’s a very, very poisonous mind-set. And I used to be actually proud that Exocolonist was capable of encourage folks to interrogate what they believed to be the signal of individual and perceive {that a} good individual is able to unhealthy issues.

One factor that Sol doesn’t even actually straight grapple with – however we anticipate the participant to grapple with – is that each grownup within the colony is like, “We are Utopia. We take care of everyone. There’s no family trauma. We take care of all of our children. There’s no money. We’re all the same race, essentially.” I would like the participant to take a look at that and assume, “Actually, things are maybe not as good as you have always been telling me.”

It’s necessary while you develop as much as notice that the whole lot your mother and father have advised you simply got here from people, not infallible gods, which may be very humorous as a result of my daughter is actually proper right here listening in on me as I say this. But it’s additionally necessary to query what you might have been advised and to assume for your self. We had been fortunate sufficient in Exocolonist to have the ability to present the whole technique of rising up after which let somebody undergo that course of a number of occasions to allow them to develop up in several methods.

Cook: And rising up a number of occasions provides gamers a wider, deeper perspective on the problems in Exocolonist. I believe gamers typically have the mindset of, “Okay, how am I going to get the best ending? How am I going to get an ending that makes everyone happy?” But the endings are actually by no means given to the participant on this silver platter. It depends on you replaying and committing time in direction of sure particular targets, and one of many greatest strengths of Exocolonist is that the tragic moments really feel precious relatively than like punishments.

Ishihiro: Yeah, I hope that folks use these moments as a coaching floor to construct up their very own resilience for issues which have gone fallacious – or selections that go fallacious. To simply be capable of see that they will nonetheless develop and repair one thing that’s barely damaged. They don’t have to simply quit and stroll away. I believe what the world wants proper now could be lots of people who’re keen to repair one thing that may be a little bit damaged relatively than forming a colony and leaving the planet just like the Vertumna colonists. I hope that helped folks really feel empowered to do this in their very own lives.

Cook: I can’t undergo this whole interview with out acknowledging the justice wanted for the parents who picked Tammy as their childhood good friend of their first playthrough. Way to set the tone for the sport! But additionally, it’s such a genius method of beginning the sport as a result of it provides you that incentive to start out once more. Like, “Okay, my choices can make a difference. I can save people, and I can also lose people.”

Ishihiro: Yeah. I imply, you’d lose Tammy within the first yr, so that you lose Tammy within the demo, primarily. And so once we had been sending out demo copies to streamers, it was heartbreaking to observe their streams as a result of they’re like, “Hey guys, it looks so cute. Look at this fun art. Oh, I love Tammy. I’m going to choose her as my best friend.” They’re good, healthful streamers, able to have time with their pals. And inside about half an hour, they’re unpacking their trauma on display screen in entrance of people who find themselves paying them for leisure. That was troublesome to have our streamers do as a result of they’re having real emotions. And so that truly began the dialog about getting the content material warnings into the sport, which was a system that I authored. And I used to be very, very, very, very glad that Sarah let me write it on the final minute. 

Cook: No, these had been superb. And then the tiered constructions had been genius methods of slowly displaying the forms of content material that persons are going to run into.

Ishihiro: I got here up from fandom, a spot the place content material warnings are mainly the rule of the land. You overwarn since you’re not simply warning, you’re additionally titillating. And so I introduced the tradition of content material warnings into Exocolonist as a result of we must always warn for all these items, sure, however you must have the autonomy of selecting the issues it’s essential be warned about. I simply constructed it the identical method that I’ve constructed each occasion within the sport. It was actually the very last thing I wrote, within the final hours that I used to be nonetheless on the contract. Luckily, Sarah noticed the nice in it, as a result of it’s part of the sport that folks actually take pleasure in.

Cook: There’s catharsis available in confronting troublesome topics in artwork. Considering the present assaults on the LGBTQ group, we predict it’s extra necessary than ever to have well-written media that features trustworthy depictions of LGBTQ folks. So I simply need to commend the Exocolonist staff – particularly you – for bringing them to life and leaning in, as a result of I’ve a sense that numerous studios don’t know the place to start out. As somebody who makes a speciality of writing about queer characters, what are some queer subjects or views you’d prefer to see explored in video games or in media as a complete?

Ishihiro: Gosh, that’s such query. I believe it goes past, “Oh, I think there should be more trans male representation in the media” or one thing, which I do consider. But it goes deeper than that as a result of the query of, “What is representation?” is very large. Representation might be the characters that you just see on the display screen or on the web page, but it surely may also be illustration in creators as effectively.

I believe it’s extra necessary to have marginalized voices creating issues that really feel true to them. Numerous occasions, marginalized voices are introduced on to solely write their perspective, which forces marginalized creators into mainly being typecast. When somebody has a queer worldview, that’s deeper than simply who they love or their gender as a result of it informs the whole method that they work together with the world, society, establishments, customs, and tradition. It goes deeper than simply who’s on display screen. So I believe it’s extra necessary to make sure that marginalized creators are supported and capable of inform no matter story they need, not nearly marginalized characters, however something they need. There’s been assaults on LGBTQ folks and media, however there’s additionally been numerous assaults in opposition to identical to sex-positive media basically.

Cook: I imply, there was that entire fiasco lately relating to censorship of video games particularly on Steam and Itch.io. 

Ishihiro: We simply went by means of that, and it’s largely a fee processor downside. Numerous grownup content material creators are sounding the alarm, saying “It’s happening to us; it’s going to happen to everyone.” And it is going to. So ensuring that marginalized creators are supported in these attempting occasions is extra necessary to me than “What would I like to see on the screen or the page?”

Cook: I undoubtedly perceive that, particularly as a result of it’s one factor to see a queer character on display screen and one other factor to know that queer persons are valued and trusted to inform no matter tales they’re creatively invested in.

Ishihiro: And that’s to not low cost the very important significance of seeing somebody that’s such as you within the media that you just love. I’ve slightly folder of issues that folks have stated to me alongside the strains of, “Exocolonist was the first time that I saw who I was represented in a game. It’s the first time that I was able to be my gender and have that gender supported.” Just folks speaking about rising up in Exocolonist and going by means of puberty in the precise method for the primary time, a puberty they by no means bought to have, or going by means of puberty in the way in which that they did, however having their gender affirmed. These are actually delicate, weak conversations, and I can’t low cost how necessary and affirming it’s to see who you’re in your media, however they’re form of hand in hand, you understand? I need to see each, however we’re not going to get each until we’re supporting marginalized creators.

Cook: Well, I’d like to know, after seeing the influence that Teenage Exocolonist had and your expertise basically within the online game house, if there are any classes or mindsets you propose on bringing onto future tasks. Not essentially nearly creating queer characters, but additionally concerning the technique of working for a sport studio and being on this trade basically.

Ishihiro: Working on Exocolonist is the form of online game expertise that folks will go their entire profession wishing they’d. And I began with it. Having a artistic director who trusted me and believed me and was so understanding of my imaginative and prescient is a factor that’s actually uncommon in video games. Also having mainly limitless time to jot down no matter I wished and having the ability to write utterly solo with out having to clarify my selections to anybody besides my artistic director is extraordinarily exceptional in video games. I had all of these issues in addition to being well-compensated whereas writing Exocolonist. That undoubtedly raised the bar extremely excessive for me for what I consider is feasible in video games. So I’m extraordinarily fortunate that the studio I’m working for now could be a really related atmosphere. There’s numerous conversations proper now about unionization in video games as a result of being a video games employee proper now could be actually, actually tenuous.

So, one thing I’m taking ahead from engaged on Exocolonist is the idea that video games might be higher than how they’re. I’ve lived it, I’ve skilled it, and I’ve made a sport that I’m terribly pleased with to show it. And I’m taking ahead mainly an unwillingness to just accept something much less. I like telling tales. I consider within the energy of video games to the touch folks and higher their lives and train them and to assuage their hurts.

From this level on, I’m not going to work with anybody who doesn’t consider the identical, and if that signifies that I’ve to simply preserve doing it myself eternally, then I’ll, however so assist me, I’ll take everybody in video games with me. We’re all going to get higher at this collectively. I swear to god, this trade goes to get higher, even when I’ve to do it myself.

Want to assist Lindsay Ishihiro’s work? Check out and wishlist their upcoming sport Greenhearth Necromancer, a comfortable, semi-idle sport developed by Silverstring Media. For these looking for a brand new queer-inclusive e book, Ishihiro’s sapphic romance comedian Motherlover is now out there to buy as a bodily copy.

The lead artist for I used to be a Teenage Exocolonist, Meilee Chao, might be discovered creating unbiased video games on Itch.io. Their work can also be featured within the upcoming sport Arcane Eats by Wonderbelly Games, out there for wishlist now.

For updates on Sarah Northway’s work at Northway Games, go to Northwaygames.com.