I played Queers in Love at the End of the World, a ten-second game by Anna Anthropy, hosted through itch.io. It seems to be catered to an audience of queer, especially single queer, individuals, but the pace of the game rushes you so quickly into the situation that I can imagine anyone who may click into it from any background would play for a while. I believe the time limit and options to play for this game force the player to play like a feminist, interacting with the feeling and narrative developed by the game, since there is no other outcome than “Everything is wiped away” after the 10 seconds.
The game opens with one sentence – “In ten seconds, this world will end” – and the timer starts. The timer instills the same sense of urgency in me as the story has told me. There is nothing to do except spend time with this person that clearly my player loves in the last 10 seconds of the world. You can either hold her, tell her, kiss her, or take her hand. This emotion of urgency and options of ways to express love force me to play like a feminist, putting me in the decision making perspective of being in the last few seconds of the world and deciding what I would do with the person I love. It forces me to choose instinctively and be vulnerable, not strategic.
The other piece that forces me to play like a feminist are the options available to take. There is no option to fight, there is nothing to fix, and no violent actions that can be taken. There are only choices between ways to express love, and there is no ending except the world ending. Not only that but the game feels real, and the actions, words, and descriptions feel real. This pulls me into the story of what is happening, putting me in the character and head of the person in that space. This is enhanced by everything being from the “I” perspective, deciding your actions, not observing someone else’s. Overall, this inherently creates a very different type of game, where there is no mastery or skill grinding, no upgrades or point totals, no way to make the clock stop, just existing, feeling, and making choices out of emotions and desires rather than expertise or winning. These choice options force a player to play like a feminist.
Coming back to what Chess wrote about, this game does not just force us to think or play like a feminist by incorporating that into the game but rather the emotional labor is the game itself. This is the primary action and purpose of the game, throwing out what Chess calls the “default masculine modes of play.” This is all achieved through the mechanics described above, such as the ten-second countdown and branching text options, forcing players to act from emotion and instinct. This creates a dynamic of emotional urgency and dealing with this suddenly-coming loss, pushing players to feel vulnerable and pushing against the usual linear, goal-oriented game dynamics. Finally, the aesthetic experience helps make the player play like a feminist through having a simple layout, with colorful, emotional actions. This helps put me in the apocalyptic world, where there is nothing else that matters – no color, images, life – outside of the few things I can do with my partner. There is no music, and only the chance to reset and experience this rollercoaster of an emotion again. The simple message at the end underscores the game: we just need each other, the person we love, and nothing else matters.
I think this game shows how feminist design can be extremely powerful without needing to be complex or preach change to its user. It can be short, simple, and touch emotions where people truly feel vulnerable. It can help anyone connect to stories and feelings they don’t feel in daily life.
If I had one suggestion for improvement, I would love options to explore this same feeling for other types of users. For example, a queer man may not like to engage with a story about spending his last moment with someone who identifies as female, but may benefit from and be looking for the same type of story. The same goes for anyone who may be nonbinary or trans. While I found this really powerful, I felt it could be replicated with some of these other groups to create a more inclusive experience and connect with people in a way that resonates with them.
