Rainborough

Years Active: 2025-current

Many people experience euphoria, a positive experience for mental health. Interactive media is a powerful engine that offers intimate experiences. Rainborough is a life simulation video game prototype built in Unity, designed around the principles of transgender gender euphoria. The game aims to explore and evoke feelings of gender euphoria—positive, affirming experiences related to gender identity—particularly for trans players. It serves both as an experimental interactive system and as a research tool to better understand how game design can promote well-being in transgender communities.

• Engine: Unity (WebGL build)
• Platform: Web browser
• Development Team: Mixed team of HCI researchers, professional game writers, and developers, with significant trans and queer representation.
• Collaborators: Shano Liang, Bastión Toledo-Altamirano, Elizabeth Papa, Crow Zubrick, Thea Cloyd, Rose Bohrer, Michelle V. Cormier, Gillian Smith, Lane Harrison, Phoebe O. Toups Duga

Game Design

Rainborough was developed by operationalizing 13 gender euphoria design principles drawn from prior research (Liang et al., 2025), structured using the Design, Dynamics, Experience (DDE) Framework:

• Design Themes: Destigmatization, de-othering, offering expression, and self-disclosure.
• Dynamics: Emergent properties like trans trust, safe spaces, continuum of comfort, and self-reflection.
• Experiences: Positive self-image, social affirmation, parasocial connection, and institutional support.

Core Gameplay

• Life Simulation: Players manage their character’s daily needs (Satiation, Hydration, Energy) and secondary stats (Empathy, Emotional Control, Manners, Creativity, Vitality, Strength). Player actions include working, eating, and sleeping affect stats and time.
• Space Customization: Players can purchase and arrange furniture, wall, and floor tiles. Players have full color customization that enables expressive personalization.
• Visual Novel Narrative: The game is set in the modern, multicultural town of Rainborough. Players interact with NPCs (including two major trans characters, Laila and Ambrose), build relationships, and experience branching narrative arcs. Players choose their character’s name, pronouns (multiple options supported), occupation, and gender identity at the start.

Screenshots

Rainborough Demo on itch.io

🔊 Heads up! This game includes sound. Double-check audio settings for the best experience.

Note: The main research paper is currently under review. Further details, results, and discussion will be added or updated once the peer review process is complete.