SEX in VIDYA GAMES

That's right we're going for a page view grabbing topic today. I didn't think I'd weigh in on this mired subject but I saw a video from the recently reappeared Anita Sarkeesian on TED. I was late hearing about this shitfest (for lack of a better word) and by the time I did I had already lost interest. To paraphrase, Anita made a Kickstarter project to make a bunch of videos on how women are depicted in games, with an emphasis on the poorly done examples. Some people took offense to this and started slandering her and, as with any internet shitstorm, violence and threats swiftly ensued. Internet warriors one and all started throwing her name around and got her more publicity by doing so than she could have ever hoped and then other people, appalled by how she was treated, donated out of sympathy and support. It's the Streisand Effect if ever I saw it. The kicker is that to my knowledge she never actually made the video series.

I've just found your next franchise Activision: Romance Brawl

Sex in games, as in television, seems to be on the rise. Mass Effect caused a hullabaloo and when the more conservative fellows in the States heard there was titillating tentacle tickling they started on the warpath hoisting 'protect the children' banners. None of them had actually played the game or read anything else about it but that's not how witch hunts work. Bioware upped the amount of romantic encounters in Mass Effect 2 and by 3 you had homosexual options (well, guy on guy options. You've been able to shag Asari since 1 as femShep). After three games in this vein what started to bug me was it all seemed superfluous. What does adding a romance option or sex in a game actually bring to the experience? I cared more about losing Garrus, an alien whom I had no romantic feelings for, than my secretary (who totally wanted to feed my fish ifyaknowutimsaying) so employing it as a narrative technique  to make you care for someone isn't needed. It's not being avant garde seeing as sex is becoming more frequent in most mediums. It seems like something that is thrown in because you're trying to be edgy but failing.

Playing Borderlands 2 you come across some audio recordings in a nasty wildlife camp where prisoners were kept and experimented on. One of the recordings had a female voice comforting her wife. It was a name drop to let us know that she was a lesbian. Why was it necessary? Gearbox didn't have to include 'wife' or 'husband' they could have used 'baby' or any other title used as a term of endearment for a significant other. That way the player is informed that the voice is talking about a loved one without inviting an awkward segue. About ten seconds later you find another recording with a male voice telling us how much he hopes his husband will be okay. Right, so every prisoner here seems to be homosexual and we needed to be informed of this. Except we don't because we haven't met these people, and knowing their sexual orientation just doesn't make us care more for their plight. If later we're told that the antagonist of the game was targeting homosexuals on purpose it would have made more narrative sense but, no. Perhaps I'm reading too much into it and sometimes not all things need to have a deeper meaning but someone made a conscious decision to include that detail.

A game that initially did sex right was the first Witcher game. Geralt, the protagonist, is the result of mutant genetic enhancements to make him a superior monster slayer and as a result, he's sterile. Part of the witcher's mindset is neutrality and to never take sides. They slay monsters for a fee and that's the extent of their philosophy. During the course of the game there are several opportunities for Geralt to get nekkid with the inhabitants of Temeria. Now the important distinction The Witcher makes is we never see the action. The screen turns blurry and red and a card appears with artwork of the lady sans clothes in a provocative pose. Why is this different? Cards are collected by Geralt which essentially reduces these romantic encounters to a tawdry meaningless affair. The witcher is sterile, starting a family is an impossibility and even if they could their profession would prohibit this endeavor. Throughout the game Geralt speaks with a monotone accent reflecting his emotionless demeanor. These women are nothing to him, and the card collecting reflects that. Witcher 2, however, shows the scenes in explicit detail which was an egregious decision: video game characters having sex is as embarrassing as it should be. It's like two plastic dolls bumping up against each other.

I hear at the right angle you can see the 'Made in China' stamp on Triss' left butt cheek

 
I hate sexism in all its forms. Feminists are just as bad as masculinists because once you take too strong a side you stop hearing the arguments from the other side and once you only listen to your own camp your view is skewed. When it comes to the internet I hate all things that break anonymity. Forum posts or comments like 'As a girl, I find it a bit silly' or 'My gf bought me this' vex me. I see no reason to include your gender, religion, political views or your sexual orientation in any online discussion. It smacks of attention seeking and it shouldn't be necessary. Anonymity helps level the playing field, everyone's opinion is equal. If you preface your opinion with whether or not you're male, female, liberal or gay it affects how people view your comment. No one should want that. My view on the internet seems to be old and dying, like a Jedi in the desert. Shit's changed and the current internet zeitgeist is to tell the world everything about yourself. Y'know what that's brought us? Kids are bullied in and out of school, girls are harassed and insulted, the LGBT crowd are segregated into their own groups (look up Gaymers, no joke), and because this is the internet it's not restricted. It's not like you can skip school to avoid the shitheads or call in sick to work to not see that arsehole colleague; this shit sticks and is eternal.

Obi Wan's face after I told him you can raise a family in Skyrim

damn i hate people