The idea for 'Portrait of a Texas Family,' which walks players through raising a transgender child in Texas, was inspired by the game developer's own struggles.
Screen shot from the video game 'Portrait of a Texas Family'The most harrowing moment in a video game in 2022 isn’t fighting Malenia in “Elden Ring” or investigating the figure in the basement in “The Quarry.” It’s clicking “continue” in a visual novel from Lookout Drive Games in which an old man at the beach asks about the player character’s daughter, and if she’s one of those, you know, transgenders.
“Ever since that dual tragedy, I’ve been grappling with the systems that enabled it to happen,” says Pigott who is non-binary. “That incident propelled me to become more aware of the world and how it affects marginalized people. All these things are connected: police, healthcare, education. I’ve become more and more empathetic and understanding when say they feel hurt.”
Pigott was inspired by the work of Houston activist Amber Briggle. After Governor Greg Abbott ordered state authorities to investigate parents who get their trans children gender-affirming care as committing child abuse earlier this year, Briggle took to Twitter to speak up. The mother of a trans son had a long history as an activist, even inviting Attorney General Ken Paxton for a family dinner to discuss anti-trans bathroom bills in 2016.