Danielle Riendeau examines LGBT characters in video games in a piece for Polygon encouraging gaming companies to look beyond stereotypes to create nuanced LGBT characters in gaming worlds.
"There's value in stereotypes when they're used to comment on an issue or to poke fun at the status quo, but there has to be some level of awareness for that commentary to be successful.
There is erasure of identity without diversity and representation. Queer people are a minority of the population. This is OK! But it does mean that we have to demand better representation in media, as the images people are exposed to have a tremendous impact on their opinions and treatment of queer individuals in real life. This is why people get mad over tired stereotypes in LGBT characters in games: There are so few queer representations in pop culture that every poorly drawn character is a wasted opportunity.
We all deserve better, and the best way to get that is to demand that LGBT characters in games be people first, and their sexuality second."