Atari Unveils Pridefest, an LGBT-Themed Social Sim Game

A social sim game designed to appeal to the LGBT community is coming to an iOS or Android tablet near you, Atari says. Dubbed Pridefest, players will be able to “launch their very own personalized pride parade in a city of their choosing.”

So, customize parade flotillas by choosing size, components, mascots and decorations, as well as surrounding structures and side attractions, which in turn feed a city happiness metric, checking off quest or challenge goals to unlock new parades, receive festival supplies or secure bonuses. Social elements of the game also include avatar customization, chatting with friends and the option to bring your parade to friends’ cities, or to join in on theirs.

While there’s no specific release date yet, Atari promises this is “coming soon.”

“To have [Atari] support our conference and cause, as well as bring an LGBTQ-themed game to market is a huge step toward equality in gaming,” GaymerX founder Matt Conn said in a statement. “It’s extremely important that we see these large publishers like Atari stepping up to the plate, and I’m excited that they have the courage to take the first step in supporting the community.”

As Conn mentions, Pridefest is significant in a number of ways. While LGBT characters have been featured in games before–even as a protagonist in, for example, My Ex-Boyfriend the Space Tyrant–this seems to be an exception to the rule, and certainly not the norm. Pridefest may be the first video game to unambiguously cater to the LGBT community as a whole.

That said, the game carries with it huge potential for stereotyping. The concept alone, that LGBT is de facto synonymous with “pride parades,” “flotillas,” “colorful decorations” and so forth seems a little reductive, pandering to pop culture simplifications of what it means to be LGBT.

Anyone considering purchasing this game should consider the following: Assuming the underlying gameplay is competent, is this the sort of game someone who identifies as LGBT would also want to play? Are games that fold LGBT characters and issues into more mature game narratives, say a character like Dragon Age Inquisition‘s Dorian (or at least what we know of that character at this point), of greater interest?

Another, greater question for the gaming community: If you could roll out your own LGBT-themed or inclusive games, what kinds of games might they be?