Help Kickstart LGBT Gamers Documentary ‘Gaming in Color’

David Gil and a team of filmmakers have set up a Kickstarter project page for ‘Gaming in Color‘, a documentary showcasing the stories of LGBT gamers and their experiences in the gaming community and the challenges that face the growing communities of minority gamers.

[My_Name_BTW_Is_Dante]

I'll pass.

[capitanandi]

How come?

[capitanandi]

I just asked "How come?" Is that offensive or something? Geez.

[CyberCam]

I'll pass too!

@Lolrus
I totally agree! I still have my freedom of choice.... for now at least.

[rainslacker]

I'll pass because it's singling out gaming. It sounds to me like this is just the prejudice that surrounds the LGBT community at large, and isn't confined to gaming.

Taking a larger issue and insulating it to one sub-culture within society is completely counter-productive. That money could be used for much more relevant things on a much broader spectrum. This whole topic will fall on deaf ears without addressing the larger issues, and working on changing perceptions among society itself.

[kirbyboy91111]

No thanks. I'm not helping people make marriage a mockery. Why are we forced to change our view of marriage? I refuse to accept two people of the same sex as being married. It is not right.

[Yodagamer]

So in other words "waaaaaa i don't like people being happy together since i dont like it waaaaa".

[capitanandi]

You are probably a part of the reason this documentary is being made. Congratulations.

[hazelamy]

you can view marriage however you like, but you don't have the right to force your bigoted views on everybody else.

you know what, i don't even care if your view is based on religion.
what makes your beliefs so important just because they involve some mythical deity?

why do you think that means your beliefs can overrule my rights?

[mushroomwig]

I can't stand this nonsense, the idea that a gamer feels the need to make his or her sexuality an issue like this really annoys me. I couldn't give a damn if you're gay, bi, male, female, transgender or pansexual, it's completely irrelevant when it comes to gaming.

Stop making everything an issue, nobody cares.

[00]

heterosexuality is all over gaming( and everything else) people just don't notice because it's there ALL THE TIME and as soon a something different come along people take notice of it.

[Infernostew]

Well, there's a reason heterosexuality is all over gaming. The majority of gamers are heterosexual males, no denying it. If a dev were to make a homosexual relationship a central focus of a game (not talking about hot Fear Effect lesbians) then the game would most likely be dead on arrival. No developer is going to take a chance on that when they can just make the main characters heterosexual and avoid losing a potential audience.

[CyberCam]

And... to add to what Infernostew stated.

If the LBGT community want game that showcases their sexuality so bad, why don't they just create a studio and fund it themselves? Every large developer started off as an indie sometime and it's an easy thing to do these days with Kickstarter & other means.

@Infernostew
I love to see how well that first game would do... dead on arrival is what I would predict too.

[rainslacker]

@Cyber

This is one thing I agree with. Instead of making videos, and getting others to fund it, why not make positive change and do what you say you want to be done. Change perceptions through actions, and not through trying to get other people to do the work for you.

I think if they did this they would find it very hard to make a game that addresses the topic in a meaningful manner, because for the most part, sexual orientation is completely irrelevant to a game and it's story(if it has one).

It would be very hard to make a meaningful game where the focus was solely on it being geared towards one agenda(not just LGBT, but sexism, racism, etc). A game that tries to do this would probably be very shallow because it's likely to take one side of the issue and tend to be preachy on it. You can't ignore the realities of society and still get your message across.

Edit @ Toad below

Your likely to hear this even if your not gay. You can hear this kind of stuff even outside of gaming, so it's not something insular to gaming, but society as a whole. That's why I think it's better to address the issues within society, and leave gaming out of it.

Until the bigger issue is solved, you can't affect change elsewhere. Games are created as a product to the market, and as such, they are going to attract and represent that market and what it wants. The market is made up of society, so society is where this needs to be targeted.

[Toadsanime]

I despise people trying to make being gay relevant to everything when it's not myself too, but the fact of the matter is that if you play an online gay as a gay person you're guaranteed to hear homophobic slurs every time. It is an issue.

[valormeer]

I'll pass also.

[IcicleTrepan]

Please remove your political agendas from my gaming.

[Anon1974]

That seems pretty naive to me. Politics are as integral a part of gaming as any other forms of expression. Movies, Tv's, Games, Music, books...they all utilise social topics of the day. The reason Battlestar Galactica was such an amazing show was that it took relevant topics ripped from the headlines and presented them in a sci-fi universe. Movies have political and social themes all over them. Of course game stories are going to bear the marks of the political leanings of their creators.

Why should we expect our games to be any different? If a game has a story, it should be expected that it would play into the topics and social issues of the day. Maybe this doesn't suit every game, but the good ones, no matter the setting, will always attempt to draw from the issues of the day as it tells it's story. As for LGBT issues of the day, I'm always surprised to hear of this described as a "political" issue. Personally, I think issues of racism, sexism, homophobia, etc are a bit more important than the average political bickering to lump this matter in as a "political" issue. Of course there's a political aspect just as the civil rights movement was a political movement as much as anything, but looking back from a historical perspective, it was much more than that.

Although, where I live, the matters of marriage equality were settled almost a decade ago now, so it's difficult to remember why people were so up in arms about it and why it's still such an issue in other countries. It just seems like common sense now. What earthy reason could we possible have for why gays and lesbians shouldn't enjoy the same relationship status under the law as an equivalent, heterosexual couple? I mean, aside from pushing your religious beliefs upon the legal system.

If my local Ukrainian Hall held a gaming night, I'd have no issue. If they wanted to make a documentary about Ukrainian cultural issues and their depictions in modern gaming, I say more power to them. I don't see how this is any different. I could see you not supporting it because it doesn't appeal to you, but some here are actively against this being made. Whenever these issues come up on the site it's always met with a predictable chorus of "Ew! Who cares? What does it have to do with gaming? Sexuality doesn't have anything to do with gaming? Stop everything you're doing!" Why on earth does it matter to you guys either way what documentaries are being made? Live your own life.

[IcicleTrepan]

I think it's funny that you call me naive yet you do not even actually understand the original comment which was simple and did not need to take up an entire screen, which for some reason you felt compelled to write.

If you thought more about what the original comment meant instead of just spewing what you feel you think others ought to know, you might actually learn something.

[Anon1974]

What's not to understand? You want all political agendas removed from gaming. People's politics and views often influence their creative works. What might be an "agenda" to you might not be an "agenda" to others. You don't think there's political commentary in the stories of Bioshock? Halo? Mass Effect, Call of Duty, Farcry, etc...etc?

The situations they write about, even in games, are a reflection of their own beliefs told through the stories they want to tell. Saying "Hey, keep your own views out of your creations", it's just a ridiculous statement to make. Who are you, the thought police? If you don't want to support projects that you feel are pushing a particular viewpoint, fine. That's your right. But don't for a second think you get to dictate which speech is free and which isn't.

"Oh, but I'm talking about only political agendas that I personally see as a political agenda." Is that honestly your defence? Certain people can find a political axe to grind with any story. Should we ban all those games the second anyone finds a message that could be remotely construed as pushing an agenda? OMG! Lara Croft is female hero! They're trying to push women's equality on us! Ban it!

Strip anything remotely resembling political commentary from a game and you have a pretty terrible game story. Your statement is naive no matter what side of this particular issue you're on.

[hazelamy]

you don't do games that have anything to do with politics?

what do you play then?

cod's out, mass effect?
no, there's politics in that, about how governments are slow to act.

hell, you can't even play tetris.
wasn't that about workers being treated like pieces to be used and then discarded.

what can you play?

i think you're stuck with nintendo.

[IcicleTrepan]

I'm referring to the usage of video games as a platform for people to spew their political agendas whether it be LGBT or anti violence or any other politically motivated axe to grind. Not the actual content of games. I would have thought people on this site were at least intelligent enough to know the difference but I was clearly wrong.

[hazelamy]

yes, the old "what's sex, or your sexuality, got to do with gaming?" line we always hear.

funny, because how many games include romance options these days?

and it's not like it's even a new thing, you remember Donkey Kong?
little jumpman, out to save HIS GIRLFRIEND.

there have been romantic relationships in gaming, since, well, the very beginning.
but only when it's gay is it a problem.

fucking bigots.

it's not just about being able to play gay characters, it's about how gay people get treated by the community.

as evidenced here, that's a problem.

[SkullBlade169]

Looks to me like a group of people are wanting special treatment over everybody else...

[madjedi]

What else is new.

@article and pride posters

Sorry your free to preach your gay pride as much as you like, it doesn't mean i or anyone else on here is required to give a rats ass about it.

If that makes me a bigot to a confrontational queen, so be it. You should really worry more about the people that represent real harm to gays.

We don't care about all that gay pride crap because, we aren't gay, stop trying to convert people that have already told you go away not interested.

So gays can calls us bigots and ignorant if we say marriage is only for a man and a woman. Yet are perfectly in the clear to tell straight couples that same sex marriages are natural and shouldn't be restricted. If we are bigots for our beliefs then gays are for their beliefs as well.

It's the same thing just told from the other side, jesus christ i hate social crusaders.

I play games to avoid bs social drama like this

[SkullBlade169]

I agree. I don't go parading around specifically calling myself a "heterosexual gamer", what's wrong with simply being known as a "gamer"?

I don't give a damn about the sexuality of somebody who I'm going to be playing a game with, I don't see why it's an issue.

The thing is with all this gay parading going on, if I did the same thing starting events specifically aimed at heterosexual gamers, I would probably get hounded for being offensive.

I honestly just don't see what any of this has to do with games, and it should be kept out of it imo.