Alexander Swords

We chatted with Alexander Swords, a freelance narrative designer.

QRM: Can you tell us a little bit about who you are and what you do in the games industry?

Alexander: Prior to entering the industry, I was an artist and arts manager focusing on organisational and audience development, giving me knowledge and skills of the entire content journey from idea to archive. Deep down I've always been a writer, but until I left Australia I never thought I'd be employed as one. I moved to Berlin, decided to pursue the dream and ended up writing for a big indie project there. The breadth of skills I have meant I wasn't "only" a writer for long. Since then I've worked on narrative for a couple of other projects and will soon be moving to a big AAA title.

QRM: How long have you been involved in the game industry, and what projects have you worked on? What are you working on currently?

Alexander: Two and a half years so far... I started with Grand Values: Monaco, then Warzone – Clash of Generals, and then All Walls Must Fall.

QRM: What inspired you to get started in the games industry?

Alexander: I have always dreamed of being in the industry, but when I went through university, the idea of a writer working in games was pretty much unheard of, especially in Australia. Things like Baldur's Gate made me twig that that might be changing. I was DMing DnD at the time, but assuming that what I was doing didn't approach what might be required for the very rare opportunities to work on that sort of project. Plus my Mum always wanted me to "get a real job".

Skip forward a decade and I was playing Borderlands 2 – great writing, well-oiled plot, and some engaging characters (including queer ones). This opened my eyes – it had writing the way I want to write, and characters I'd love to put on screen. This revelation was not long before my husband and I moved to Berlin, so by the time I got there, it was something I knew I had to pursue.

QRM: In what ways do you feel your experiences as a queer person manifest in the games you work on, and influence the work you do?

Alexander: I'm an "other", and I know first-hand the tension between the desire for individuality vs the need to belong. The key to writing great drama isn't the drama itself, but the reactions to it, and I feel like coming out gave me an insight into how that works.

It also means I understand people are deep, complex, and messy even if they don't appear to be. There's always something more going on and I like to reflect that diversity. It definitely helps keep my characters interesting and I've grown to believe that writing without diversity is lazy writing.

QRM: Do you have a favourite queer character—in games or media more generally? If so, what is it about them that makes them your favourite?
Question asked by @kamienw.

Alexander: Jean Passepartout from Inkle's game 80 Days, written by Meg Jayanth and Jon Ingold. He's capable and incredibly comfortable in his own skin. I have to say I almost couldn't believe what I was doing when I led him through a conversation that ended with sex by the river on a humid night in New Orleans with another man, but delighted that afterwards there was no shame, and no regret.

QRM: Have you ever encountered roadblocks in trying to include queer characters in games? What do you think is preventing greater diversity within games?
Question asked by @dustinalex91.

Alexander: I have been incredibly fortunate so far – the projects I have worked on have been led by people who value and encourage diversity. It doesn't mean they're all "like a unicorn rimming a rainbow" (a line I wrote for All Walls Must Fall), but I've never had any resistance to any queer content that I have included.

The only issue I have had was intentionally playing with pronouns, and that ending up impossible when it came to localisation because of gendered languages. The decision was made to change those conversations to clearly indicate same-sex attraction. Obviously not too much of a roadblock in this example, but I can see how writers might get caught out even trying to be ambiguous, and then lose opportunities if it is decided to go the other way.

I think one thing that is preventing greater diversity is the lack of diversity in studios. I have had many conversations with developers who all express a desire to include more diversity, but a general fear of how to do it, and then the consequences. A more diverse workforce would definitely help these studios be more confident with specific representation, and then this in-house experience would lead to greater diversity in representation.

It is starting to happen, and I have to commend Inbetween Games, developer of All Walls Must Fall. They were delighted to have me write for the gay male character in the first part of the game, but they also insisted that the next character would be a woman from the middle east and should be written by someone closer to that representation – something I think is wonderful and would encourage more of.

All Walls Must Fall game screen

QRM: Why do you think it is important that queer audiences are able to see themselves represented in the games they play, and in the developers who make the games they see? What can we do to improve the industry for queer audiences and devs?

Alexander: That's a big question! I know there is huge benefit in many different ways for queers to see themselves in games, as long as the diversity of representation reflects the diversity we have in our queer communities. There is definitely some affirmation to be found, especially where efforts have been made to break stereotypes and better still if there is something aspirational about them.

Aspiration is also a key point for seeing queer devs doing awesome things. The queer community sorely lacks visible role models, and it still seems like a lot of very visible devs are definitely not great role models.

I think those of us who are safe to do so, need to continue being out about who we are and the content we're creating. In less than 3 years I've managed to start in games to now about to work on a AAA title. I did that writing diverse characters and while there was a certain amount of fortune involved with the people I ended up working for, this does prove that it can be done.

QRM: Have you ever mentored somebody in your role in games, or been mentored? If so, what made these experiences worthwhile for you?
Question asked by @pepelanova.

Alexander: I haven't, but I'm hoping that once I have settled into my new role I will have the opportunity to.

QRM: In what ways can non-queer folk increase and support queer diversity present within games, as well as in the industry more broadly? How can we all work to support intersectional approaches to diversity, and why is this important?

Alexander: Just stop talking, listen, and then respect the point of view of anyone from a diverse background. That has to also include people in authority who might be from diverse backgrounds themselves – this is definitely a case of more is more.

QRM: Is there a message that you would like to share with the queer game players, game studies researchers, and other interested folks who comprise the Queerly Represent Me community?

Alexander: People are already doing good in this area – go and see them and talk to them. There are some wonderful dev communities who run smaller conventions, but are having amazing conversations about these things. Personally I can recommend Amazefest in Berlin, and I had my best convention experience so far at the Swedish Games Conference in Skovde.

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You can find Alexander Swords on his website.
You can check out All Walls Must Fall here.