A queer duoethnography of Final Fantasy VII: The queer orientation of gameplay across time, space, and context

Abstract

This article recommends a queer duoethnographical approach to the study of often marginalized LGBTQIA+ and specifically trans people’s engagement with games. Centering an understanding of the queer phenomenology of orientation (Ahmed 2006) in games (Dalby 2024), we present our feminist and queer theoretically inspired duoethnography of a single scene in the video game, Final Fantasy VII. This case study demonstrates the value of duoethnography to account for differences and commonalities of queer experience of games across time and space. We find that a duoethnographical approach to game studies allows for a nuanced consideration of the multiple intersecting influences on game interaction, particularly for marginalized players in contexts which would otherwise limit their expression and identity.