Yes, I don't think it can hurt to try. I actually think many of the factors which make sex in games so awkward could be turned to the advantage of a clever developer (man, I wish I was a clever developer...).

On another note, and I'm playing devil's advocate a little here, it's thought-provoking to see how emotive sexual content in games can be. I haven't played Katawa Shoujo yet (though I definitely will), so I can't offer any personal views on its content, but it was interesting to see it being picked up on for aspects such as the fetishisation of disability. Whilst I certainly don't condone this (I used to work, for what it's worth, in a school for the disabled), I have played games where you can kill people. Actually kill them. In their faces. Isn't that worse?

Pretty awful by comparison with the rest of this thread but pretty awesome by my own standards:
http://i.imgur.com/M1ylzec.png

It´s not awful by the way, it has it´s own style (which, sincerely, I thinkg it´s quite interesting and unique ofr now a days). I want to see in what finishes your project .

Thanks! Good to see The Wild West is still going strong, by the way. I've been following it for a while now.

Pretty awful by comparison with the rest of this thread but pretty awesome by my own standards:

We've did another #screenshotsaturday entry and I thought I might as well put the shot up here.

http://images.8bitbeard.de/tigame/ti_campfire_01.gif

That is an awesome screenshot. I love the whole H Rider Haggard vibe of this.

@happymonster - I'd forgotten all about that game. I seem to remember thinking the execution lagged a little behind the premise, but what a premise.

Yes, the example which always stands out for me is The Witcher, in which you literally collect sexual conquests which have no other bearing on the game.

Muz, I seem to remember you positing the idea of an Oglaf game on another thread. Now that could really work...

Have you played Embric of Wulfhammer's Castle, by any chance? It'd be a good case study. The heroine ends up having sex with nearly every other primary female character before the end.

I haven't but I've just read the account of it on your blog and I certainly will do now. Thanks for the recommendation. There's a lot of really good, thought-provoking writing on that blog, by the way.

What I'm trying to do in (one of my) current projects is to combine the sort of fulfilling relationships and plots found in Katawa Shoujo with the interesting effects those relationships can have on gameplay as seen in Persona (specifically within the context of combating religious dictatorships/fanaticism), and maybe throw in some Phoenix Wright as well. Though I still have a lot to work out, hopefully I achieve something something I can be proud of.

I want to play it already!  By the way, I stumbled across this site earlier:

 http://dirolab.com

It's seemingly abandoned but has some interesting and loosely relevant articles.

What games have you played that presented sexual themes well in your opinion, Panurge?

I'm glad you called me on that because now I really think about it, I can hardly name any at all... Most are from the world of IF rather than conventional games (authors such as Emily Short and Porpentine), so I guess they don't really count in this discussion. There are a few games I've played which I seem to remember presented sexualised relationships quite well (although shying from any overt content) such as Shadow of Rome, Prince of Persia (3?) and one of the mafia-based console games (Mafia? The Godfather?). But you can tell I'm grabbing at straws. And I can't think of a single game which featured a relationship between two people who weren't perfect physical specimens of opposite genders...

I think John's example from above looks quite promising.  I wonder if anyone else has any others?

To contribute, I always assumed the main difference between the way sex is perceived in games as opposed to other forms of media is that interactive element you mention.  If you hand someone a story with sex in it, they as a reader are just passively experiencing it.  If you hand someone a game with sex in it that requires them to make choices that will on some level be colored by their own preferences (or "worse", being limited to options that don't reflect their own sexuality), then I guess I can see how some people would be uncomfortable.  Even just asking for input, which would also be colored by preference.

Yes, I think the psychology behind this is fascinating and I'm surprised games developers don't exploit it a little more...

I hadn't heard of Katawa Shoujo but it looks interesting and I'll definitely check it out. Thanks!

By the way, I should have mentioned in the first post that I have played some games which handle sexual themes with great delicacy and maturity (and also sometimes with a good sense of fun, which I think can be just as important) but I can't think of any mainstream games which do this. I'm particularly interested in the perception of games as a medium by casual gamers and the general public. Why is extreme violence acceptable but even mild sexual content considered controversial? I know the case is similar in film and TV but there seems to me to be an even wider discrepancy in games.

Apologies if this has been covered in another thread, but I'm interested in hearing some views on sexual content in games. I've recently started developing a game with some fairly mild sexual themes and animations and I've been surprised by the reaction it has received from friends (nobody here, incidentally). I've written much more explicit short stories in the past and the same friends have read them without batting an eyelid but they seem troubled by the idea of any erotic content in a game. Why should this be?

Is it because games are still seen by many as being an art-form primarily pitched at children? I'm pretty sure this doesn't apply to at least one of the friends concerned, who is a very keen gamer. Also, I say 'still seen' but at the same time I remember the old risqué Sierra games like 'Leather Goddesses of Phobos'...

Or perhaps there is something in the interactive nature of games which makes any sexual content seem more intimate and participatory than in books or films. One of my friends suggested that the sex should be 'jokey' rather than erotic, the implication being that it was somehow sleazy to want to turn the player on, but this struck me as odd - would you suggest to a writer or film director that they should avoid making their sex scenes too sensual?

Thirdly, I think maybe recent trends give a generally bad impression of what 'sexy' games are like. The typical associations are the geeky sleaze of hentai and the adolescent misogyny of games like GTA and The Witcher. Personally, I'd love to see more games treating sexual themes in a thoughtful and mature way.

Hopefully not everyone will agree with me. It would be great to hear some varied opinions on the subject and get a bit of discussion going.

Lovely. I dream of flying too.

I think the biggest problem with that animation is that
the fat dude seems to fall down in slo-mo from the very
first shot. I guess he should stagger back instead if
you want it to last longer and also keep some level of
"realism".

Besides, his rear leg moves in a strange way that looks
too blocky (as if it had some big box around the ankle)
and it ends up appearing longer than the one in the front,
plus it seems to have a really thin tigh for such big,
massive dude.

Many thanks! I can see exactly what you mean and I'll have a go at adjusting it along those lines.

@eigenbom & jO - that is also an extremely good point! I think fiddling with details is becoming something of an avoidance strategy for me. The area which needs the most attention at the moment is the programming and because that's where I have least experience/skill it's easy for me to delay by turning out sprites and storyboards for theoretical future sections... This weekend I'm going to knuckle down and finish getting the mechanics in place.

Maybe move the entire arm back as the gun fires to show more recoil. Awesome smoke

Thanks! I think this is much better:

Jesus you gave me a heart attack when this was locked.
Don't do that again please!

Hehe - I nearly gave myself a heart attack too. I browsed the forum on an ipad last night so I think I must have accidentally hit the lock button with my thumb at some point. Anyway, it caused me some confusion when I found I couldn't post a reply this morning. I'm not hard to confuse...

Btw I've put your extra frame into the 'tease' animation and I think it looks neat:



Thanks!

Something is up with this shooting animation but I can't quite put my finger on it:



There are variants, incidentally, for shooting anything from 1-6 bullets into him, just so the player can choose for themselves how thorough to be.

Really lovely minimalistic style.
For some strange reason your game reminds me a lot about the old Manhunter series from Sierra.

Oh wow! I used to love the first Manhunter game. I haven't thought about it for ages but I won't rule out the possibility that it may have subconsciously influenced me! I'm certainly aiming in places for a similar vibe (though hopefully any puzzles won't be as frustrating as the ones in that game could be...).

I've got a prototype of the first level going and I'm feeling pretty darn pleased with myself. I'm trying to keep the controls as simple as the graphics so aside from movement there is just a sinister/dexter system whereby the left mouse button does something 'negative' (draws gun, shoots, punches, says no etc) and the right button does something 'positive' (shows badge, shakes hand, says yes etc), all dependant on context.

I've gone back on my resolution not to include any writing because the storyboard I now have for the plot is just too intricate to work without any dialogue.  I'd still like to keep it as minimalist as possible, however, so ideally I want to have all the dialogue spoken to keep the screen clear of text. I would just let the player use the mouse buttons to respond yes and no as they like without pausing the game. The only problem is that this approach might make the current control system confusing - how do I let the player know intuitively what effect the buttons will have (saying no or drawing their gun, for example)? I may have to compromise on the simplicity I'd hoped for.

Anyway, I hope to post a video as soon as I find out how. In the meantime, a theatrical alien warlord:

Awesome. I'm going to study those animations until my eyes bleed.

A picture worth 8 words. Should work for the whole intro.



Not sure I can capture it better with a proper image tbh.

I can see this working well with very simple, bold images, borrowing from the style of old soviet propaganda posters.

Personally, I'll never get tired of pirates and the only pirate games I've truly enjoyed are 'Pirates!' and Monkey Island, so I think there's room to float a few more. But don't fall back on lazy cliches - there are lots of unique angles you could take.

@Mef - Thanks!

@DustyDrake - Haha yeah, he got promoted!

If he's not intended to reveal himself at all, make one frame where both hats are down there, but they're both being used to cover himself up.
Hm, lemme see if I can edit it.

Here's the frame I added after the one where his hat is off his head

Seemed to work better to me, but I may have made his groin too high

Oh thanks so much for that! I really appreciate you taking the time to help. I'm on a friend's computer at the moment but I'll put that frame into the animation as soon as I'm home. I think it's just what's needed.