“Tell Me Why” – First Video Game Featuring a Transgender Boy

Microsoft’s efforts for inclusivity and diversity in video games continue. After the success of “Life is Strange”, DONTNOD Entertainment has teamed up with Xbox Game Studios to launch “Tell Me Why”, a video game in which one of the main characters is a transgender boy.

Xbox Game Studios partners with the Parisian studios DONTNOD, known for the famous “Life is Strange” 1 & 2, inclusive games featuring characters LGBT+, to launch a brand new game, “Tell Me Why” in which appears Tyler, a trans’ boy.

Announced at the X019 conference in London “Tell Me Why” will be the first major game showcasing a trans man as the main character. It should see the light of day for the summer of 2020.

The story will focus on twins: Tyler and Alyson, bound by a supernatural relationship to share emotions and memories after ten years of separation. Thanks to this special link, they will have to solve problems associated with their childhood.

Another rare fact in the video game industry, the action of the game will take place in a small town in Alaska.

“The core mechanic of the game is the special bond Tyler and Alyson share and is also a theme strongly anchored into the DONTNOD storytelling approach,” explained Florent Guillaume, Tell Me Why‘s Game Director.

“Over the course of the story, players will explore the identical twins’ different memories of key events and choose which memory to believe. Ultimately, the choices players make determine the strength of the twins’ bond—and the future course of their lives.”

Tyler and Alyson are both playable characters and equal heroes in the story.

“We love them both,” continued Guillaume,

“And we are especially grateful to Microsoft for its full support, openness and help regarding Tyler’s identity and character, as a transgender man.”

They have done a lot of research and in particular sought advice from the LGBT + association, GLAAD.

DONTNOD has worked closely alongside Microsoft and the LGBTQ media advocacy organization GLAAD in shaping Tyler as an authentic representation of the trans experience, as well as a genuine, multidimensional character.

Tyler is also the first playable videogame hero from a major studio and publisher who is also transgender.

“Microsoft and DONTNOD have approached Tyler with a real commitment to authenticity,” explained Nick Adams, Director of Transgender Representation at GLAAD.

“Tyler is a fully-realized, endearing character, whose story is not reduced to simplistic trans tropes. Creating a playable lead trans character – and taking such care to get it right – raises the bar for future LGBTQ inclusion in gaming.”

Last Updated on Nov 20, 2019