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• 1 2023-12-06T14:53:45+00:00 Trans Representation In Celeste 4 Mica Murdoch plain 2023-12-08T17:17:51+00:00

  A crucial reason for Celeste’s ongoing popularity in the indie games scene is the LGBTQ community’s attachment to the game. Upon release, it was touted for its trans representation, because even though the main character, Madeline, was not explicitly stated to be trans, trans players saw their own struggle in hers. The game’s main creator, Maddy Thorson, who is trans herself, said in an interview, “Celeste players famously knew that the game was a trans story before I did." Many fans saw Madeline’s battle with anxiety, depression, and identity, particularly in the context of accepting the person in the mirror as a part of themselves, as similar to their experiences as transgender people. The symbolism goes further than that, though. The game heavily features the colors of the transgender pride flag. Blue, pink, and white swirl in the background as Madeline embraces Badeline as a part of herself and they climb quickly to the summit. Writing on the phenomenon of trans attachment to Celeste, Dr. Kyle McPhail writes 

  “It is the player who is engaging with Celeste, their thoughts and experiences while playing the game are what generate meanings. Celeste is a mirror, reflecting the conscious and unconscious feelings of the developers and the players, but only reflecting what the person looking at it sees…I think it is worth celebrating a game that has sparked trans joy.”

  Like the mirror in the game showing Madeline a part of her that she did not want to see, but must accept as a part of herself, the game, in telling this story, shows players these same struggles that they see in themselves.

  
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