Bloom: Memories Will Feature First Playable Transgender Character in Video Gaming History
In a move that surprises few, the President of the United States, Donald Trump, has taken to Twitter to ban transgendered individuals from serving in the US military. This comes after his previous statement during the election that he will work to support the LGBTQ community. Following the announcement yesterday, Ivory (Dani) Landers, an indie developer of Studio Fawn, made a move of her own, announcing Bloom: Memories!
Landers revealed that she has been working on this RPG title for the past five years and that it will feature the first playable transgender character in gaming history. The developer stated that today was the perfect day for her to stand up to the POTUS by announcing Bloom: Memories. What began five years ago, at the beginning of her own transition, yes, she’s also transgender, Bloom: Memories has evolved into something much more. This RPG is a way to ” try and reach people who didn’t know what to make of us (or, worse, who had decided already they “knew” what being trans is about).” What better way to do this than by having the game center around the first playable trans character?
Ilana, the main character in Bloom: Memories, will not only be the first playable transgender character but will also allow players to meet her both pre and post transition. As Landers says, it’s interesting how they’re little indie studio has managed to come up with something that many AAA companies either can’t or won’t. Even further to focusing on the journey of Ilana, Bloom: Memories will take the RPG genre to a whole new level, with creatures whose behavior changes based on their emotions.
Now if you think this is an interesting idea, if you want to give the middle finger to the current POTUS, or if you just want to support Studio Fawn as they take a giant step forward in the gaming community, there will be a free public demo available on Steam Early Access in approximately 2 weeks time! They have also started a Patreon to try and raise money to finish the game, and to add some other features like voice characters, which you can check out here.
What do you think about Bloom: Memories? Let us know in the comments below. The developers are hoping to have the game completed sometime in the next year, or year and a half, so check back for updates to see how Bloom: Memories is coming along!
Source: Press Release