Why the sexual content in AP doesn't particularly bother me

[Enoch]

From Foreign Policy, of all places, a series of anecdotes on the intersection of seduction and spying:

 

The History of the Honey Trap

 

(The bit about the Stasi "Romeo Spies" was particularly entertaining.)

[Purkake]

Was expecting a page-long essay.

 

I leave disappointed.

[kreese12]

Bring the expensive women and cheap thrills on -- I mean, this is the spy genre. Women with excellent assets are as par for the course as exotic locations, fast cars, and political backstabbing.

[almehdaaol]

Bring the expensive women and cheap thrills on -- I mean, this is the spy genre. Women with excellent assets are as par for the course as exotic locations, fast cars, and political backstabbing.

 

Well after playing Heavy Rain, I think the bar has already been set for sexual content. )

[Pop]

The knock against sex in games is rarely that it is nonsensical in the context of the gameworld. All the games I've played that have sex in them are the sorts of worlds where sex can reasonably happen. The knock is generally that relationships in games are poorly represented, and given the specific demands of gameplay, specifically that character interaction must be a minigame, not a central mechanic of gameplay, and that most games only last 20-30 hours with a small fraction of that being relegated to character interaction, games by nature of their design can only convey a simple sketch or a gross caricature of the relationships people are in that may (or may not) include a sexual element. So you either have awkward, rushed romantic relationships (usually with woobification, the Human Growth Hormone of drama) or Witcher-style magic sex fantasy. AP looks to be the latter.

Edited March 25, 2010 by Pop

[213374U]

I'm sure that any member of a special police unit/spec ops outfit can reasonably level the same criticism against gunplay in games... only most people haven't experienced the real thing and can't very well compare.

 

Interesting read, Enoch.

[Enoch]

I don't disagree with most of what Pop is saying. (Or with Numbers)

 

But, still, there's something about the history of sex-as-espionage-manipulation that gives me some hope. I think it's that I want there to be some some potentially negative consequences for pursuing the romantic options that the game presents to the player. It breaks the Bond fantasy a bit (i.e., in how Bond can always reverse the intended seduction and manipulation through pure studliness), but part of the fun of anticipating a game is that you can imagine and hope for things that probably won't happen.

Edited March 25, 2010 by Enoch