Reading queer autobiographical games through the lens of memory and identity studies

Abstract

This paper examines the relevance of literary-based memory and identity studies for understanding queer autobiographical videogames, thus providing an alternative to the framework of "empathy" which often dictates how such works are addressed in games research. Drawing on the writings of Candau (1998), Eakin (2005, 2008), Lejeune (1989), and Pollack (1992, 1993) we identify four analytical categories central to autobiographical genres - the autobiographical pact, the proper name, the homeostatic function, and the display of "normalcy" -, and apply them in close readings of the games dys4ia (Anthropy 2012), Coming Out Simulator (Case 2014), and He Fucked the Girl Out of Me (McCue 2022). Our analysis demonstrates both continuities and productive tensions between literary autobiography and queer digital life writing. We argue that memory and identity studies can illuminate how queer creators employ autobiographical games to document marginalized histories, challenge official memory, and resist hegemonic identity norms.