In the Nude for Games

GamerNode's Jorge Albor suggests that more sexual themes, such as those found in GTA IV: The Lost and Damned, Indigo Prophecy, and Mass Effect, may be necessary to advance mature storytelling in videogames.

[italianbreadman]

Very good article. Without pushing the envelope, the medium will remain stagnant.

Heavy sexual themes in videogames (although a single flaccid penis hardly counts as such) will open the doors for developers to create truly meaningful adult tales via this medium because it will expand the realm of possibility for creativity and thematic exploration to flourish.

That's not to say that nudity is necessary in all adult-themed games, but that the freedom to display what any given story may entail most certainly is.

...and it is rare that sex is absent from any serious relationship, upon which many stories are based, or reference.

[RKRigney]

This article presents the opposite argument... (the one I stand for) http://tinyurl.com/bz6rf5 Ironically, it hit the front page of N4G on the same day as this article. It's titled "Violence and Sex ≠ Maturity"

[yaboi]

im not gonna lie. sex and videogames is kinda wierd. if u want to see it that bad go look at it on your computer

[FarEastOrient]

I agree to that games need to go out further than they are currently and pushing on the themes of maturity will help the median as a whole. Just imagine art or art today if we spent so much time arguing why the Greeks made so many nude statues and paintings.

People complaining about the male nudity in GTA:DLC is as the author crazy because you get to do so many things to other people. This article should attack people that had something against torture in World of Warcraft when for years I spent my game time doing genocide on the mining rats, trolls, and other things depending on what side I was playing.

No one complained about the sex industry, poverty, torture, abuse, racial hazing, and inequality in Slum Dog Millionaire. Which is a very good movie and one the Best Picture of the Year!

[italianbreadman]

The argument in that article is not the "exact opposite."

Your argument there is that meaningless sex and violence does not translate into a "mature" game, and says nothing about the evolution of the medium in terms of developers' limitations on mature storytelling via appropriate sexual themes.

The article above only claims there is value in gratuitous sex, not because it is mature in itself, but because it will allow that access to use sexual themes in a mature way, down the road.

Both are good articles.

[Myst]

You know this really was a good read such as italianbreadman stated, one thing that always got me curious is why such acts (Sex and the likes) weren't used to make a more meaningful story. Of course their is a fine line of having to much sex in a game and then there is one that certainly pushes the emotions that the story of the game tries to enlist upon the gamer.

I will never get why sex scenes cause so much outcry amongst politicians and the media. It seems that if they are going to do something along the lines of giving those scenes more face value, it will get more people to look into that game or trying to get it to see for themselves. For the most part, I hope their will be a developer who will push the line and attempt to put a scene in a game. It doesn't even have to be the full thing (God knows I don't want to sit and watch the whole thing) but at least slow build up or something, to show the two characters relationship or something which may help move the story along.

[FarEastOrient]

Actually in games like Tsukihime and Fate/Stay Night sex was used to advance the story and the relationships in games. Now I can't say the Japanese is further on maturing the gaming market because I'm still scratching my head on how tentacle, school girls, etc. can support a good thesis about sex and games.

[Myst]

Tentacles seem to be at least in every game - somewhere in a Japanese game even if it is hidden their seems to be some type of tentacle lying within' the confines of that disc. Makes me scratch my head to sometimes and wonder "Why is this here..?"

[yojoe26]

okay you two guys are sick. sex is something very special, and I say, a divine gift from God, that is not to be made a spectacle for the viewing pleasure of sick-minded, dementedly-grotesque individuals. I enjoy sex with my wife, but why in the world should you or any other people need to see this act. No. It is not needed in video games to advance story telling. If you need to watch two people have sex in order to "get into the story" then you are just......disturbed, in my opinion.

[Myst]

How is it sick? You said it is a divine gift from God and I merely said sex should not be as confined as it usually is. Besides if you had read I only said lead up to build up and then cut away because I did not want to see it, which would lead to sexual themes and not persay intercourse. Whether or not there is a God, sex is a blessing and a curse. Blessing in that it is bliss for the receiver and giver and curse if something goes array (namely someone who gets pregnant and then the labor of child pains)

I respect your opinion, but, I will say it once more. Build up then cut away. Kissing, necking, fondling, hugging, cuddling, then slowly progressing the same way a story teller does it. I don't see in anyway how that is in the least bit disturbing.

[solsub]

To be fair, I'd say most pregnancies are wanted pregnancies.

[Myst]

@SulSub
True, though a lot of them aren't.

@yojoe26 (Slight edit clarification)
And I should have further elaborated on the sex thing, in some countries the few things that I listed (Cuddling, kissing, etc.) are considered sex. I know my teacher told me that in Dubai, that kissing and even wearing shorts was considered sex. So from the standpoint of that and this article, where else can you go? Nudity is not a problem, but sex is; yet with so many cultures how can we define sex all together. For the most part, I just want more emotions being played out in games. Don't care about sex, just more emotions and intimacy would be nice, a few games now would be a lot better (IMO) if they had that.

[Narutone66]

Why are people and politicians easily offended by nudity, but not by the violence in video games? Just show a b**b in a video game and all hell break loose. But look at Gears, Fallout, Halo, Resistance,etc. all of them are violent. Heck even Nintendo Games like Super Smash Brother, Mad World are violent. The message that is being sent is that it's ok to kill but not to love. Where's the make love not war slogan from the Nixon era?

[italianbreadman]

Bubbles for Narutone66

yojoe26 lost me at "divine gift," where all my respect for the argument flew out the window. Make rational arguments, and then your opinion will matter.

[LastDance]

go watch a porno.

[The-Director]

Don't Forget that video games are played all over the world, where some people are conservative and don't like sex in their favorite habit which is gaming, especially in parts of the world where people have a strong family bonds and you will see the gamer play the game in the living room with his family.

Keep sex out of games, sex in games will turn the video games eventually to a taboo, because developers know sex sell, and they will stuff their games with it.

I hope we don't see the day where video game reviews say this :

Gameplay : 8
Sound : 8.5
Graphic : 8
Sex : 8.6

[italianbreadman]

Unfortunately, people tend to miss the point that not all games are played by all people and not all games have the same content.

What percentage of feature films are rated NC-17, or even R, for that matter? Not the majority. Adult-rated games would be in the minority, as well, but would EXIST.

Videogames are not solely children's toys; they are a growing medium of entertainment. They need to grow to the point that they can encompass the full range of possibilities in storytelling.

[yojoe26]

Exactly!! I agree 100 percent. Some of the greatest movies and games I have ever played had minimal to zero language and sex. For example, Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Fugitive, Star Wars (the original trilogy not the crappy prequels), and the Bourne movies (which I know had some language but nothing like some movies. It did however, have almost zero sex!). All I say is that great movies and games are tremendously successful without the use of moral degradation so why limit your audience by sticking in a bunch of crap that many people, like myself, do not feel is wholesome or character-building?

[creeping judas]

I think part of the problem is that American games don't feature sex, or prelude to sex, is that anyone can get a hold of a M-rated game. Unlike lets say a real porno movie. So when little Johnny comes home with a video game that mom and dad think is just a GAME. And then they see nudity is said game they freak out. They view games as toys and toys and sex dont mix.

I can't think of a game I've played that would have needed to have sex scenes in them to advance the story. But with games such as Alan Wake and heavy Rain coming out, could the boundary be pushed there.

[tmurder]

I think it's safe to assume that most of us here are mature enough to handle sex in games, talk about it in an adult manner and agree that gaming is maturing to a point where sex is going to be a major theme sometimes. The problem is that there are still many people out who still see video games as toys, one that younger children play with, and something they can obtain easily. They don't understand that it's a maturing medium, and are quick to attack and condemn gaming. I understand that most of these people are just trying to protect someone, but only if they knew what goes on a schools nowadays, they'd see that maybe gaming isn't the problem.

[JAlbor]

It's not just sex that is important. As some of you said above, I understand not everyone likes depictions of sexuality in a videogame. Therefor, I respect your decision not to buy those games. The same can be said for movies, there are plenty of movies the more morally sensitive commentators don't watch, but it doesn't mean they shouldn't exist. I merely suggest that some of the matura themes that you WOULD watch, such as divorce, drug use, or any form of desperation, may be more readily accessible when a sexuality (absolutely considered mature by mainstream culture) sells well enough to encourage game developers to push boundaries.