Gaydar

Role: Lead Programm and UI Designer

Team Members: Rae Watters, Skye Winters

Development Period: Febuary 2025 - Present

Software: Unity and Arcweave

Download Link: https://seasonalproductions.itch.io/gaydar

Website Link: https://www.asc.ohio-state.edu/winters.353/LavenderGames/Gaydar.html

Core Questions: How does bias towards the queer community impact ones ability to form emotional attachments to NPCs? How can the field of parasocial relationships be used in analyzing players bond formation with NPCs?

Description:

Gaydar explores the impact of dating apps on the queer community. Drawing on the influence of Gay Bars across the years, Grindr as a recent development in LGBTQ+ culture, and the experiences of marginalized identities on apps like Grindr, Gaydar tells a story about a young trans man looking for love. It is a story about vulnerability, peace, and growth through communication. And, you may just find yourself 'crushing' on some guys along the way. ;) <3

Methodology:

The development of Gaydar occured over several months. It began with an inital literature review of games studying queer relationships to characters and dating simulators. From there the idea of making a phone app was decided upon with heavy inspiratoin from the game series Emily Is Away. Using the Unity Game Engine and the plugin created for The Identity Project for Arcweave, the branching narrative was developed. Currently the project is still in active development as it is moving into its third phase based off feedback recieved in the latest playtesting session which had over 15 respondents provide feedback on the game. To record these responses google forms was used. The current timeline aims for it to be released on June 6th, 2025 onto Steam and Itch.io

Takeaways:

Through this project I have gained more experience creating games for research purposes. Additionally, this will be the first project I will be taking from concept development to publishing through our aim to publish on Steam on June 6th, 2025. Finally, it has given me the chance to further expand on my intgration tool for incorperating Arcweave into Unity projects.