The Moral Service of Trans NPCs: Examining the Roles of Transgender Non-Player Characters in Role-Playing Video Games

Abstract

Before 2020, no big-budget, mainstream video games featured playable transgender characters, relegating them instead to the role of non-player characters (NPCs). Through a textual analysis of Bioware’s 2014 title Dragon Age: Inquisition, Ubisoft’s 2016 Watch Dogs 2, and Naughty Dog’s 2020 The Last of Us Part II—three role-playing games that feature explicitly transgender NPCs—and a discourse analysis of media surrounding the games’ release, this paper examines the narrative roles afforded to transgender characters. Drawing from the “magical Negro” trope in film studies, I propose the term “magical transness” to describe the unique role of transgender supporting characters whose victimization provides the opportunity for cisgender protagonists to act heroically. This paper interrogates transgender representation and its relationship to media discourses about diversity and inclusion and discusses the political implications of transgender NPCs’ placement in roles of moral service.

Towards Representational Adequacy: A Critical Analysis of Transgender Representation in Tell Me Why

“…Following a similar process by Kosciesza (2023) and Adams (2015), I used close analytical reading while playing through the game in multiple passes to analyze the character design and narrative. I examined what Tyler physically looked like, how he moved and interacted with the game world around him, what his place in the storyline was, and how other characters treated him.…”

“…Krem and Lev are largely inconsequential to the story and exist as minor characters. Kosciesza (2023) describes the concept of magical transness as occurring when trans characters, who encounter violence and victimhood, are treated narratively as tools for the cisgender main characters' "advancement, aggrandizement, or moral redemption." As such, transgender men in games seem to be absent, inconsequential, or occurring as moral service characters (Kosciesza, 2023) to the main characters.…”

“…Krem and Lev are largely inconsequential to the story and exist as minor characters. Kosciesza (2023) describes the concept of magical transness as occurring when trans characters, who encounter violence and victimhood, are treated narratively as tools for the cisgender main characters’ “advancement, aggrandizement, or moral redemption.” As such, transgender men in games seem to be absent, inconsequential, or occurring as moral service characters (Kosciesza, 2023) to the main characters. In summary, transgender women do seem to be easier (in some ways) to represent as there is a wealth of negative stereotypes associated with media images of transgender women, while transgender men are largely relegated as sideline characters.…”

“…Thus, transgender content happens in a mostly inconsequential manner. Trans characters are nonplayer characters (Kosciesza, 2023), or the content can be skipped, or the character is somehow monstrous, a villain, or a joke to be made fun of (Thach, 2021); whatever the configuration, the content lacks significant impact on the gameplay. Tyler's character in Tell Me Why is not only voiced by a transgender man, but as the main player character he cannot be reduced or sidelined.…”