Playing games has always been about the nature of gender, identity, and performance. Stepping into the shoes of another person or thing, inhabiting a body other than your own, is part of the experience of playing a game.
At Mothership — a queer and women-owned independent publication co-founded by Polygon veterans Maddy Myers and Zoë Hannah — we have always understood this is what games are about. Whenever we play an RPG, we notice the choices that are available — and the ones that aren’t. We’ve observed that most female video game characters have hourglass figures and pale skin. And we can’t help but consider the physical norms on display among male characters in games, too, whether we’re revving a Lancer as Marcus Fenix or swinging a sword as Link… or putting on a Gerudo disguise.
Every genre of game belongs here at Mothership, and when we say “game,” that means console, PC, mobile, and tabletop games. We’ll cover everything from the best of the cozy, girlypop offerings to sci-fi and fantasy worlds that imagine different identity politics and gender norms, and we won’t neglect to cover games grounded in reality, from military shooters to narrative memoirs.
The best part of Mothership is that you, the reader, get to exist in a space where the assumption is that you play games and care about them. No exclusion, intimidation, or gaming credentials questioned. And even if that isn’t your experience, maybe you just want to read a gaming site with writing and perspectives that specifically focus on gender and identity as they relate to games. We should warn you, though, we just might convince you to use the word “gamer” to refer to yourself. Occupational hazard.
We’ll ask for a small monthly fee to unlock certain features of the site, like paywalled articles, commenting privileges, and an invitation to the Mothership Discord community. In exchange, we’ll post new stories for you every week, commission work from critics and journalists you know while also introducing you to new ones, and of course, tell you about games you should play.
Why subscribe?
Lately we’ve seen far too many video game publications suffer mass layoffs or shutter entirely. As journalists and as readers, we worry about the dwindling resources for well-argued, tightly edited games criticism, let alone serious investigative reporting that merits (expensive) legal review processes and multiple rounds of intense editing. Independent outlets can rarely afford to cover the costs involved in this sort of work.
Mothership’s launch stories were funded by a few small financial gifts, as well as a loan, all from individuals who believe in what we’re doing and wanted to ensure we could get started. Special thanks go out to Seth Rosen and Ryan Rigney for the financial support that will make our first few months of stories possible — and ensure our writers and editors are being paid fairly for their work. But that initial investment won’t last forever.
It’s why Mothership needs you to come on board with us. We can’t embark on this mission without you — and we know, if you’re reading this, that you believe in this as much as we do. So, come on in. The airlock is open, we’re preparing for takeoff, and your seat is ready.
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