GayBlade
Early LGBT-themed action RPG, lost then recovered in 2020.
GayBlade is an action role-playing game created in 1993 by hobbyist programmer Ryan Best, who distributed it himself. It ranks among the earliest video games with LGBT themes and was believed lost for decades. A single surviving copy eventually turned up and went on display at Berlin’s Schwules Museum (Gay Museum). After a coordinated recovery effort involving multiple groups, a playable emulation became available in 2020.
In the game, players fight waves of homophobic enemies—such as pastors, police, rednecks, and skinheads—along with creatures like giant crab lice. The goal is to rescue Empress Nelda and bring her back to Castle Gaykeep. The final boss is a character called 'The Pope' in some versions, or a generic 'homophobic' figure; Pat Buchanan appears as a mid-game or early boss.
Because Best was an amateur programmer who created the game as a form of protest, it never had a commercial release. Instead, he gave it away for free to friends and acquaintances, so only a handful of copies existed. The 2020 Netflix documentary series *High Score* did not feature Best or *GayBlade*; the game's rediscovery and preservation were covered separately by news outlets and the LGBTQ Video Game Archive.
Quick Facts
- Title
- GayBlade
- Developer
- Ryan Best
- Platforms
- Microsoft Windows, Mac OS
- Released
- 1992
- Genre
- Action role-playing game
- Modes
- Single-player
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The player battles hordes of homophobic enemies, including pastors, police, rednecks, and skinheads as well as other enemies such as giant crab louses in order to rescue Empress Nelda and return her to Castle Gaykeep. The final boss of the game is a character called 'The Pope' in some versions, or a generic 'homophobic' figure; Pat Buchanan, the era's most notorious opponent of gay rights, appears as a mid-game or early boss. As developer Ryan Best was a hobby-programmer and had conceived the game as a form of protest, it never saw an official release. Instead, he gave it away for free to friends and acquaintances, and only few copies existed.
Reader's Guide
GayBlade holds significance as one of the earliest video games focusing on LGBT content, alongside Caper in the Castro (1989). Its recovery in 2020 after being long considered lost highlights the challenges of preserving early queer digital media. The 2020 Netflix documentary series High Score featured Ryan Best and GayBlade in an episode about early RPGs. At the time of production in 2019, Best had lost all copies during a move from Hawaii to San Francisco years before and had been looking for any since then. The production team's research led to the discovery of a copy that had resurfaced during the closing events of Rainbow Arcade, an exhibit at the Schwules Museum in Berlin. Best subsequently worked with an archivist from the Computerspiele Museum (Computer Game Museum) in Berlin, the LGBTQ Video Game Archive, The Strong National Museum of Play, and the Internet Archive to preserve the game and provide it in both an emulated form and as a downloadable version.
Did You Know?
- GayBlade was developed by hobby-programmer Ryan Best and self-distributed in 1993.
- The final boss of the game is 'The Pope' or a generic homophobic figure; Pat Buchanan is a mid-game boss.
- A lone copy was found and exhibited at the Schwules Museum (Gay Museum) in Berlin.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who created GayBlade and when was it released?
GayBlade was developed in 1993 by hobbyist programmer Ryan Best, who handled all distribution himself without the backing of a commercial publisher.
What do you actually do in GayBlade?
It is an action role-playing game in which you battle through waves of cartoonish homophobic foes—pastors, police, rednecks, skinheads, and oversized crab lice—while working toward rescuing a captive character. Pat Buchanan appears as a notable mid-game boss encounter.
Who is the final boss in GayBlade?
The climactic confrontation pits the player against a figure referred to as 'The Pope' or a generic embodiment of homophobia, serving as the last enemy in the game.
What happened to GayBlade after 1993?
The title was believed lost for roughly twenty-five years until a single surviving copy resurfaced and was placed on display at Berlin's Schwules Museum. Following a multi-organization recovery effort, a playable emulation was made publicly available in 2020.
Why is GayBlade considered important in gaming history?
As one of the earliest known video games to center LGBT themes, GayBlade predates most of the industry's later forays into queer representation. Its long disappearance and eventual recovery also made it a landmark case in the preservation of marginalized gaming history.
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