And what's wrong with NOT having sex scenes in RPGs? How many of you have roeplayed sex in a game of D&D or other RPGs?

@Chronic Logic; What kind of roll would you have to make for that? Dexterity check? Athletics?

...Dungeoneering?

I don't see what's so important about having sex in video games. It doesn't make a bad game good, and it doesn't make a good game any better. Oh well, I don't really care either way.

Sexual attraction and tension are very powerful things. Sex has been used wonderfully in books, movies, music... why not games? Completely omitting it from games is a blow to the genre's credibility as an art form. I almost get the feeling that every time a game tries to be sexually aware, everyone wants to castrate it and force it to sing in the choir.

Blame it on religion. Seriously, it is the only reason this country can't get over dumb shit like that. PLEASE OH LORD SHIELD MY EYES FROM REALITY! lol

I can dig it for some games, but a lot of titles it would be utterly pointless. For instance, FFVIII I can see it, but not FFVII. It depends on the game.

This is very true. Not necessarily because sex makes the story stronger, per se, rather that this kind of censorship leaves some relationship development feel stunted. In the last Obsidian game I played (KOTOR 2), as my character interacted with his love interests, it seemed like the character development was just sort of chopped-off, leaving me, the observer, thinking "Just FUCK ALREADY."

@kauza: I think the point was that if a character's romantic development leads naturally to sex, it's stupid and counterintuitive to pull up short, to censor yourself. Especially in what is ostensibly the most story/character-driven genre of games.

Having sex in a video game is just about as important as taking a big crap in a video game.

But, it would really add so much more to the story if my character had to take a break from saving the world in order to take a big, stinky shit. Then just think of the great character development it would create:

Courtesy flush- add one point to dexterity
No oourtesy flush- add two points to stamina
Wipe ass- add two points to charisma
Don't wipe ass- lose two points of charisma, add one point to defense

Seriously, I have no need of seeing a sex scene in a video game. I'm all for the characters having a sexual relationship if it heightens your emotional bond to them, but there's no reason for it to happe on screen. I think watching Gordon Freeman and Alyx Vance go at it in the next Half Life would be a pretty soul destroying experience.
If it must happen, at least do it in good taste please.

Yeah, because RPGs are so much like the real world with levels and experience points and shit.

"Yeah, because RPGs are so much like the real world with levels and experience points and shit."

You're right. RPGs should never try and tackle realistic situations because they have non-realistic elements. Let's never try and make games with grounded issues!

"RPGs should never try and tackle realistic situations because they have non-realistic elements. Let's never try and make games with grounded issues!"

Until developers can figure out how to do love and sex in a better way than a direct to video "National Lampoon" movie crossed with a Freddie Prinze schmaltz-fest, I don't think we should.

Boo-hoo.
There are sex scenes in rated M games.
Then obviously the games are NOT for little kids. The media should, instead of blaming developers and "the industry", talk to the parents about this and maybe convince them to not buy -insert RPG with sex- for their 9 year old eh?
Oh and why make such a big deal out of something not especially even "graphic". And DryBones, if you wanna see boobies, thats what the internet is for oO

"Is a depiction of consensual sex for the purpose of building a plot, even if unrealistic, worse than an unrealistic depiction of brutal violence?"

Not at all. As long as "building a plot" is explored or the mechanic exists has real meat to it.

There was a discussion here recently around morality in games and how it wasn't implemented well enough, not enough choices and ramifications. A similar argument can be leveled against sex in games. Should developers invest the time to essentially add a dating/relationship simulator into a 20-100+ hour RPG or should they allow the player navigate a few conversation trees followed by a "press A to bang this chick" to shoehorn in sex scenes? I'm intrigued by thought of the addition and exploration through a built-in simulator, but insulted by other.

Ha! He's tellin' the Bill O'Reillys of the world where to stick their luffas!

I agree 100%!

I don't need any sex in my video games thank toy. I have like 4 websites that I can go to for that.

As always, sex is taboo but shooting people is a-ok. Censors are twisted individuals.

Well... anything relevant to the story and/or gameplay is fine by me. As long as the sex thing isn't overhyped as it always is in society now a days.

I agree with most of the article and comments. If car-jacking people in GTA and massacring thousands of people in FPS games is ok and accepted by modern society, why isn't sex? It is true that in most cases where you find sex in video games, it causes a massive media feeding frenzy (that ultimately only serves to bolster sales). Most of mainstream America's reaction to sex consists of childishly trying to demonize the game's developers as a bunch of Satan worshipping, drug-peddling, left-wing hippies. It is all rather stupid.

However, I have a question for all of you: Why is it so important that we put sex in games? Why is it such a big deal that we have to have it in our RPGs? I enjoy my games just as much with sex as without it. In fact, I would even go so far as to say that I don't like having sex in my RPGs. Take, for example, Fable II. The game is about avenging your dead sister and saving the planet. Why would I, as the character, want to waste time getting my rocks off when I've got a planet to save?

Moral choices are interesting because you can create a new persona everytime. Games like KOTOR, Jade Empire, Oblivion, and Mass Effect all allow you a free path. A way to control your destiny. Romance is a part of these things. Sex is eluded to in Jade Empire. KOTOR lacked it due to Star Wars feel but the idea of love and devotion (even slavish devotion) was explored. Fable allowed for sex and fable 2 even allowed the idea of having kids! Sex is a big part of a heroes life. Many is the gaming session I have sat at in which Barbarians wooed fair damsels and took them to their rooms. Succubi tempted paladins and clerics! Hell I once had a character murdered by an assassin he took to bed. The point is sex opens new plot hooks. New ideas.

For example what type of sex does your character have? Is your character depraved or dark? Bondage is an interesting idea. If your character is tried and true hero more traditional venues open up. And what of villains? What is worse a Lich hellbent on destruction or a warlord who sold your sister into sex slavery. Or even used magic to warp her mind into twisted desires.

I'm not saying that sex should or even has to be shown but aspects of sex might expand a game. It might change one's perspective and allow people to delve into their own motivations and psyches. You don't have to make a game all about sex. Just throw some in there to have us explore our id and libido. Introduce morals and moral consequences. Let that succubus tempt us. Let us woo the barmaid and leave only to find we have a child when we return.

Love and lust are great aspects of a character's story. Let's explore them. Embrace them. Just don't necessarily put a whole lot of emphasis on it. After all... it's just sex people.