Dear Diary, Today I Died 2
Avery Flinders
http://chickencollective.storenvy.com/
Dear Diary, Today I Died 2 is an A5 black and white gaming zine about going to PAX (a gaming conference), the dangers of dictating what’s ‘queer enough’ in games, and games Avery has been playing.
I reviewed Dear Diary, Today I Died 1 (https://www.seagreenzines.com/zine-review-dear-diary-today-i-died/) and am so glad I picked up 2 and 3 at the same time.
Dear Diart 2 takes us out and about to PAX in Melbourne. Given Avery’s mention of all the people and noise, it’s not something I’ll ever do, so I’m glad Avery has shared their experience in zine form. (If you can’t do it, live vicariously through other zinemakers hehe.) Avery writes about the games they played while there, bringing up plenty of new-to-me titles I will be looking around to check out.
In the centre spread, they write about going to a panel on queer games – and the problems that arise when one group starts deciding what are ‘good’ and ‘bad’ queer characters in games. In Avery’s own words:
“I definitely agree that there is such a thing as a bad depiction of queer people or queer experiences! But one group of people setting themselves up as the objective judges and arbiters of what counts as ‘good rep’ runs the risk of excluding and invalidating a lot of your audience.”
I love how Avery explores this topic and makes very good points that start in gaming but reach far beyond into current world issues.
Avery wraps up the zine with thoughts on some of the games they’ve been playing recently. More games to check out is always a win in my book.
Dear Diary 2 is another enjoyable zine in the series. Avery’s mix of game commentary, recommendations, and how issues in gaming connect to the real world keeps me coming back for more.