How SHOULD sex scenes in games work?

[Super Toast]

Sex shouldn't be in games to begin with.

It's an embarrassment to society that needs to be corrected.

OT: Until we get past the uncanny valley and fix this failed collision detection stuff, we should just have the writers imply what happens instead, like MGS3.

 

[Sangreal Gothcraft]

Pfft, lets go all Zork now. Text Based,

 

[Wondermint13]

Eh-hem...
You cant beat the REAL THING so lets not even try to discuss how a video game can achieve that...
As for Sex in gaming.. Just sit back and enjoy it no matter how bad it is, Most of you have probably watched more than 15 seconds of a terrible porn film once in your life and still smiled inside so just let the games do as they do.. Atleast they have the decency to leave out the awful moaning too..

Erm.. I guess my point is.. If you lot are worrying about Sex in video games.. I would worry.

 

[Terminal Blue]

No, but something worries me that you have.

Assuming that's true (it only takes one case to disprove a theory, after all) why would it worry you? Do I sound worried?

My point is that people aren't one dimensional. You don't really get people who are innately silly and giggly or innately moody and badass through and through. If anything storytelling in games has got away for too long with the idea that people are archetypes who can be encapsulated in a one line character concept.

If anything, sex is one of the points where people tend to show some of the sides of themselves which aren't obvious in public,

Ever seen Conan the Barbarian?
The Witch-scene is pretty famous.
Everyone I've known whom seen that movie have admitted to played with themselves when that scene happened.

Fair point, I'll be the exception but I see the intention of the scene..

Bear in mind the genre though, Conan the Barbarian has a higher tolerance for pornographic (aka deliberately arousing) depictions of sex and nudity than most films. It's a genre thing. That doesn't change the fact that most films, even the sex scenes, are designed to be sexy rather than arousing.

 

[s0p0g]

i'd type some, but as you already said it all, i'll just go and sign it as is. especially the criticism on biowares approach; again, it seems to be more recent = more weird there (weird as in... unnatural? as you said: we killed a dragon, let's do it!)

 

[Lord Kloo]

..hard..

Sorry wait.. wrong word.. um.. er..

Anyway, you can put them in games if you want to but personally I've never actually played a game with any in.. so I don't really know if they're A) worth it or B) needed..

Although if they do have to go in then make it either faded or just cute/playful.. If used well then it could give the player a strong connection to a character for whatever purpose..

 

[Mylinkay Asdara]

Honestly, I think the problem at the minute is we don't see enough during sex scenes. Mass Effect has probably generated more controversy than any other game regarding sex, but what do the actual scenes show? A bit of kissing, a little rolling and tumbling, maybe a bit of arse. Nothing you wouldn't see in a 12-rated film.

Thing is, Mass Effect is about as explicit as games have gotten. Every other game decides to use that bloody "fade-to-black" approach. I can't understand how we can show characters getting shot, beaten up, and blown into the tiniest bloody pieces, and yet we feel we can't show a perfectly natural pair of breasts. We all love breasts (well, if we're hetero male gamers). Breasts are lovely things. So why do we feel they can't, in a mature, responsible context (not Ivy-style in SC4), be shown? We can witness, and even take part in, acts of horrific brutality, yet we can't be shown anything for than a titillating bit of arse and a fade to black? Talk about double standards.

I've mentioned this in another thread, but we need to move away from constant violence if we want games to grow as an artform. Sex is just as much a part of life as violence, so why don't we explore that? There is still a shocking amount of bigotry towards people of different sexualities: why can't games get on board and challenge those bigotries? If games want to truly be recognised as art, they need to be able to explore all aspects of the human condition. Sex is such an inescapable part of that condition, that to shy away from it is to do the medium itself a disservice.

EDIT

Seem to be a lot of social conservatives out and about on this thread. I would ask you all to consider why sex is so 'unfit' to be shown on screen, yet acts of shocking violence are. Seems to me sex is a lot more natural than chainsawing a guy in two a la Gears Of War.

I'm not against the depiction of nudity or sexual acts because I'm prudish - I welcome a fade to black because I'm mature enough to have had sex before, and can fill in the blanks myself - and since it is the virtual "me" getting laid here, I'd prefer to be in the mental driver's seat, if you will. Now excuse me, I have to go get into Fenris's pants again.

 

[Zaik]

Off screen preferrably.

A little bit of hands on beforehand isn't so bad, Enough so that it's properly implied, anyway. Once you get into actually showing them rolling around naked you end up in this weird place where it's too much for some people and not enough for others and nobody is really happy about it at all.

 

[Heartcafe]

I think sex scenes should just HAPPEN.
No awkward dialogue, no questions. It just goes!
Romance, especially in the early stages is something to explore. Maybe we should get rid of the bar that measures romance or friendship or rivalry? It'll be harder to measure how much the characters like you and that's similar in real life.
But then again, it depends on the game.

 

[General BrEeZy]

i vote to keep sex in reality.

I second this. It's too fun to get rid of!

i haven't experienced it yet, but i already know its awesome.
and its video games...come on.
if we cant truly understand warfare in games to any realistic degree, then sex is definitely less feasable! xD

Not trying to be contrary, but are you saying that sex is more complex an issue to comprehend than war? Just checking to see if I understand your post or if I misread it.

oh....um..
yeah, youre right actually...
i shoulda revised my post first, thats not what i wanted to convey.

lets try this again...

the threats and fears of war have never been conveyed in games, and they never will. basically theres nothing that can give us that experience like the real thing. the same can be said about sex...which makes me question why its even in games at all...other than fun.
war games are fun. but theres nothing 'fun' about seeing sex in a game, especially because its not us. sex should only have meaning to us when we're having that 'connection' with another person.
...just..
keep it in real life.

there, how about that, lol

 

[ShyBunny]

Sex in general should always be good..

 

[Ubermetalhed]

If its a game with heavy story and the scene feels natural then show it all but as tastefully as possible. Just a cutscene, no quicktime events/player involvement.

 

[deleted_by_strongbad]

I totally get what you're saying now, thanks for the clarification.

Not sure how I feel about it, every time I've seen it in a game (or not seen but heard it in some cases), it hasn't ever added to my experience. Normally it just gets an eyebrow raise and I wonder how much of this was added to get publicity and sales from the guys who use lingerie ads for their own ends. Now I am not against the concept, I just haven't ever seen it pulled off well, Fable, Fallout NV, Mass Effect, Dragon Age, it all just seemed really cheesy.

I think it'd help if the voice acting wasn't either apathetic or overacted, the various animations weren't clipping into each other, the people moved like people not undead robotic constructs, and put some thought into setting up the scene rather than cut/pasting from some late-night movie.

 

[SaetonChapelle]

Troll somewhere else.

I'm not trolling.

As a person that strongly disagrees with your views on sexuality, I can't help but ask; what drives you to think that sex is and embarrassment to society and should be condemned?

I don't mean to start a flame war, but I am legitimately curious

Because it took over your lives. Humans are so centered and driven by reproduction. You don't think that kind of obsession is harmful?

Sex is a natural animalistic instinct, it has been around since the beginning. I'm not sure how that's embarrassing. It's everywhere in all countries in all societies. If you're embarrassed by the thought of sex perhaps you're not mature enough to even be viewing most forms of media. If you believe that all humans are "obsessed" with sex, well than sir I believe you're quite mistaken.

An obsession is something that takes over one's thought process, something they can't get out of their mind on a constant basis. Now I know there are legitimate illness's which have the obsession of sex involved but most people of society do not in fact have this. To have an obsession would interfere with the individuals life style. There are many who enjoy sex, the thought of it and engaging in it, however most of the population is not "obsessed".

All I can think of is a ten year old. OO "She's got cooties ewwwww"

 

[2718]

Two ways to do it:
1. Imply it. Pan away. Fade to black. Tounge-in-cheek comments.

2. Depict it explicitly and make it interactive. Example:
"How would you like to have sex with X?
A. Gently
B. Rough
C. RAPE WITHOUT LUBE"

Don't do that PG-13 bullshit.

 

[Wondermint13]

Sex in general should always be good..

Point!