Sharing one’s world
When Elin Giger heard about the Game Design programme at ZHdK during the foundation course, a huge world opened up. Elin is particularly fascinated by the discipline’s diversity.
Game designers must be able to work and think in an interdisciplinary way. Developing a game is very complex and therefore requires a wide variety of people and skills. Great projects can be created when a team manages to combine their individual strengths and work together. I find being part of such a creative process immensely rewarding.
My studies have changed my view of the world, as well as made me realize content gaps and structural shortcomings. For example, the creative departments of large companies are still male-dominated. As a result, video games are also characterized by their point of view. It is important for game designers to be aware of these power structures. Especially in the indie scene, in which I also position myself, a more diverse picture emerges. I try to include myself and my perspective as a genderqueer person, whether it’s in a game’s narrative or mechanics.
As a game designer, my responsibility includes conveying socio-political issues. This is mainly because games affect gamers through storytelling and the immersion they create. Anna Anthropy’s autobiographical game «Dys4ia» (2012), which we played through in the «Queer and Non-Colonial Game Mechanics» module, had a lasting impact on me. In «Dys4ia,» a trans woman documents the transition. The game has simple graphics and makes this person’s circumstances easily understandable. I see this as an opportunity to bring queer topics to a broad audience.
Games can change the world. They touch us directly and enable us to experience very intense emotions. In the best case, our view of the world after playing a game will be more diverse and richer. I want my games to make more diverse realities of life and emotional worlds visible, to encourage gamers to empathize, and to lastingly affect them.
