10 Most Powerful LGBT+ Moments In Gaming History

Whilst many gamers may think that including more and more LGBT characters in gaming is forced representation today, gay video games are not a new phenomenon. C.M.Ralph is credited with having written the first ever game that was specifically made by and for the queer community using the HyperCard software for Macintosh way back in 1989.

A visual novel murder mystery point-and-click, Caper in the Castro stars lesbian detective Tracker McDyke as she investigates the disappearance of her friend and drag queen Tessy LaFemme.

Considering the time period it was released in, these names and much more references sprinkled throughout the game were made to make LGBT players smile as they were very much marginalised at the time. It also poked fun at conservative politics and made reference to the AIDS epidemic.

With this still the topic of debate on TV, Ralph crafted the piece as 'charityware'. It was free to download from various LGBT servers online, but asked those that did so to make a donation to HIV and AIDS charities of their choice.

It proved to be popular, being downloaded an estimated 250,000 times between 1989 and 1994, despite the fact that most people hadn’t even heard of the world wide web at this point. Caper in the Castro set the stage for more gay representation in gaming in the future.