Every month, the Destructoid Monthly Musing topic gives community members the ability to have their work posted on the Dtoid front page.
I tried to name this month's theme something clever, but my attempts ranged from the unfocused ("Plugs and ports") to the downright awful ("Condoms and controllers"). These things happens.
This month's musing theme is about videogame sex. Sex within videogames, sexual desires revolving around videogames, and sex in aspects of videogame culture where one wouldn't typically expect it.
Earlier this week, a colleague of mine Tweeted that, in virtual terms, he'd been getting laid with alarming regularity over the past few months. After getting his particular version of Commander Shepard to get it on with Tali in Mass Effect 2, he activated this oh-so-horrific sex scene in Heavy Rain.
And I'm not sure what to make of that. Is it cool that games are trying to explore other avenues of simulated human interaction beyond talking and punching, or is something about the inherent control we have over these sex scenes just plain creepy? Lots of players refuse to follow the romance plots in BioWare games -- why is this? Is it something that will come to change with time, or is sex just something our medium of choice is ill-equipped to handle?
Or, you could talk about videogame fetishes, or porn games, or oversexualized grrl gamers, if you really want to. Hit the jump for a further explanation of the theme.
As always, the theme is tremendously vague. As always, you community members will likely pull something worthwhile out of it, anyway.
You could focus on the (over?)sexualization of videogame characters -- that'd be a tired-ass subject any other year, but Bayonetta nicely complicates it, I'd argue.
You could talk about your own sexual escapades in the virtual world. You could also possibly try to explain why the previous sentence actually began to burn my fingers as I typed it because it felt so fucking creepy.
Seriously, if you're of the opinion that videogame sex scenes are a little creepy -- and even though my own Shepard has thus far bedded women from two different species, I'd count myself in this category -- why do you think that is? Is it just the uncanny valley? Is it the fact that our quasi-control over the situations puts us in this weird position of seeming like voyeurs, but worse?
Jim's got an editorial on optional sex in games coming up (something about how most of the time, you get your characters laid by simply deciding who you want to bang, and then just talking to them a bunch until they let you) -- maybe that'll give you some ideas.
If you want to contribute, go make a Dtoid account and write a cblog titled, "Something about sex: blah blah blah," with the "Monthly Theme" tag selected.
Any questions?
Contest:
1:40 PM on 03.02.2010
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Sex is a powerful and natural part of being alive; it makes perfect sense that it would manifest itself in our creations. I know girls that think Nathan Drake and Dante from DMC are hot and I sure as hell think Bayonetta and the DOA girls are hot. Quite frankly, if you don't, I think that's weird.
This is nothing new, how long have comic book heroines been overly sexualized? Or what about all the Hollywood actresses that are maybe 30% natural?
I really liked that part.
why did I laugh so hard at your comment?
And Twilight.
I don't think it's weird, but some people might say, oh I don't know, THAT THEY'RE NOT REAL.
that is all
Holy crap that site is gross. Even for a porn site.
An example would Miranda from Mass Effect 2: shallow romantic dialogue capped with an awkward big boobs moment. Why not talk about her genetic engineering making her the perfect lover, or making her completely ammoral about sex, make her use it as a weapon of manipulation.
How about in Fallout instead of having a prostitute stand there and make some crass comments about sex, have her have a story, a motivation, have her talk about fucking being better than dying in the wastes.
In short I think sex is a needed element to mature games, but moreso in idead and dialogue than in juvenile penis and breast exposure, or having women dressed like strippers in a battlefield while also having the morality of a church nun.
And yet those people probably don't think its weird to say a model is hot even if her boobs, butt and face are complete fabrications. Or what about the pictures in a porn mag? Those pictures are so heavily edited that it's a stretch to call them real. They may be based on a real woman, but so perhaps, are some game characters.
It is obvious that some characters are designed specifically to appeal to human sexuality and indeed, if they aren't real, why bother calling them a "he" or a "she?" Why not just say "it?" Because the character on screen is obviously depicting a man or woman. Hot girls are hot, real or not.
Anyone that says they've never seen a game character that they consider attractive is either lying or hasn't played a game in 20 years.
yea, i agree it's pretty disturbing, it popped up once and has been forever etched into my minds eye, i should've put a warning, NOTE: my above post is pretty horrifying....unless you're japanese
This is because Boning is good and Japanese know this and include Hentai cutscenes where ever possible.
Yes, I think this could work.
I think that developers fear sexual backlash from the mainstream more than anything, especially after the Mass Effect/Fox business. This is why some of them skirt round the issue, instead of tackling it head on (that and share holders).
Even in Dragon Age or Mass Effect, as commendable as their Bioware efforts are, no option for possible gay hook ups spoils the experience or some. Two steps forward, one step back. Sorry Bioware, your excuses are lame.
Another problem is that beyond the QTEs of GoW3, no one has been mature or forward thinking enough, to conceive how to turn such experiences into fun gameplay. GoW's QTEs aren't fun at all, just frustratingly cumbersome, like most QTEs.
On the other side of the coin, is the likes of Tecmo's upcoming DOA Paradise. Appreciation of women say Tecmo, (and the male characters are on holiday on gay island). Its blantant voyeuristic fan service on a UMD, trying to be a half assed game. in eastern contrast, Bayonetta knows its ridiculous and does so tongue in cheek, remembering to place such silly T&A icing on top of an awesome game.
Add that most in the dev community are male, and there's a big problem to yet deal with in a better more mature way.
I think I will take a crack at this Monthly Musing. I've been waiting for one that will provide a different answer from other users and I'm positive that this will.
"King me, if you know what I mean."
"Butts butts butts"
Ah well! :)
True story.
Which were kind of like the Icecapades.
In that I was dressed up as Goofy and wearing skates at the time.
I might have something for this, unlike usual where I come up with something great a month later.
So while I see it as a definite route to be explored story wise as a driving force; to exist outside of plot and actually control/show sex in gameplay in my opinion cannot and won't occur until Adults actually seek to purchase those games. Then places like gamestop or maybe not gamestop but other stores will have a back room for adult games or just have them hidden.