Decoding Non-Binary Identity Expression in VALORANT: A Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis of Agent ‘Clove’ Across Trailer and Corresponding Article

DOI

10.2991/978-2-38476-563-8_33How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Clove; Game Trailer; Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis (MCDA); Non-Binary Gender; Valorant

Abstract

Inclusivity in online video games can be very crucial to create a safe environment for everyone. A game developer, Riot Games, in this case, created a character in one of their games, VALORANT, called Clove, which is introduced as a non-binary character. This research discusses about the way Riot Games tried to introduce a queer/non-binary agent in a binary-expected circumstances. The objectives of this research are to reveal Clove’s gender identity expressed visually and textually, and to demonstrate the contribution Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis in understanding language and identity in the gaming industry. The analysis comes from 6 selected scenes with 6 screenshots captured from VALORANT YouTube Channel, titled 2 WORLDS // Clove Agent Trailer – VALORANT, in which contain non-binary key moments. The findings show that visually, non-binary identity is shown implicitly through camera angles and colors combination most often. While textually, taken from the trailer’s background music’s lyrics and Riot Games’ article titled Clove: Death is Only the Beginning, shows that through idioms, colloquial slang, and metaphors, the lyrics and article conveyed meaning both implicit and explicit that represents non-binary experiences in a binary world. Overall, this research shows how the trailer subtly introduces non-binary identity to the gaming community.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Muhammad Akbar Dzulqarnain
AU  - Andri Handayani
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/04/28
TI  - Decoding Non-Binary Identity Expression in VALORANT: A Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis of Agent ‘Clove’ Across Trailer and Corresponding Article
BT  - Proceedings of the 4th International Conference of Research on Language 2025 (IROLE 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 432
EP  - 454
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-563-8_33
DO  - 10.2991/978-2-38476-563-8_33
ID  - Dzulqarnain2026
ER  -