It shouldn’t be much of a demand from gamers for more inclusive gender pronoun choices in a video game, especially in RPGs. One producer at Square Enix believes that helping players feel welcome by including non-binary pronouns is such a small request that it doesn’t make sense to be a part of his new game.
The game in question is a gentle farming simulator Harvestellawhich was launched by the RPG giant Square Enix yesterday On the PC and switch. is similar to Stardu Valleycharacters in Harvestella They are tasked with taking care of crops, befriending their neighbors, and overcoming disasters in the form of environmental disasters. HarvestellaToday Eurogamer notes that the character generator offers players the option to choose masculine, feminine, or non-binary pronouns.
in meeting with EurogamerProducer Daisuke Taka said he thinks it’s “completely normal” for games to include a non-binary option for players. While using gender-neutral pronouns seems like a small part of the farming sim as a whole, Taka said it’s important to let players choose their gender identity because the game aims to be “for everyone.”
“The protagonist of Harvestella is the player,” Taka said. Eurogamer. “We thought it was important for the player to create their own character, choosing different elements, including gender, appearance, voice and name. We felt this was important, so players are not restricted, feel free to express themselves however they want and as a result become more connected to their character” .
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Recently, characters in video games that have appeared as gender-neutral have been met with outrage among the gaming community’s fanatical peanut gallery. Look no further than the vocal minority within Guilty Gear Jahed The fight came a society that had complicity Bridget And the Commandment They came out as transgender and non-binary respectively. The fee for the fee has been damaged, a caveman has taken it upon himself to impersonate a customer service representative and Fake emails about Bridget’s sex.
Recently, Square Enix has made great strides in making sure that some of its games are more inclusive. in July 2021 interview with playerAnd the Final Fantasy VII Remake Co-Director Motomu Toriyama said LGBTQ+ inclusion is an important issue for both gamers and developers.
“in Final Fantasy VII RemakeWe’ve reconstructed the original game using the latest technology, but we felt it shouldn’t stop at the technical side and that we needed to update the story content being shown in line with modern sensibilities,” Toriyama said. player. In the same month, the company A spell with a non-binary character first appearedOh Mina for the pride of that year.
However, the JRPG giant doesn’t always get it right. For example, someone might want to be reminded Final Fantasy XVI Producer Naoki Yoshida said, contrary to his centrist view, that people of color walk around older people Final Fantasy Will be It violates the “narrative frontiers” of the European setting of the next medieval gameBlack and brown people are not an “extra new game” feature on planet earth.
I’m more in the mood I feel than Harvestella guy. “It is becoming more and more common for gender non-conforming people to appear, so we thought it was important to reflect that within the game and show that all players are welcome at Harvestella,” Taka said.
