Speculative fiction often turns the lens back on the reader, making the previously unknown known by making it a story.
It has long been used as a means of representation, from Star Trek exploring new frontiers of romance, to Octavia Butler positioning a Black woman at the forefront of humanity’s escape into space. in Parable of the Sower, comes YA weird as The Hunger Games exploiting every young girl’s desire to change the world by igniting it.
I’m Lindsay Ishihiro, and as the story designer of I Was a Teenage Exocolonist, I wanted to tell you about how our game follows this tradition, creating a new foundation for how players play. express themselves and their gender, sexuality and relationships in a video game.
I Was a Teenage Exocolonist is an elongated genre game about growing up on an extrasolar colony: part life simulator, deck builder, role playing game and dating simulator. You play as Sol, a child whose parents – dissatisfied with their life on a dying Earth – fly into space with the intention of creating a new human culture from scratch on the planet. planet Vertumna IV.
Given absolute freedom, what does a group of idealists preserve from human culture, and what do they reject? And what did they unwittingly bring, despite their best intentions?
The Exocolonist’s simple character creation system goes beyond its weight class. There are only two questions: what are Sol’s pronouns, and will they evolve to appear masculine, androgynous, or feminine?
Even the UI for choosing Sol’s appearance is a slider instead of three buttons, giving players the opportunity to say their Sol is ‘masculine or feminine’ just a little bit.
Surname/surname is included in the standard pronoun selection, but players who prefer a more bespoke experience can teach them to use their correct pronouns and other gender terms. In space, anyone can be themselves.
You can even change their pronouns and appearance at any time, no need for gender-changing items or cursed springs.
Sol’s anatomy is established later, during puberty – but there’s even an option for Sol to have no reproductive surgery at all, thanks to futuristic medical technology. Distinct anatomy with appearance and pronouns allows for a very large spectrum of possible sexes, including cis bodies, binary and non-binary convertible organs, and non-binary organs gender in many ways.
Even teen activists have to sit through engaging lectures in schools. Sorry, space teen!
Sol isn’t the only baby born in space; nine other children grew up with Sol, all of them (plus one more) with underlying friendships and love relationships.
Please understand what I consider the bare minimum: I am a teen executor that proudly showcases transgender and non-binary characters and includes same-sex, asexual, aromatic and even relationships. is amorous.
With a diverse team, we knew that to tell a story about the richness of the human experience, we needed to be fully inclusive in our characters and how they interact with players and with together.
And they interact with each other! Sol’s friends fall in love, hurt each other, experience their own tragedies, and even die. Sol is part of their story; you choose the importance of the part you play.
Of course, Sol gets closer to their friends by giving gifts and saying the right things, but also the type of person they want to be friends with. Working alongside them, sharing their political opinions and participating in their stories will bring them closer together, just like in real life.
Just like in real life, friendship can blossom into something different.
I Was A Teenage Exocolonist has triggers that are unique to all relationships. Yes, some people still need ten hearts before they give you a kiss, but others are more than happy to be a space monster with two (and sometimes three) while you guys are still searching. Understand each other. Some characters need you to step into a pivotal moment in their lives to feel comfortable opening up to you. Some need to finish their life’s work first. Some people are naturally interested in dating other people, so getting them interested in Sol requires more effort.
Thanks to the wormhole’s strangeness, Sol will relive their teenage years, learn from their mistakes, and help humanity find its place in the stars. You will be many Sols, for many lives.
Accurate representation of players in I Was A Teenage Exocolonist is integral to the experience of being Sol, helping them feel that their unique selves are important to all of humanity.
The key is to tell a story about finding yourself, literally, at the forefront of humanity’s most collective action.
I Was a Teenage Exocolonist will launch on PS4 and PS5 on August 25, 2022. Wish list it today!
