Representing Trans Characters in a Modern Setting

Game Development Writing and Content
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So, this is both going to contain some more general questions and some relating specifically to the game I’m working on.

Anyhow… I’m a cis writer and I’m working on a game where there are trans NPCs and the option to play as a trans character in a story that takes place in a ‘pretty much modern day, but with magic hidden in the background’ setting. And, I’d really like to know how trans readers would like to see trans issues handled. (I know there’ll probably be a variety of different and potentially conflicting view points, but I’d like to hear them so I can keep them in mind.)

Any and all opinions are deeply appreciated. Also, feel free to be blunt/critical.

The general, not specific to the game questions are this:

  • If you play as a trans MC, what experiences would you want the option to have talked about in game?
  • What things would you rather a cis writer leave untouched/unexplored/left to your imagination?
  • How often do you want NPCs/other characters to respond to the MC being trans?
  • Would you rather have NPC characters be generally accepting or have some minor NPCs be jerks about trans issues?
  • Would you like to be able to discuss being trans with your love interest? Your family members?
  • Would you like trans NPCs to have options to talk about their experiences with being trans?
  • Is there anything else you’d like me to keep in mind?

So, my more specific questions actually relate to the specific NPCs I have in mind. There are (minor) spoilers here.

I’ll start with describing the NPCs in question.

James: He’s the MC’s oldest brother and a trans man who’s come out a good number of years before the story. Currently, he works as a nurse and does his best to help support the family. He’s not the most chatty sort, unless you get him started on the supernatural or on science, then he morphs into an enthusiastic nerd. He can be a bit impulsive and hot headed, but is generally well meaning.

A lot of his personal story arc deals with finally having the opportunity to pursue his own wants/passions and needs after spending his life mostly making choices for the good of the family.

Cal McGuff: They’re a potential LI and a genderqueer individual. They’re a young, passionate individual with very strong ideals and a desire to leave a positive impact on the world. They think broad and long term, though occasionally they are naive and pig headed. Currently, they’re a history major with aims of going to law school and spend their spare time either volunteering for causes they believe in or writing fluffy romance novels.

Their personal story arc deals with the conflict between ideals and reality, and ultimately how to reconcile the two.

Toshiko/Hideyoshi Takechi: Takechi is another potential LI and is a trans woman or a trans man depending on which gender(s) the MC is interested in romancing. Takechi is both deeply involved in the stories magical community and is in a relatively high position in said community and in their personal life is a stage actor. When you first meet them, they come off as little hostile and a little snobby, though as you get to know them you learn they have a complicated ego (they usually think they’re the most clever person in the room, but can get very insecure when it comes to personal/emotional matters). They’re critical, sharp and deeply emotional.

Their personal arc also deals with the concept of ‘responsibility to self’ versus ‘responsibility to others,’ though they start of at a point where they’ve almost accidentally wound up in a position with a lot of responsibility and aren’t quite sure that’s where they want to be.

I guess the first question I should ask is: is there anything that bothers you about any of these characters? Anything you see as potentially a problem point?

Now some questions that relate to the specific characters:

James:

  • If your MC is trans, would you like the opportunity to talk about that with James? Or would you prefer the game assumes those conversations have already been had? If the later, would you like to be able to decide anything about those conversations or would you rather it be left to your imagination?
  • How about if your MC is cis?

Cal:

  • Cal is a very a ‘out and proud’ sort of character who would be very comfortable talking about LGBT issues in general. Would you like there to be some point where they talk about it? Do you think it’s better to leave that implied?
  • Cal is currently the only nonbinary NPC and probably the character who is most likely to come off as preachy. Do you think that’s a problem? Should I include another nonbinary NPC who wouldn’t come off as preachy?
  • Should I include another nonbinary NPC so Cal isn’t (potentially) the only nonbinary person represented?
  • My current thought for the MC learning that Cal is genderqueer being simply that Cal has a number of pins on their jacket/backpack and one of those pins is a genderqueer flag and another is a pin with ‘they/them’ on it. Does that work? Should I instead/also have Cal say something like, “Name’s Cal. Nice to meet ya. Oh, by the way, my pronouns are they, them, theirs.”

Takechi:

  • Being trans is obviously a challenge in a theater career. Should that be brought up?
  • Unlike Cal, Takechi is a very, very private person who doesn’t like to reveal personal information in general. I’m trying to decide how to best reveal that they’re trans to the MC. My current thought is that this is something that only comes up if you’re close to them, but then that is content that not everyone would get to see. Is that alright? Are there better ways to reveal Takechi is trans without it being exploitative?
  • Just for clarification purposes, the MC will always know that, say, a trans woman Takechi is a woman.

Lastly, a link to the game for a bit more context if you’d like it: A Net of Magic (WIP)

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Hey, so I’d like to suggest checking out the trans thread if you haven’t (admittedly it’s been quiet for a while).

I’m not trans, so I can’t really answer your questions, but I would also be interested to hear what perspectives people will have, since there’s a lot of generally useful questions in there :thinking:

Well, I can say that I’ve definitely seen both of these happen in life. I have definitely known people who include their pronouns when introducing themselves (and sometimes ask “what are yours?” as well). And I’ve also seen plenty of pronoun pins. Could be a design with the pronoun in foreground and the flag as the background :thinking: those exist…

You know, my gut feeling would be that that is alright, because you would, in effect, be respecting your character’s agency in when they’re comfortable with coming out… but I will defer to actual trans people on this :sweat_smile:

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Welp, I was gonna link you to the trans thread but I got beat to it. I asked a question about ways to establish a trans mc in an urban fantasy setting not that long ago and that should currently be somewhere close to the end of the thread

I think you should do the former. The latter, especially when done by cis writers, tends to just be uncomfortable and doesn’t really have much of a point when the story isn’t about being trans

Wow it’s like me in the alternate universe where I listened to my mom and went to med school instead of art school :joy:

For a trans mc, you could have an aside that goes something like “Being transgender himself, he really helped me out with (whatever)” or maybe a flashack to a conversation that a cis mc doesn’t have?

I’m not sure what kind of discussion you mean though? Ones that I can think of/that I’ve had with friends of mine who are also trans tend to be about stuff like surgeries or hormones, or, on a rare occasion, about someone being a dick to one of my friends because of their gender. We also have jokes about it but jokes don’t exactly count as conversations. Ones with my cis friends just tend to go like “hey that thing you did back there was kinda transphobic” “oh sorry, I didn’t realize. Won’t do it again” and then that’s it

I think it would be probably best to leave out conversations about subjects like surgery, hormones, or dysphoria to give the player room for interpretation and plus it doesn’t seem relevant to your story

While the button thing is a good nonverbal way to show that someone is genderqueer irl or in a visual medium, I don’t feel like it would translate super well into text, plus not every reader would know what it means. I think it would be best to give Cal some dialogue along with it

Bring it up if it’s relevant to the story, like, say, there’s an antagonist whose goals also directly impact lgbt rights in your setting. Otherwise, it would just be derailing your story

It’s good to have a character who’s really passionate about something and there are definitely a lot of real people passionate about lgbt rights, but there’s a time and a place to discuss it and I find that a really common mistake inexperienced writers (whether it’s with trans characters or with just writing in general) is that they just put it wherever and kind of make a really big deal about that character being trans when there doesn’t need to be one

When two people who are talking face to face, conversation topics can certainly change in subject and tone really suddenly, but when it’s in a narrative, it just makes the reader go “wait what? How did we get here?” and sometimes it almost comes off as a charicature of trans people by making it seem like it’s all we talk about and our only aspect is being trans

Also a little thing that’s bugged my about games with a nonbinary character is that that character is usually the only one in the game so then they’re kind of The Nonbinary Character. You certainly don’t need to do it, but if there was something like a background npc or something who’s casually refered to with gender neutral pronouns, that would also be nice

Again, bring this up if it’s relevant. Maybe they auditioned for the role of a trans character (I know there’s at least a few plays and musicals that feature trans female characters but I can’t remember any titles. Unfortunately I don’t know if there are any trans male characters in theater) and a cis actor got the role instead?

That’s a bit of a delicate situation so honestly I’m really not sure. If you think you can do it, go ahead, if you’re not feeling very sure about it, don’t. Whichever way you go though, avoid having the mc say something like “wow I had no idea. You pass as cis” regardless of whether the mc is trans or cis

http://monsterpop.mayakern.com This webcomic has a character in a similar situation to what you described (his name is Percy btw) and I’m super behind on the comic but I’ve heard that it was handled really well so you could probably look and see how it was done there. The character was based on the author’s friend and his journey though, so you should also keep that in mind while reading

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Versus did it, but it was a character coming out to you, I’m not sure what happens if you’re a trans mc.

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Thank you very much for the link :smiley: And thank you for adding your thoughts into the mix.

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Firstly, I’d like to thank you for taking the time to respond so thoroughly. It’s very helpful and so, thank you :slight_smile:

Mostly, for discussions I wasn’t sure if it’d be nice to have an option to, say, for the opportunity to say… have the MC maybe have thoughts like ‘it was kind of nice having my older brother come out before me, made it easier,’ or and potentially have an option to go into that a bit. (Or the option to have a less positive response as well.) But, then, that also would be pretty plot-derailing.

One of my main concerns (which you addressed in a very helpful way) is trying to balance keeping focus on the plot (which doesn’t directly deal with LGBT issues) and avoiding making the story feel like it was written with a cis MC as default and a trans MC as an afterthought.

( And I’m actually keeping up with Monster Pop! :smiley: I’ll go recheck how the author worked that in, since I do remember it was handled pretty well. )

And, just, thank you again for taking the time to answer my questions!

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No problem :relaxed:

Also yeah I totally get you with trying to keep things balanced. In my own WIP, I feel like I have a lot of stuff already for just story content so I ended up tossing ideas for MC customizing beyond name and gender completely. Plus I have a bad habit of going off on tangents anyway (most papers I’ve written for school have been returned with comments like ‘off topic’ and ‘idea unclear’) so getting rid of ideas not immediately important/related to topic is something I’m trying to work on myself (though I’m probably proving my own point here by rambling like this…)

Yeah Monster Pop is great :smile: I’ve been reading it I think since like chapter 2 or something and that was kind of around the time I started questioning my gender and the author answering a fan theory that Percy was trans helped me a bit come to terms with it

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i would, honestly, prefer the former. as a trans reader (agender, specifically), part of the reason i really enjoy CoG/HG stories/games is that – when nonbinary or trans options are provided, and even LGB options – everyone is accepting of it. when i read this stuff, i like to not be reminded of the jerk-y things people are.

if it’s irrelevant to the storyline, it may cause discomfort in actual trans readers, because perhaps they don’t want to be reminded of this. of course, you could add content warnings to this, but then again part of the reason for having trans characters is for trans readers to enjoy and relate to. you could potentially alienate the trans readers you want to represent.

i don’t, obviously, speak for all trans or nonbinary people. but this is just my 2 cents.

i hope this is coherent. it’s 1:30am in philadelphia and i’m kind of half asleep but i wanted to say something.

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Ahh!! First, I want to thank you for such a detailed answer. The length is length is perfectly wonderful. It was very helpful to read over.

Also, thank you very much for the encouragement.

The story sort of deals with oppression (mostly through, like, magical allegory), but the focus is more on dealing with unequal power dynamics between groups of people rather than (overt) bigotry. (I’d go into detail, but that becomes both major spoiler territory and probably irrelevant here.)

So, yeah, it’s definitely the ‘urban fantasy that includes trans people’ option.

My main motivation for asking if I should include bigotry or no was mostly to make sure I wasn’t just assuming ‘nope, no one wants to deal with that, so I can just not put it in.’

I was thinking about something along those lines. :slight_smile: (And potentially thinking of maybe for romances/friendships with Cal and Takechi to have there be the option for a trans MC to say it’s nice to be dating/to be friends with another trans person.)

My thoughts there were mostly… Well, I’m bi and there’s a sort of comfort when I realize I’m not the only LGBT person in a room. Things like, ‘it’s good to have someone who ‘gets it’ in the room with me.’

I mean, with bi/pan/gay/etc. MCs, that’s probably not gonna be a thing that happens because like, all the love interests are bi/pan, James is bi and your other brother is gay and the sexualities of the rest of the NPCs are unstated. Having people who are not-straight in the room is just the norm here.

But, for trans characters, I was wondering if it’d be nice for them to have thoughts or quick exchanges about it being nice to have another trans person in the room or some such thing. Or, if that’d just be superfluous.

Takechi is uh… a complicated case. They’re kind of a porcupine (prickly with a squishy underbelly) who is meant to start of seeming like a ‘rival’ character of sorts. And then that perception gets more complicated once you learn more about them/the world. (They’re one of the LIs with the most ‘screen time’ so to speak, just because of story role. )

I’d answer your questions about them, but that ends up becoming major spoiler territory. (Though, I will say being trans is an aspect of that insecurity but far from the whole story.)

Cal is… well, the best way I can point out what I mean by preachy is (if you’ve seen it) Katara from ATLA. Passionate about the things they care about, very outspoken and when they see something they feel is wrong, they will speak up.

The main things I imagine they’re gonna get really worked up about in game actually relate to more plot things. My current plans for including them caring about LGBT stuff are things like ‘they were coming back from XYZ protest when PLOT THING happened’ and potentially some optional conversations. I’m still developing that, since the subplot they’re involved in doesn’t fully kick off until the middle of the game.

Yeah, that definitely was something I was thinking about. Also the not 1-to-1 experience thing. With the experiences, I figured I’d just have to make sure to be careful, when/if relevant, to have some conversations go different for Hideyoshi vs Toshiko.

…Though, there was a thing I was toying with in my head. There’s a potential LI who is close friends with the MC’s other brother, Robert. Robert happens to have uh… have really poor taste in men. If said potential LI is a man, I was thinking of giving the MC an option to play match maker a little. If I fixed Takechi as a woman and the other potential LI as a man then that sort of works out.

But, the letting people pick a potential LIs gender is a good idea! I liked what Mecha Ace (if you played it) did with that. I think I’ll toy around with that thought, too. (I mean, I’m also having a hard time figuring out how to ask about player sexuality early in the game so that solves another issue.)

Anyhow, thank you so much again! You’ve given me a lot of good suggestions and things to think about. :slight_smile:

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I totally feel you with regards to tangents. Hahaha :slight_smile:

And :smiley: :smiley: :smiley: That’s awesome to know!

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Thank you for the insight! And you were completely coherent. That’s also what I enjoy about CoG/HG as a bi reader, but I wanted to make sure I wasn’t just projecting my own perspective there. :slight_smile:

But yeah, on of my main motivations for having trans characters in the narrative is for trans readers. So, I want to avoid discomfort as much as possible.

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I always like it when gay ROs get boyfriends even if I’m not dating them. :blush: Do you think it would work if those two were always a set gender while the others (is it another two of them?) change with your preference?

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Oh gosh everyone has pretty much hit the nail on the head, but this thread summoned me at the mention of trans characters (and the option to be trans).

One thing I find with cis writers trying to portray a trans character is that they’re often quite uneducated about it. While I appreciate that these people are trying to do, and it’s a good step in the right direction, some portrayals of trans characters can seem a bit hurtful. I even read a book once where the main character purposefully misgendered their transgender friend. Not fun.

Anyway, I digressed a bit there. I think the best piece of advice I can give is that being transgender isn’t the only aspect of a character. While some trans people (me included) cling to that piece of them with reckless abandon, it isn’t the case for others. It really depends on the person.

That being said, I appreciate that you’re trying to include trans characters and am looking forward to your game!

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I think it would work. (Actually make my job a lot easier, tbh.) But… I’ll probably be ruminating on this for a bit.

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I can totally understand the concern. :slight_smile:

I can say that I have done/do a lot of research on trans issues (and on social issues in general) and have written trans characters before (just never for an audience that consisted of more than a few friends). I don’t know if that’s reassuring and I definitely don’t want to assume that any amount of research means I’ve learned ‘enough.’

I can currently, the three trans NPCs all have a lot going on that isn’t related to being trans and different relationships with their identity. But, then, how successful I am at conveying that, well… can’t be seen until the final product.

In the end, the game will sort of have to speak for itself. But, I welcome any critiques of the game, as I want to do the best job I possibly can.

The main reason I wanted to ask these questions is that I want to make sure I’m listening and that I keep listening.

So, basically, I definitely understand your concern and am doing my very best not to be rushing in from an ignorant point of view. I can only hope that it’ll be enough.

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:smiley: :smiley: :smiley:

I’m really glad you took the time to write a ‘small novel.’

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i like this idea! or have a pride event. this way it shows that there’s still the existence of transphobia (and of course homophobia), but indirectly. especially because something like pride is a way to make a positive out of a negative.

maybe you can use this type of scenario to maybe introduce a character as trans – inviting the main character to pride, or mentioning that they attended pride, and the main character being like, “oh i didn’t know you were part of the LGBT community?” and the npc being like, “oh yeah, i’m trans! sometimes i forget that not everyone can tell.” or something along those lines.

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