How Much Social Realism Do You Want in Safe Haven?

If you're going to do this I feel like it would be a good opportunity to add trans character options to your game. Having that kind of thing in a game and also nonbinary characters but not trans ones is going to have the potential to be... odd. Transphobia/gender discrinination that affects enby people is also going to affect a trans person, so if you're writing that kind of thing it doesnt make a lot of sense to me to not just bite the bullet on it. And if you aren't, it creates the awkward left-out feeling in a lot of cog games where it seems non binary folk were just an afterthought and miss out on a bunch of extra dialogue or social interaction and dynamic (ie: a character who would treat a woman badly in a survival scenario would likely also treat an outed or visibly queer person badly) sheerly for being non-binary. I love actual depth like this in games as long as it doesn't become a punishment parade, and I feel like it could really add to the story. Just my two cents :)

As an Asian living in Germany, I've never felt being discriminated against, same goes for my friends in the US (even during Covid). Most people I've seen on Red Note and WeChat complaining have insecurity issues that got projected as racism. I'm not saying it doesn't exist, just not very common. (Stereotypes though definitely, but mostly joking) Story wise, this is definitely a hot take, but I think the best way to handle sexism is through femininity like I the Forgotten One. In that game, if you RP as a female MC, there are scenes of cat calling by your own soldier, expected role of the "finer gender" for you and your sister, there are little moments that doesn't take away the main story like when an enemy soldier was shocked to see how the legendary commander was a beautiful woman, wearing makeshift cut-in-half chemise under the armor, moving to a separate spot for dressing the wound because of modesty. In that story, depending on how the story is interpreted, female MC feels like a legendary warrior who has to push through the prejudice, or one with moments of vulnerability (in additon to the mental baggage that male MC also has). People may disagree with the idea of femininity in the story, but the popularity from romantasy novels would suggest otherwise Obviously that one was set in a fantasy/medieval world, so might not work so well with zombie apocalypse. Regardless, please avoid preaching, there are already enough games that flopped because of the self-inserting preaching on equality and gamers are very sensitive toward it I have an alternative idea, but it's dark so I'd rather share it with you on discord DM

I'm all for it as long as it is not done in a cartoonish way. And hell, since you said we could possibly educated them, it would nice to see them actually change as a person and grow from their hateful words. I have dealt with someone like that, who looked down at me for being a woman and my orientation but after we had a long talk, they actually listened and changed. It would be cool to see if thats a path we can take.

I voted but figured I’d also expand on my thoughts in the comments. I think because some of us might face this in our real life. It’s even more important to have it represented in media, including games. I also hope it would be a vehicle for more empathy, especially for people who make characters who aren’t like them and who might face different challenges. It’s really important for me to see myself represented and struggles. I go through on a daily basis, even though it’s hard.

Yeah I like it but not if takes away from the zombies apocalypse, people might not change but realistically social issues aren't gonna be a main focus when people are straving. Not to say that it won't happen, in fact some idiots will double down, just don't get too lost into it.

I personally find it unrealistic for heavy social prejudice to survive an outbreak. Survival instincts don't care about prejudices. I see them existing, yes, because people don't just unlearn those things overnight, but they would be ignored or "pushed down" more, because a broken leg doesn't care about the color of the skin of the person giving you a splint that helps you survive.