Sex in video games. Is it needed or just 'gratuitous?'

Hot Coffee?

  • I'm okay with it...

    Votes: 11 55.0%

  • Don't need it...

    Votes: 9 45.0%
  • Total voters
    20
The Living Tribunal

The Living Tribunal

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Since the early days of video games the portrayal and necessity of sexual images or sex has been the subject of widespread controversy.
Do you honestly think sex is something that needs to be portrayed in video games? Do you think it is needed at all? Do we need scantily clad women or sex scenes to advance a particular narrative?

Discuss.
How do you feel about sex in video games? What are some examples of it being used to drive narrative and emotionally connect with the player?
What are some negative examples in video games that you thought weren't needed?
 
It's not needed but if it was integral to the story being told in the game then I don't mind i.e. you're a secret agent under cover as a male prostitute in Amsterdam so you'd be expected to perform various acts...
 
It's about realism. High heels make women fight better, and larger breasts keep them more balanced.
 
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If it is an exclusive title it depends what system it is on...:grin:
 
It's in every other entertainment medium so I don't see why not.

This question is also amusing in that we already have brutal violence on an epic scale in video games, but we wonder if sex is okay.
 
Sure, sex is a part of life and relationships, so why not. Just like with sex itself, whether it's good or not depends on how it's done.
 
I think sex in games should be more emphasized when VR gaming becomes a reality.
 
Did you guys play The Darkness 2? It was needed.
 
Anderson said:
Sure, sex is a part of life and relationships, so why not. Just like with sex itself, whether it's good or not depends on how it's done.
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But some would argue that it isn't needed. That it trivializes something that should be private and makes it a mass media consumption that advocates unsafe sexual practices.
 
I stopped playing God of War 3 because of the stupidity of it being added for no reason.
 
Ascalaphus said:
But some would argue that it isn't needed. That it trivializes something that should be private and makes it a mass media consumption that advocates unsafe sexual practices.
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Yeah, I'm sure some people do believe that, but I don't. I agree that it's not "needed" in most games, the same way any particular scene or element is usually not "needed." But it's a part of relationships, and as games get better at telling stories with believable characters, leaving sex out of it would be kind of repressive and silly -- like TV in the 50's, where married couples had to have separate beds.

"It trivializes something that should be private." Well, whether it trivializes sex depends on the writers and developers. It can be done well, as a part of an interaction that means something. But then again, come to think of it, it doesn't even need to do that. Trivial sex is a part of life sometimes, too. So if it fits the character, trivial sex is fine.

I agree with people who say that, so far, videogames have handled the subject in a leering, adolescent fantasy sort of way. Things are getting better, though.
 
Ascalaphus said:
I will agree with that. For that game it just seemed to be there for NO reason whatsoever.
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It's in all of the GoW games though. Kratos can't bring sweet death to the gods without going to poundtown first.

MR X said:
I stopped playing God of War 3 because of the stupidity of it being added for no reason.
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You were close the the end of the game... should've kept going.
 
Ascalaphus said:
But some would argue that it isn't needed. That it trivializes something that should be private and makes it a mass media consumption that advocates unsafe sexual practices.
Click to expand...


Well people would also argue that gaming as a whole isn't needed. People would argue anything.

Sex in video games is nothing compared to that found in other forms of entertainment...Books, movies, Tv shows do such things in much more vivid detail and frequency. Seriously, how many games even have full on sex scenes ? very few.
 
Games are a form of art with the developers/publishers being the artists. If their vision is sexual scenes, then so be it. If you don't like it, then you just simply don't like that piece of work or that aspect of that piece of work.
 
Yup, I agree with Zack. The freedom of the artist or developers to create whatever they want to create trumps cultural concerns, imo (except at the extreme). We have rating systems to warn buyers and parents; that's enough.
 
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