| GayBlade | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Ryan Best |
| Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows, Mac OS |
| Release | 1992 |
| Genre(s) | Action role-playing game |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
GayBlade is an action role-playing video game developed by Ryan Best and released in 1992. [1] Among the earliest of LGBT-themed video games (preceded in 1989 by Caper in the Castro ), and long considered lost, a recovery effort by the LGBTQ Video Game Archive [2] resulted in a playable emulation in 2020. [3]
The player battles hordes of homophobic enemies, including pastors, police, rednecks and skinheads in order to rescue Empress Nelda and return her to Castle Gaykeep. The final boss of the game is paleoconservative political commentator Pat Buchanan, the era's most notorious opponent of gay rights. [4]
The 2020 Netflix documentary series High Score featured Ryan Best and GayBlade in its third episode, about early RPGs. At the time of production in 2019, Best had lost all copies during a move from Hawaii to San Francisco years before and had been looking for any since then, which he had told the show's producers. As part of their research, the production team searched online, including contacting the LGBTQ Video Game Archive, to seek out footage and copies. During post-production, they heard that a copy of the game had resurfaced during the closing events of Rainbow Arcade an exhibit at the Schwules Museum (Gay Museum) in Berlin as was noted briefly in the episode and expanded up in news reports the day of the series' release. [5] Best had found a long-lost copy before Rainbow Arcade closed in May 2019 and subsequently worked with an archivist from the Computerspiele Museum (Computer Game Museum) in Berlin, the LGBTQ Video Game Archive, The Strong National Museum of Play and the Internet Archive to preserve the game and provide the game in both an emulated form and as a downloadable version. [3] [6]
The Legend of Zelda, originally released in Japan as The Hyrule Fantasy: Zelda no Densetsu, is an action-adventure game developed and published by Nintendo. The first game of The Legend of Zelda series, it is set in the fantasy land of Hyrule and centers on an elf-like boy named Link, who aims to collect the eight fragments of the Triforce of Wisdom in order to rescue Princess Zelda from Ganon. The player controls Link from a top-down perspective and navigates throughout the overworld and dungeons, collecting weapons, defeating enemies and uncovering secrets along the way.
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Flawless Shade is the stage name of Tajh Jordan, an American drag queen and make-up artist based in Portland, Oregon. A former Miss Gay Oregon, Flawless Shade has been featured in campaigns by Adidas, GLAAD, and Top Level Design. Jordan competed under their real name on the subscription-based streaming service WOW Presents Plus's competition series Painted with Raven.
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