Cathartic corridors: queering linearity in Final Fantasy XIII

ABSTRACT

Once a staple of game design, linear game spaces and play have slowly been pushed aside by open-world and sandbox mechanics in the AAA game industry. Most adventure games now have a duty to give visible agency to the player and ensure that their experience seem unique. Yet, this article argues that linearity in games should be reclaimed as a site of queer pleasure. Tackling how non-linear gameplays and temporalities have been associated with queerness, I first address the paradoxical nature of this argument. Through a brief examination of key FF XIII reviews, I then demonstrate that linearity has become passé in role-playing games and is frowned upon by the gaming community, which both play a key role in the shaping of our understanding of play. Running counter to the values hailed by the paratext, this article argues for a revival of linearity through a queer lens. Drawing upon two strains of queer theory – Ahmed’s queer orientation and Muñoz’s queer horizon, I show that FF XIII’s linearity aligns the player’s feeling with that of the characters and immerses them in a queer journey in which they face the present while walking towards queer ideality.

KEYWORDS:

• Queer
• linearity
• orientation
• paratext
• Final Fantasy XIII

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. IGN, gamespot, kotaku, the Escapist, PCGamer, GiantBomb, Joystiq, Gametrailers, Gamesradar, Cheatcc and gamasutra.

2. The reviews on this website focused on HD remastered version of FF X and FF XII as it was impossible to find reviews of the original games.

3. The reviews on this website focused on HD remastered version of FF X and FF XII as it was impossible to find reviews of the original games.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Gaspard Pelurson

Gaspard Pelurson is a Lecturer in Media at the School of Cultural Studies and Humanities at Leeds Beckett University. His research and social engagement have, to date, focused on gender, sexuality and queerness in video games and popular culture. He received his PhD in Media and Cultural Studies from the University of Sussex. His work explores queer manifestations and practices in video games, with an overall goal of highlighting the politics of gaming culture.