Sex Lives and Video Games

This article was originally written in October 2012 and may no longer reflect the beliefs of the author or subjects quoted.

Violence is an accepted and prevalent part of video games. However when sex, nudity or suggestive situations crop up, many of us react with discomfort. I tend to jam the mute button.

Video games are now capable of delivering emotional stories, complex relationships, cinematic experiences and political commentary just as effectively as other forms of entertainment. However sex is still a sensitive topic in video games, and its presence has been making waves in the gaming community.

Last month, independent Netherlands-based studio No Reply Games submitted 'Seduce Me' to Valve’s Steam Greenlight. The game purported to be “an erotic game with light strategy gameplay, pre-rendered backgrounds, and hand painted images of glamourous women.” Like many similar titles in the dating sim genre, players converse with NPCs and develop relationships. The end result is a physical consummation of the characters's relationship. However, the Steam community reacted in a way Seduce Me’s creators didn’t anticipate.

“Steam is a user friendly and child-friendly interface, Pornography does not belong here. Plain and simple.” 

“I don’t even think games like these are allowed on Steam... like what is this even doing here? This belongs on some Pay 2 Get adult game site.”

“Please none of this garbage. Steam doesn’t need this. No.”

“I don’t want this filthy s*** on my steam, DOWNVOTED.”

Droves of Steam users condemned the game. Some users argued cries of morality or appropriateness were hypocritical considering the plethora of violent games available. But even those who praised the games art style or the developer’s willingness to take a risk remained dubious of Seduce Me’s suitability to Steam.

Valve removed the game citing “offensive material.”

Speaking to GamesIndustry International, No Reply co-founder Miriam Bellard said she didn’t anticipate such a strong negative reaction,

“We were actually really shocked when it went down, because we thought that it would at least be allowed on Greenlight to be discussed. We wouldn't have minded taking down some of the images if they were considered too racy for the forum, but there was no communication - nothing” 

Bellard believes the gaming industry has become too focused on creating games for a niche market, “With books, you have children’s books, teen fiction, adult books of all genres. But we tend to view games as one solid category. I think things like this can just be about habit; it’s just what we’re used to.”

Team Ninja’s fighting franchise Dead Or Alive is under constant fire for its juggling breast physics and scantily clad women, and spin-off series Dead Or Alive: Xtreme Beach Volleyball has long been the whipping boy of the industry. While the series does bring up issues of objectification and sexism, its content is arguably less explicit than an issue of Playboy.

In his review of the game, GameCritic writer Brad Gallaway said Dead or Alive: Xtreme represents the very thing holding back the industry from attaining legitimacy in the mainstream, 

“How can we expect people to take games seriously if the industry is constantly setting inappropriate examples? This conundrum directly feeds into another issue that often raises its head in this situation; the perception that anyone wanting to explore the concept of sex in videogames must be some kind of socially inept deviant.”

But sex in video games is not always about titillation or sleaze.

Quantic Dream’s Heavy Rain, which included themes of domestic violence, abduction and murder of children, self mutilation and drug abuse, caused a stir when audiences discovered its sexual content. Players followed male and female characters as they showered, while avoiding full frontal nudity. One scene allowed players the choice to make the heroine, Madison, perform a striptease for a sleazy nightclub owner. 

As main characters Ethan and Madison consummate their relationship, players were in charge of removing clothes and engaging in foreplay.  Heavy Rain’s Director David Cage defended the inclusion of such scenes in an interview with Computer And VideoGames UK, "There's never sex for the sake of sex or gore for the sake of gore. Nothing is gratuitous, and I think everything supports the narrative and emotional immersion of the player.

"We don't intend to push the boundaries and be ultra-realistic in every detail. It's about real characters having emotions and doing what adults do when they fall in love."

Bioware titles like Mass Effect have been lauded for their romance subplots, allowing male and female Shepards to form strong relationships with their fellow crew members (including same-sex and inter-species relationships). While sex was a part of the relationship, it was usually only after extended periods of courting and bonding. Even then, the scenes themselves were relatively chaste, showing little before fading to black. If players chose to take advantage of emotionally fragile character Jack the possibility for a deeper emotional relationship in the future is ruined. Players were taught that intimacy was more valuable than sex.

In Australia, the struggle for recognition as a mature medium has been arduous. After repeated calls for ‘more public consultation,’ despite strong public support, state and federal governments are deliberating an R18+ classification for video games. The current guidelines for film and computer games, which for computer games only allows a maximum of MA15+, states, “Sexual activity may be implied.” However the current R18+ rating for films states, 

“Sexual activity may be realistically simulated.  The general rule is ‘simulation, yes – the real thing, no’.” 

This means simulation of virtually any sexual act is permitted.

The proposed classification for video games guidelines are less clear cut, 

“Depictions of actual sexual activity are not permitted. 

Depictions of simulated sexual activity may be permitted. 

Depictions of simulated sexual activity that are explicit and realistic are not permitted.”

According to the guidelines explicit, simulated sex performed by actors is acceptable, but performed by animated computer models is not.

This may be due to the perception interaction in video games carry more ‘impact’ than other media, spurred on by countless studies into the affects of violent media on children.

While many have concluded violence does have long term affects, the results of these studies has been questioned. How depictions of sex affects viewers is a matter rarely explored.

But does sex even belong in video games? Video games are still a relatively young medium. Many hardcore players fondly remember spending their childhood pumping coins into arcade machines or having to blow into a cartridge before playing. And maybe that sense that games are just for fun has been held onto. Certainly gamers are receptive to themes of friendship, camaraderie, triumph of good over evil, things that anyone can find joy in. Perhaps it is like a peaceful sleep disturbed by the sound of a jackhammer; when issues of the adult world creep in to video games, players feel their place of escapism or relaxation is being invaded. 

Conversely, maybe it is as Gallaway declared. The inept handling of sex by developers has turned many off to the notion of sex in games. The only way to avoid being associated with those who seek it out for unscrupulous motives is to reject the notion entirely. 

The debate holds different meaning across cultural borders too. Erotic games are lucrative in the east. Adult games make up an estimated twenty five percent of all software in Japan. While they range from innocent dating sims to the fetishistic, ‘eroge’ (a compound of ‘erotic’ and the Japanese pronunciation of ‘game’: ‘geemu’) is largely accepted in the mainstream. However, despite a number of companies translating and distributing them in other territories, they are still considered strange and unusual in the west. 

Ultimately is is something that will be decided by the consumer. While Steam is certainly the largest digital distribution service, it is not the only, and games like Seduce Me can still reach a significant audience via self-distribution. If a large enough audience reacts positively, others will stand up and take notice. AAA developers like Quantic Dream and Bioware will continue to tackle sex in their games as long as the audience is willing to engage in the debate, but none are seeking to push the boundaries. As long as cultural and attitudinal barriers remain, explicit content will always be a niche product.