Feature: 'Book Excerpt and Review - Sex In Video Games'

In today's Gamasutra double feature, we present a review of Brenda Brathwaite's book, Sex in Video Games, which provides an insider's knowledge on the history, practical application, and future of sexual content in games, followed by the entirety of the book's first chapter. The book, which, in his review, former Gamasutra editor Brad Kane calls "a welcome addition to the marketplace of ideas," and says "comes at a time when guidance in this area is needed," traces the history of sex in video games nearly as far back as the medium itself, with Sierra On-Line’s 1981 release of Softporn Adventure and Artworx Strip Poker from the following year. In this excerpt, Brathwaite explains that of the myriad purposes sex is used in games, perhaps its most simple and controversial purpose is for its own sake: "At the “Sexuality in Games: What’s Appropriate?” roundtable at the 2005 Game Developers Conference, one developer noted that he had no real problem with sexual content in games provided that it wasn’t “just sex for sex’s sake.” “What’s wrong with sex for sex’s sake?” asked another developer. “Why else have sex?” she continued. “That’s the best use of sex.” When developers choose racy clothing, busty or beefy characters, or suggestive themes, the use of sex for sex’s sake seems most obvious, but its intent in that use is questionable. Rather than stimulating, such sexual content is most often merely entertaining or pleasing in a passive way. Sometimes, the clothing or physical attributes of such characters are so over the top that they become comical. Are designers really hoping that the buxom avatar will turn a player on, are they dressing her to be pleasant to the eye or to meet the industry status quo? There are games that feature sex for sex’s sake, however. Rapture Online, a sex positive massively multiplayer online erotic game (MMOEG), features a player-to player stimulation model. Games with this model enable live players to connect on line and explore their sexual fantasies and fetishes with each other. Such games are, in many ways, an evolution of Internet chat rooms. Other games feature a player to-computer stimulation model. Games like 3D SexVilla, Virtual Hottie, and VirtuallyJenna allow players to have a sexual experience with a virtual partner. Whether with a real or a virtual partner, games that use sexual content to stimulate provide players the freedom to explore their sexuality in a safe and healthy way alone or with other consenting adults. When games truly seek to turn players on, however, they face unique design challenges unlike those faced by any other game. " You can now read the full Gamasutra feature on the subject, with much more from Brathwaite on sex in the industry outside of games themselves, including a history of E3's infamous "booth babes," sex as used in game advertising, and unintended sex in games, be it emergent, modded, or hacked (no registration required, please feel free to link to this column from external websites).