Nudity

[Admiral Stukov]

As in a mature(I hope) discussion about it, not examples of it, you have google for that.

So this is something that always bugged me, why is it that violence is much more accepted than nudity in videogames?

If you have a shooter without any blood gore, or very low levels of it, the game is going to be rated T.
But if you have a 0.5 second glipse of a female nipple it's instantly a M rated game.

Consider for a while Dragon Age: Origins.
You have decapitations complete with bloodsplatter, but in the so called sex scenes the characters are wearing underwear, for some characters (read Morrigan) the bra covers more of her breasts than her default robe.
...seriously!?

To be clear, I absolutely do not want every woman in the game to run around with their breasts uncoverd all the time, but rather have nudity where it actually makes sense. It wouldn't even be that hard to do the cutscene in a way that doesn't show any actual nudity without adding a bra to Morrigan that clearly wasn't there before. The first Mass Effect did it right in my oppinion, it clearly showed that Shepard and the love interest of your choise wasn't wearing anything and having an intimte moment, without showing more than a bit of bare ass an a 0.2 seconds of sideboob.

Of course Dragon Age is far from the only game that does this, but it was the first that came to mind.
It seems to me that the US is most guilty of this, to take another example the US version of The Witcher is censored while the EU version isn't. I can't help but wonder why nudity would be thought of as harmful in a game that is already marked 18+.

That was my outburst of ranting in any case, please feel free to share your own oppinions on the topic. In fact please do, I'm curious as to what the rest of the escapist thinks of this.

 

[Broady Brio]

So why is violence considered better than nudity?

Because I guess you can do more with pictures and scenes with nude people.

 

[Wolfram23]

Well it's not just video games. Television allows a lot more violence on regular shows than even swear words, let alone nudity. I agree it's a bit stupid, tho. I can understand that on one hand, violence is (unfortunately) quite universal and even young kids are aware of it - fights happen, it's on the news, people are murdered etc. While sexuality is something you have to mature into. Kids don't think about it, don't know about it. But once puberty starts, well, things change. So I can understand having nudity would require let's say at 16+ rating if it's just for show, and 18+ if it's more porno-esc.

But yeah, I think extreme violence is basically equally significant to a game's rating as nudity. Mild violence - maybe some blood and killing but no decapitations or excessive blood or terribly evil things - could be Teen rated, God of War style violence should without a doubt be M. Mafia 2 should be M for the language lol, the nudity isn't bad I'd let a 15 or 16yr old play it (in context of the nudity) if they seemed somewhat mature.

So anyway, I tend to agree that there's too much prudence out there, although on the flip side there's also some crazy shit nobody ever needs to witness (as a popular example, two girls one cup)

 

[Mr S]

Because everyone has accepted violence as a part of the day. You see violence everywhere.
But you don't see sex.
People are violent all the time, everywhere you go.
But you don't find a lot of people making love in the bus. (I wish)

It's just the way things roll.

 

[Ryuu Akamatsu]

I believe America today is overly sensitive to nudity, especially considering it used to be called "fine art". Most other countries have no problems with it. However, the main reason why we care so much is because of....children. Yes, we don't want our children viewing HORRIBLE EVIL NUDITY THEY SEE EVERY DAY ANYWAY. Nudity is viewed as sexual in nature by the majority of America rather than simply being a state of someone lacking clothing. So, in order to prevent our children from turning into sex crazed monsters, we hide it from them.

Why is nudity sexual in nature, though? Sure you have to get naked to do the nasty but you have to get naked to take a bath or shower too. The reason America views it as sexual is because in general America is a sexual country. Nobody wants to admit it but the majority of America is hankering for some sweet sweet lovin's.

Yet this has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO WITH VIDEO GAMES. People are saying "Censor that stuff!" Ok, we make a rating system telling you what sort of audience a game is suitable. America's response? "Censor that stuff!" What. We did. We did the whole rating thing. What more do you want? "We don't know but we're pretty sure we're mad about it because the media tells us to be!" Ok. We censored that stuff. Now all you have is side boob. "WHAT! SIDE-BOOB?! IN MY VIDEO GAMES?! BETTER CALL FOX NEWS WE HAVE SOME PARTLY EXPOSED TITTIES TO BASH"

Mindless sheep.

 

[Good morning blues]

I agree that this is stupid, but it's already in a slow process of change. You're allowed to show tits on the CBC at 8PM now in Canada; no doubt the US will follow suit eventually as the boomers die off and we hedonists begin to replace them.

 

[Ossian]

Well, if it adds anything at all to this discussion, I always add the German blood/gore censor to fallout 3, I for one do not enjoy brain bits on my screen.

I really wish that code was available to all gory games or add it in like Gears 2. God bless those germans

 

[Erana]

Nudity is simply the depiction of the bare human body in a way that the subject does not show awareness of. Nudity doesn't have to be the least bit sexual.

The fact that violence is acceptable when nudity is not is a bit on in our culture.
Still, I find it odd when people complain for the right for more nudity, rather than the more careful observance of violence. The thing is though, people fail to notice when what apparently is a social faux-pas is used, because when something's done right, it feels natural. Like how in Silent Hill, terrible, terrible things happen to children. This is handled in a very mature manner, and as a result, very few people have called the series out on it.

Just name a point in a video game where nudity is omitted when it really needs to be there.

 

[rekabdarb]

Because us United Statesians are descended from the Puritans, who if catching someone having sex before marriage or something impure like that, would watch the act in it's entire "devious" ways so that they can give a full understanding of it at court when the couple would most likely be put to death. Damn that's a run on sentence.

 

[The_Spirit_of_Epic]

i say leave the nudity out of games. if i wanted nudity, id watch internet porn. 'nuff said.

edit: i mean, most of the time, whenever there is any form of sex in the games i play, it feels that the developers just threw it in there 'for the lols.' its not only embarrassing for the game, its also embarrassing for everyone in the room. i play games to play games, not watch porn.

 

[tofulove]

to my understanding, your every day non super kinky/violent porn is far less damaging to a child than watching a james bond movie. thats what i was told by a psychiatrist,

end of the day sex = some thing healthy and natural, violence = some thing natural but far from healthy.

in other words, if you let your kid play violent video games and watch violent movies, your worse than the dad who leaves porn mags around his house.

what our society is, bad parents, you can watch predator little johnny, as long as you cant see a nipple.

 

[Arawn.Chernobog]

Because Soccer Moms fail at logic

So do over-zealous religious lunatics and everyone else that holds "THINK OF DA CHILDREN!" as an obstacle for accepting such thematics.

 

[rekabdarb]

Just name a point in a video game where nudity is omitted when it really needs to be there.

And this, no video game REALLY needs nudity, one of the reasons why i think duke nukem was so popular though is because it had it for all those kids who ... supposedly couldn't go out and find that porno

 

[migo]

You can blame it on the puritans. It pisses me off too.

 

[Woodsey]

Not sure really.

I think it's more of an issue in the States then it is over here.

 

[manaman]

But you don't see sex.

Maybe you don't, but I am bit perverted. Those Rorschach ink blots? Yeah all people having sex in my eyes.

i say leave the nudity out of games. if i wanted nudity, id watch internet porn. 'nuff said.

Nudity does not have to be porn, and that's the problem with including it. People who, like you, think the only reason to have nudity is so you can whack off to it.

 

[Admiral Stukov]

Now everyone so far except this one:

Why is nudity sexual in nature, though? Sure you have to get naked to do the nasty but you have to get naked to take a bath or shower too.

have made the conclusion that nudity is always sexual in nature.

To take another example from Dragon Age, you have the point where you and Alistair is captured stripped of your every possesion and thrown in jail... except your underwear.
I guess the point was that you was supposed to be humiliated by beeing robbed of your dignity along with the rest of your possessions, but that doesn't work quite as well if you are allowed to keep your underwear, right?

 

[StBishop]

Well it's not just video games. Television allows a lot more violence on regular shows than even swear words, let alone nudity. I agree it's a bit stupid, tho. I can understand that on one hand, violence is (unfortunately) quite universal and even young kids are aware of it - fights happen, it's on the news, people are murdered etc. While sexuality is something you have to mature into. Kids don't think about it, don't know about it. But once puberty starts, well, things change. So I can understand having nudity would require let's say at 16+ rating if it's just for show, and 18+ if it's more porno-esc.

But yeah, I think extreme violence is basically equally significant to a game's rating as nudity. Mild violence - maybe some blood and killing but no decapitations or excessive blood or terribly evil things - could be Teen rated, God of War style violence should without a doubt be M. Mafia 2 should be M for the language lol, the nudity isn't bad I'd let a 15 or 16yr old play it (in context of the nudity) if they seemed somewhat mature.

So anyway, I tend to agree that there's too much prudence out there, although on the flip side there's also some crazy shit nobody ever needs to witness (as a popular example, two girls one cup)

Let me preface my comment with the fact that I, obviously don't know you, and am not judging you and don't mean to be offensive.

You're kind of adding to the problem.

How many fights were you in before highschool (or age 12 as highschool is different ages in different areas)?

How many times had you thought of sex?

I know not everyone is brought up the same, and they're usually influenced by their countries culture but I had been having wet dreams for many years before I hit someone.

I mean, I got punched on my first day of school so it's a bad example, but I mean, I was thinking about girls and wanting to see and touch them naked at about 8 or possibly earlier.

I was suspended in like grade 2 for daring a bunch of girls to flash us, so maybe I'm a bit sexually deviant.

Seriously though, we really need to consider the message we're sending to our kids. I'd rather my (theoretical) 13 year old watch porn than a violent movie.

As I said, I've got different values to others but I do think it's a problem that people are happy to expose children to semi-realistic warfare (Gears etc.) but not a digitised boob of someone who you have to woo first.

EDIT: Wow, I guess I'm more sexually minded than most.
I jumped straight from nude to sex too.
Oops.