I don’t have a lot of time to play game these days. I usually play games like Cities Skylines where it’s easy to pause and exit. I basically have 1-4 hours to game a week - depending on the week. But ever since coming out trans, I’ve wondered if there was a game that casually was affirming. I realize I could play an RPG where you can design your character, but most of those games have you spend 2 hours designing and then you never really look at the character again. Baldur’s Gate was a lot of fun, but it’s a little too deep to play casually on the side. I strongly prefer a non-NSFW game. I realize a lot of NSFW games exist on Steam that do explore trans concepts (I assume), but I’m looking for a more positive, gentle, affirmation.
But I don’t want to knock down too many ideas! What do you play?
Edit: I realize I made it sound like I’ve excluded all RPGs which I don’t want to be the case since - inherently - anything affirming will have some RPG element to it. I just don’t think first-person RPGs really work since I spend most of my time looking at my hands and I don’t get to see my character.
What about old (and new) isometric RPGs? Those frequently involve creating a character and picking a portrait (you can often add one to a custom one to folder also to add it to the game). Those can be a bit much I suppose. Have a look at Tyranny (a newer one). It’s not too long. Very well written. Lots of choice.
There’s also Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing which both feature character creation, and both sound like they might fit your time schedule. Very drop in once in a while kinda games.
The Sims maybe?
Terraria features character creation and is a 2d platformer, so you always see your character! You quickly get armor which covers all of you, but you can hide or cover it with purely cosmetic items. Easy to get into. Very fun game that lets you mess around at your own pace.
Certain RPGs have a third person camera instead of first. Check out Kingdom of Amalur: Reckoning. It’s not as complicated as some RPGs but it’s very enjoyable.
yesss Animal Crossing! 🙌
super gender-affirming, I spend so much time on my outfits in that game
and +1 for SDV, Sims, and Terraria - all great recs
I want Animal Crossing but I don’t have a switch 😭
I’ve definitely given Sims and Terraria a few plays. The Sims is fun for designing and house design which I love.
In general, I struggle with the 2D aesthetic since it’s usually 8/16bit and I don’t “see” myself as the character usually. But I should give it another try.
^ isometric RPGs rock! BG3, Pillars of Eternity (1 and 2), etc
Yes! Also, special shout out to my boy Arcanum. An absolute banger, even if it is old and needs a community patch to be worth playing.