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My Ex-Boyfriend the Space Tyrant is unapolagetically designed for gay gamers

Luke Miller is the developer of the self proclaimed ‘gayest game ever’ and discussed the game — My Ex-Boyfriend The Space Tyrant — in an interview with Polygon.

Miller says he’s sympathetic to the idea the straight gamers may feel like outsiders with his point and click game, but is unapologetic, “Space Tyrant is diverse and inclusive, but it never really occurred to me to make it straight friendly. It’s not about exclusion, it’s about expanding the types of stories told in games, which can only lead to more interesting games for us all.”

My Ex-Boyfriend the Space Tyrant follows on from classic adventure games like Space Quest and Day of the Tentacle — which Miller cites as inspiration — and is a humour driven romp through a puzzle-filled sci-fi setting. The protagonist Tycho Minogue is tasked with traversing the galaxy to defeat an evil overlord, his ex-boyfriend.

Miller told Polygon that Space Tyrant was being marketed as a gay game so as to put it alongside other entertainment — books and films — that is marketed to gay men.  “I certainly don’t want to trick anyone that isn’t interested in its content,” Miller said. “Unfortunately the gaming industry is so young that there’s no ‘gay game’ niche and so it has turned out to be really controversial to call it gay-themed” as evidenced by the reception the game has received on Steam Greenlight. One criticism that crops up again and again is the perceived over-sexualisation of the game’s male characters. Miller told Polygon that this is what helps to set his game apart.

“One of the things I really love [about] Tycho and … what makes him different from a straight hero, is that he can go from being the subject to being the object and back again with fewer of the negatives associated with sexism,” Miller added. “Sometimes you want to be Tycho, sometimes you want to be with Tycho. That kind of equality is one of the benefits of a gay game. Coming out of the closet means you get to be as macho or as feminine as you want, whenever you want.”

My Ex-Boyfriend the Space Tyrant is available now on Mac, PC and Linux.


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