Zahra Rizvi, our blog editor and diversity officer, has a new publication, “An Overview of Queer Autobiography in Select Simulation Video Games: The Case of Animal Crossing: New Horizons and dys4ia” in Women’s Link published by the Dept. of English, Jamia Millia Islamia University. DiGRA India congratulates you, Zahra!
Abstract
This paper is an attempt to explore select contemporary games and gameplay to trace queer autobiography in two types of simulation games: a social simulation AAA game, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, and a more personalised, to use Lucas Pope’s term for ‘mundane’ games mirroring real-life situations, “other people simulator(s)” indie game, dys4ia. By looking at the two games together, the paper seeks to understand some of the community-building practices that are born out of gaming that is critically aware of the power of games to produce empathy and affinity. The paper investigates such possibilities of video games that emerge from a varying amount of freedom and choice layered between the self-reflective, self-expressive autobiographical participations and interactions that open safe spaces for queer expression and experience.
Digital Games Research Association, India 