In defence of porn games (MyGaming Column)
- Thread starter James
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MOnk
New member
Is the problem with the game that it has nudity or that it's about sex and nudity?
Like you said The Witcher 1&2 both have nudity and sex but they are within the context of the game and the story. Compare that to erotic games where the point of the game is the sex, you play the thing for the sole purpose of trying to get the characters to have sex or to get naked.
It's like the difference between erotic fiction and a novel with sex, for the former the point of the work is the sex but for the later the sex is just part of the story.
The violence versus sex defence is legitimate but sometime a little overplayed, personally I very much dislike over the top violence or gore. Stuff like Mortal Kombat and even some of the stuff in the latest God of War games is just not something I enjoy seeing and it actively lessens my enjoy of the product.
Like you said The Witcher 1&2 both have nudity and sex but they are within the context of the game and the story. Compare that to erotic games where the point of the game is the sex, you play the thing for the sole purpose of trying to get the characters to have sex or to get naked.
It's like the difference between erotic fiction and a novel with sex, for the former the point of the work is the sex but for the later the sex is just part of the story.
The violence versus sex defence is legitimate but sometime a little overplayed, personally I very much dislike over the top violence or gore. Stuff like Mortal Kombat and even some of the stuff in the latest God of War games is just not something I enjoy seeing and it actively lessens my enjoy of the product.
Azimuth
New member
But does the difference really matter?
I'd also argue that the sexual content in games like The Witcher and even Mass Effect is embarrassingly oversimplified, awkward, and totally irrelevant to the plot. It adds absolutely nothing to the games whatsoever. I don't really have any problem with it, but I do think that the context argument doesn't really hold up here.
http://mygaming.co.za/news/columns/6141-sex-in-games-and-why-it-s-not-working-out.html
OmegaFenix
The Legendary Troll Hunter
Like I said yesterday in that other thread. I have no issue with "porn games" however I do understand Steam's reasoning for redlighting it. If it had been allowed there would have been the inevitable public backlash and considering the precarious state of the industry with many anti-gaming campaigners just waiting for a new piece of ammunition to use against our hobby the last thing it (the industry) needs is it's flagship digital distribution platform being branded an "open channel for this filth to children". My only criticism of Steam is that, as Graal pointed out yesterday, their age verification system is the bare minimum. Of course this brings us back to parents needing to take responsibility for what little Timmy/Sally get up to while on the computer, something which, in my opinion, is still massively lacking in most current generation parents. Maybe this will change as we first generation gamers become parents, only time will tell.
Its funny this issue should flare up in the same week where the UK government consultation of an automatic Porn block comes to an end. - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-18616909
I agree I have always felt that sex in games should be integral to the narrative, the Witcher 2 and, to a lesser extent, the Mass Effect Series are, for me, good examples of this. The casual nature and, IMO, the objectification of women by turning your conquests into a top trumps card collecting game in the first Witcher was a major reason for me stopping playing it. I hold similar views on Violence also, maybe thats why Bulletstorm just didn't do it for me or why I prefer God of War 1/2 to 3 where the violence all too often included for nothing more than shock value and the "sex" minigame just felt laughably juvenile.
Saying that I did enjoy the X-Ray Headshots in the new Sniper Elite...
Its funny this issue should flare up in the same week where the UK government consultation of an automatic Porn block comes to an end. - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-18616909
I agree I have always felt that sex in games should be integral to the narrative, the Witcher 2 and, to a lesser extent, the Mass Effect Series are, for me, good examples of this. The casual nature and, IMO, the objectification of women by turning your conquests into a top trumps card collecting game in the first Witcher was a major reason for me stopping playing it. I hold similar views on Violence also, maybe thats why Bulletstorm just didn't do it for me or why I prefer God of War 1/2 to 3 where the violence all too often included for nothing more than shock value and the "sex" minigame just felt laughably juvenile.
Saying that I did enjoy the X-Ray Headshots in the new Sniper Elite...
MOnk
New member
I'm not saying the sexual content in those games is done well or good or anything like just that they are there are part of the larger game.
Does the difference matter? Yes I think it does. Should it matter? Well that I suppose is really what this article is about.
That really is all about societies views on the subject, views which aren't uniform across all cultures. Since Valve is an American company however and I would imagine do most of their business in the States they will tend to reflect the views of that country.
If Steam had parental controls and could properly segment such content from the rest of the store should the need arise then maybe the situation would be different.
Does the difference matter? Yes I think it does. Should it matter? Well that I suppose is really what this article is about.
That really is all about societies views on the subject, views which aren't uniform across all cultures. Since Valve is an American company however and I would imagine do most of their business in the States they will tend to reflect the views of that country.
If Steam had parental controls and could properly segment such content from the rest of the store should the need arise then maybe the situation would be different.
The Joker
Thread Killer MKII
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/a...-children-addicted-porn-Thats-world-know.html
Steam has an incredibly large user base and I dare say half of the people using steam are kids under the age of 18.
Why expose them to shit like this in the 1st place..So good on Valve for removing it.
Steam has an incredibly large user base and I dare say half of the people using steam are kids under the age of 18.
Why expose them to shit like this in the 1st place..So good on Valve for removing it.
So it's ok that the same under 18 userbase is allowed to interact with simulated violence and gore but not with animated models doing mildly sexual things with each other?
I mean come on, if it is about the morality of the issue, they may as well remove the Sims! That has simulated sex and with a few clicks of a button that handy mesh can get replaced as well, for nudist colony Sims.
How can anyone take offense to this? No one is forcing you to play it, just ignore it if the sight of pixelated penii and pussy offends thine eyes. Don't even think about leaping to the "but the kids!" argument either, censorship is in place and if your kid ends up watching porn then the onus is down to you as a parent not doing a good job. If a kid is going to go out of his way to get this on a Steam account, I think he is going to be far more resourceful looking up actual Internet porn.
/sigh, when did society start becoming prudes again?
Just as a side note, I have no intention of ever playing this game, the content doesn't interest me in the slightest. It just amuses me that people get their panties in a twist over what other people want to watch because it doesn't agree with their good wholesome public values (which go out the window come woohoo time at home, amirite?).
I mean come on, if it is about the morality of the issue, they may as well remove the Sims! That has simulated sex and with a few clicks of a button that handy mesh can get replaced as well, for nudist colony Sims.
How can anyone take offense to this? No one is forcing you to play it, just ignore it if the sight of pixelated penii and pussy offends thine eyes. Don't even think about leaping to the "but the kids!" argument either, censorship is in place and if your kid ends up watching porn then the onus is down to you as a parent not doing a good job. If a kid is going to go out of his way to get this on a Steam account, I think he is going to be far more resourceful looking up actual Internet porn.
/sigh, when did society start becoming prudes again?
Just as a side note, I have no intention of ever playing this game, the content doesn't interest me in the slightest. It just amuses me that people get their panties in a twist over what other people want to watch because it doesn't agree with their good wholesome public values (which go out the window come woohoo time at home, amirite?).