[PATV] Tuesday, August 2, 2011 - Extra Credits Season 1, Ep. 19: Sex in Games

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[PATV] Tuesday, August 2, 2011 - Extra Credits Season 1, Ep. 19: Sex in Games

This week, we talk about the troubled relationship between Sex and Video Games.

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JHTriune

What about the relationship in Heavy Rain? It didn't feel cheap, pandering, or a forced. The sex scene did seem a bit much, but it kinda felt right.

DrixDZanth

Am I the only guy who finds this analysis very trite and self-important?

Mogg

Sex is a natural act, nothing to be shunned. The way it is expressed however is. Now I know everyone has their own personal taste, but seriously.... its about as bad as games based on rampant meaningless slaughter. It is like eating dirt... filling but not satisfying. Its a mockery of maturity. But whatever floats their boat.

Julzildo

Major props for the Primal Rage screenshot.

coalczar

"Titillation" is about all there is in most video games nowadays. The video game industry is as bad as the movie industry at letting anyone but the sexually appealing play the lead roles. I have long awaited a day in which games and movies reflect what real people look like, in fact, what a majority of people look like.

The characters in many games (both the toned and muscular men and the top-heavy women) are just as unrealistic as the porn they seem to be drawn from. It's not that people can't or don't look like that, but certainly not everyone does. The portrayal was so condescending in Continent of the Ninth Seal I had to stop playing after 10 minutes. No girl stands and walks around sticking her chest out like she's trying to break her back. It's disgusting and shameful.

It seems game designers and psychology have jumped on board in the name of profit. In a book I was very excited to read, "Better Video Games by Design", the author makes a point in the very first chapter that because people attribute good qualities to attractive people (the halo effect in social psych), and because more people readily identify/relate with attractive people, you should make your characters attractive because it will reach a larger audience base. Really? Are we that shallow that every character must look like the same rehash of Barbie and Ken? What about beauty in the uniqueness of someone? What about unconventional beauty? What kind of expectations are we setting for men and women by our portrayals of these characters?

padoyle

Couldn't help but think about Catherine.

There was definitely some cheap sex appeal but it was kind of the point. And it was a really fascinating story that really put effort into exploring the themes it brought up. It's a game that to me seems like a step in the right direction.