To call the current state of the world today ‘tumultuous’ would be a bit of an understatement. For LGBTQ+ people - and trans people in particular - the increasingly extreme rhetoric and legislation being weaponised against these communities can feel all-consuming. Yet it comes at a time when diverse representation in media, including games, is improving. As the number of characters stated to LGBTQ+ grows, what is more effective representation: making it possible to see your own experiences on screen, or make those experiences understandable to someone who isn't LGBTQ+?
People who know of it would perhaps cite the work of developer and translator npckc, who I recently spoke with at the recent Japanese indie gaming event Bitsummit. They were there to showcase their latest game A Pet Shop After Dark, a departure from visual novels like A Year Of Springs trilogy into horror storytelling ("more spooky than outright horror," as they later clarified) that's set to release later this month. Beyond the trilogy and their newest work, they’ve translated the works of other developers and worked on other smaller games and game jam projects.