"What makes the rhetoric of empathy as it is applied to queer indie games (and other video games by, about, or for marginalized people) so problematic? First, as many of those who have condemned this rhetoric have pointed out, it minimizes the lives and identities of those who are seen as “different” or “other.” Although a video game may offer a glimpse into queer experience, for example, no game can replicate the fullness of lived queer experience or the real stakes of being a queer body in the world." (Ruberg 60)

Ruberg states that critics of queer indie games claim that playing these games can foster empathy for players but it cannot replicate the full experience of being queer. Therefore, story games fail to close the gap between queer individuals and those outside of the community (60).
[JC, SB, YD, RC] It is difficult to connect "Gone Home" to the concept of empathy since the player is not directly placed in Sam's perspective. However, as said by Ruberg, "Gone Home," like many other games with queer experiences, only offers a glimpse of what it is like to be a queer individual, thus it is not able to fully encapsulate the diversity and difficulties of the queer experience. 
[KS, RR, SP, AS].

This image is a good representation of Sam's perspective that players get to see during their playtime. It also shows a glimpse of what it is like to be a queer person, but still does not fully encapsulate the experience, as we are only getting a brief look into the life of a queer individual.
[AJ, JL, SO, CL] "Gone Home" doesn't encapsulate San's full queer experience, so the empathy discourse surrounding games does not accurately describe the entire impact of "Gone Home" on the player. 
[MH, GG, KH]

2/27

In this letter from "Gone Home" that the player finds in Sam's room under her pillow, it depicts the nature of Sam and Lonnie's relationship. In the letter, Sam leaves a ripped-out piece of notebook paper in Lonnie's locker with a half-finished drawing asking her to add on. Sam asking Lonnie to finish the drawing represents how they complete each other in their relationship. In the frame of the story, the audience of the letter is Sam and Lonnie eventually reaching Katie. While these letters are being passed between Sam and Lonnie--demonstrating a light-hearted relationship--the dynamic of their relationship changes once they are in Sam's house, where their relationship is restricted by her parents. 
[JC, YD, SB, RC]