Ben-DutkaEarlier, we learned that Obsidian Entertainment wasn't going to offend anyone with the "tasteful yet satisfying" sexual content in their upcoming RPG, Alpha Protocol . But some say it's still unnecessary.
Not true , says lead creative designer Chris Avellone. He was asked if sex is only in video games to titillate the teenagers, and Avellone responded:
"I think it's an important step, and it's not sex for sex's sake, but it's part of human interaction that makes you more involved in the game world and your characters. Just like in the real world, sex runs the range from entertainment to a symbol of the depth of feeling between two people, and not having that reflected in a role-playing experience feels does RPGs an injustice."
And while gamers everywhere just roll their eyes when sex in games becomes heavily controversial in the mass media, we all know that much of the mainstream media hasn't realized that gaming moved beyond the realm of "toys" about a quarter-century ago. After all, sex in movies is hardly anything new, and it has been known to be essential to the plot and not merely for the sake of extra viewers. So why is it a subject at all? Well, Avellone equates video games more to TV than to film, saying sex will need to be more acceptable on mainstream TV and when that happens, "games won't be far behind."
Well, that's one way to look at it. But we'll just take the logical route: games have ratings, and some are designed for adults. Games have stories, and if that story benefits and/or needs sexual content for authenticity or realism purposes, than so be it. If it's just gratuitous, forget it. …there, that wasn't so hard.
Related Game(s): Alpha Protocol
