And what is the gayest sport?
This landmark game’s sequel arrived into a very different landscape from the first.
“There weren’t any Western visual novels that looked like what I was trying to make.
The closest thing I had as reference was Brendan Hennessy’s 2015 text adventure Birdland.
I felt like I was wandering into uncharted territory.
Or like I was driving to a restaurant I’d never seen before, without GPS.”
I don’t feel like a madwoman muttering to herself in the wilderness anymore!"
“I adored Brendan Hennessy’s latest text adventure, The Grown-Up Detective Agency!
It captures the heartache of gay unrequited childhood love so, so well!”
A lot can change in just a few year.
When I was growing up, queer media was scarce and treasured representation was often deeply imperfect.
What influences helped Brianna towards Butterfly Soup?
Surprisingly, the TV show Skins.
Butterfly Soup’s chapter format was inspired by that."
Yet the series' shortcomings were every bit as impactful as its successes.
And all the queer characters were white.
Despite Skins impact, the direct inspiration for Butterfly Soup came during Brianna’s time in college.
“I became obsessed with sports anime like Free!, Oofuri, and Haikyuu!
I would sketch the characters on the bus or subway on my way to work and class.”
Between games, she got a job she drove to.
“Suddenly, all I could do on my commutes was listen to audiobooks!
My drawing time totally evaporated.
So unfortunately my drawing abilities sunk to all-new lows at some points.
But maybe in exchange, I became smarter because of the audiobooks?”
“In my opinion, softball, bouldering, and soccer all have it beat.”
With the recent world cup, Brianna is surer than ever.
“I just watched a video of a soccer player embracing his opponent and sensually biting his neck.”
As an avid climber, I’m proud to see bouldering ranked so high though.
“I’m so curious what’s attracting everyone to it!
Humour is such an essential part of Butterfly Soup and something that it makes seem effortless.
Easier than being serious, it turns out.
But did you fail?
The game would probably still be in development if I wrote like that!
I’d need a whole new brain to be able to handle it.”
For Brianna, she’s more impressed by those who can manage a serious tone.
So much of that humour comes from the game’s chaotic teens.
What drew Brianna to that time in people’s lives?
And because they’re brand new to you, you react to those things in absolutely bonkers ways.
The first time your crush calls you cute, it’s the best thing on earth.
The first time someone confronts you for saying the wrong thing, it’s the end of the world.
The four leads represent a whole spectrum of queerness, in a way that feels entirely organic.
How did she approach writing them in terms of their diversity?
For example, Diya is a star athlete while Noelle is an out-of-shape nerd.
Diya is big and anxious while Min is small and brave.
Yet there was other key ingredient: dumb.
For instance, Noelle is a math competition champion, but has an elementary school-level understanding of sex."
Whether it’s familial abuse, homophobia or racism, many games stumble or avoid these issues all together.
Was Brianna worried about tackling them?
“I really try not to write in fear of making internet strangers upset anymore.
But eventually, I realized it was an impossible task.
My games aren’t for everyone.
Stories exploring topics that have traumatized people will always make people uncomfortable.
Ultimately I ignored absolutely everything people said about my first game and wrote what I wanted to write.”
Though that didn’t mean there wasn’t additional panic.
How does Brianna feel about creating queer art in the present time?
“As a creator, the worse things get, the more determined I feel!
Better watch out straights, looks like videogames are out to hijack your brain with their gayness.
*[Writer’s note: The buff women.
It’s the buff women.]
