Coming Out is a card game protoype that I created for the Game Design class at the Entertainment Technology Center at
Carnegie Mellon University during Spring 2008.
The game's design was motivated by gender stereotypes, the ambiguity of sexual orientation, and the
concept of 'coming out of the closet'. The game is a light-hearted, satirical take on the issues
that surround sexual orientation so as to create an accessible experience that anyone can participate
in, and uses stereotypes in a playful manner to engender not only comical combinations of mannerisms
but also to engender self-reflection about one's own identity and stereotypical views.
aaron vanderbeek
Coming Out
description
design
The primary mechanic revolves around mannerism/sexuality cards, each which indicate a stereotype and which sexual
orientations are associated with that stereotype. An example would be the 'Shopping' card, which is
commonly associated with straight women and gay men. The players play mannerism cards from their hand
and place them in front of them, to represent their outwardly exhibited stereotypical traits. A player
may have mannerism cards of all different sexual orientations at once which contibutes to the concept
of an ambiguous sexual orientation and only when a player has 6 cards of a common sexual orientation may
that player 'come out' and win the game.
Players can impede each other from advancing their sexual orientation by putting them further in the closet or simply denying them their current mannerisms. These methods of countering, removing, and stopping players' mannerism/sexual orientation cards are indicative of the external forces, either societal or personal, that make people feel that they should act in a certain way or keep them from acknowledging their actual sexual orientation.
The players should not feel obligated to try to win with their real life sexual orientation, but rather are encouraged to try and win with the cards that they are dealt. This should be similar to the exploration and experimentation of a person trying to find out who they are, as well as the idea of coping with a situation that is beyond one's control.
Players can impede each other from advancing their sexual orientation by putting them further in the closet or simply denying them their current mannerisms. These methods of countering, removing, and stopping players' mannerism/sexual orientation cards are indicative of the external forces, either societal or personal, that make people feel that they should act in a certain way or keep them from acknowledging their actual sexual orientation.
The players should not feel obligated to try to win with their real life sexual orientation, but rather are encouraged to try and win with the cards that they are dealt. This should be similar to the exploration and experimentation of a person trying to find out who they are, as well as the idea of coping with a situation that is beyond one's control.