On RP and Sexuality

[Fuuten]

While reading the article "When I was a Sex Godess" by Amanda Yesilbas earlier( if you haven't read it, do so immediately. Cool stuff. : D) I stumbled upon a situation I found interesting. In the article she speaks of seeing two RL(real life) males acting out a lesbian encounter in game. This got me thinking a bit about situations I have encountered in the past, including a man I know to be a married man in RL playing sexually active female characters on MMOs. I was just wondering people's thoughts on what this says about human sexuality are.

Just stuff like: Do you feel that someone can be straight, yet play bi-sexual or opposing sexual roles within a fantasy environment without endangering thier RL personas, or do you find this a healthy escape from the constraints of RL social environments, just to name a few ideas. Add your own ideas as well. Don't limit yourselves, now. I want to hear some honest and varying opinions on the subject! : D

(Disclaimer: I have no prejudice versus any sexual preferance, I just find this an interesting topic regarding the human mind.)

 

[Fuuten]

So you would see ERP as an extension of fantasy rather than a departure from someone's normal preferences? Cool, thanks for the thought ^_^

 

[Ursus Astrorum]

I've found it doesn't tend to change sexuality much. Most of the guys I know that play female characters do it more for the sake of emulating a fantasy girl than as wishful thinking. They tend to see the sexual actions they take more "Dream Girl/Anonymous" as opposed to "Player/Whoever the other guy is". In short, it's more of a fantasy thing than a deviation.

 

[number2301]

Personally I find it difficult playing a female character in such as Fable or Mass Effect who then has a relationship with a man, I guess I treat the character as myself even when they're massively different.

It goes beyond sexual things as well, I really struggle to play an evil character nowadays due to finding it awfully uncomfortable. To the extent that I've had to rethink how I wanted my character in Fable 2 to develop.

So I guess my overriding point is that it depends on how you view your relationship with your character, if you become your character, or if you view them as a separate entity.

 

[geldonyetich]

Raping hot elvish village women with rings of telekinesis seems like a great idea when you're 14-years old. About the point where most people have lost the majority of their pimples, they're left wondering WTF they were thinking.

 

[whyarecarrots]

I find it something that worries me, certainly in MMORPGs. The people 'cybering' in the main towns in Guild Wars were actually faintly scary. It just seems something so pointless and almost alien that I can't quite see the point.
If the game has sex built as part of the storyline/atmosphere, then fine. But in a MMORPG...

I don't know, different things for different people I suppose.

 

[Kermi]

I used to play a lot of IRC-based RPs and the cybersex was rampant. Married people playing in the games would freely engage their alter egos in relationships with other characters and didn't see this as a problem. There were tons of guys playign females of course, and these were generally lesbian characters - probably capitalising on the fact that it's so trendy to be bisexual on the internet these days that playing a female was more likely to get them some imaginary sex with the girls playing the game than playing a guy was.
Some of the male lesbians were pretty upset when they found out they were cybering with other male lesbians. Others didn't care so much.

It's odd, I think people got so invested in their characters that they really didn't even see it as cybering. It was just an extension of their roleplay - you spend a few hours a day pretending to be a badass demon slayer with giant muscles, you're going to add a 14 inch cock to your persona and want to jam it inside someone. People would happily play multiple characters and carry on multiple relationships and the partners of character A who developed jealousy over the person's relationship under character B were in a strange, outcast minority.

I don't know if it's healthy - for instance if you're in a relationship I think it's still ok for you to look at porn, but to actively engage in cybersex with another person, regardless of how realistic the scenario is seems like a different issue to me.
If you're a single person I don't see the harm, unless it's preventing you from engaging with people socially in the real world. Sure, there are people who are so introverted and anti-social that online relationships are preferable, but I don't know if indulging those feelings by only having relationships via online communities or video games are a viable alternative long term.

 

[Fuuten]

Raping hot elvish village women with rings of telekinesis seems like a great idea when you're 14-years old. About the point where most people have lost the majority of their pimples, they're left wondering WTF they were thinking.

: O Not quite what we're going for in this thread, I think. Then again, I did say " don't limit yourselves" So I guess that's mea culpa. : D

 

[Aardvark]

I want to see an MMO where people don't have to be the traditional bipedal quasi-human aliens. I want to see an MMO where you can be a tentacled alien creature or a cloud of parasitic spores or a giant amoeba. With custom actions/emotes for each species. Then we'll see to what depths of depravity the average MMO player will sink in the absence of actual social contact.

 

[shadow skill]

Raping hot elvish village women with rings of telekinesis seems like a great idea when you're 14-years old. About the point where most people have lost the majority of their pimples, they're left wondering WTF they were thinking.

: O Not quite what we're going for in this thread, I think. Then again, I did say " don't limit yourselves" So I guess that's mea culpa. : D

Hmm what's that sound? It's the sound of the gates of hell opening!

 

[Spooky_101]

I think it's ok
love is found in the weirdest of places
I met my girlfriend of three months randomly online (judge me as you will)
and we have a great relationship

 

[Fuuten]

Raping hot elvish village women with rings of telekinesis seems like a great idea when you're 14-years old. About the point where most people have lost the majority of their pimples, they're left wondering WTF they were thinking.

: O Not quite what we're going for in this thread, I think. Then again, I did say " don't limit yourselves" So I guess that's mea culpa. : D

Hmm what's that sound? It's the sound of the gates of hell opening!

What have we done!? D: Duck and cover!

 

[Raven28256]

No, how you play your RP character generally doesn't have an effect on your real personality. This applies to both sexual and non-sexual RP, as well as whether or not you choose to play as a character of the opposite sex. Generally, you RP for the mental stimulation, expression of imagination, and the challenge. In that sense, many RPers make at least one RP character of the opposite sex because it is more challenging to do so. Playing as a character of the same sex is easier because you pretty much know the basics of what that character can be like. Playing as the opposite sex gives you a whole new set of challenges to overcome to make that character believable. Basically, playing as a character of the opposite sex, or doing things you wouldn't do in real life like partake in a homosexual RP relationship, don't reflect some hidden inner desire, nor do they actually change how you view your sexuality. Many people just do it because of the challenge and the fact that you must think about different things.

Someone who does that sort of sexual RP, like making a character of the opposite sex or having a homosexual RP relationship, is someone who is generally comfortable with their sexuality, and knows what they like in real life. In many cases, they do it because it is more challenging. If a straight girl decides to make a lesbian character, it doesn't necessarily mean she is questioning her sexuality or that she has some deep desire to be a lesbian but is scared to in real life; she could just be doing it for the added challenge. Frankly, people who do these things aren't usually the type that are uncomfortable about their sexual desires or feel embarrassed when doing them, or let what happens in an RP effect their personality. Sure, some might be doing it because they are unsure of their preferences and are seeking some sort of guidance, but many don't. Many just do it because it provides an added layer of challenge.

This applies to non-sexual RP too. Playing as a character with polar opposite views than yourself in real life is VERY hard. It is hard to play the role of, say, a sex-crazed vampire that seduces women into sex, or just rapes them, before feeding on their blood and killing them when the real you is a caring, shy, pacifist individual. Really, someone who can pull this off and keep the character consistent has a good imagination and a strong will to make their character do something they wouldn't do in real life just to keep that persona intact.

Or, maybe they are just perverted guys that like to whack off to text descriptions of two lesbians banging each other with a double-sided dildo. Certainly there ARE people that use RP as a way to regulate their urges. A more mentally stimulating alternative to pornography, if you will. But, certainly not all RPers who do sexual RP are doing it because they are horny perverts.

 

[stompy]

Whenever I RP... I suppose I tend to get carried away with things. Due to that, now-a-days, if I ever RP, a voice in the back of my head always reminds me it's just a game... it kills immersion, definitely, that's a small price to pay to avoid other issues. Even in a single-player RP, I tend to play as the good character, generally trying to help, because I couldn't comprehend hurting others. More realistically, I'd be neutral, like I see myself in real life.

 

[Sylocat]

I want to see an MMO where people don't have to be the traditional bipedal quasi-human aliens. I want to see an MMO where you can be a tentacled alien creature or a cloud of parasitic spores or a giant amoeba. With custom actions/emotes for each species. Then we'll see to what depths of depravity the average MMO player will sink in the absence of actual social contact.

Does the fact that I think this is a good idea indicate that there's something wrong(er) with me?

 

[Fuuten]

I want to see an MMO where people don't have to be the traditional bipedal quasi-human aliens. I want to see an MMO where you can be a tentacled alien creature or a cloud of parasitic spores or a giant amoeba. With custom actions/emotes for each species. Then we'll see to what depths of depravity the average MMO player will sink in the absence of actual social contact.

Does the fact that I think this is a good idea indicate that there's something wrong(er) with me?

Quite possibly.

 

[Aardvark]

You'd have thought someone would have done it already, but then you remember that it would be hard. Developers would have to create three times the actions/emotes, plus devote significant time to working out the physical dynamics of the exotic species.

Though that cloud of spore parasites would be awesome in combat. Vulnerable as hell to fire and explosions, highly resistant to more direct weapons and sadly lacking in loot capacity

 

[Eipok Kruden]

You'd have thought someone would have done it already, but then you remember that it would be hard. Developers would have to create three times the actions/emotes, plus devote significant time to working out the physical dynamics of the exotic species.

Though that cloud of spore parasites would be awesome in combat. Vulnerable as hell to fire and explosions, highly resistant to more direct weapons and sadly lacking in loot capacity

They wouldn't need loot, they'd use energy to evolve and gain new abilities. I'd actually love to see a game like that, although I'm not sure I'd love to play it. As for the OP's question, I completely agree with what Raven28256, even if it was a bit redundant. A guy who RP's a girl or vice versa doesn't automatically mean he wants to be a girl, it just means that's the character he's trying to create. It's much more interesting and challenging for a guy to RP a girl, a girl to RP a guy, a guy to RP a gay guy, or something like that than it is for someone to just play as themselves.

 

[Aardvark]

It's an MMO, of course they'd need loot. There are some absolutes in life. Biped, humanoid aliens aren't one of them, but ph4t l00tz are.