Gaming identity in contemporary queer art: the works of Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley and Lu Yang

The aim of this paper is to analyze how video game art expresses queer identity politics. Specifically, it examines the work of Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley –Black Trans Archive (2020) and Resurrection Lands (2020)– and Lu Yang –Uterus Man (Game Version, 2014) and The Great Adventure of the Material World (2019). The work is theoretically framed within video game art studies, queer game studies, and queer approaches to identity. Methodologically, the analysis employs a two-step close-reading approach. First, the game artworks are comprehensively analyzed. Secondly, an identity-focused perspective is applied to interpret the initial, complete findings. The results for each artist are presented separately, and then integrated in the discussion section. The article makes significant contributions to the fields of video game art studies and queer game studies, both theoretically and methodologically. It highlights two distinct strategies within queer game art: the first, exemplified by Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley, utilizes both narrative and technical aspects of the video game medium to unfold identity politics and discourses. The second, demonstrated by Lu Yang, emphasizes narrative elements and uses video game possibilities mainly aesthetically.