Tell Me Why recently came out for Xbox One and PC, and while gamers may have varying opinions on how engaging the story is or how fitting the mechanics are for the game, it has widely gotten overwhelming praise for its depiction of Tyler, a trans man and one of the protagonists. Tyler is the first trans protagonist to come out of a major gaming studio, and though DONTNOD Entertainment has experience creating stories with queer characters across the LGBTQ+ spectrum, this one in particular shines brighter than other games from developers with the same history. This contains spoilers for Tell Me Why and The Last of Us 2.
The Last of Us 2 is another title that is well-known for its lesbian protagonist, Ellie, and the second game continues to introduce fans to other queer characters as well. In this sequel game, the player runs into Lev, who fans realize is a trans man as they journey further through the story. While it was nice to see this inclusion in another major title, many fans were upset by the way Naughty Dog treated Lev. Looking at various aspects of these games, here are the reasons why Tyler in Tell Me Why is much better representation for the trans community than Lev is in the ways that they are treated as characters.
Deadnaming of Trans Characters
This is a very clear difference between to two games. For those who aren't aware, the majority of trans individuals change their name to fit their identity, and many call the name they were assigned at birth their "deadname." Many trans folx find it offensive or even traumatizing to be called by their deadname, and the two games can't have handled this aspect of trans identity more differently.
In The Last of Us 2, the first time the player hears about Lev is when they are playing as Ellie during Seattle Day 3. However, unless the player already knows about Lev, they wouldn't know this. The Seraphites, aside from his sister Yara, all refer to Lev by his deadname. While Naughty Dog may have done this to make the player despise that group of people, using a sensitive part of a person's identity in this way can also bring up these feelings in players who identify with Lev. When Abby is with Lev hurrying to the hospital for medicine, they are attacked by Seraphites who insult Lev and call him by his deadname as they shoot at at the both of them, outing Lev to his companion. While Abby takes it well, many others who are trans have not had this go so well with new people.
However, Tell Me Why takes a much different approach to naming Tyler in the flashbacks that happen 10 years before the events of the main game. In the flashbacks, Tyler is just figuring out that he is trans and hasn't picked out the name that he is currently going by. Despite this, the game never once refers to him by his birthname. Instead, Tyler is called by the first name he picked after realizing that he was a boy — Ollie. While he ended up changing changing his name to Tyler, it was just another step to finding who he really is. DONTNOD Entertainment also explicitly told fans that Tyler would not be deadnamed in Chapter 2 or Chapter 3 when they are released either.
Transphobia and Violence Against Trans Characters
Transphobia is unfortunately something that many trans people experience in their daily interactions with friends, family, or strangers that they encounter on the streets. This comes in many different forms, from misgendering to threats of violence or exclusion from living spaces or jobs due to their identity. While both games contain some transphobia throughout their stories, Tell Me Why continues to handle this sensitive subject in a much better way.
In The Last of Us 2, the transphobia is very blatant whenever any Seraphite recognizes Lev. Along with deadnaming him, the members of this religious cult are misgendering him as they try to punish him due to his gender identity. Specifically, they are trying to kill him for being a trans man, and his sister has to have one of her arms amputated because she supports this decision. For the most part of the Seattle story, the only people who try to kill Lev do so because of his gender, not because he belongs to a rival faction like Abby. This is trans people's greatest fear, and it is constantly exploited throughout the game's story.
However, Tell Me Why approaches transphobia from a less brutal perspective. While the town of Delos Crossing has some people that aren't gung-ho about Tyler's transition, they don't actively speak out against his identity and seem to come to accept his gender over the course of Chapter 1. There are only two times that Tyler is misgendered in the first character — once in a flashback by Mary-Ann before she understood Tyler's identity in its entirety and once when Sam Kansky comments on his transition.
DONTNOD Entertainment also assured fans that this will be the only misgendering that Tyler experiences in the game. The overarching incident that happened 10 years before the current events seems to imply that Tyler's mother was attempting to kill him because of his gender identity, but as the player understands more of the story, they realize that this did not occur due to his identity. The story is still unfolding, but DONTNOD Entertainment officially confirmed that Mary-Ann's actions were not motivated by transphobia, and before she died, she was taking steps to understand her trans son better.
Identity of Trans Characters
Being trans isn't a personality — it is a character trait. While it isn't a common trait in video game characters, it doesn't mean that a character is deep because they are part of a minority. Characters who are defined by a single trait are one dimensional, and in the real world, LGBTQ+ individuals are more than just their gender identity or their sexual preference.
Much of the attention that is given to Lev is due to his identity as a trans person. This is different than other queer characters like Ellie or Dina. When enemies shoot at Ellie, it's because she is trespassing or has already taken out one of their allies, NOT because she is a lesbian. However, for a large part of the game, Lev does not get the same treatment. Most of his character is the fact that he is trans and is escaping a cult where he is not accepted for that.
While the player sees him take steps to overcome his fear of dogs or talk Abby down and get to know him in those moments, Naughty Dog uses Lev's identity to elicit an emotional response from the audience and show how awful the Seraphites' behavior is. However, his trans identity just seems like a prop in the story, even though the developer has shown its ability to integrate queer characters into the game's world.
Tyler is different. While being trans is still a big part of his identity, players are able to see more of his character than that. He constantly talks about his love of the Alaskan wildlife and fishing, and while it seems that the reason for that reason his mother aims a gun at him doesn't have to do with his identity, players are unsure of the actual reason until the next two chapters come out. However, in the one chapter that players currently have, players have been able to see more sides of Tyler than The Last of Us 2 players could see with Lev.
The Last of Us 2 is a very different game from Tell Me Why. Tyler has a more central role in his game, while Lev finds himself in a more violent world than Tell Me Why has. But there are other ways that Naughty Dog could have incorporated a trans character into the story that does not weaponize their identity against them. Tell Me Why seems to tell a story that, from what is revealed in Chapter 1, may still have occurred even if Tyler was a cisgender character, even though Tyler's identity still impacts the plot. While its great to see more trans characters included in games, there are ways to write in them in that wouldn't potentially hurt players who identity with them as well.
Tell Me Why is out now for PC and Xbox One.