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Positive queer representation in older cartoons is extremely rare, but two different Scooby-Doo projects from the last 20 years tried to do something different with the character Velma. As reported by Buzzfeed, both James Gunn’s 2002 live-action movie and Scooby-Doo: Mystery Incorporated intended to present Velma as gay–but neither project was ultimately allowed to do so.

Asked by a fan on Twitter if he could make a version of Scooby-Doo where Velma is openly a lesbian, the Guardians of the Galaxy director said that he had planned on doing this with his original film. “Velma was explicitly gay in my initial script,” Gunn says. The studio objected, though, and this aspect was watered down until it no longer existed.

Gunn had previously intended to make a more satirical, R-rated version of Scooby-Doo, but this was ultimately not allowed. As Pink News points out, there’s a deleted scene that involves Velma kissing Daphne, which was excised entirely from the film.

Whether Velma’s sexuality would have been handled respectfully in this original version is impossible to know–although the film we ended up with is not particularly well regarded.

Tony Cervone, a producer on Scooby-Doo: Mystery Incorporated revealed that Velma absolutely is gay in the animated series–even if the show never explicitly states it. In a post to Instagram, Cervone confirms that Velma and Marcie were in a relationship, and that fans who suspected it were correct.

“I obviously don’t represent every version of Velma Dinkley, but I am one of the key people that represents this one,” Cervone writes. “We made our intentions as clear as we could ten years ago. Most of our fans got it. To those that didn’t, I suggest you look closer. There’s no new news here.”

In a since-deleted comment, saved by Twitter account Pop Crave, Cervone addresses the relationship Velma has with Shaggy in the show, saying that she “acted off” because it was “wrong for her.” He explicitly says that she is gay, not bisexual, and that she and Marcie are “a couple” after a reset in the show. “You can not like it, but this was our intention,” he states.

Cervone does not say why Velma’s sexuality is not made more explicit, but Warner Bros. animation does not have much of a history with positive gay representation. The show ended in 2013, and many fans who have understood Velma to be a gay woman now know that this was the intention for the character.

In the latest iteration of Scooby-Doo, Scoob!, Velma’s sexuality is not touched upon.

Deathloop, the upcoming PlayStation 5 and PC title from Arkane, is going to be a violent experience. You’ll play as Colt, who is being hunted by and has to take down multiple assassins, and naturally you’re going to kill a lot of people. As such, a lot of the game’s art and marketing so far has featured weapons and people wielding them.

However, the latest concept art shown off on the game’s Twitter account is much calmer, and focuses on some of the interior designs the team has worked up for the game. Nice staircases? The game has them. A music feature wall with a guitar and records affixed to it? Very chic. And look at those planter boxes!

It’s a shame you’ll likely get blood on those polished floors.

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Games for Change has announced the 2020 awards recipients following a virtual ceremony. The big winner was Media Molecule, but the socially conscious-focused awards gave accolades to games across several categories. This marks the 17th year for the awards, which honors game developers who strive to make a social impact through immersive media.

Media Molecule’s Dreams was awarded Game of the Year along with the Most Innovative award. Sky: Children of Light was the second-most awarded game, taking home both the People’s Choice award and Best Gameplay. It earned the popular award with more than 14,000 votes. Games for Change says this year’s awards received more than 14 times as many votes as prior years.

Other award winners included Sea of Solitude (Most Significant Impact), Best Learning Game (Rabbids Coding), Resilience (Best Student Game), and The Holy City (Best XR For Change). The ceremony also honored Gordon Bellamy with the Vanguard Award for his work creating inclusive LGBTQ+ spaces in the gaming community, and Humble Bundle with the inaugural G4C Giving Award. Microsoft was given the Industry Leadership award.

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We’ve got a first look at the box art for new Xbox games, Stadia is getting Sekiro and some new exclusives, and Civilization 6 is adding Ethiopia in the next DLC pack.

EA Sports has published its latest “Gridiron Notes” blog post for Madden NFL 21, this time covering what’s new in terms of offensive and defensive playbooks, and improvements to AI. Additionally, EA is promising more substantial regular updates to this year’s game.

Starting with the new playbooks, the Live Playbooks feature from Madden 20 is coming to Madden 21 with a 2.0 version. Like last year, Live Playbooks are updates to the playbooks to reflect what happens in the real NFL, and EA is promising more substantial updates this year.

“For Madden NFL 21 we are increasing the amount of content we are delivering via Title Updates. As this feature evolves, it will increasingly become the way we add new playbook content to the game,” EA said. “We are already in the process of working on new playbook content that will bring even more variety and authenticity to our playbooks.”

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Dragon’s Dogma, the Capcom RPG that launched on Xbox 360 and PS3 before eventually coming (as the upgraded Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen) to PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Switch, is releasing an anime adaptation soon. The anime, which was announced by Netflix in March 2019, is coming to Netflix on September 17.

Netflix has announced the release date alongside a first-look poster and a single sentence of description. “Only the Arisen can face the Dragon and defeat the apocalypse,” the announcement tweet reads.

You can see the poster, which presumably shows off the anime’s art style, below.

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