Will Sex In Games Ever Be Sexy?

The Guardian Gamesblog has an editorial up discussing the pitiful state that sexuality is in when it comes to games. Titles like "Singles: Flirt up your Life" and "The Guy Game" are not sexy...they're just embarrassing. From the article: "Historically, you can understand the reasons behind the industry's adolescent handling of adult themes: a younger audience, a male-dominated development environment and, of course, basic pixilated visuals which only ever really allowed a nudge, nudge, wink, wink, 'Confessions of a Bitmapped Bikini Lady' approach to portraying sex."

Comments

Easy..just need smooth lines

[pio!pio!]

Well written dialogue can be very successful at drawing the user in and creating a suspension of disbelief. It can overcome cartoony or 3d polygonal looking graphics and having to use a keyboard and mouse.

Example

Man: "I put on my robe and wizard hat....uh oh going limp!"
Woman: "HAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!"

Re:Easy..just need smooth lines

[jericho4.0]

from bash.org;

bloodninja: Baby, I been havin a tough night so treat me nice aight?
BritneySpears14: Aight.
bloodninja: Slip out of those pants baby, yeah.
BritneySpears14: I slip out of my pants, just for you, bloodninja.
bloodninja: Oh yeah, aight. Aight, I put on my robe and wizard hat.
BritneySpears14: Oh, I like to play dress up.
bloodninja: Me too baby.
BritneySpears14: I kiss you softly on your chest.
bloodninja: I cast Lvl. 3 Eroticism. You turn into a real beautiful woman.
BritneySpears14: Hey...
bloodninja: I meditate to regain my mana, before casting Lvl. 8 chicken of the Infinite.
BritneySpears14: Funny I still don't see it.
bloodninja: I spend my mana reserves to cast Mighty F*ck of the Beyondness.
BritneySpears14: You are the worst cyber partner ever. This is ridiculous.
bloodninja: Don't f*ck with me bitch, I'm the mightiest sorcerer of the lands.
bloodninja: I steal yo soul and cast Lightning Lvl. 1,000,000 Your body explodes into a fine bloody mist, because you are only a Lvl. 2 Druid.
BritneySpears14: Don't ever message me again you piece of ****.
bloodninja: Robots are trying to drill my brain but my lightning shield inflicts DOA attack, leaving the robots as flaming piles of metal.
bloodninja: King Arthur congratulates me for destroying Dr. Robotnik's evil army of Robot Socialist Republics. The cold war ends. Reagan steals my accomplishments and makes like it was cause of him.
bloodninja: You still there baby? I think it's getting hard now.
bloodninja: Baby?
--------------
BritneySpears14: Ok, are you ready?
eminemBNJA: Aight, yeah I'm ready.
BritneySpears14: I like your music Em... Tee hee.
eminemBNJA: huh huh, yeah, I make it for the ladies.
BritneySpears14: Mmm, we like it a lot. Let me show you.
BritneySpears14: I take off your pants, slowly, and massage your muscular physique.
eminemBNJA: Oh I like that Baby. I put on my robe and wizard hat.
BritneySpears14: What the f*ck, I told you not to message me again.
eminemBNJA: Oh ****
BritneySpears14: I swear if you do it one more time I'm gonna report your ISP and say you were sending me kiddie porn you f*ck up.
eminemBNJA: Oh ****
eminemBNJA: damn I gotta write down your names or something

Re:Easy..just need smooth lines

[pipingguy]

sexg0d: Hello, Sally_nicetits. What do you look like?<br><br>

Sally_nicetits: I am wearing a red silk blouse, a miniskirt and high heels. I work out every day, I'm toned and perfect. My measurements are 36-24-36. What do you look like?<br><br>

sexg0d: I'm 6'3" and about 250 pounds. I wear glasses and I have on a pair of blue sweat pants I just bought from C&A. I'm also wearing a T-shirt with a few spots of madras sauce on it from dinner...and it smells funny.<br><br>

Sweethart: I want you. Would you like to screw me?<br><br>

sexg0d: OK<br><br>

Sally_nicetits: We're in my bedroom. There's soft music playing on the stereo and candles on my dresser and night table. I'm looking up into your eyes, smiling. My hand works its way down to your crotch and begins to fondle your huge, swelling bulge.<br><br>

sexg0d: I'm gulping, I'm beginning to sweat.<br><br>

Sally_nicetits: I'm pulling up your shirt and kissing your chest.<br><br>

sexg0d: Now I'm unbuttoning your blouse. My hands are trembling.<br><br>

Sally_nicetits: I'm moaning softly.<br><br>

sexg0d: I'm taking hold of your blouse and sliding it off slowly.<br><br>

Sally_nicetits: I'm throwing my head back in pleasure. The cool silk slides off my warm skin. I'm rubbing your bulge faster, pulling and rubbing.<br><br>

sexg0d: My hand suddenly jerks spastically and accidentally rips a hole in your blouse. I'm sorry.<br><br>

Sally_nicetits: That's OK, it wasn't really too expensive.<br><br>

sexg0d: I'll pay for it.<br><br>

Sally_nicetits: Don't worry about it. I'm wearing a lacy black bra. My soft breasts are rising and falling, as I breath harder and harder.<br><br>

sexg0d: I'm fumbling with the clasp on your bra. I think it's stuck. Do you have any scissors?<br><br>

Sally_nicetits: I take your hand and kiss it softly. I'm reaching back undoing the clasp. The bra slides off my body. The air caresses my breast. My nipples are erect for you.<br><br>

sexg0d: How did you do that? I'm picking up the bra and inspecting the clasp.<br><br>

Sally_nicetits: I'm arching my back. Oh baby. I just want to feel your tongue all over me.<br><br>

sexg0d: I'm dropping the bra. Now I'm licking your, you know, breasts. They're neat!<br><br>

Sally_nicetits: I'm running my fingers through your hair. Now I'm nibbling your ear.<br><br>

sexg0d: I suddenly sneeze. Your breast are covered with spit and phlegm.<br><br>

Sally_nicetits: What?<br><br>

sexg0d: I'm so sorry; Really.<br><br>

Sally_nicetits: I'm wiping your phlegm off my breasts with the remains of my blouse.<br><br>

sexg0d: I'm taking the sopping wet blouse from you. I drop it with a plop.<br><br>

Sally_nicetits: OK. I'm pulling your sweat pants down and rubbing your hard tool.<br><br>

sexg0d: I'm screaming like a woman. Your hands are cold! Yeeee!<br><br>

Sally_nicetits: I'm pulling up my miniskirt. Take off my panties.<br><br>

sexg0d: I'm pulling off your panties. My tongue is going all over, in and out nibbling on you...umm... wait a minute.<br><br>

Sally_nicetits: What's the matter?<br><br>

sexg0d: I've got a pubic hair caught in my throat. I'm choking.<br><br>

Sally_nicetits: Are you OK?<br><br>

sexg0d: I'm having a coughing fit. I'm turning all red.<br><br>

Sally_nicetits: Can I help?<br><br>

sexg0d: I'm running to the kitchen, choking wildly. I'm fumbling through the cabinets, looking for a cup. Where do you keep your cups?

Second Life

[Solder Fumes]

Lotsa sex in Second Life. Basically there is financial competition to produce the sexiest clothing, poses, "accessories", and animations. Since you can make anything, there are some pretty advanced genitalia out there. Second Life allows you to tack anything anywhere on your avatar, including the Barbie- and Ken-like flat nether regions.

Not that I get involved in such things.

You need an audience who knows what good sex is

[EnronHaliburton2004]

In order to have a game which contains good sex, you need to have an audience who knows what good sex is.

Unfortunately, judging by the popular porn promoted by most gamers and netiziens, most people don't have a fucking clue,

It's fine if an 18 year old doesn't know what good sex is, but a 30 year old adult? Give me a fucking break.

99% of porn on the net and on the videos is complete utter crap: Same formula, different girl, staged sex, fake orgasms-- all ending with a goddamn cumshot. Why the hell would you pull out of a great orgasm to cum on the girls face??? BOOOOOORRRRRING!

The audience of this porn obviously doesn't have a fucking clue what 'hot sex' is, and doesn't tire out from bad crap porn.

Re:You need an audience who knows what good sex is

[JAHA]

Why the hell would you pull out of a great orgasm to cum on the girls face??? BOOOOOORRRRRING!

Umm...maybe because porn is a visual medium and you can't SEE someone having a great orgasm. Porn is not an instructional video. It's a way to excite you VISUALLY. This is the same reason you see flicking tongue's in porn during oral sex. Anybody with real experience knows that doesn't really work. But, apparently, it's visually enticing.

I'm not trying to argue that porn is amazing. But you don't seem to have a clue about how to make it better.

Re:You need an audience who knows what good sex is

[AstrumPreliator]

I agree with most of what you said, but I'd like to point out that sex isn't purely physical. It isn't about the number of positions you are in during a session nor the amount of foreplay you do or how many different places you can stimulate at once. Don't get me wrong they're a part of the equation, but you need a bit more for great sex. You need an emotional and spiritual connection of some sort.

In response to your second to last paragraph, every man and woman is different. Get over being embarrassed in the bedroom and communicate with eachother. Everyone has a fetish or two and you can get pretty turned on fulfilling your partner's desires and I know they will enjoy it.

Besides, porn is just visual stimuli.

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

[Blakey Rat]

They need to go play Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. The writing in that game was excellent, including the sex scene.

Re:Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

[snorklewacker]

The bath scene. Hardly a sex scene ... it was all "off camera". Very PG. However, what was there was done exquisitely and tastefully, which was the thrust (ahem) of the article. I'm quite sure the artistic and writing talent behind that game could have gone on to show an even more erotic scene, but that would get the "AO" label slapped on it, Wal-Mart wouldn't carry it, and the console makers wouldn't publish it. Welcome to the repression of the "free" market.

Not that I think it would have been entirely appropriate to put such a scene in that particular game, but sheesh, I'm 32 years old, I think I could handle it. Games are still for kids. Come to think of it, just about every mass-marketed entertainment out there is -- if not for actual children, then ones that are mentally.

Re:Dumbass

[Laxitive]

I can't mod the parent post up, so I'll expand on his comment a little bit.

Hgames (hentai games), are a huge industry in Japan. The range of sexual themes covered by these games is extremely diverse... everything from the standard smut, to bondage, bestiality, scat/piss, big-breasts (big as in beach-ball big.. there's a name for this fetish, I don't know what it is), and rape.

The article author doesn't know what he's talking about. This industry has been vibrant and successful in japan for a long time. The games aren't coy about their subject matter, either. They're unapologetically explicit.

-Laxitive
(and before I submit: this is a pre-emptive stfu to anybody thinking of making some cheesy joke about my handle... er.. nickname).

Sex vs. Sexual tension

[Daetrin]

Although there is some overlap and some exceptions, generally you have the straight (so to speak) approach to sex taken by porn and anything else intended as a masturbation fantasy, which is the kind of thing that is generally pretty embaressing in any other context. Those who are trying to include sex in a work they consider to have artistic merit usually focus on sexual tension rather than directly on the sex itself.

Stories about sexual tension usually have a lot more depth and layers of meaning to them than stories about sex alone. You can even have very sexy stories that don't actually have any explicit sex at all. More commonly an "artistic" story will have a lot of sexual tension followed by a little bit of sex, as opposed to porn which has a little (if any) sexual tension up front followed by a lot of sex.

There's also always the "less is more" philosophy. It's often the stories with the least actual sex in them, and sometimes the least sexual tension, at least as intended by the author, that ends up with hordes of obsessed fans writing slash about them.

So i expect the sex in video games will be sexy as soon as the developers and/or marketing departments realize it isn't about sex and body parts but about well developed characters and the social interactions between them which create sexual tension.

Stealth Game Sex?

[pyrrhonist]

From the article:

Arnold Schwarzenegger once said that he hated the sex scene in Terminator because it was totally at odds with the rest of the film - the same complaint would no doubt be levelled at sex in, say, Metal Gear Solid. Although 'stealth sex' is an intriguing concept.

They'll never see you coming!

Re:Dumbass

[Laxitive]

Dammit, hit submit before I finished saying what I wanted to say.

What the hell is "that stuff" supposed to be?

There are a lot of pretty good natured h-games. Of course, if you've only kept your eye out for the disturbing stuff, then I think that says more about you than it does about h-games.

-Laxitive