When it was recently revealed that same sex marriages were allowed in the game Skyrim, the head designer Pete Hines was asked why it was kept under wraps. “Not hush hush, just not making a huge deal out of it. You can marry anyone.” Translation: Why should it matter?

In a recent article for IGN, Keza MacDonald writes about gamings’ long relationship with gay characters and themes. While highlighting many recent examples, she also explores older examples of queer represention in games and why it matters.

You may think, so what? Why should sex in videogames matter any more for gay people than straight? But this visibility actually is important, for the same reason as having believable and relatable female characters is important: because by catering exclusively to straight men, you’re excluding more than half the population, and limiting video games creatively and commercially to a restricted audience.

– Filipe Salgado

[via IGN]