Games are unique among media because they allow for—in fact, they almost always depend upon—user interaction. there is potential for games to capitalize on this aspect of their form: by using procedural rhetoric, designers can use games present nuanced theses supported by a designed experience.

Queerness is, fundamentally, radical and disruptive. it poses a threat to the heteronormative systems that we find ourselves stuck within because queerness opposes the idea of heterosexual futurity—queerness rejects the notion of the straight family unit and heterosexual generational logic. 

As a queer gothic game designer therefore, i am interested in designing games and systems that challenge normative assumptions both about games and about gothic media. the work i am presenting sets an example for how we as queer game designers can engage with queer, gothic, and monster theory while working within the queer gothic genre—which i identify as a radical genre that relies on gothic structures to usurp the status quo. 

With blood play and grey university, i blend theory and practice with my project and produce three sets of artifacts: a printed treatise on the poetics of the queer gothic genre. paired with a piece of serialized queer gothic fiction; fragments of a queer gothic game built mostly in twine; and a printed post mortem that critically analyzes my process and my art, evaluating its success.

Biography

dani (she/they) is a queer game designer and digital artist working on 2d digital art, graphic design, web design, and systems design.  she has studied computer science and game design for the past decade. these overlapping skill sets place her practice at the intersection of computational media and new media art. most of her work is focused on interactive fiction, but she has also worked on multiple tabletop games as well as some 2d platformer games and experimental 3d games. their recent work, including their MFA thesis, has been focused on the queer gothic genre—specifically interrogating the vampire as a queer gothic figure. she holds an BA in Art and Design: Games and Playable Media and is currently pursuing an MFA in Digital Art and New Media: Experimental Play, both at UC Santa Cruz.