Canonically Trans: Celebrating Trans Video Game Characters and Their Stories
- Clara Mount
- Jun 14
- 5 min read
Written in collaboration with Austin Vetor, @vetorphotography on Instagram.
Video games give us a chance to see ourselves inhabiting – moving through and interacting with – a virtual world that reflects our own reality in some way. When we find characters in these worlds who we identify with, it not only makes the whole experience more immersive, it also makes us feel seen. It can be a source of inspiration, connection, and hope that impacts our real lives. In short: it hits different.
This seems especially important for trans players – or even players who are just beginning to explore their own ideas about gender – at a time when the rights of the trans community are directly under threat by the U.S. government.
I hope this set of trans video game characters gives my cisgender audience some perspective, and for my trans Goblins out there – I hope there’s something here that makes you feel seen.
Single-Player
Tyler Ronan
Narrative adventure game Tell Me Why takes place in the fictional Alaskan town of Delos Crossing. It follows twins Tyler and Alyson Ronan as Tyler returns after their mother's mysterious passing – ten years since he last set foot in his hometown. To ensure that Tyler feels authentic and three-dimensional, the game’s developer, DONTNOD Entertainment, worked closely with trans consultants from GLAAD and included trans people in the creative process. Tyler is even voiced by a trans man – August Aiden – and the studio ensured that the character is never deadnamed.
P.S. Tell Me Why is free on Steam until July 1!
Madeline
In this iconic side-scrolling parkour game, protagonist Madeline climbs Mount Celeste in hopes of ridding herself of her anxiety, represented through her spectral double, Badeline. The free DLC expansion Farewell, set a year after the original game, shows Madeline alongside a transgender pride flag. Lead writer and director Maddy Thorson has stated that although she didn’t know that both she and Madeline were trans when she was working on Celeste, it was “painfully obvious” in hindsight: “Creating Celeste with my friends helped me reach the point where I could realize this truth about myself.”
Beauty Nova
This one is more trivia than anything, but who doesn’t love a little Pokemon trivia? In Pokemon X/Y, you encounter an NPC named Beauty Nova in the Kalos Battle Maison. Her dialogue implies that she is transgender: before your battle, she says, “I've recently remade my life completely! I've been reborn as a Beauty at last!” If you then lose to her, she adds, “Yes, a mere half year ago I was a Black Belt! Quite the transformation, wouldn't you say?” In the Pokemon universe, the Black Belt is a Trainer class that is exclusively male, while Beauties are exclusively female. To take it one step further, in the original Japanese version, her dialogue credits the transformation to “the power of medical science.”
Multiplayer: Competitive
Poison
Originally appearing as a common enemy in the beat-em-up Final Fight, Poison made her way to the Street Fighter franchise first as a nonplayable character in Street Fighter Alpha 2 and then as a playable character in Ultra Street Fighter IV. Poison was once a Mad Gear gang member. Having moved on from her underground life, she now maintains a stable of wrestlers and runs her own wrestling promotion with her partner, Hugo. Although primarily portrayed as a selfish femme fatale, Poison does have a softer side to her, as she’s shown to be sympathetic to characters with a rough upbringing similar to hers.
Orela Rose
The latest Survivor and horror story fanatic introduced in Chapter 35.5: Steady Pulse, Orela is a support medic whose unique perks let her boost her fellow Survivors and stay quick on her feet, making her a valuable member to the Survivors of DBD. She’s also the first trans woman in the game!
Orela was born and raised in Chicago. Orela dropped out of college and became an EMT when her best friend Emily was killed in their haunted house due to faulty wiring. After years as an EMT, Orela eventually opened a horror–themed restaurant in honor of Emily. Little did she know that one day, she would hear screaming from within a mysterious black fog and rush in to help. Now she spends her time searching for those in need of help in the darkness…
Bridget
Bridget is a long-time character from the Guilty Gear fighting game franchise who was confirmed as transgender in Strive. Her updated character design includes a trans mark proudly displayed on the forehead of her nun-like habit. In her Arcade Mode mini-story, another character asks if he should call her a “cowboy” or a “cowgirl,” and she replies: “Cowgirl is fine! Because… I’m a girl!”
In an interview with TBS, series creator Daisuke Ishiwatari stated: “With a subsection of the character roster, I actively tried to represent people who occupy a ‘minority’ position in society. I wanted to portray those characters doing heroic things.”
Multiplayer: Co-op
Paolo de la Vega
Once a soldier for the Fuerzas Nacionales de Defensa (the military force in control of Yara), Paolo was kicked out after the drill instructor – his father – discovered he was trans. Eventually Paolo was caught stealing musical equipment from a young musician and freedom fighter named Talia, who decided to give him a DJ deck instead of turning him in. Now, Paolo, the musical revolutionary, is co-leader of the Màximas Matanzas, a faction that fights the good fight against the FND through subversive musical performances.
Nocturne
Nocturne is a tiefling from the cleric Shadowheart’s past, a fellow worshiper of the evil deity Shar. As you interact with Nocturne, you learn that she is the “young tiefling boy” of Shadowheart’s unlocked memories. You can also find an old journal entry that reveals a touching story about Shadowheart’s staunch allyship during Nocturne’s transition journey.
Nocturne is voiced by Abigail Thorn, who points out that while Nocturne provides a much-needed icon of hope that trans women will continue to exist, we still have a long way to go: “The thing about Nocturne is that she comes with the label and she can never take it off – she’s ‘The Trans Character’ and that’s close to the sum of her raison d'être in the minds of many. I don’t think that’s the writers’ fault or anything, it’s just an inevitable consequence of where we are right now, sociopolitically speaking. Whereas real people like you and me, we’re many things: I’m a daughter, a sister, an auntie, an actress, a voter, a businesswoman, a writer – and I happen to also be trans.”
Did we leave something out? Let us know what we missed!
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