About Coming Out Straight: Online

Coming Out Straight: Online is a simulation game inspired by the novel Coming Out Straight by Tony Hellmann. The game, like the novel, juxtaposes sexual identities to answer the question: What would it be like to be straight in a world where everyone is gay? You get to play a straight person living life as a sexual minority. You have big decisions to make: Come out to your family? Your friends? Your work? How do you answer when someone asks you "So, what do you think caused your heterosexuality?" Every decision has consequences.

About the Designers

Tony Hellmann received a Master of Education in Counselor Education from Penn State University, where he studied and taught sexual identity development. Articles he has edited and/or published on sexual identity development appear in the Journal of Educational Counseling and Development and A Reader's Guide to Lesbian and Gay Studies. He currently operates a consulting business in Seattle and enjoys writing fiction. He is the author of Coming Out Straight and the concept-designer/principal owner of Coming Out Straight: Online.

Zachariah Birkenbuel is a Web Developer based in Seattle, Washington. Working with Tony, he developed and maintains the engine behind Coming Out Straight: Online. He enjoys injuring himself on his snowboard.

About the Novel

Set in Seattle, Coming Out Straight juxtaposes sexual identities to answer the question: What would it be like to be straight in a world where everyone is gay? The protagonist is a "closeted" straight man who encounters many of the struggles inherent to sexual minorities. How would a straight man answer questions like "What do you think caused your heterosexuality?" or "When did you first know you were straight?"

Coming Out Straight is set in a world where heterosexuality is shunned worldwide. From the military to politics to simple social circles, gay is the norm; the "average citizen" has either two mothers or two fathers; and traditional means of procreation is considered disgusting--unless you're living an "alternative lifestyle." Children of gay parents are conceived through artificial insemination.

Adam, the novel's central character, is plagued by nightmares of being beaten by gay thugs who call him a breeder. He lives in fear of his coworkers finding out he is straight and losing his job. In the end, the Adam is faced with a choice: come out and find love, or live in the security of his closet, alone.