Bucking those expectations in any form was usually met with confusion at best, or outright mockery at worst. I wasn’t the most feminine or flamboyant ostensible male I knew, but my sexuality was questioned enough to make me afraid to express anything other than what was expected of me. I spent a good chunk of my childhood knowing there was something different about me, but I didn’t have the words to express it. ![]() Growing up transgender without knowing it yet (what we in the community call the “egg” phase) was pretty weird. At first glance, the revamped character creation system seemed like just a more robust version of the first game, but what it added changed the series and opened up a Pandora’s Box of queerness that certainly left an impression on my younger self. Two years later, Saints Row 2 doubled down on customization and fixed its predecessors issues. It wasn’t perfect - apart from a few scant lines, the protagonist was conspicuously silent, and you could only play as a male character - but it was a huge milestone leading to more open-ended character creation. In the mid-2000s, open-world crime games traditionally put you in the shoes of a predetermined character, but Saints Row let you craft your own member of the Third Street Saints and change their appearance whenever via the in-game surgeon. This is all indicative of a series that, despite growing pains, pushed the boundaries of how we can present ourselves within the digital world. Now, in 2022, long-time series developer Volition has released a Saints Row reboot, with a wide variety of gender non-conforming customization options. With unparalleled customization for its time, the Saints Row series paved the way for future inclusive character creators and, on a more personal note, helped me figure out my own gender identity. It was an open-world crime playground, fair enough, but it had plenty of features to call its own. ![]() When the original Saints Row launched in 2006, many were quick to label the game a Grand Theft Auto clone.
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