True Avatars - A Queer Video Game Podcast

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.

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.

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.

Join me and The Amies™ as we go back through 2024’s queer games, news, events, and announcements.
Was 2024 a good year — full of progress for queer games and developers? Or was this year a step back, as everything so happens to seem these days?
The answer, without spoiling the whole episode, is much more optimistic than you may think!
We break down the whole year, month by month: from a nice handful of indie games to some legitimate representation in major releases, there is plenty to feel good about! And of course, there’s always a lot of room to grow.
 
00:00:00 - Intro
00:07:53 - January
00:15:44 - February
00:33:24 - March
00:54:03 - April
00:55:14 - May
00:58:51 - June
01:10:14 - July & August
01:21:23 - September
01:24:01 - October
01:30:23 - November
01:39:23 - December & Layoff Talk
 
Games/content discussed:
Checkpoint Gaming (website)
Arcade Spirits
Thirsty Sword Spirits (TTRPG)
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
Lake
Pokémon Legends Z-A
GLAAD Report
Horizon Forbidden West
Tchia
Stardew Valley
Death of a Wish
Lucah: Born of a Dream
Dead by Daylight
Voice Love on Air
Hades II
Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door
Psychroma
Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical (Orpheus DLC)
Ghost of Yotei
Rent (musical)
Star Trek Discovery (series)
IGN Gayming Awards 2024 (event)
Tavern Talk
Final Fantasy XIV (14) Dawntrail
Star Wars Outlaws
Borderlands 4
Kitsune Tails
Dustborn
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered
Life is Strange: Double Exposure
Dragon Age: The Veilguard
Super Mario Party Jamboree
Super Mario Bros 2
Potionomics
Lego Horizon Adventures
Hogwarts Legacy sequel
The Game Awards
Layoffs
 
This episode was recorded on December 16 2024.

Let’s talk about E3 2024… I mean, The Game Awards 2024!
This year was an entertaining show full of fun reveals, exciting performances and some clever gimmicks. But from a queer standpoint, the show had no real soul. Queer representation was present, but there wasn’t nearly enough of it. And Geoff Keighley finally acknowledged the thousands of layoffs… kind of… not really…
This week, it’s just me, Zoey, as I recap and break down the relevant parts of this year’s Game Awards. Let’s dive in!
 
00:00:00 - Intro
00:02:30 - The Game Awards
 
This episode was recorded on December 15 2024.

This week is a double whammy of Zoe(y)s!
I am joined by Zoe Straw, a transgender woman and very cool game developer from Montreal!
First off, we discuss what we’ve been playing, move onto the news (which includes a discussion about the unsustainable state of AAA games, an Elden Ring 2 update, and more), and finally an in-depth interview with Zoe about her transition, entry into the world of game development, and some advice for aspiring game devs.
Oh, and we might also mention a new “Indie” game once or twice…
 
00:00:00 - Intro and What We’ve Been Playing
00:05:55 - News
00:41:32 - Interview with Zoe Straw
 
This episode was recorded on December 7 2024.

This week I welcome Maddi Patton, a bisexual woman/writer and Alexander Martin (aka droquen), an ally/game director. Maddi and Alex are two thirds of Undiscovered Country, a brand new indie game studio from Toronto, Canada.
Maddi and Alex share their hopes, dreams, and plans for their upcoming visual novel, “Killing of the Quiet”. We talk about how they got their start, how they decided on their first game, and the ins and outs of their creative process.
The year is winding down, so the news is light, but I start off the episode with my thoughts on “Dungeons of Dreadrock 2: The Dead King’s Secret” which is the sequel to my favourite Zelda-like.
00:00:00 - Intro and What I’ve Been Playing
00:09:24 - News
00:19:25 - Interview with Undiscovered Country
This episode was recorded on December 1 2024.

This week I interview June in Black, a transgender woman who works in the video games industry.
June shares her unique lived experience as someone who transitioned while working in video games. She has worked at some well-known studios in the past cutting trailers, promotional videos, and behind the scenes content for some of your favourite games! While June has most recently worked on Star Wars Outlaws, she also works to bring attention to indie games made by queer developers.
There were also a bunch of queer headlines this week. Most notably: queer nominations at The Game Awards!
 
00:00:00 - Intro and What We’ve Been Playing
00:05:57 - News
00:26:02 - Interview with June
 
This episode was recorded on November 24 2024.

Amy-Lynn and Ekamy are back this week for some Amy Squared double trouble! We discuss the news (including GOG's preservation program, DLC at The Game Awards, and the importance of unions in the video games industry), and in the second half we do a deep dive on how to take advantage of discounted video games during the upcoming holiday shopping season.
00:00:00 - Intro and What We’ve Been Playing
00:08:20 - News
00:43:13 - Taking Advantage of Holiday Sales
In this episode we forgot to mention the various rewards points systems, most notably Nintendo’s Gold Points and Sony’s PlayStation Stars programs. They’ll give you “currency” which can be used to discount future game purchases. Steam also has a way to earn some small amounts of money by selling the trading cards you earn for free when playing games. Don’t forget to take advantage of any rewards programs that give you bonuses and save you money!
This episode was recorded on November 17 2024.

This week I welcome Ekamy, a bisexual Twitch streamer. We cover what we’ve been playing, some concrete Switch 2 news, more Dragon Age: The Veilguard queer goodness, and the lack of first party single player PS5 games. In the second half, Amy discusses the exploration of her bisexuality (and potential pansexuality) through many video game romances. We also talk about games that let you date multiple genders.
 
00:00:00 - Intro and What We’ve Been Playing
00:10:38 - News
00:39:50 - Discovering Bisexuality and Pansexuality through Video Games
 
***Spoiler warning for Arcade Spirits***
 
Games with Bi/Pan Romance Options:
Life is Strange True Colors and Double Exposure
Stardew Valley
Skyrim
Baldur’s Gate 3
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey
Fallout series
The Sims 2, 3, and 4
Hades
Potionomics
Arcade Spirits
Arcade Spirits: The New Challengers
Monster Prom series
Doomsday Paradise
 
This episode was recorded on November 9 2024.