Aimee Hart Wants You to Know That Video Games Wouldn’t Exist Without Queer People

It was both. Obviously, it began with my writing. It was a very long time ago, I’d written a piece analyzing like, lesbianism in video games and people were upset because it wasn’t [air quotes] cannon or true or accurate. Basically, people who are protective of characters who aren’t real got really offended and were upset that I would be looking at anything to do with video games from a queer perspective. And that was even before the whole “woke” argument we see nowadays. It was very much like, “Oh, you’re trying to push an agenda on the gaming community and industry,” which was always funny to me because a lot of the industry freelancers I became friends with were all queer.

Obviously, when Gayming started there was constant blowback. A whole publication dedicated to LGBTQ gaming? That’s ridiculous! That’s not necessary! That thinking has always been an undercurrent. When we announce something, or when we work with partners, or whenever we’re highlighted, there’s always someone saying it. It’s almost become like a game for us. The critics are not very clever or creative.

Gaming has a history of being hostile to women and queer folks. Is that something you considered when you were pursuing this career? Has there ever been a time where your visibility as a queer femme in gaming has posed problems?

I grew up in a very small town and I’m still living in that small town. I’ve always known that I had to stick to a few certain roles to survive. I can say that it [the industry’s acceptance of non-cisgender, heteronormative people] has obviously progressed throughout the years, but it [entering the industry] was kind of that same feeling when it came to the internet. For gaming in particular, to go back to your previous point of like visibility, I was always kind of a little nervous at first because some of these people you get in your emails…they quite literally sound insane. I’ve had people email me my old address, my mother’s house. My mother’s disabled, my dad’s old, and I’m a carer for them. My niece also lives with them. Obviously, being emailed your address where your elderly parents and young niece live was awful. It was absolutely awful. So yeah, I have been hesitant. There’s this moment of like, is it worth it? But I could just exist and people would be upset with me. I’m definitely hyper aware of it, and I try not to think about it as much. I have social media, but I don’t go on it a lot. I just keep to myself.

Have you heard from readers or folks within the gaming industry and community about the impact of Gayming and what its existence has done for their own experience?

A lot of the stuff that puts me off social media as a gaming journalist…it’s really debilitating, but some of the most positive things I’ve ever experienced in life have come from gaming. For one, I’ve become more comfortable with being out, which was something I didn’t really expect when I went into gaming. I’m way more open about who I am and much less apologetic about it.

I’ve also had tons of indie developers come up to me or email me and say, “You covering our game has really changed our lives.” It’s shocking for me because it’s so easy to feel as though you get nothing out of it—like you have so little impact. So, when people say, “Oh, this has changed how I felt,” or, “This has made our game get more sales than it probably would have because nobody else was covering it,” it’s always touching. I think that’s the thing that most touches my heart and what I’m most proud of. Queer indies, I love them.

Do you feel like there’s been more progress within the industry and community where the creation of queer narratives by queer people is concerned? What changes would you like to see in the next year?

It changes from day to day, which is a very wishy-washy answer, I’m afraid, but it’s the one is the most true to how I feel. It depends on what I’m seeing on that particular day, but I do believe game developers care. There’s so many horrible people out there who say, “You’re forcing these poor game developers to write queer narrative or to write queer characters,” and I’m just like, a lot of the gays that you hate are making your favorite video games. If you want a video game without queer people involved, you wouldn’t have any video games.

There’s some really great characters now. You’ve got Ellie from The Last of Us, and I know Aloy from Horizon had an option to kiss a woman, but I think there needs to be more stories focusing on LGBTQ characters that aren’t just white stories as well. I’m speaking as a British white woman, but when it comes to queer stories, too many people focus on just white people. Yeah, we’re getting great stories from Ellie, Aloy, and any other queer characters that might be evading me at the moment. But do I think it’s enough? Not really. I think we need more, but I may be just greedy… Actually, I don’t feel like that’s greedy at all.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.