Which games DO let you fully set your pronouns et al?

This came up on tumblr and now I wonder:
Which games in the libraries (wips included) let you set your pronouns, which are genderlocked? Which restrict you to he/she/they, which let you set everything, which remember to let you set your verbforms as well? Which forgot that they are different verbforms, leading to the dreaded ‘they is’ etc?

2 Likes

The only one I remember in recent memory is Royal Affairs (distinctly recalled being able to set up ey/em/eir + plural for MC, which I’m pretty grateful for). I think the rest I’ve played under the CoG label are all set depending on gender, and nothing else 'cept for the usual he/she/they.

EDIT: Wait no, A Comedy of Manors lets us set pronouns from the stat menu!

2 Likes

I got the idea for custom pronouns from Dawnfall by @RoAnnaSylver btw, and will be using it in the future too - I don’t remember coming across such full personalisation before playing that one.

1 Like

Both of my games (Totem Force and the WiP The One Chosen) let you customise all four pronouns, plus your honorific (Mr, Ms, Mx, etc) and whether your pronouns take plural verbs or not. Also, The One Chosen lets you change your pronouns at the start of approximately every in-game day. :thinking: Are there any other things I could be doing to help people play themselves?

(Also, should that title be “Which games…”? :sweat_smile:)

2 Likes

whoops. thanks, fixed.

And I think I could add my own games to the list as well:

Devil’s Creek has customizable pronouns (including x-self) plus verbforms. No setting honorifics right now (unless the mc is genderfluid), due to some coding stuff that has me scratching my head concerning related variables. Working on it.

1 Like

Are you asking because you need examples or? I did implemented neo-pronouns in my WIP and the player can even customize pronouns to their liking including the verbform.

6 Likes

I’m just curious which games do it. Someone asked in the cog tag on tumblr.

I was actually surprised that it’s not yet ‘standard’ in the games

1 Like

Ah okay, yes some game just go with the default he/him she/her and they/them.

1 Like

I am writing with full customisation in my game, I might even include it for your companions in the future if people are interested. :slight_smile:

Two excellent (IMO) games with a custom option are Drag Star! and In the Service of Mrs. Claus.

Drag Star! is also a good example of how to write an input pronouns sequence that isn’t as bland as a tax form.

(NB: The pronouns in Drag Star! are for your drag persona; you’re never asked to set your non-drag pronouns. And the custom option in Mrs. Claus assumes singular conjugation.)

Dawnfall has been mentioned, but I don’t think it offers custom pronouns, just a choice of she/he/they + 3 different neopronouns. I found that a little odd given how neopronoun-friendly the setting was otherwise.


Side thoughts about NB-inclusive games

When it comes to games that allow NB PCs, most games fall somewhere on the pronoun flexibility scale below:

  1. Pronouns decided by another variable (usually gender). NB PCs automatically assigned ‘they’ (or a singular neopronoun, as in some older games)

  2. NB PCs given choice between she/he/they

  3. All PCs given choice between she/he/they

  4. NB PCs given choice between she/he/they or a custom option

  5. All PCs given choice between she/he/they or a custom option

Other possible flexibility features that don’t fit cleanly on a scale:

  • Option to change pronouns [Edit: misremembered]

  • Option for multiple pronouns. (I’ve yet to see this done in any CSG, probably because doing it with the typical text variable setup is annoying. But it’s quite simple with an “enum” setup.)

Most published games are a 0. Obviously I don’t expect or think every game should have the maximum flexibility. But in games where inclusive PC customization is a design goal, I think it’s both not too difficult and worth it to move up to a 1.

‘They’ is broadly popular, but there are significant numbers of non-binary people who favor something else.

Gender Census 2021: Worldwide Report – Gender Census

5 Likes