Stop Putting Down JK Rowling And Start Lifting Up Trans People

The Harry Potter franchise will be taking a big step with the debut of its first open-world console video game . Hogwarts Legacy certainly has a lot of potential, but one of the ways to really capture the imagination of fans and bring them into this fantasy setting is by giving them a great amount of control over their charac


I know the devs are working hard. I know a lot of them are very good people. But this is true of literally every game. All devs work hard. Unless you buy every video game released each year to show how much you love video game developers, sympathy for the devs just doesn’t wash as a rea


Reports have emerged today that the upcoming Harry Potter RPG Hogwarts Legacy will include a trans-inclusive character creator . Usually, when I hear that a video game is going to be trans-inclusive, my first thought is "oh that’s good, I hope they don’t mess it up." With Hogwarts Legacy, it’s a lot more complicated than that. Harry Potter as a franchise - and this game in particular - has a lot of red in the ledger when it comes to trans inclusivity. Not only is there JK Rowling’s history of transphobia to consider, there’s also the fact that the game’s lead designer Troy Leavitt used to run a GamerGate-adjacent, anti-SJW YouTube channel. It would be disingenuous to suggest that Hogwarts Legacy is building off a blank slate when it comes to including trans charact


Those talented enough with a broomstick will also start training to play for their House Quidditch team. The dangerous sport may not make a huge amount of sense , but it's sure to be a lot of fun when players get to start chasing down the Golden Snitch themsel


Rumors persist that the delay for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them 3 happened due to more than Johnny Depp's legal woes. The trailer for Hogwarts Legacy updates Legacy implies that discovering and taming creatures will play a role in the game. Warner Bros. Either way, it's clear that there's a plan for how to integrate the movie's release with the open-world


But okay, let’s leave all that aside and take a look at the creator itself. Right off the bat, things aren’t great, as it forces you to choose "witch" or "wizard", meaning in this magical world of grumblesnorks, non-binary people are still a myth. It seems as though your pronouns are also tied to this choice, meaning you can still look and sound however you want, and still be referred to as your preferred gender. I’m not sure this balances out the lack of non-binary options, but it’s a good step at le


It's unclear what broomsticks would be available at this point in the timeline since it's far too early for a Nimbus 2000 or Firebolt. However, players might be able to craft their own unique flying objects to glide through the sk


Cyberpunk 2077 is easily the biggest game to push a transgender character creator to the forefront, and I’ll be returning to that in time, but first I think there’s a big question to be asked: does Hogwarts Legacy’s trans inclusive character creator make any difference? My answer is a rather blunt ‘no


The reveal trailer narration says, "A strange and mysterious talent you possess may be the key to unlocking this dormant power." It's clear that how you respond to learning about this secret knowledge will change your character and gameplay experie

I don’t look down on family members or oblivious swathes of the general public for still adoring Harry Potter and what it all means to them, some just aren’t tuned into the cultural landscape or Rowling’s rotten views, and it isn’t required for them to be at all. But when becoming aware of how she feels about trans people, and how time and time again she continues to double down on our erasure, it’s time for you to take notice. It’s like we’re queer boogeyman eager to break society apart and reform it in our own twisted image. We aren’t, we just want to be happy, and recognised as who we are without the dangers that come with such a struggle.


It's not all about the House colors, though, as the Wizarding World certainly has a great variety of other styles that could be offered up to players. One trip down Diagon Alley and it's clear that fashion within this universe isn't quite reflective of the Muggle rea


I’m not sure Hogwarts Legacy’s trans character creator makes that big of a difference to the game’s place in the industry, what it represents, or whether it absolves the game of any of JK Rowling’s baked-in guilt. It certainly doesn’t change how I feel about it. Hopefully, though, it can at least be a helpful stepping stone for a triple-A game to one day get trans representation right from start to finish. Until then, yet again the game industry is moving two steps forward, one step b


If there's one thing fans of the series have wanted in a Harry Potter video game, it's a quality Quidditch experience. Trailers and early leaks suggest this will happen, but nothing seems set in stone at this time. For the moment, fans can only wonder if they'll get their opportunity to snatch the golden snitch or become the best keeper at Hogwa