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Thread: Sexual content in videogames.

  1. #1
    Inhuman One's Avatar Comes Limitis
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    Default Sexual content in videogames.

    It remains a controversial topic oddly enough, so it might be interesting to talk about it.

    To me it seems rather odd that games that are actually made with a focus on sex are always cheaply made, no big studio ever dared to go there.
    And on the other hand there's many, especially japanese, games that focus hard on sex appeal, but don't have the balls to actually show anything. They'd allow clothing to be torn, rediculously skimpy outfits and what not, but oddly enough female nipples and genitals always remain covered often against all logic.

    Rating systems also seemed rather skewed when considering that Mass Effect 1 was given an 18+ rating for an extremely mild sex scene that shows nothing, I believe maybe a bare butt but I am pretty sure not even that.

    While I personally would have no interest in any game focused purely on sex, it does bother me when games like dead or alive show bouncing boobs and rediculoudly small tops, but don't have the guts to actually show a nipple.
    I'd compare that to a movie where a couple has sex, but oddly enough the woman feels the need to keep herself covered up under the sheets afterwards, as if affraid that the guy she just had sex with might see her boobs. It's just not realistic.
    Neither would it have been realistic if Dr Manhattan in Watchmen did not walk around naked, considering he grew distant from being human but would wear clothes to be considerate to others if need be. So yes, I would want that realism for both genders while I'm not attracted to men.

    But going back to videogames, I think that there would be a market for games that do include sex or nudity, but also other things. It needs to be more than just that. For something like the Sims it seems very fitting for example. A more mature competitor to the sims could be very succesfull I think.
    They could just straight up go for an adult or mature rating for it, maybe excluding children and aging to prevent problems with that and just focus on adults.
    Could still help your controlled people to make a career and persue hobbies, learn various skills, but sex could also be very much part of that life. It would be up to the player to turn the story of their character into whatever they like. Wether it would be like a sappy romance novel, a cheesy porn movie or somewhere in between. This would appeal a lot to both women and men so it would appeal to a very wide market despite the mature rating.

    Something else that I could see happening for some games, is two versions being released: One with an adult or mature rating due to nudity maybe with sex, and one version that has those things censored. That way a very broad audience could be reached too. For something like Dead or Alive that seems suitable.

  2. #2

    Default Re: Sexual content in videogames.

    Games and movies exist for a reason. Commonly to tell a story and/or allow you to experience a hypothetical situation. Games, real or computer, after all exist mainly as training for the real world. Boys play with swords, girls play with dolls, etc. That is one theory I've heard at least.

    I really can't think of many instances, where a detailed sexuality or nudity system would aid in that effort. Can you?

    I rarely see nudity or sexuality in games or movies that adds quality to the production. It seems to be there only as an attempt to attract horny people. If people want nakedness... just google it.

  3. #3
    Inhuman One's Avatar Comes Limitis
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    Default Re: Sexual content in videogames.

    But movies do occasionally show more while not being porn. It can fit the theme. Game of Thrones is not porn either, but sex does happen in it. Watchmen, Conan the Barbarian, 300 and the Terminator all show sex and nudity as well and it is not porn.
    And I would say that at times it can add to the atmosphere of the production. It is noticeable when a movie tiptoes around it and goes out of its way to not show any nudity.
    Sex is also a part of life, and in a movie or series it can reveal a lot about the personalities as well as the relation between the people involved in the scene.
    Game of Thrones often demonstrates that quite well.

    Of course it's also possible to have needless nudity, like in the movie blackbook where people are running naked to the bathroom for some reason and its shown that the jewish girl dyes her public hair blonde as well to avoid detection. And Turkish Delight is pretty much just porn. Here in the Netherlands movie makers tend to be pushing a little too far towards the other end at times.

    But I think it's about time that the gaming industry stops being so prudish about it while its always been looking to make violence more and more graphic and gruesome. I mean, Saint's row shows people in bondage gear, there's brothels, strip clubs, you can beat people to death with a dildo, but still the developers puss out when it comes to nudity. If you're going that far, might as well go all in.

    It's just a very weird double standard.

  4. #4

    Default Re: Sexual content in videogames.

    Quote Originally Posted by Inhuman One View Post

    It's just a very weird double standard.
    Yeah, it always comes to this when sexuality is involved.

    Remember the hot coffee scandal in San Andreas? No wonder devs are very careful about this.

    I guess it takes enough daunting people/publishers who can take the heat before it gets standard like in movies.

  5. #5
    Inhuman One's Avatar Comes Limitis
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    Default Re: Sexual content in videogames.

    True, sadly the American market and rating system holds a lot of power in this. Here in Europe it's not that big of a deal in most countries. Here in the Netherlands movies rated 12+ can have nudity and sex in them. Just not explicit sex. Can have violence too, just nothing really explicit so I gues its judged about equally.

    But things might change in time. I'm sure that eventually as new generations grow up less sheltered due to internet and multimedia, that Americans in the general sense will grow more comforteable with sexuality. I do think it has already changed some.

  6. #6

    Default Re: Sexual content in videogames.

    Actually I read that the newer generations are more prudish and traditional than the older ones. Weird but understandable. These things don't follow a linear progression toward more open sexuality. There are biological reasons why sex should be hidden, and it would be difficult to simply will that into nonexistence.

    Anyway, like I said, there are practically no reasons for nudity in games or movies. If having sex or being naked is part of the story, there are ways to imply it without directly showing it. The exact details of the naked part or the actual process of having sex, are usually irrelevant to the story. It'd also feel gay to see a guy naked tbh.

  7. #7
    Inhuman One's Avatar Comes Limitis
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    Default Re: Sexual content in videogames.

    Just seeing a guy naked does not make you gay. Granted, I wouldn't want the camera to focus on a guy's privates in a movie, but other than that I really wouldn't even be looking there. Entire sports teams would be gay too then since they tend to see each other naked in locker rooms.

    Of course homosexuality is also a thing that America is still getting used to as well, gay marriage finally getting legalised was a big step of course, so it does show America is catching up.

  8. #8
    Sir Adrian's Avatar the Imperishable
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    Default Re: Sexual content in videogames.

    The reason nobody shows anything is because technology isn't really all that advanced. Showing a bunch of pixelated models would only make the entire thing feel cheap. Besides showing the full monty means you severely limit your audience and with the cost of making a game going up day by day that's not a good idea in general for a mainstream dev. Indie devs working in their free time or making smallers projects have a lot more leeway in this sense and there are games like lula and huniepop that do play on it.

    Plus you forget the internet. What's the point of looking at a naked cartoon when you can see the real deal with just 3 clicks.
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  9. #9

    Default Re: Sexual content in videogames.

    Quote Originally Posted by Inhuman One View Post
    Just seeing a guy naked does not make you gay. Granted, I wouldn't want the camera to focus on a guy's privates in a movie, but other than that I really wouldn't even be looking there. Entire sports teams would be gay too then since they tend to see each other naked in locker rooms.

    Of course homosexuality is also a thing that America is still getting used to as well, gay marriage finally getting legalised was a big step of course, so it does show America is catching up.
    Lol, I was just saying, it would feel weird to see a male character naked. Can you imagine Master Chief naked and having sex? Not interested in seeing that.

    Only female nudity would be acceptable. Then again, like I said, if I wanted nudity, Google is right there. It is totally unnecessary in games imo.

  10. #10
    Diocle's Avatar Comes Limitis
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    Default Re: Sexual content in videogames.

    Sex is everywhere nowadays, I don't see why we shouldn't have sex also in videogames. Is it hypocrisy? .. or just guilty conscience? .. maybe both?

  11. #11

    Default Re: Sexual content in videogames.

    It contributes nothing to the game. If I saw it in a video game, I'd think the developer is shamelessly trying to attract horny teenagers.

  12. #12
    Diocle's Avatar Comes Limitis
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    Default Re: Sexual content in videogames.

    Sex is part of human experience, as love, art, economy, politics and war, it depends on the interests of the game developer deciding if in his story telling (OMG, what I wrote!), sex plays some interesting role or not.
    Of course the human bad taste is infinite, as infinite is the developers' idiocy, but this involves any aspect of games' production, I don't see why for example, the most disgusting and gratuitous sadistic violence is admitted and tolerated in great part of the games, instead sex, which is part of our daily living experience, is still a matter of scandal. I repeat: Hypocrisy?

  13. #13
    Inhuman One's Avatar Comes Limitis
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    Default Re: Sexual content in videogames.

    Well it depends on what game they are making of course. Clearly it would not fit in Halo to have nudity and sex.

    Grand Theft Auto V already had mild sexual content and is an increcibly well selling game, but there it fits that there's a stripclub. I suppose lapdances and the option to have sex with prostitutes is not needed there either, but it's all the little touches that add to the world.

    It's always an option for people not to buy a game if the content does not appeal to them. I am very certain that extremely graphic violence will also turn people off. What I'm saying is that the games that are beating around the bush when it comes to nudity and sexual content, should just stop doing that and commit.

    I mean, a fighting game like Dead or Alive seems to be going for a lot of fan service. It's quite good as a fighting game, personally I am a bit bothered by that they focus so much on the fanservice, but I feel that if you are going to have hot women with destructeable clothing that seem to be nearly having an orgasm whenever they lose, they might as well just take that final baby step and show actual nudity. In case of Dead or Alive, I think it would not hurt the sales and might even boost them.

    And if a game has been build from the start with sexual content in mind, people cant be confused about it either. Sex sells. It's not just about visuals. It's often about the story that is being told with the visuals. There's a reason that erotic novels are very popular among women. For a female audience, they could translate that kind of narrative to a videogame. And when expanding a bit on it, a developer would draw in the male audience too.

    It's just strange to me that this market has not really been tapped yet, while there's a large number of games that focus on very detailed violence. But my main point is that such content should only be in games where it fits. Bloody violence would not fit a mario game either, but it does fit a conan game, which would seem odd without it.

  14. #14

    Default Re: Sexual content in videogames.

    Quote Originally Posted by Diocle View Post
    Sex is part of human experience, as love, art, economy, politics and war, it depends on the interests of the game developer deciding if in his story telling (OMG, what I wrote!), sex plays some interesting role or not.
    Of course the human bad taste is infinite, as infinite is the developers' idiocy, but this involves any aspect of games' production, I don't see why for example, the most disgusting and gratuitous sadistic violence is admitted and tolerated in great part of the games, instead sex, which is part of our daily living experience, is still a matter of scandal. I repeat: Hypocrisy?
    Taking a crap is also part of human daily life... The point is that in stories, there is a limit to what you should show. There are ways to imply sex without showing actual pornography, no?

    There is plenty of criticism of video game violence, which has included censorship and attempts to ban the games entirely. Games usually keep violence unrealistic. Most games don't show actual gore. Those that do probably have received as much criticism as a game that depicts hardcore pornography would.

    People also know children will get their hands on games no matter what the rating is. I suppose people believe that violence is much less harmful than sexuality is.

    Quote Originally Posted by Inhuman One View Post
    Well it depends on what game they are making of course. Clearly it would not fit in Halo to have nudity and sex.

    Grand Theft Auto V already had mild sexual content and is an increcibly well selling game, but there it fits that there's a stripclub. I suppose lapdances and the option to have sex with prostitutes is not needed there either, but it's all the little touches that add to the world.

    It's always an option for people not to buy a game if the content does not appeal to them. I am very certain that extremely graphic violence will also turn people off. What I'm saying is that the games that are beating around the bush when it comes to nudity and sexual content, should just stop doing that and commit.

    I mean, a fighting game like Dead or Alive seems to be going for a lot of fan service. It's quite good as a fighting game, personally I am a bit bothered by that they focus so much on the fanservice, but I feel that if you are going to have hot women with destructeable clothing that seem to be nearly having an orgasm whenever they lose, they might as well just take that final baby step and show actual nudity. In case of Dead or Alive, I think it would not hurt the sales and might even boost them.

    And if a game has been build from the start with sexual content in mind, people cant be confused about it either. Sex sells. It's not just about visuals. It's often about the story that is being told with the visuals. There's a reason that erotic novels are very popular among women. For a female audience, they could translate that kind of narrative to a videogame. And when expanding a bit on it, a developer would draw in the male audience too.

    It's just strange to me that this market has not really been tapped yet, while there's a large number of games that focus on very detailed violence. But my main point is that such content should only be in games where it fits. Bloody violence would not fit a mario game either, but it does fit a conan game, which would seem odd without it.
    This makes more sense.

    I think the answer is that people just don't really want it. Those who would like a game to show sex, would probably play the game even if it didn't show it. Whereas a lot of people who don't want sex in games, might actually avoid games that depict it. It's a risky business decision, unless you're appealing to a niche market that absolutely demands pornography in games. At that point you might as well just become a sex simulator developer though.

  15. #15
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    Default Re: Sexual content in videogames.

    Quote Originally Posted by Diocle View Post
    Sex is everywhere nowadays, I don't see why we shouldn't have sex also in videogames. Is it hypocrisy? .. or just guilty conscience? .. maybe both?
    No, it is just a Christian product produce by Christians.
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