Cathartic corridors: queering linearity in Final Fantasy XIII. Issue 1 (2nd January 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Pelurson, Gaspard
• Is Part Of: Continuum. Volume 35:Issue 1(2021)
• Page Start: 43
• Page End: 57
• Publication Date: 2021-01-02
• Subjects: Queer -- linearity -- orientation -- paratext -- Final Fantasy XIII; Motion pictures -- Australia -- Periodicals; Broadcasting -- Australia -- Periodicals; Mass media -- Periodicals; 306.05
• DOI: 10.1080/10304312.2020.1845612
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1030-4312

Abstract

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.