Dead Names is a short interactive sci-fi story that explores transgender identity and family trauma. It’s not entirely uncommon for the genre to explore such ideas; cyberpunk, an off-shoot sub-genre, for one is often intrinsically telling stories of transhumanism. Even in its sub-ten-minute run time, it has gone deeper than any of those similar games ever has. It impacted me deeply. This is why it is Checkpoint’s Queer Game of the Month for November 2024.
You are a young trans man taken in for questioning following the death of your mother. It’s not entirely clear what has happened except for the fact that she and her android resembling a past version of you have been murdered. At that moment, the tension in the air is thick. The lead describes to you their anger. You can probably guess where it’s going: nowhere good. A trans person is in this sci-fi world where even when they’ve finally reclaimed their own body by transitioning, they’ve had this autonomy taken away from them by having a copy of their past self out in the world. Worse yet, this is the only version of them that his mother loves, while the real, living, breathing and truer-than-ever self is estranged. Harrowing stuff.
I don’t have a good relationship with much of my family. I’m trans, and unfortunately, a lot of other trans people don’t have that going for them. Stories like these hit like a gut punch for me. They hit because when you’ve been trans for a while, you start to notice the little things that people in your life do that aren’t helping you reach gender affirmation. You note that they encourage (or force) you to dress a certain way or cut your hair short. To not be too outspoken, or different. To not be you. Before long, you start to not care whether these adjustments to your life are out of malice or genuine concern to keep you safe. It doesn’t matter. They’re not letting you be you.
Dead Names’ itch.io description of the setting reads: “set during one winter day, in a future that hopefully never comes.” Letting out a deep exhale followed by a soft sob after I completed the game, I hope it never comes either. Being trans is entirely euphoric at the best of times. I’ve lived a life and made this body, my frame, my own in ways I would never dream of. However, my past still haunts me. I still don’t like the five-o-clock shadow I get once a day no matter how hard I try to keep it at bay. If I see older photos of myself, depending on how I’m feeling on that day it can be a harsh reminder of all the years I didn’t get to be me. Having a moving, ever-present reminder of what I once used to be… I can’t bear the thought. Many trans people can’t.
That’s what makes Dead Names so compelling as a narrative game. It’s eerie. It’s a plausible setting and a real event that can happen in the future for someone. More than any Black Mirror episode for that matter at least anyway. As a trans person alive today, the past was terrifying but I triumphed over it. The future (terrifying recent election results and society regressions notwithstanding) is even more scary and I’m still yet to prove I have the strength for that. Combine the past and the future and that’s just not something I can even stomach thinking about for long.
There’s no interactivity, minigames or bells and whistles for Dead Names, only a pure story where you press a button to proceed through every image presented in front of you. That doesn’t entirely matter because, in those ten minutes, you’re taken for a ride, also thanks to the striking art style that the game resembles. Dead Names is sporting the old 8-bit style that you’d find on a Game Boy, largely because developer flower studio is eager for you to actually play it on a Game Boy. However, there’s more to it than that. In a modern game all about the future, it’s an incredibly apt decision to harken back to old art styles from many beloved games from our youth. Grappling with all these different parts in this trans character’s life, you’re taken by the eerie, analog-horror-esque style Dead Names emits. There’s enough character animation and detailing in there to really stick with you. Like its themes, Dead Names’ art and experience is more than just skin deep.
Dead Names isn’t a joyful experience to check out. It’s a bitter pill to swallow. Though sometimes that’s life for queer people and trans people. As much as I would love for it to be, things ‘ain’t always roses. That’s also why it is such an important game to check out and why I felt it, along with other heavier queer ventures in our monthly article. Though simply surviving is important, often burying your head in the sand also does little. Art, that is to say, meaningful and evocative art that makes you feel heard and understood is incredibly and endlessly valuable.
Dead Names is available now to play for free on itch.io, on your computer, in a browser and even on a Game Boy. If you have the emotional strength, I strongly recommend checking it out. If all else, why not check out one of our previous Queer Games of the Month for 2024?
About the Author
Charlie Kelly
She/Her, They/Them
Charlie loves her video games as much as she loves dumb, charming JRPG protagonists: probably way too much. You can often catch her spending too much time being emotional over LGBT stories in games. She also thinks Yakuza 6 is the best one.
