True Avatars - A Queer Video Game Podcast

Episode 22 - Lost Records: Bloom & Rage, Sonic Racing CrossWorlds, and Pokémon Day Predictions

The Amies are back and we’re talking about all the news from the last two weeks, including "The Last of Us" Season 2's premiere date, another “Deltarune” update, surprising layoffs on “Marvel Rivals,” and Nintendo ending its loyalty program.
In the second half, we’re discussing initial thoughts on the new bisexual AF game “Lost Records: Bloom & Rage” (from the company that brought us “Life is Strange”), the network test for “Sonic Racing CrossWorlds,” and our predictions for the Pokémon Presents that will stream on Pokémon Day.
 
00:00:00 - Intro and What We’ve Been Playing
00:06:11 - News
00:47:13 - Lost Records: Bloom & Rage
01:15:10 - Sonic Racing CrossWorlds (Network Test)
01:41:40 - Pokémon Day Predictions
 
This episode was recorded on February 23 2025.
 
Also, here are the details for the five Psychroma Steam keys, details/enter here:
https://bsky.app/profile/trueavatars.bsky.social/post/3limzhrriek2s
https://www.instagram.com/p/DGTnYPsJ1CO/?igsh=ZTQ3aXJuNmFtc2h2
https://x.com/trueavatars/status/1892656365480382755?s=46&t=sVUrhNeL5EXDMRDpzdemfQ
 
Sources:
https://x.com/lbabinz/status/1892325222931382761?s=46&t=sVUrhNeL5EXDMRDpzdemfQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_fmEDsQPh4&ab_channel=BandaiNamcoEntertainmentAmerica
https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2025/02/dont-worry-dragon-quest-xii-is-still-in-development
https://www.fantasylife.jp/fli/en/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrpGYTlCjNQ&ab_channel=SupergiantGames
https://mynintendonews.com/2025/02/16/xbox-to-show-nintendo-and-playstation-logos-in-all-future-showcases/
https://www.resetera.com/threads/marvel-rivals-support-studio-director-shares-that-he-and-his-team-were-just-laid-off.1112481/
https://bsky.app/profile/tobyfox.undertale.com/post/3lidfymh7lk2p
https://nintendoeverything.com/nintendo-on-potential-impact-of-u-s-tariffs-switch/
https://my.nintendo.com/news/97495f34d09fb076
https://en-americas-support.nintendo.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/45255/~/nintendo-switch-game-vouchers-faq

Episode 21 - Interview with Rocket Adrift: Avoiding “The Button” and Creating Authentic Queer Characters

In the first segment, I discuss the PlayStation State of Play and all the games shown off, including “Sonic Racing CrossWorlds,” “Borderlands 4,” “Darwin’s Paradox,” and “Lost Records: Bloom & Rage.”
Then later on I’m joined by Toronto-based developer Rocket Adrift — Sloane Smith, Lindsay Rollins, and Titus McNally — for an in-depth interview on “Psychroma” and “Raptor Boyfriend: A High School Romance.”
Rocket Adrift are a team of trans, black, and neurodivergent game devs, and their games heavily reflect the diversity and experiences of their team.
We discuss what made Raptor Boyfriend (a visual novel dating sim) and Psychroma (a psychological horror side-scroller) so different, the inspiration behind the cyberpunk themes in Psychroma, what it’s like to localize a game into 16 different languages, and much more — they even tease their next game!
 
00:00:00 - PlayStation State of Play
00:31:14 - Interview with Rocket Adrift
 
This episode was recorded on February 13 and 16 2025.
 
***SPOILERS for Psychroma***
 
Sources:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQtPbTOhLEc&ab_channel=PlayStation
https://blog.playstation.com/2025/02/12/sonic-racing-crossworlds-gameplay-revealed-new-mechanics-detailed/
https://www.sonicstadium.org/news/games/sonic-racing-crossworlds-to-have-largest-sonic-racer-roster-including-sage-will-have-sega-characters-r2817/

Episode 20 - Psychroma & Raptor Boyfriend: The Games of Rocket Adrift

This week I’m joined by a returning guest, Lloyd_Lloydster (he/him), who’s here to help me cover a busy week of news stories! Headlines include how tariffs might affect the games industry, lots of Nintendo Switch 2 news, and how “Kingdom Come Deliverance II” has some queer representation! Plus so much more.
In the second half, it’s just me, as I talk about my thoughts and reactions to playing two very cool and very queer video games: “Psychroma” and “Raptor Boyfriend: A High School Romance.”
These games were developed by a small indie team called Rocket Adrift, who consist of trans, black, and neurodivergent game devs!
I’ve had a bunch of requests for more queer game recommendations, and both games are at the top of my list — come listen and find out why!
 
00:00:00 - Intro and What We’ve Been Playing
00:10:38 - News
00:57:57 - Psychroma Discussion
01:18:27 - Raptor Boyfriend Discussion
01:36:58 - Psychroma SPOILERS
 
This episode was recorded on February 9 2025.
 
***SPOILERS for Psychroma***
 
Sources:
https://www.ign.com/articles/trumps-tariffs-on-video-games-would-cause-significant-harm-to-everyday-americans-esa-warns
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/switch-2-price/
https://www.nintendo.com/successor/en-us/nintendo-direct/index.html
https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=WO2025027803
https://x.com/stealth40k/status/1887606216609706170?s=46&t=sVUrhNeL5EXDMRDpzdemfQ
https://www.theesa.com/entertainment-software-association-unveils-iicon-game-changing-thought-leader-summit-to-harness-the-power-of-interactive-entertainment-and-shape-the-future-of-business-and-culture/
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/take-two-ceo-says-ai-could-increase-employment-and-productivity-as-long-as-ip-isnt-infringed/
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/kingdom-come-deliverance-2s-developer-is-fed-up-of-being-dragged-into-the-culture-war-it-seems-like-someone-is-always-trying-to-brand-us-somehow-and-we-are-just-trying-to-make-a-cool-videogame/

Episode 19 - Discovering Our Identities through Video Games

My oldest and gayest friend, Graeme, is back! Graeme is a gay man and he previously joined me in Episode 2 (which you should definitely go back and check out)!
In the first chunk, it’s just me as I cover games I’ve been playing and the not-so-great news about Bioware this week.
Graeme pops in for the second chunk, and he and I talk about how video games helped us explore our sexuality and gender (respectively) before we came out of the closet.
Our conversation hits a lot of interesting points, including how non-queer video games can offer queer ideas through “otherness," how they can help you take steps to come out, and even help you discover the kind of queer person you want to be.
We also discuss how the closet restricted our interests and hobbies, which included video games.
 
00:00:00 - Intro and What I’ve Been Playing
00:13:45 - News
00:32:40 - Discovering Our Identities through Video Games
 
This episode was recorded on February 1 and February 2 2025.
 
***SPOILERS for Final Fantasy XIII***
 
Sources:
https://blog.bioware.com/2025/01/29/bioware-studio-update/
https://www.ign.com/articles/mass-effect-5-bioware-doesnt-require-support-from-the-full-studio-ea-moves-some-staff-to-other-teams
https://www.reddit.com/r/GamingLeaksAndRumours/s/Bp6vu2dqtI
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2025-01-31/electronic-arts-slashes-bioware-after-dragon-age-sales-miss
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/astro-bot-and-black-myth-wukong-lead-the-game-developers-choice-awards-nominations/
https://gamechoiceawards.com/categories
https://deadline.com/2025/01/beyond-two-souls-video-game-television-series-elliot-page-pageboy-1236267129/

Episode 18 - Interview with Lloyd_Lloydster: Transitioning with Your Audience

This week I welcome Lloyd_Lloydster! Lloyd is a trans man and Twitch streamer who socially transitioned in real time in front of his audience.
In the first half of the episode, it’s just me, Zoey, as I talk about the games I’ve played, and the news. Headlines include the cancelation of Earthblade from Extremely OK Games (Celeste), the GLAAD Media Awards, Dragon Age: The Veilguard’s underperformance, and a lot more.
In the second half, Lloyd joins me to talk about keeping himself safe online, finding his community on streams, and the joys of exploring his gender identity through video games.
 
00:00:00 - Intro and What I’ve Been Playing
00:11:57 - News
00:32:07 - Interview with Lloyd_Lloydster
 
This episode was recorded on January 23 and January 26 2025.
 
***SPOILERS: Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door, Super Mario Odyssey***
 
Sources:
https://exok.com/posts/2025-01-22-earthblade-final-update/
https://glaad.org/mediaawards/36/nominees/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0D-0jraRZQ&ab_channel=GameTrailers
https://variety.com/2025/film/news/sonic-4-release-date-march-2027-1236280697/
https://dont-nod.com/en/lost-records-bloom-and-rage-faq/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySygveWfuKE&ab_channel=Xbox
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/there-is-hope-that-gta-6-will-cost-as-much-as-100-says-analyst/
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/ea-blames-underperformance-of-dragon-age-and-ea-fc25-as-it-lowers-forecast/

Episode 17 - What’s it Like to Launch a Game in Early Access?

Zoe Straw is back, and this week she’s here to talk about a game she worked on called Aloft (the new cosy survival game from Astrolabe Interactive). Come hear about what it’s like to launch a game in early access!
But wait, there’s more! Zoe also recently participated in a game jam, where she developed an arcade shooter with a unique gravity-based mechanic. She speaks in depth about what it was like to develop this game over the span of three(!) days.
As usual, we also discuss the news (very Microsoft-centered this week), what we’ve been playing, and Zoe also talks about a prototype for Naughty Gear, a Christmas-themed parody of Metal Gear Solid.
 
00:00:00 - Intro and What We’ve Been Playing
00:14:36 - News
00:28:20 - Aloft launches in early access
00:55:58 - Zoe’s Game Jam
01:16:28 - Naughty Gear (and more Game Jam)
 
This episode was recorded on January 18 2025.
 
Gravity Strike: https://zoeleet.itch.io/gravity-strike
 
Sources:
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/sony-and-several-la-based-playstation-studios-donate-to-wildfire-relief-efforts/
https://www.theverge.com/2025/1/7/24338778/microsoft-xbox-handheld-pc-gaming
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/microsoft-makes-layoffs-across-several-divisions-including-gaming/

Episode 16.5 - BONUS - Nintendo Switch 2 Finally Revealed!

Hi True Avatars, and welcome to your first ever bonus episode!
Join me and the Amies as we discuss everything from the big Switch 2 reveal trailer, plus some more rumours and speculation… and of course, the new Mario Kart!
 
00:00:00 - Intro
00:32:10 - New Mario Kart discussion
 
This episode was recorded on January 17 2025.
 
Sources:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itpcsQQvgAQ&ab_channel=NintendoofAmerica
https://x.com/pldhnet/status/1879924762539094509?s=46&t=sVUrhNeL5EXDMRDpzdemfQ
https://x.com/pierre485_/status/1879883084763676862?s=46&t=sVUrhNeL5EXDMRDpzdemfQ
https://www.nintendo.com/en-ca/nintendo-switch-2-experience/?srsltid=AfmBOopR-svolE6s1z86WU8f9UKpA67SISq8iSuXUWlCSNZWV2QdqEGZ
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/switch-2-tour-schedule/
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-01-16/nintendo-to-unveil-next-generation-switch-2-in-april
https://x.com/pierre485_/status/1879910137781219776?s=46&t=sVUrhNeL5EXDMRDpzdemfQ
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/a-nintendo-direct-focusing-on-games-for-the-original-switch-is-coming-next-month-its-claimed/

Episode 16 - Interview with Frank Hopewell-Smith: Market Research for Video Games

This week is a big episode! I have a really exciting guest joining me for the second half of the show:
Frank Hopewell-Smith!
Frank is a gay man who works for 2CV, a global market research agency, where he helps video games with marketing, branding, and appealing to the “everyperson gamer.” Frank wears a lot of hats, and during his career he has worked on a ton of games, including a bunch that you’ve definitely heard of!
Before the interview, in the first half of the show, I’m joined by Ekamy where we talk about what we’ve been playing and the news. This week there were a lot of headlines, and we tried our best to be as brief as possible (not our strong suit… whoops haha).
Oh? There’s also been a big update to the podcast…
…we have a THEME SONG!! It was composed by the lovely and talented Diana Kotzin, and it adds so much character to the show!
Finally, I would like to personally apologize for the audio quality in the segment with Ekamy. I had some technical difficulties with the audio recording and I did my best to salvage it with Adobe’s podcast enhance feature.
***Spoiler warning for Bayonetta 3***
 
00:00:00 - Intro
00:09:07 - What we’ve been playing
00:15:30 - News
01:07:05 - Interview with Frank Hopewell-Smith
 
This episode was recorded on January 7 and January 12 2025.

Episode 15 - GLAAD Gaming Report and Sonic 3 Trans Joy

In a previous episode, Amy-Lynn mentioned an interest in diving deeper into the GLAAD Gaming report: “The State of LGTBQ Inclusion in Video Games.” So this week, she and I took the time to do just that!
We also discuss what we’ve been playing (Psychroma, Aloft, Arcade Spirits, Kitsune Tails, and more), all the news from over the holiday break, and to wrap up the episode, Amy-Lynn shares some beautiful trans joy from her experience watching the new movie Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (spoiler warning!)
 
00:00:00 - Intro and What We’ve Been Playing
00:12:54 - News
00:39:22 - GLAAD Gaming Report
01:36:12 - Sonic 3 Trans Joy + Spoiler Talk
 
This episode was recorded on January 3 2025.

Episode 14 - Looking Ahead to Queer Gaming in 2025

The Amies™ are back again, and this week we’re taking a peek at what 2025 has in store for gayming.
First up, we discuss the AAA and indie games that have been confirmed for the coming year, and then we dive into our speculation and predictions.
2025 is looking to be an amazing year with lots of potential for strong 2SLGBTQIA+ representation in the video games industry, whether that’s queer characters, stories, or queer-led development. Most importantly, there are a lot of games to look forward to playing!
 
00:00:00 - Intro
00:02:46 - AAA
00:55:32 - Indies
01:21:58 - Speculation/Predictions
 
Games/content discussed:
Baldur’s Gate 3
Ghost of Yotei
Borderlands 4
The Last of Us (TV Series) - Season 2
Riot Games’ new TOS (Terms of Service)
Lost Records: Bloom & Rage
Deltarune Chapters 3 & 4
Mafia: The Old Country
Elden Ring: Nightreign
Pokémon Legends Z-A
Sonic Racing: Crossworlds
Aloft
Kitsune Tails
Love at the Milky Way Diner
Sword of the Necromancer: Resurrection
Killing of the Quiet
Wanderstop
Coffee Talk Tokyo
Spill the Beans
Polygun
Fallout (Games and TV Series)
Cyberpunk 2
Dragon Age: The Veilguard
Life is Strange (Games and TV Series)
Hades II
Haunted Chocolatier
Stardew Valley
Earthblade
Grand Theft Auto 6 (GTA)
The Sims 5
Nintendo Switch 2
Animal Crossing
Splatoon
Zelda
Mother 3
Earthbound
Project TS
This episode was recorded on December 16 2024.