The game that got me to buy a ...

Someone over on NeoGAF recently started a thread devoted to "system sellers," i.e., must-have games that push people to buy a particular system.

I have yet to add my two cents to that discussion, but I thought it might be fun to do so here.

So, without further ado, here are the systems I've owned over the years and the games that forced me (yes, forced me) to buy them.

Consoles:

NES: Kid Icarus (and Metroid)
SNES: Super Mario World (and Final Fantasy II/IV)
Genesis: Shining Force
TurboGrafx-16: Bonk's Adventure (HuCard) and Ys: Book I & II (CD-ROM)
SuperGrafx: Daimakaimura (Ghouls 'N Ghosts)
Nintendo 64: Super Mario 64
PlayStation: Final Fantasy Tactics
Saturn: Panzer Dragoon
Dreamcast: Jet Grind Radio
GameCube: Animal Crossing
PlayStation 2: Disgaea: Hour of Darkness
Wii: Wii Sports

Handhelds:

GameBoy: Super Mario Land
GameBoy Advance: Final Fantasy Tactics Advance
DS: Final Fantasy III

Sadly, I don't yet have a PSP, a PlayStation 3 or an Xbox 360, but here are the games that make me want to get all three of them as soon possible:

PSP: LocoRoco
PlayStation 3: Little Big Planet (and Valkyria Chronicles)
Xbox 360: Pac-Man Championship Edition

So readers, which games got *you* to buy the systems you've owned over the years? I'm all ears! :)

Is this one of the best LGBT blogs in the world?

I seriously doubt it, but who am I to argue with the fine folks at the Manchester, England-based Lesbian & Gay Foundation? :)

Here's a bit of background, in case I've already lost you: In late June, the Lesbian & Gay Foundation posted to its site a list of "The 100 Best LGBT Blogs." Somehow, my little 'ol (hardly ever updated) blog made the cut.

I originally thought the folks at the Lesbian & Gay Foundation just Googled "gay blog" and based their list on the first 100 search results, but then I read the commentary (written by Grahame Robertson - not sure who he is, sadly) that accompanied the mention of my blog:

“Not only did I have to struggle with coming out as a gay man, I’m also a closet gamer too! Luckily, there’s a burgeoning gay gaming community out there, and this excellent blog - written by a gay gamer in Washington – is a great mix of tongue-in-cheek humour, real enthusiasm for the subject, and politics (check out his coverage of Microsoft’s recent run-in with the gay gaming community). Would love to see it updated a bit more frequently though.”

Thanks to the Lesbian & Gay Foundation and especially to Grahame, I plan on posting to this blog much more frequently from now on :)

BTW, you're probably wondering why I'm only posting this news now. Well, to be honest, I didn't know I had made the the Lesbian & Gay Foundation's list until this morning, when someone posted a congratulatory comment to this site!

The Advocate: Are Video Games Getting Gayer?

Well, it seems 50% (or more) of my posts these days promote articles I've written for The Advocate. Sorry about that. The good news is that I plan to post much more frequently from now on - which should mean that self-aggrandizing additions such as these should be fewer and farther between.

Anyway, back to the topic at hand: the article I wrote for The Advocate. The headline - "Are Video Games Getting Gayer?" - says it all, I think. My answer to that question apes the answer given by the folks I interviewed for the article: Sure, but they still have a long way to go.

For example, Brenda Brathwaite, a veteran game designer and the author of Sex in Video Games, told me that while video games have grown up a lot in the last few years, “we still haven’t seen the kind of normalization [of LGBT characters and story lines] that we’ve seen in movies and on TV for some time. We still haven’t had our Brokeback Mountain moment.”

Don't expect that to happen until more members of the LGBT community involve themselves in game design and development, she adds. In the meantime, “a bunch of straight guys will be trying to make games for the gay community, just like they used to try to make games for women.”

Here's a link to the full article - http://www2.advocate.com/exclusive_detail_ektid107493.asp - in case anyone's interested.

Should gay gamers boycott Shadow Complex?

Should gay gamers boycott Shadow Complex? That was the question posed by one NeoGAFfer yesterday. What prompted the query? Well, the Xbox Live Arcade title is based on Orson Scott Card's sci-fi novel, Empire, and Card, according to the NeoGAFfer in question, "is a notorious homophobe."

Twenty-four hours and hundreds of comments later, NeoGAFfers are still discussing the subject--as are visitors to GayGamer.net and Gamasutra.com, both of which have posted op-ed pieces devoted to the controversy.

"When Shadow Complex was announced, I personally was torn," shares Gamasutra's Christian Nutt. "I'd already long since made the conscious decision to not support Orson Scott Card directly with my money." On the other hand, he also "would like nothing more than to play a new game developed in the vein of some of my personal favorites--Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and Super Metroid."

GayGamer.net's Dawdle was similarly torn by the situation, though he did offer up a solution. "I think if you're obviously too disgusted to enjoy the game, avoid it and speak out," he writes. "However, if you want to play the game, play it... but offset the hate: If you buy Shadow Complex, donate $5, $10, $15--if you can spare it--to a gay charity."

In addition, "in message boards or user reviews, in blogs or tweets, if it comes up, let people know exactly what Card has said on the matter and where--and damn him with his own language."

Steve Demeter: The man behind the Americanization of Mother 3's Magypsies

I recently interviewed Steve Demeter, creator of the successful iPhone game, Trism, for an article that can be found on The Advocate's website. After grilling him (not really) about that title for nearly an hour, I geeked out and asked about his involvement with the fan translation of Nintendo's cult classic GameBoy Advance game, Mother 3.

Apparently, Tomato (aka Clyde Mandelin, the man responsible for getting the project off the ground) approached Demeter early on in the process and asked him to play a key role in the game's translation.

"He knew I had been involved with [the unofficial release of] Earthbound Zero back in the day and said he'd love it if I could put my stamp on this game as well," Demeter remembers.

Unfortunately, the timing wasn't right and Demeter couldn't assist with the translation. He also couldn't help edit the translated script, the second option offered by Mandelin.

Despite the fact that he was knee-deep in the development of Trism, however, Demeter couldn't turn down Mandelin's third option: translating the text related to Mother 3's fabulously flamboyant Magypsies.

Mandelin's only demand, according to Demeter: "He wanted me to sass it up. And that's just what I did. I basically thought of some of the queens I've met in the Castro as I worked on each character. I could hear their voices in my head. I took hold of those personas and put them into the game."