lileclaire:

Last year I was playing through the HL2:E2 commentary mode, and while I was having a fantastic time I noticed that whenever the team mentioned the gamer in terms of personal pronouns, it was always a ‘he’. I started to feel a bit alienated, like I was in a space I didn’t belong (again, because it’s often like this in gaming worlds. No girls on the internet, y’know)
I thought it was a shame because Valve has been great on the ladyfront in general with characters like Alyx and GLaDOS and employing folks like Makani in our loose community. So I thought it was a bit odd that anyone who wasn’t a ‘he’ wasn’t addressed by the devs, even if it was simple grammar and a small point of contention. I felt like saying ‘hey, I’m here too! A lot of us non-‘he’s’ are here too, please include us! I know you know we’re here!’

I emailed Gabe, because I’d read that he reads each of his emails (mighty impressive considering their sheer volume alone). I was delighted not only to recieve a reply from Gabe, but Marc Laidlaw as well and they took me seriously. Marc seemed to take it upon himself to start a war against the grammar police; I was just thrilled that I wasn’t ignored or dismissed. In a gaming world where Penny Arcade fervently defend rape jokes and the likes of EA’s ‘sin to win’ contest exist, this is a big deal to me. While I knew Valve was awesome I think I underestimated their awesomeness.

What was awesome was playing Portal 2 (awesome enough in and of itself) and then turning on the commentary mode to hear about ‘Project Lil’. I’m Lil. Marc thanked me in game for writing them that letter. I couldn’t quite believe it, and I was so stunned and honoured. My favourite game, the advertising and concept art of which I’ve been consuming voraciously since it started… and I’d played a tiny part in it. Inclusive grammar mattered so much to me that I wrote in about it, and it mattered so much to them that they made a little movement to make their games accessible to everyone.

Thankyou Gabe and Marc and Valve, you’re truly the best.