Why do main characters always have sex in films and books, but never in games?

[Kaftan Barlast]

I glanced at two films yesterday and read a bit in a book I have, in all three of these the main male and female characters end up having sex. But in all the games I have ever played, only a handful contained any hint of romantic relationship or lovemaking of some kind. Whats up with that? Sex and romance is part of human nature, and is present in every other form of art and entertainment except games (with obvious exceptions)

 

I was playing Fear 2 and there is a female officer by the name of Stokes involved. Now if human logic would apply to games, she and the main character Beckett would definently get something going. But I a sneaking suspicion that this will never happen, which is a shame. They could at the very least share an MRE together after having blown the villains to smithereens.

 

 

So why dont we have as much love and sex in games? Is it because we dont want it? Is it the traditional ****ed up american morality? Are developers afraid to include it? Or is it just that the medium is too immature?

Edited February 15, 2009 by Gorth
Circumventing the language filter

[WILL THE ALMIGHTY]

I'd say the setting isn't mature enough yet.

[Hell Kitty]

Wow, two films and one book? You better have a lie down. Man, if you'd watched both entire movies and read the whole book you'd probably be dead!

 

Sex and romance are part of human relationships, and so far there aren't too many games that focus on relationships. Violence makes for much easier, and undoubtedly more popular, gameplay. It's got nothing to do with morality (and why American morality? It's not like the rest of the world is pumping out games about relationships), it's the lack of interest, or ability, to turn human relationships into gameplay.

[Mamoulian War]

Because everyone who never played computer/console game still thinks that this entertainment is for kids only and lot of these people are in charge of big publishing corporations...

[Monte Carlo]

Let's face it, it is largely American. There's nothing especially pejorative about that because the SEX = BAD / VIOLENCE = OK thing is a Western phenomenon. And where are the vast majority of games and movies made? America. Duh.

 

Having said that, in Europe there isn't the Bible Belt / boycott Walmart thing going on. Well, not yet.

 

Personally, I couldn't care less if I never saw a nipple in a video game, or anything stronger. There's enough sex in just about every other facet of Western popular culture, games are actually a refreshing break from it as far as I'm concerned.

 

Cheers

MC

[Hell Kitty]

The Sims 2! It's chock full of love and sex. Made by those uptight Americans.

 

Of course if you want a story to go along with your human interaction, you're out of luck.

[Monte Carlo]

:: sigh ::

[Hell Kitty]

What's the problem Monte Carlo? (My last post wasn't a response to yours, which wasn't there when I wrote it.

Edited February 14, 2009 by Hell Kitty

[Slowtrain]

Well, in the US, the huge retail chains, such as WalMArt, have a lot of influence over what can be in a game, because if they don't like it, they won't carry it. And if Walmart and others won't carry a game that is going to be a big blow to retail sales.

[Hell Kitty]

Well, in the US, the huge retail chains, such as WalMArt, have a lot of influence over what can be in a game, because if they don't like it, they won't carry it. And if Walmart and others won't carry a game that is going to be a big blow to retail sales.

 

WalMart may well be less likely to stock games that feature sexual content, probably largely due to idea that games are "just for kids", but this doesn't really say anything about why developers don't create games about relationships, of which sex may or may not be a part. I'm sure WalMart wouldn't have a problem with games about platonic friendships.

 

I also think relationships in games makes for a more interesting topic than Americas fear of sex and nudity.

Edited February 14, 2009 by Hell Kitty

[Pop]

People seem to be more concerned about video game sex than movie sex or the like for much the same reasons they seem to be more concerned about video game violence over movie violence or the like - the player's degree of control over the game is thought to include a vicarious aspect to the game. GTA is supposed to have some affect on a kid's propensity for or view of crime etc. etc. And in this Monte Carlo's sort of proven right, because the fear that playing a game might make kids want to have sex is a pretty American sort of fear. Most places wouldn't deny that it's really the kids' bodies that are controlling them in that regard.

 

But there are good reasons for not including sex in games, most of which I think have been touched on in the myriad other threads on this subject. Video game writing just isn't that great. It rarely rises above the level of pulp fiction. And sex in pulp fiction has a propensity for being exploitative more than anything.

[Deadly_Nightshade]

It's because games are for the kiddies and thus buckets of blood is good and bobbies and breeding are bad. Yes, those will scar them for life...

[aries101]

-ehm-

 

In Baldur's Gate games, your character can sleep with npcs (with the appropriate fade to black), In Mass Effect, Cmd. Shepard can sleep with a blue chick or a man or a woman (if Shepard is a man). In the European version of The Witcher, Geralt has sex with peasant girls; this happens in the US version as well, I think? The only difference is that the collectible cards you get when you have slept with a woman have uncovered breasts in the European versions, not so in the US version.

 

And Mass Effect was available at Wal-Mart, wasn't it? I'm aksing because I don't know?

[Enoch]

Why don't more books and movies feature the main character murdering hundreds of people simply to improve his skills?

[Mamoulian War]

movies feature all that, they just have the skills maxed up at the beggining

[Kaftan Barlast]

Note that what Im after here is not graphical depictions of sexual intercourse, its romantic and/or sexual relations between characters as part of the story.

 

 

One shining example is Uncharted for the PS3. You have the guy, you have the girl and the perfect setup yet they exist in a complete non-relationship to eachother. At the end of the game, you just drive away leaving the girl behind. If it had been a film or a book, there would have been something there. But in the game, its just missing. And that in a game meant for teenagers and adults.

[Mamoulian War]

I dont know, but in most japanese RPG games are realy nice relationships part of the story... tbh dont remember any western game having at least half depth of that implemented...

[Deadly_Nightshade]

Note that what Im after here is not graphical depictions of sexual intercourse, its romantic and/or sexual relations between characters as part of the story.

 

Still, those kiddies might get traumatized by it! Nope, it's far better that they watch softcore-porn on the TV than see romantic options in a game!

[Nightshape]

The typical american sex taboo, coupled with the maturity of the format, and the fact it's "interactive".

 

Simply put... A bunch of Americans are afraid of their kids having some kinda virtual intercourse.

[Stephen Amber]

In Baldur's Gate games, your character can sleep with npcs

 

Interplay was likely a bit better about that. BG2, for instance, had drow brothels and promiscuous drow (not to mention the regular NPC's you could bed) while NWN expansion Hordes of the Underdark lacked such drow. The Atari sex nazis at work I'm guessing... How that's going to be any more offensive to bible belters than some huge satanic figure(Mephisto) as the main antagonistic I couldn't guess.

 

Atari had some equally ridiculous censoring of Temple of Elemental Evil.

[Niten_Ryu]

Have to agree that's it's most likely because US is the largest market for games and not many developers want to risk it.

 

Personally I still can't belive how much discussion every GTA, Mass Effect or God of War still generate in the US and in various boards. From european perspective it's almost surreal.

 

Let's look at your average CRPG. Before the end of the game you have done amazing things, have enough money to run your own little kingdom, have reputation of a modern day superstar but you still can't get a relationship working beyond holding hands (with one person). It's like getting stuck in some horrible nerd-archtype nightmare.

 

Some developers have said that they don't want Harem type of events but you'd think having several mates at the same time would be the more tame then many other things that you can do in CRPGs. Sandbox type of games like Sims and GTA's give option for that and I hope to see it in CRPGs too. Especially if Obsidian allows James Bond type of character in Alpha Protocol

[Maria Caliban]

Sex and romance are part of human relationships, and so far there aren't too many games that focus on relationships. Violence makes for much easier, and undoubtedly more popular, gameplay. It's got nothing to do with morality (and why American morality? It's not like the rest of the world is pumping out games about relationships), it's the lack of interest, or ability, to turn human relationships into gameplay.

 

Nail head + hammer.

 

It has nothing to do with American morality. Americans in general have tons of books and movies about relationships. It just hasn't filtered into our games.

 

 

Edit: Guys, we're not talking *only* about sex.

Edited February 15, 2009 by Maria Caliban

[Amentep]

Sex and romance are part of human relationships, and so far there aren't too many games that focus on relationships. Violence makes for much easier, and undoubtedly more popular, gameplay. It's got nothing to do with morality (and why American morality? It's not like the rest of the world is pumping out games about relationships), it's the lack of interest, or ability, to turn human relationships into gameplay.

 

I think that this is indeed part of it, but I think its actually a bit broader then this. For example most slasher-horror movies have nudity and sex but are rarely about human relationships.

 

I think the reality is that (a) most video games are centered on plot rather than character and (b) most video games use the "exciting bits" of the story for their gameplay, leaving little time for most character business.

 

Games just don't have the pacing like a book or film to divert itself from the main plot to deal with romance or sex. And given various game plots (would it really make sense for characters in Resident Evil for example - under attack from Zombies - to start talking about relationships or making out in any of the various unsecure locations around town? Mario doesn't rescue Princess Peach until the end of the game, so little chance of their relationship really being defined on screen, and hanky-panky getting on screen would be gratuitus.) the inclusion of sex and romance would be head scratching.

 

Thats why other than romance or life sim games with the occasional RPG, romance doesn't crop up in games.

Edited February 15, 2009 by Amentep

[Hell Kitty]

Edit: Guys, we're not talking *only* about sex.

 

It seems people are responding to the thread title without actually reading Kaftan's post.

 

The reason I brought up The Sims 2 is because, besides giving sex the silly name of "Woohoo", is treats it as just a normal part of life, and it's ultimately a far more mature depiction than something like The Witcher and its medieval mens magazine cards.

 

 

For example most slasher-horror movies have nudity and sex but are rarely about human relationships.

 

Kinda like actions movies where the male and female leads have a sex scene. It's all about titillation.

Edited February 15, 2009 by Hell Kitty

[Nightshape]

I read his post, the relationship side of things is extremely hard to model in a true dynamic fashion, I think you could say they're the most complex kind of interaction between people.

 

The Sim's is built around trying to do a basic model of these interactions, when you try and add meaningful dialog... Well... No small task, and to be honest.

 

So I basically see it as

 

NO SEX, because of the way retailers like wal mart have reacted in the past, clearly to the religious nut jobs who live in america

 

NO DEEP MEANINGFUL RELATIONSHIPS, because it's complex and hard to pull off in a meaningful manner without alot of investment, so that KIND of needs to be your game.