Post by Phischermen in This Strange, Binary World comments

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I really like this premise. Using public restrooms comfortably is a privilege many of us take for granted, and this is a very important issue to tackle.

I was confused who I was playing as. I knew I was a transgender teenager, but what was my specific identity? Going into either bathroom gave the message, "this is not your identity." If neither is my identity, then what is? Is the idea that if I enter the woman's bathroom my character is biologically female but identifies as male, but if I enter the men's bathroom my character is biologically male but identifies as female?

I think it would've been nice to know where the restroom was located too. The pictures are surprisingly not helpful! The bathrooms look like they could be at the safe warehouse my Dad works at just as much as they could be at a subway or ballpark stadium! If it was in a place that I thought was safe and the protagonist was familiar with, I would probably have chosen the bathroom that they would have preferred.

I realize after reading some comments that you say the character is non-binary, and that this was expressed in the "about" section. That would explain what was meant by ",this is not your identity." I think this should have been included as exposition before you begin the game.

You did a great job with this game! Even though some bits were confusing, the fear and anxiety of the protagonist came across very clearly.

ghostcollector4 years ago(+2)(-1)

I don't think a game called "This Strange, Binary World" really needs a complete introductory paragraph on the protagonist being nonbinary, that's kind of self-evident, and no game with a binary protagonist would need a complete introductory paragraph explaining That...

Phischermen4 years ago(-4)

You're right that most games don't have the burden of introducing a cis-gender character as such; it wouldn't be a relevant trait to discuss unless it might change over the course of the story or cause conflict. Some games give you complete control of your identity, so there's no reason for the game to introduce a character you just made.In this case, gender identity will cause conflict and you don't have any control over it, so its definitely necessary to tell the player about this character trait.

You're also right that the game already takes measures to tell the player they are playing as a transgender and non-binary person. But they still need to do a bit more, but definitely not a "complete introductory paragraph" :) I think just adding one more line after "You are transgender." saying "You are non-binary." would clear up all confusion. It's not tucked away in the "about" section. The player doesn't have to infer it from the title. Every player will see it.

ghostcollector4 years ago(+6)

The entire point of the game is that neither of this cut-and-dry words fit the identity of the person you're playing as. "Nonbinary" isn't one, singular third identity, it's a spectrum of identities and experiences that can't be explained in a way that's easy to consume, or that any cis person would be content with. The point that the entire game is making is that in a cisgender world we're expected to put ourselves in these boxes of male, female, blue, pink, one or the other, something that a cis person understands. The game stating an absence of identity rather than the exact description of the player characters identity is the entire POINT of the game. Because in a binary world, being nonbinary is an absence, it doesn't fit. "You are nonbinary" seeming like a valid fix for this, is a shoe-horned, cisgender way of looking at the point of this game.

Phischermen4 years ago(-2)

Ahh, I see. I had never considered the game was, "stating an absence of identity." It's an interesting idea that the game is highlighting that absence by clarifying you are transgender but not that you are nonbinary. I could see how telling the player explicitly that they are nonbinary might give the impression that their player character has their identity pinned down, and that would go against the definition you gave for nonbinary.

That being said, maybe there are better ways this idea could be presented. For instance, maybe the game could begin to type "You are nonbi-", but then the screen glitches, and you are presented the first choice. I dunno, something for the developer to decide.

Thanks for giving me such good explanation for nonbinary. It gave me more perspective on this topic.

itch.io

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