For this study, I and my team utilized Consensual Qualitative Research methodology (CQR) to code the interviews that Wei and I conducted. We recruited eight queer gamers who roleplay (RP) on the game Guild Wars 2 (GW2), an MMORPG. Here are the eight themes that arose:
My most prominent identities and personal history
My character’s most prominent identities and personal history
My experiences in other, similar games
My character’s experience while roleplaying
My history with and approach to the game
My thoughts on the content the developers (ArenaNet) have produced
My involvement with and perceptions of the GW2 community
My experiences with other players
We find that people's RP characters are informed by one's identities, but also players use RP to explored one's identity further. RP allows one to interact with other members of the community and find likeminded individuals. Further, Queer Gamers flock to GW2 because ArenaNet actively made a game that is welcoming to members of the LGBTQ community.
"Instead of walking into a room where it’s dark and you might feel like you have to hide, you walk in, the light’s on and you see everybody else just having a good time. "
"The story does change a lot of people’s minds. There was a discussion on the Subreddit about the finale where Marjory and Kass kiss. Somebody said that moment changed their perception of homosexuality.”
"We’ve had some really intense stories. When it comes to worlds that you can feel like who you are matters, this game is probably one of the better ones."