Two more reasons to back Indivisible on Indiegogo this week: it's being made by a gay guy and it's going to include LGBT content
First, the “gay guy” in question is Peter Bartholow, CEO of Los Angeles-based Lab Zero Games.
Second, Indivisible, in case this is the first you’ve heard of it, is a two-dimensional action RPG–inspired by both Valkyrie Profile and Super Metroid–that Bartholow and his team hope to release for PS4, Xbox One, PC, Mac and Linux in 2017.
For that to happen, though, Lab Zero Games has to raise $1.5 million. As of now, its related Indiegogo campaign has garnered $1.35 million, with less than four days left until its Nov. 24 deadline. (Go to indiegogo.com to learn more about Indivisible and to make a contribution.)
If you’re still on the fence as to whether or not to hand over some of your own hard-earned cash for this intriguing effort, the following tête-à-tête–about Indivisible’s origins as well as the gay content mentioned in the header above–with Bartholow may help nudge you toward the “yes” side of the equation.
The Gay Gamer: You mentioned in your initial e-mail to me that Indivisible will have some sort of gay content. Can you tell me more about that? What form will it take? Are we talking about a major element of the game–the protagonist Ajna being gay or discovering she’s gay–or something a little less major, like a side character being open about being LGBT?
Bartholow: A lot of these ideas are still forming, and talking about the ones we do have in mind right now would probably be considered spoilers. But, yes, we do plan to have LBGT representation in the game. I don’t think it’ll be a major element, mostly character detail and context. It’s important that we strike the right balance in making it feel natural, but also not call so much attention to it that they’re defined by their sexuality or gender identity.
First and foremost, we want to make characters that are defined by what they do and say, not by what they happen to be. So, for example, a side-quest line might be about an Incarnation that Ajna has absorbed that’s worried about their lover. As you do the quests, and you find out the lover is the same gender. Not really meant to be a big reveal, but it’s there, and if you think back on the character and other situations in the game, you’ll realize it makes sense.
The Gay Gamer: What prompted you to add gay content to this game? Why do you think it’s important?
Bartholow: One of Indivisible’s central themes is how a diversity of viewpoints is stronger than a monolithic one. Even though the game isn’t set in America, that’s a pretty American ideal, and that was one of the reasons for the title. So we wanted to extend those viewpoints beyond country and skin color and into sexuality, gender identity, disabilities and other aspects of the human condition that inform our worldviews.
For example, while Ajna grew up in a remote village, she’s strong, has never had to struggle and probably doesn’t have the perspective and vulnerability of someone like, say, Yan, who was abandoned by her parents because she was born without arms. So as Ajna meets and fuses with these varied characters, it will give her perspectives and the accompanying empathy she might’ve otherwise lacked.
Again, it’s really important to us that we treat this with sensitivity. While including these kinds of characters is a goal of ours, we don’t want to force it. If we don’t feel we can do it right, we’ll hold off until we can.
To read the rest of my Q&A with Bartholow (what you see here is about half of it), go to http://www.thegaygamer.com/2015/11/two-more-reasons-to-back-indivisible-on-indiegogo-mac-pc-ps4-xbox-one.html
