How is the LGBTQ+ stuff presented?

[SoundOfDarkness]

Is it forced like so often in modern media or does it feel natural?

[FRIENDEL]

personally, i don't think it feels forced. i mean it's not exactly in the background, considering it's a very big part of the story, but i feel like the way it's presented is the same way it would show irl. :)

[KuroNeeko]

It's presented pretty well, but mostly more as a kind of primer. You experience the story second-hand through the game's protagonist as they struggle to understand and accept themselves. If you've gone through this same struggle, it'll feel relatable. If you're more into the Q (as in "questioning"), then it might feel even more relevant.

[zaphodikus]

As a bloke bloke, not a fan of people in general messing with their bodies at all, "temple" and all that guff, kinda person, I came at this story totally unaware of the agenda. I've worked briefly with or been in contact with a few people who re-assigned themselves, and so I am finding this story totally totally digestible and helpful.
I guess if you have gender identity issues this story will not be news to you, but for me, it's pretty much what I suspect they go through, so I have found it very helpful. It's an extreme life, not boring like mine is. The story is superbly told. It totally draws you in, in the telling once you realise that it's not just a "lost phone" mystery, I have to play the other game in this set. Oh, and the simulation and the immersion is totally on key.

[niet3sche77]

Wildly-forced, along with a cast of characters that are all varying degrees of insufferable.

[noctenary]

To me, it felt natural, but I share the MC's identity. If you're someone who doesn't generally like LGBT+ representation, you won't like this game.

[SoundOfDarkness]

Originally posted by noctenary:

If you're someone who doesn't generally like LGBT+ representation, you won't like this game.

No, I'm not some homophobic or transphobic ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥. I just don't like it when they think they need to hammer it into your skull.

Maybe I should give some examples on what felt natural for me. My favorite example is "Life is Strange", the relation between Max and Chloe was perfect and natural.
I was sceptical about "Tell Me Why" at first, but Dontnod managed again to make it feel natural. Ollie didn't feel like a girl and decided to become Tyler. While this was more important for the story than in "Life is Strange" they still didn't feel the need to constantly remind the player that Tyler used to be a girl in every sentence.

It starts to feel forced if they have to tell the audience/players again and again that character XY is gay, trans or whatever. Like in the first episode of the Chucky TV show, where they mentioned about 5 times per minute that Jake is gay. Thankfully it wasn't like that for the whole season.
Another bad example was "Chilling Adventures of Sabrina", where in the second season it wasn't about witches, demons, hunters and other similar stuff but instead suddenly only was about that Susie now wants to be called Theo.

[zaphodikus]

Well, it's taken 6 months to get back to this thread, so I'm assuming the if you enjoyed LIS, then, A normal lost phone in terms of it's tone (much like Another Lost Phone) , will be just the same tone.
Although the 2D low-res makes the way the story tells itself very different. This game actually has been really good for getting me to change my attitudes on the whole topic area.

[Paxtian]

In the credits, the devs mention quite a few LGBTQ+ people who contributed to the story to attempt to make it more authentic. I'm cis-het, so I can't completely speak to how authentic it is, but it comes across as genuine. While the main character's family is, unfortunately, not supportive of them and their identity, it certainly lines up with many true experiences.

At the end of the day, the story is beautiful and emotionally impactful.

[Torment]

Originally posted by Paxtian:

In the credits, the devs mention quite a few LGBTQ+ people who contributed to the story to attempt to make it more authentic. I'm cis-het, so I can't completely speak to how authentic it is, but it comes across as genuine. While the main character's family is, unfortunately, not supportive of them and their identity, it certainly lines up with many true experiences.

At the end of the day, the story is beautiful and emotionally impactful.

Some of it may or may not be authenthic but the devs surely heavily borrowed if not even outright stole names and appearences from life is strange. Be it names like Chloe with the typical blue hair or Ambers/Rachel and some other stuff like Graham's first or second name. I counted 5 things at least that were literally the same like Life is Strange.

Also some gameplay would be better if it did not force you to fiddle around with the mobile phone. Maybe more of a VN with choices instead.

[Torment]

And yeah yeah, I do realize Rachel Ambers was actually almost a literally real person that died and ended up as missing poster in real life.

[zaphodikus]

I did wonder about name lifting as well, and curiously I noticed that people who choose a new name sometimes, just sometimes, do so with a pattern to it. As adults we name ourselves very differently, to how we name infants who have no personality yet. So the new names reflect the actual personality, which can sometimes match their dead-name personality that they grew into, but will not always. Because a new name rather matches their inner or owned personality instead. Owned personality names are chosen from a less vague pool of names, and from a temporal or current name pool, not the names that were popular at their birth geographically or temporally I suspect.

[msb]

This talk about names is so weird to me. The main character, their gf, best friend, dad, etc... none of them had Life is Strange names. No Amber, no Chloe. I wonder if they changed it?

[Torment]

Could be. I mean we had a "re"master of LiS after all. Cash in cash out and such.

[Torment]

Also a bit tragic that dontnod and deck9 had actually only one awesome game, and everything after was a bit meh. True colours had it's moment still. End was rushed.