I'll be streaming more Police Quest II in ~10 minutes or so. I'm a bit knackered today so don't expect a whirlwind entertainment spectacle or anything. (Boy, I'm really selling this, aren't I?)
Serious question: Can anyone recommend someone in academia who does (or has done) reputable research of transgender representation in media?
I'm hoping to get at least 3-4 people who know their shit and ask them about THAT SECTION in Space Quest IV. I'm interested in historical context, analysis of the subtext, and of course a judgment call on a deceptively simple question: Is SQ4 transphobic?
Why? Because if I'm going to make a video on a hot-button topic, I feel I'd better cover my fucking bases.
I am, however, also interested to hear from people who are trans (and are comfortable presenting online as trans) about the subject. DM me or swing me a line at contact@spacequesthistorian.com
@Gwendolyn I'm very interested to hear your perspective! Do you want to move the discussion somewhere private or are you comfortable continuing it out in the open, so to speak?
@Gwendolyn Well, I guess you did answer most of my questions (e.g. is it problematic beyond Maebot's "sicko" response, etc.). My lingering question there, as far as the setup goes (as to who or what we're meant to be laughing at), what do you make of the narrator's "even though it was almost too enjoyable" line? Juxtapose it with Roger somewhat telling remarks in SQ6, like "I remember when I used to wear my mom's... uh, never mind" and "[I'm] a man trapped in the body of a woman. Wait."
@Gwendolyn OR... is it subtly portraying a man who isn't ready to admit to himself he might be trans? I get that it's probably what you say it is, and I'm probably reading too much into it... but the one part where I'm struggling a bit is whether or not it's definitively laid out as we're meant to laugh AT Roger. If he's trans, he's clearly still in denial of it, but it seems to be more out of fear of ridicule (which Maebot amply provides, unfortunately).
@Gwendolyn I think the narrator's line about "too enjoyable" is not so much a reflection of a transphobic outlook by the game (and, by that extension, of the writer), but a glimpse into a deeply buried internal conflict of the character. MAYBE. It's also very possible I'm being too charitable. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.
I've been thinking about starting up some low-key streaming again. Not full-on "heeeeey guys, welcome to another episode of [blah-blah]; heyyyy, [whoever], thanks so much for the sub; come on, let's get that next milestone, woo-hoo" streaming. Just low-key evening streams where I chime in whenever there's something interesting happening but otherwise just a chill "background noise" kinda stream. Mostly because I want to record gameplay footage but I need some kind of excuse to get me going.
@Tijn@dosgameclub Yeah, that sounds about right. But even less so for me. I'm even thinking of keeping the facecam hidden and only "sliding it in" when I have something I want to say.
Not to mention this is also bad for video game preservation. Years from now, the servers meant to handle your account creation will probably cease to be, and the games will be unplayable unless someone cracks them. The shortsightedness of this industry never fails to amaze me.
@flisk That goes without saying. 😅 I mean, what low-level assembly line programmer on a Call of Duty game ever woke up one morning and went, "You know what this game needs? Online authentication for single-player mode!"
@ramon_wilhelm It's surprisingly versatile. You can do a lot of things in AGS that would go beyond the strict definition of "point-and-click adventure game."
I feel like music genres sometimes need to be split by music and lyrics.
Like sometimes I'm listening to something chill but the lyrics are just punk AF and it's like... "Oh, my problem with this kind of music is it's mostly just singing about dumb shit I don't care about. This is pretty damn sweet,"
Or sometimes there's this sweet heavy track, but it's about having sex and I just have to purge that shit from my playlist.
Hamsters have sex. Whoopity-doo! It's not worth singing about.
(Disclaimer: I understand we're all wired differently. Listen to your sex music all you want, and if you like it I'm glad you have it to listen to. It just personally makes my eyes roll)
@Gwendolyn I like a good subversion of expectations, like Devin Townsend proclaiming that the meaning of the universe is a cheeseburger over some of the heaviest and most complex music he's ever written, or Ladytron having some of the most passive-aggressively angry lyrics over shoegaze-y synth-pop, but on the whole I'm kinda with you.
@Gwendolyn That they would pop up an unsolicited and frankly kind of pathetic nag box on my screen to pimp their own search engine that I didn't need, didn't ask for, and have no intention of heeding.