The Absence of Something: Addressing Underrepresented LGBTQIA+ Communities in Video Games Through Holistic Character Design Techniques

Author

Lydia Myers, East Tennessee State UniversityFollow

Degree Name

MFA (Master of Fine Arts)

Program

Digital Media

Date of Award

12-2025

Committee Chair or Co-Chairs

Jacy Richardson

Committee Members

Jacy Richardson, Chris Wilson, and Gregory Marlow

Abstract

This research identifies pain points and gaps in current LGBTQIA+ representation in the video games industry, and showcases the characters that I have created in response to those pain points. Despite the games industry representing LGBTQIA+ individuals often, certain communities under the umbrella are included less often, less accurately, and less respectfully than others. The goal of this research is to identify important considerations for respectfully portraying underrepresented queer communities in video games: specifically transgender, nonbinary, asexual, aromantic, and polyamorous communities, which are especially under-explored. My included characters were created via a holistic approach to character design. Despite my professional focus being 3D character modeling, through this research I have determined that the writing of a character, and how a hypothetical player would interact with them, are often of greater significance in how they read to a player than their visual design. Therefore, I develop the narratives, themes, identities, and appearances of my characters simultaneously, allowing each category of the character’s development to feed into the others. Their designs and stories are created very intentionally, learning from both unsuccessful and successful existing representations of their demographics within the industry. The characters created over the course of this project represent a commitment to continuing expansion of respectful queer representation within games.

Document Type

Culminating Experience

Copyright

Copyright by the authors.

Recommended Citation

Myers, Lydia, "The Absence of Something: Addressing Underrepresented LGBTQIA+ Communities in Video Games Through Holistic Character Design Techniques" (2025). Master of Fine Arts in Digital Media Culminating Experience. Paper 17. https://dc.etsu.edu/digitalmedia-culminating-experience/17