Implemented & Evaluated Euphoria: Transgender Gender Euphoria Principles in Rainborough

Gender euphoria refers to a range of positive feelings of satisfaction, relief, affirmation, and self-actualization that can arise when one’s gender identity feels congruent with experience, expression, and recognition. Prior work has shown that games can support gender euphoria for transgender players, but less is known about how euphoria principles operate when implemented in a playable game artifact. We developed Rainborough , a research game that translates prior transgender gender euphoria design principles into interlinked narrative, parasocial, and customization systems. Rainborough centers two authored trans binary major NPC arcs, while supporting nonbinary player-character configuration and gender-diverse side characters; we treat this scope as a limitation rather than as coverage of all trans and gender-diverse euphoria. We conducted an online study with 56 trans players and used reflexive thematic analysis of free-response data, supported by descriptive ratings as contextual evidence, to explore players’ responses. Findings show how Rainborough supported euphoria for some players while producing non-euphoric, ambivalent, or insufficient experiences for others. We identify design complexities and tensions around discomfort, affirmation, obscured representation, and binary-centered narrative scope, and derive design implications for future games that seek to support transgender gender euphoria.