I already read your zine “looking on writing black characters,” and I really appreciate the insights you gave there. This zine was no different. I like how nuanced you write. At the end of my read I was pretty angry with the way itch treats a selection of creators with plausible deniability – leaving them hanging and in precarious situations.
My games are still very much in the SFW category, and I learn about new games mostly through my feed and jam entries. That’s why it completely went past me, that the de-indexing was still an ongoing issue (I wasn’t even aware friends of mine were affected >.<).
I learn about new games through recommendations, but when I first started looking for trans rep games a year ago, what i found through itch’s search was very limited. I have to assume this has only become worse over time. This added barrier is especially dire considering how scarce media portraying people from minorities in a fair light is already.
To me the trans fem dev space I found here feels like a trading ring for zines: Very personal, at times transgressive, showing a wide variety of skills, and breaking with aesthetic norms. I’m glad I found this space. It becoming less and less discoverable is really dark.
Thank you for sharing your experience and shedding a light on the issue.