In part 2, I go back to the period of COVID lockdowns to analyze the intersections between travel and gaming by looking at all the travel-related video games I played during that period, games such as 80 Days, Euro Truck Driver, Wanderlust: Travel Stories, Oregon Trail, Where in the World is Carmen San Diego, Mario is Missing.
I discuss the (timely) importance of Animal Crossing and Stardew Valley as helpful distractions set in locations far away from urban lockdowns and the way most video games use the idea of travel and "the quest"/journey as the basis of their games, especially big budget games like Grand Theft Auto, The Witcher, Skyrim, Red Dead Redemption, Cyberpunk 2077, and Borderlands.
In the second half of this episode, I talk about the "hero's journey" and the queer "chosen family", arguing that the hero's journey is not unlike the kinds of journeys queer people take as they make their way out of the closet and form chosen families.
I end the episode by looking at how the idea of "the journey" acts as a connective thread between travel, video game playing and being in/coming out of the closet, the latter of which requires venturing outward, making new friends, and navigating new obstacles and worlds (which is not unlike your standard RPG/adventure game or the act of travelling itself).
Content Breakdown:
0:00 - Travelling Through Games During COVID Lockdown
01:48- Animal Crossing, a Zen Sanctuary
03:24 - Stardew Valley - A Digital Labour of Love
04:03 - Animal Crossing is Very Gay
05:05 - Cancelling My Trip / I've Had Enough of Myself
05:28 - Gaming as Journey
06:12 - The Hero's Journey
06:39 - Mario, Zelda, Tomb Raider and the Hero's Journey
06:32 - Big Budget Games and the Hero's Journey
09:35 - Video Games are Like Travel / My Trip Through Turkey
10:40 - The Intimate Connections Between Gayness, Travel, and Video Games
11:32 - The Queer Chosen Family: Coming Out and Venturing Outward
12:26 - Gay People Just Need Other Gay People
13:23 - The Overlaps Between The Hero's Journey, The Chosen Family and the Classic RPG Game
15:25 - Journeys Through the Self: the Foundation of Gayming and Gay Travel
15:39 - Retro RPGs, Young Hero's and Empowering Closeted Queer Youths
17:29 - The Audacity to Carry On
17:56 - RPG Gayming and Gay Solo Travel
19:01 - Beating Depression and Your Evil Boss with Paid Time Off
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