A group of researchers from MIT have developed a game that will seek to directly address LGBT issues, rather than putting them on the backburner. 

Even video games like the Sims and BioWare that do acknowledge same-sex relationships do little to bring light to the specific conditions and challenges of LGBT people. A new game called A Closed World will bring these issues front and center. From GamePro:

A Closed World is a JRPG-styled game in which players take on the role of a young resident of a village whose beloved has disappeared into a forest, which local lore claims is a place of no return. The game seeks to explore ways in which games can present LGBT content as well as the challenges a development team faces when trying to sensitively handle material about someone regarded as different from the perceived “norm.”

“It’s not an easy topic,” explains Harper. “And people come into the situation with lots of different expectations and backgrounds. But they embraced it as a team.” He cites the example of his Singaporean student interns attending the Boston Pride Parade almost immediately after stepping off the plane and starting orientation. “Once I got over the moment of shock, I really felt a smile slowly spread across my face. They were a super close-knit team, which I think was a tremendous asset in terms of the progress of the project. Plus, it was reassuring to me to see them taking an interest in the ‘subject matter,’ as it were.”

Try the prototype of the game out here. What do you think of this project and its product?