"I Guess We're All Gay Now": A Content Analysis of Gamers' Reactions to New LGBTQ+ Characters on Reddit

This document is a methodological proposal for a content analysis of how gaming communities on Reddit respond to new LGBTQ+ characters introduced in major video games. Its central premise is that while the video game industry has increasingly added queer characters over the past two decades, little research examines whether audiences have accepted these additions, and that community reception matters because it shapes how welcome LGBTQ+ individuals feel in gaming spaces. The paper frames the problem against a backdrop of persistent homogeneity in both the games industry's workforce and its character portrayals, noting that queer characters have historically been scarce and often stereotyped.

The study is designed as a mixed-methods content analysis. It begins with a qualitative phase to identify themes, keywords, and memes in Reddit discussions, which then inform a codebook for coding post and comment valence as positive, negative, or neutral. A quantitative phase applies that codebook to measure reception alongside characteristics of each character's introduction, such as release date, creator confirmation, and relationship status. The sample is limited to characters confirmed as explicitly queer from 2005 onward, introduced in AAA titles, and sampled through the subreddits of those games. Data collection covers the first seven days after each introduction, using the initial post and top ten comments.

The paper sets out four research questions: under what conditions characters receive the most positive reception, which themes recur in negative posts, whether reception has changed over time, and whether character demographics influence reactions. The document presents these as the study's framework rather than reporting results, and it is therefore a design rather than a findings report. Its contribution lies in proposing a systematic way to measure community reception of LGBTQ+ representation in gaming, an area the authors identify as underexamined.