Yes. SEX.
Now I have your attention, the topic of sex, nudity and typically adult content and subjects within videogames has been taboo for as long as the medium has existed. The age old perspective of games as being something primarily targeted at children has made the inclusion of this content a consistently controversial subject.
It's no secret that violence of a typical bloodied kind has had no difficulty pushing through the boundaries of acceptance. It could be a bit of blood spatter on a wall through to a hellish corridor littered with the bowels of living people pulsating through the walls, games have explored it all from the sensationalist content of Postal through to the grounded delivery of The Last of Us.
If that Coffee is too Hot though...
Sexual content in gaming has often rested more on the titillation end of the scale, from the eye rolling unlockables of BMX XXX through to the skimpy bikini DLC of Dead or Alive, games typically attempt to cash in on this kind of content. More grown up titles may stray into the territory but its inclusion is often cursory, Heavy Rain dared to show us a shower scene whilst Mass Effect rewards relationship questlines with a cheesy and often clothed sex scene that plays at the end of some flirting scenes, an actual grown relationship never really factoring into the game on anything than a token level.
There are other ways of getting your fix but despite gaming having grown into having no shortage of adult fans and yet this one area is failed by games and gamers in a way that other medium have managed to grow beyond being overly limited. There seems to be little interest from gamers in having games seriously reflect the subject and little drive from developers and publishers to push it despite the rest of media telling us sex sells.
The debate on adult content in games can be broad and covers various angles and methods of getting there, the poll above keeps it simple though. Whilst we discuss whether gaming can represent adult content responsibly, the poll asks - Should it?
Now I have your attention, the topic of sex, nudity and typically adult content and subjects within videogames has been taboo for as long as the medium has existed. The age old perspective of games as being something primarily targeted at children has made the inclusion of this content a consistently controversial subject.
It's no secret that violence of a typical bloodied kind has had no difficulty pushing through the boundaries of acceptance. It could be a bit of blood spatter on a wall through to a hellish corridor littered with the bowels of living people pulsating through the walls, games have explored it all from the sensationalist content of Postal through to the grounded delivery of The Last of Us.
If that Coffee is too Hot though...
Sexual content in gaming has often rested more on the titillation end of the scale, from the eye rolling unlockables of BMX XXX through to the skimpy bikini DLC of Dead or Alive, games typically attempt to cash in on this kind of content. More grown up titles may stray into the territory but its inclusion is often cursory, Heavy Rain dared to show us a shower scene whilst Mass Effect rewards relationship questlines with a cheesy and often clothed sex scene that plays at the end of some flirting scenes, an actual grown relationship never really factoring into the game on anything than a token level.
There are other ways of getting your fix but despite gaming having grown into having no shortage of adult fans and yet this one area is failed by games and gamers in a way that other medium have managed to grow beyond being overly limited. There seems to be little interest from gamers in having games seriously reflect the subject and little drive from developers and publishers to push it despite the rest of media telling us sex sells.
The debate on adult content in games can be broad and covers various angles and methods of getting there, the poll above keeps it simple though. Whilst we discuss whether gaming can represent adult content responsibly, the poll asks - Should it?
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