9643: sex in video games

inspired by yahtzee

Video game sex lecture time

I have to agree with this guy. Sex is an important part of our life and shouldn't be degraded or banned when it comes to gaming. The Sims does a fantastic job in their approach. In a way, it can be used as a teaching tool for parents that want to teach the birds and the bees and present it in a less vulgar manner. They take something that's typically shunned upon and viewed as a dark part of society and shows that it's a fun activity enjoyed by people all around the world. Nothing like a good "woohoo" here and there.

:D

That's an interesting way to look at sex and video games as a whole. You have your sexually revealing but not explicit games like Dead or Alive, Tomb Raider, etc. You have your complete adult stuff, like the hot coffee mod, and the playboy mansion. Then you have a game like the Sims that tackles an otherwise awkward scenario in a fun manner.

And the Sims is just one way to approach it, there are countless other ways to approach sex where it can be funny, artistic, and beautiful instead of vulgar and degrading.

The Witcher allows you to have sex, but I agree with Yahtzee's review, it's done in the wrong way. You basically say the right thing or save the women, and the lights go out, then you get a card with an artists drawing and it might show a nipple or bum cheek. Afterwards, the women don't seem to have much of a different reaction to you, and you go out to continue questing all the while looking for more women to add to your card collection.

While I enjoyed the adult approach, and would like to see more games like it, I wish it was more realistic. A role playing game used to mean that you played a role. If I'm some hero saving women, I would expect that they would want a relationship, and I felt that's where the Witcher failed.

It's a challenge for the game designer to present sex for what it really is. And that's keep all the other baggage that comes with the actual act. Not like, "Hey you completed the quest, here's some boobies.", but have an actual story behind the whole situation.

Developing characters that have truly interesting realistic reactions to you is yet unheard of, but you see it becoming more prominent in characters such as Alyx Vance.

It's not too much to ask, but it's a large hill to climb for game developers to go down this route. It's far more easier to have more duck shoots and platform jumping then keep the player intrigued by an NPC.

I've ranted a bit here, so in summary, developers need to create different design methods and AI so there is a relationship involved. This would be just one method of having sex in video games that isn't viewed so negatively.