B.C. Gaymers, Gather Around: Showcasing Local Queer Gaming Content

by Sarah Leung

In 2021 British Columbia was home to 161 video game companies, cementing it as a province with a large developer presence. Among these 161 B.C. video game companies, stand Vancouver’s Extremely Ok Games Ltd. and Happy Ray Games. The founders of the respective companies hold a long-shared history: from meeting online through GameMaker communities to collaborating on games together, all before establishing their own companies by 2020.

Two games from those respective companies, Celeste and Ikenfell, were nominated for multiple awards and garnered attention from players online. For the gaymers who may be interested, both games also boast notable LGBTQ+ representation. Extremely Ok Games Ltd. and Happy Ray Games are among some examples of queer creators making queer content right here in B.C.

Celeste (2018)

Maddy Thorson, one of the founders of Extremely OK Games Ltd. (EXOK), is one of the people to thank for award-winning platforming video game, Celeste. Celeste released in 2018 from combined efforts of Maddy Thorson, friend and programmer Noel Berry, and other lovely members of then company Maddy Makes Games (eventually reforming to become Extremely OK Games Ltd).

The game follows Madeline, a young woman who seeks to climb Mount Celeste. While Thorson and her game company are proudly Canadian, so is the game’s setting of Mount Celeste: “Mount Celeste” is the nickname of an actual mountain situated in British Columbia.

A Mountain of Questions Turns Into A Powerful Statement
Alongside its multiple award nominations and wins, Celeste remains notable among the LGBTQ+ community. After implications of Madeline’s trans identity in the game’s “Farewell” DLC, confirmation of this fact arrived: Madeline is trans, and that cannot be disconnected from Thorson’s own journey with gender.

In two posts posted to Maddy Thorson’s blog, “Is Madeline Canonically Trans?”, and “Four Years of Celeste,” Thorson explains how the discourse surrounding Madeline’s identity influenced her personal decision to come out as a trans woman:

“If the discourse around Celeste hadn’t become so focused on its queer undertones, I don’t think I would have come out publicly for a long time,” she revealed in January this year.

Thorson also clarified that she does not regret how the events unfolded: explicit confirmation of Celeste as a trans story has value. Celeste has themes (such as dealing with mental health) that resonate with a broad amount of people regardless of gender, but it is undeniably a trans story.

However, Thorson firmly states that Celeste does not represent all that she can do. Celeste may always be a part of her, but who she is beyond Celeste remains something that she wishes to explore:

“Celeste taught me so much about myself and will always be a part of me. But for me, it’s ultimately about who I was — it can’t contain everything that I will ever be.”

Perspectives continue to evolve gradually and cannot be constrained to one snapshot in time.

Celeste can be played on Microsoft Windows, macOS, and Linux operating systems, as well as the Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Stadia consoles. EXOK is currently hard at work developing their next game, Earthblade.

Ikenfell (2020)

Disney’s The Owl House wasn’t the only piece of 2020 queer media staring a “magicless” girl in a world of wizards and witches.

Happy Ray Games’ Ikenfell stars a magicless protagonist and her group of friends, seeking to unravel a mysterious disappearance centered around the titular magic school. It’s a charming RPG inspired by the likes of series such as Mother and Mario & Luigi.

Ikenfell’s cast is full of LGBTQ+ characters: including the main character Maritte Hildegaard, other women-loving women, and Ima who explicitly uses the neo-pronouns ze/zir. Join Maritte and the gang as they seek to find her missing sister, discover new powers, and explore the world surrounding Ikenfell.

Handling Queerness with Care

In a 2020 interview with Gamerant, Joanna Blackhart, a member of Ikenfell’s writing and sensitivity team, noted that she was brought on to ensure that characters were “really, really good rep.”

The intent of queerness in Ikenfell existed before its writing and sensitivity team came into the picture: multiple staff members, including Happy Ray Games founder and Ikenfell creator Chevy Ray Johnston, are queer themselves. They fully intended to include queerness in the game, and that specific team helped bring those aspects out in a respectful manner.

Blackheart sums this up in a lovely statement:

“For anyone that hasn’t tried this before, if you like queer games made by queer creators, made by queer creators of colour — most of our team is, in fact, not white. I would say, please check out our game because I promise you will either like it or double your sadness back.”

With wizards and witches, a story full of mystery, a diverse group of friends, and a soundtrack composed by aivi & surasshu (known for their work on Steven Universe, yet another magical piece of media with queer themes), Ikenfell has it all for many gaymers.

Ikenfell can be played on Microsoft Windows and macOS operating systems, as well as the Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4 consoles. Future Happy Ray Games’ works are unknown, but Chevy Ray Johnston is currently working on Earthblade with EXOK.