
The early game design team did their line reads at the Canberra Technology Centre. Left to right: Joel Harwood, Zora Kerr, Ylaria Rogers, Liam O’Connell. Photo: Nicholas Ward.
Growing up transgender is a difficult story to tell. One Canberran is hoping to tackle the subject by telling her own story through the medium of computer games.
Zora Kerr is an accountant and game designer. Her story is about being a headstrong little boy who came to realise she was a dauntless young woman and the journey to understanding and accepting that identity within herself.
Her upcoming fantasy adventure computer game, I am this Castle, centres around characters climbing a sentient shapeshifting castle that represents Zora’s growth as a person.
She took inspiration from coming-of-age stories.
“The part that makes my story a little bit different from the majority is looking at those traditional coming of age experiences through the lens of being a trans person,” Zora said.
“Trying to square the circle of the way that you’ve been led to understand life and your identity and your body, and trying to make all of those understandings about life and purpose and gender, make all of those make sense.”
The journey to making this game began in 2022 after giving a community presentation about her life story, when she realised she wanted to share her story more widely. By 2024, she had completed a script and was ready to embark on the first stages of bringing her game to life.
“Going from that first moment of the kindness of strangers encouraging me through to getting the first round of grant funding to taking some time off work to write the story through to now, getting a major grant to begin in-game engine development is a really gratifying arc to look back on,” Zora said.
Since then, Zora has been raising money, assembling a cast and crew, and doing all the big and small behind-the-scenes work it takes to put a video game together.
The project is currently working on a prototype after securing an ACT arts funding grant. The first stage of production, recording lines and audio design, began in late July at the Canberra Technology Centre.

Liam O’Connell with voice artist Ylaria Rogers. Photo: Nicholas Ward.
Behind the scenes of the development, Zora’s infectious bubbly energy was on full display as she guided her actors to bring her vision to life.
Joel Horwood, the voice of Dauntless, had never recorded game dialogue. He said the hours of reading take a toll on the voice, so drinking plenty of water and avoiding dairy are vital steps for the voice actor to keep his voice up to the task.
Joel’s character is brave, headstrong and adventurous, and represents Zora’s past as a headstrong little boy.
“I think how remarkable Zora’s dialogue is. She’s really created believable interactions between these characters. It’s witty and funny, but also quite profound at times,” Joel said, describing his experience.
Opposite Dauntless is the game’s protagonist, Keystone, voiced by Ylaria Rogers. Curious and adventurous, they are trying to find their place in the world while ascending the shifting castle.
Ylaria said playing Keystone was an eye-opening experience.
“All journeys through this life are so important, and I feel like so often, journeys that are outside of our norm do not get a voice and do not get space,” Ylaria said.
“One thing Zora has done so well in the writing is I feel like I understand that sense of trying to work out where I fit and where I’m going and what comes next for me.”
Seeing her vision take shape has been a special experience for Zora. She praised the actors as the spitting image of how she had imagined her words coming to life.

“You and I were shaken loose from the same ore. Hammered out on the same anvil,” – Joel Harwood as Dauntless. Photo: I am this Castle concept trailer.
The game may still be a few years away from completion. With the prototype scheduled to be completed by next year, the timeframe for the whole game is a bit more uncertain.
Zora has not yet decided whether to release the game in one go, which could take several years, or in an episodic format, which would allow her to publish in as little as 12 months.
The project has been self-funded and supported through crowdfunding; it recently received a boost thanks to a $44,547 grant to develop a prototype from the ACT’s Arts Activities Funding.
A demo of the project is expected early next year. Updates on the project can be found at I am this Castle.