The last of us joel how to#

'You're putting a trans character in the story only to rob him of his voice.' Trans representation in media: What's at stake? 'Even though it's a miserable world, and even though everybody is miserable, every other character gets to tell why they're miserable, and he doesn't,' Roswell said as he played the game. Other trans gamers echoed Hashimoto's criticisms, saying they, too, were hurt by the deadname use and other devices used to tell Lev's story.Д«en Roswell, 22, a trans man, said he was also bothered that Lev wasn't given the chance to tell his story, saying the depiction would have been 'miles better' if the character had been given that opportunity. Had that information been available ahead of time, Hashimoto said, players could have prepared themselves for potentially traumatic scenes. The game's strict embargo meant reviewers couldn't include information about Lev's being trans until after it was released. Hashimoto said he would rather have seen Lev tell his own story or have his gender identity be part of the game's subtext, rather than such an explicit part of the storyline. 'It was kind of like 'Oh, it's nice to see an Asian trans man played by an Asian trans man,'' he said, 'but I feel like Lev's story is kind of disappointing in that Lev's experience is told through the perspective of their sister, a cis person.' Kazuma Hashimoto, 29, a Japanese trans man who lives in Germany and does translations for Japanese games, was a fan of 'The Last of Us' and was interested in playing the sequel, but he said that when he finally did, he was disappointed with Lev's portrayal. 'These are ongoing relationships we have with our craft.'

The last of us joel how to#

'When you attempt to put diversity out there and you understand you're wading into sensitive areas, you're not going to get everything right, and we know we're still learning about how to cast a character like this, how to write, what's the proper amount of consulting we should do,' Druckmann said. In many ways, Lev is a first step forward for trans representation in video games, but some critics have said there are stereotypes in 'The Last of Us Part II' that could be harmful.Дruckmann and Alexander said they hope Lev is moving the industry in the right direction, but they acknowledged that certain aspects of the character and how his story plays out have been criticized by both cisgender and transgender gamers. 'I do know my character will be a lot of people's first exposure to trans masculine people in the media, so I do recognize how important that is and how impactful that is, but I don't feel special, necessarily, because this is something that is long overdue,' he said.

He said he feels his involvement is helping to move gaming inclusivity forward, but he said he's able to walk this path only because other transgender people, particularly Black trans women, have long fought for a seat at the table. In addition, he said, prominent members of Naughty Dog are part of the LGBTQ community, and a dedicated segment of the company is devoted to finding ways to prioritize diversity in its games.ДЄlexander said he was overcome with joy when he saw the final version of Lev. There's an open-door policy at Naughty Dog, Druckmann said, in which anyone on the team can pitch ideas for a game the company is developing.

A character that's 'complex in a new way' The siblings soon become Abby's friends, and Lev and Abby later team up to fight both the zombies and the Seraphites. Lev and Yara have fled retribution from an ultrareligious uninfected faction, the Seraphites, after Lev shaves his head and starts identifying as a male. Later in the game, while playing from the perspective of Abby, gamers are introduced to Lev and his sister, Yara. When Joel is murdered by a group of mysterious travelers, including a new character, Abby - whom players control later in the game - Ellie sets out on a quest for revenge with her love interest, Dina.

This time, instead of playing as Joel, gamers play from the perspective of Ellie, now 19. Joel and Ellie are living in a small town with other uninfected people, and life appears to be starting anew. The second game starts several years later. Ellie, left, and Dina are two of the LGBTQ characters featured in 'The Last of Us Part II.' PlayStation