Ace & Aro: Heart-to-Heart interview: Asexuality, Learning, and Community

June is here, and that means it’s the time for the greatest of all months. It’s Pride month, where we celebrate all things LGBTQIA+. As an out and proud queer member of the team, I’m here to use my platform to celebrate queer gaming in all its forms. We wouldn’t have thousands of great video games without the hard work of LGBTQIA+ people, and in a world where rights are being eroded and hatred is being sown by horrific people it’s important to support the community as loudly as possible.

I identify with many of the letters under the LGBTQIA+ rainbow, and one of those is asexual. I don’t have the same sex drive and attraction to people as most, but I feel love all the same regardless. There’s a whole spectrum of asexuality out there, with varying types of attraction that are totally different to mine. These are all valid, and they’re all members of the queer community who face struggles and a lack of understanding from the world at large.

In video games asexual representation is very rare. Games in which romance options feature often showcase queer choices, but that rarely includes us asexuals. There are a few examples though which have impressed me, like both of the Arcade Spirits games and Date Everything.

One of my favourite developers is hoping to change this lack of representation, and help people learn more about the asexual spectrum. Kinmoku Games recently created the wonderful VIDEOVERSE, which was a fantastic narrative game featuring great disability and queer awareness. Their next game is Ace & Aro: Heart-to-Heart, where you’ll get to meet all manner of Asexual and Aromantic characters and learn about their personal journeys. I was fortunate enough to interview the person behind Kinmoku, Lucy Blundell, and ask all about asexual representation, queer games, and the characters you’ll meet on your narrative adventure.

Asexuality is something you rarely see in video games, why do you think that is?

I think it’s rarely seen anywhere, if I’m honest!

In Ace & Aro: Heart-to-Heart, some of the characters discuss this lack of representation and how it affects them. Some describe asexuality and aromanticism as their ‘inner worlds’, because sex and romance are private topics, and coming out can feel like you’re telling people about your sex life, or lack thereof. Coming out as ace or aro can also be met in other negative ways, such as being perceived as mentally ill, broken, that we need to find ‘the one’, or sometimes simply ignorance. The list goes on…but I believe this lack of education about the A spectrum results in fewer aces and aros being out publicly. It’s a huge reason why I wanted to make a game about it.

All of your games have tackled relationships and sexuality in one form or another. What led you from a game about a one night stand to a game about asexuality?

It’s all been a part of my asexual journey, I think. When I made One Night Stand 10 years ago, I didn’t understand asexuality or aromanticism like I do now. I’d always felt a disconnect with sex and, when I look back, I think making the game was me trying to make sense of why. I knew a one-night stand was something I didn’t want to experience, yet I was still curious to explore all the emotions around it, which I believe made it into the awkward, tense mystery game it became! One Night Stand was also made out of concern for how some people can be treated badly or left vulnerable in these situations, which could be safely explored in the bounds of a video game.

A couple of years after I made One Night Stand, I learned about asexuality through seeing Todd Chavez in Bojack Horseman, who was the first character I’d seen react the same way I do to intimacy. It took me a year or so to accept I was asexual but, after that, I started educating myself on the A spectrum. When I made VIDEOVERSE, I took some of my learnings and added a platonic route. The game was always intended to be a love story, but I didn’t want that to mean only romantic love.

These days, awareness and understanding is improving, though I still see aces and aros confused due to the lack of representation and information about their orientations. I wanted to be part of the solution and make a game all about the A spectrum, telling stories that are rarely told.

What do you hope people will learn about asexuality from Ace & Aro: Heart-to-Heart?

I hope to clear up any misunderstandings about asexuality and aromanticism, from within the A spectrum and beyond!

How did you go about creating a cast of characters to represent the spectrum of asexuality?

I really enjoyed creating the cast of Ace & Aro: Heart-to-Heart! It honestly felt like they leapt off the page for me, probably because I’ve been holding back on this side of myself for so long.

First off, there’s Maya, who is the confident advocate who started the ace and aro meetup group the player attends. Understanding the A spectrum saved her relationship with her demiromantic partner, Sam, so they both wanted to create a space for aces and aros to hang out, get to know and support one another.

Then, there’s Pedro – ‘The resident gay ace!’, Aisha – the young, questioning ace, Kyra – the non-binary, married grey-ace, and Theo – the oldest member who’s also aroace. There are a few other side characters the player will come across during the game as well, and I can’t wait for you all to meet them!

You’ve mentioned there are customisation options for you to play the game based on your own identity. How do these work?

At the start of Ace & Aro: Heart-to-Heart, you create a nametag where you can add your pronouns, orientation, disabilities, physical comfort level etc. This changes the dialogue and personalises your experience, so you can feel welcome and fully yourself, whether you’re a-spec or not. If you know nothing about the A spectrum, that’s absolutely okay, too! The game is designed to interpret your level of understanding and will only go deeper on topics if you want it to. It’s a safe space within a video game to learn and interact. However, like One Night Stand, you can also mess up and say the wrong thing…but that’s all just part of the experience!

What should people expect when playing Ace & Aro? Are you concerned some will go in expecting a dating sim?

Absolutely, haha! After announcing the game back on International Asexuality Day, I already had many people assume it’s a dating sim! It is a visual novel, but dating is not the aim of the game. It’s more like a series of short stories and mini-games, getting to know the characters and learning all about the A spectrum in an enjoyable way. It’s perhaps better to think of it more as a ‘friendship sim’ (although, there is one character you can date if everything goes well!).

I love that one of the minigames in Ace & Aro: Heart-to-Heart is a queer quiz. How did you decide on the questions for this?

The story goes that Queer Quiz was made by Kyra, the married grey-ace who’s also a programmer. Queer Quiz uses basic programming, poor graphics and even the Comic Sans font, as Kyra is by no means an artist!

I felt it was important for the game to have a strong sense of community, which is the reason Kyra made the quiz for the barcade. The barcade in question – ‘Barcade Bros’ – also boasts an LGBTQIA+ gamer’s night, so it made sense to include a machine that expanded upon the A spectrum.

Outside the realm of in-game lore, I wanted to include questions from every letter in LGBTQIA+ as many aces and aros also identify in other ways.

The Barcade setting we can see in screenshots of the game looks great. What made you decide on this setting, and how did you go about creating it?

Thank you! I’m very proud of my previous game, VIDEOVERSE, so I wanted to include several references for my fans who may have been expecting a sequel but got Ace & Aro: Heart-to-Heart instead! I know the A spectrum is a small community, so I wanted to widen the game’s appeal by mixing my love of video games, my previous work, and even a few mini-games. It’s also a fun, cosy location for the characters to gather regularly and get to know one another.

VIDEOVERSE is a game that demonstrates how powerful a tool the internet can be in learning about those different to us, and that’s certainly the case for many LGBTQIA+ people. Is this something that helped you on your own queer journey?

For sure, the internet – as bad as it can be – is still a refuge for many queer and disabled people. My connection to the a-spec community is almost entirely online. It’s lovely when I’m able to meet fellow a-specs at in-person events but, due to my disability, I don’t get out much these days! A big reason I wanted to make Ace & Aro: Heart-to-Heart is so that others, like me, can find a sense of community online…except this time, instead of forums and social media, it’s in a simulation of an a-spec meetup!

Since Pride month is here, what are some of your favourite video games with LGBTQIA+ representation?

My recent favourites are:

Wax Heads – a narrative game where you run a record store. Most of the characters you interact with are LGBTQIA+ or allies, and the sense of community is extremely heart-warming!

The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy – I adored the polyamorous relationship in one of the routes, where (spoilers ahead!) Takumi, Yugamu, Tsubasa and Darumi all decide to live together. I think Yugamu in particular is a really well-written bisexual character.

In Stars and Time – I loved the representation of not only one but TWO canon a-spec characters, in addition to an already awesome queer cast.

The House in Fata Morgana – a visual novel that completely blew me away…though saying any more about why would spoil it, so please check it out!

Promise Mascot Agency – I’d also like to give this game a quick nod, as it felt very sex-positive and accepting of queerness and kink. The protagonist, Michi, is also very aroace-coded, at least in my headcanon!

Thanks to Lucy Blundell for their time.

Ace & Aro: Heart-to-Heart is coming soon to PC via Steam.