Queer Players' Strategies for Queering Character Interactions

Abstract

This article presents the strategies that queer players use for queering character interactions in digital games, based on a reflexive thematic analysis of survey responses from international and Ukrainian gender-diverse players. The research questions addressed are: What are queer players' strategies for queering in-game interactions; What video game mechanics are used to employ these strategies; What are the differences between queering strategies utilized by Ukrainians and international participants? The article reveals three themes with several sub-themes around playable character-focused interactions at the stage of character creation and in the process of playing. The results of the international survey give insights into the main mechanics and interactions that are queered by players to accommodate themselves in game worlds. Most mechanics are focused on playable characters that are particularly important for many queer players. The analysis of Ukrainian players' responses shows environment-determined differences in their approach to queering. Notably, Ukrainian players seek for more explicit queerness and do not apply queer readings to video games, detaching themselves from the game characters.