Sex In Games

Sex. An integral part of the human condition. A form of expression, of passion, of love, even of anger. Sex has been instrumental in shaping the power, culture, and art of humanity. Some of our greatest Renaissance paintings feature lovers intertwined. The most famous of our literature, from Greek Tragedy, through Shakespeare, to Twilight all focus on sex. And of course, rock and roll is as much a sexual experience as it is an auditory one. In virtually every vein of art, sex is a key instrument. Of this year's Oscar nominees for best film, virtually all of them have at least some degree of sexuality. Even Toy Story 3 makes use of sexuality in the relationship between Ken and Barbie.

 

Then we have games. If we look back on the short lifespan of our medium we find very little sexual maturity. And just to note, by sex, I mean all aspects of sexuality, not just the deed itself. When we think of women in gaming it's kind of shocking. How many female characters are built with a level of complexity that leads them to be more than a sex object? Are there any? Let's look at some possible examples of relationships that have been done well in games. Will we find any that rival books and movies?

 

Probably the first game that popped into most of your minds (hopefully at least) when talking about mature relationships would be Mass Effect. Arguably the relationship with Liara or Ashley in the first game, or any of the four or five characters in the second game for the male Shepard are handled with care. Or are they? Is Ashley any more than the experienced lover and Liara the inexperienced? Do you go with the virginal young woman or the more experienced older woman? It's a very base question that most any man has a personal answer too. The second game had more options but all were still caricature. Miranda is the experienced woman. Tali takes Liara's place. Jack is added in as the bad girl and depending on which Asari you go with you get either an older lady, or a dangerous lover. These characters are well written to be sure. But really are they created with depth? Is there more to them than you might expect? What we have in Mass Effect is an action movie version of a relationship. The end goal is always to have sex. If you wanted to romance a woman and not have sex with her, well that wasn't an option. There was no waiting for marriage, there was no going out on dates, no getting to know each other. You'll find this to be a common theme among games. Sex is always the desired outcome. There's rarely anything more or less to it.

 

 

Another recent example that I honestly find rather insulting is Heavy Rain. Here we have a possible relationship between a man and a woman. Of course the man is the interesting character here. The woman, Paige, is once again, just a sex object. Is it telling that the first scene she is in involves a long meandering shower, or that she proves her worth by stripping for a suspect? Surely there are ways to write a woman that don't involve her getting nude every other scene. Regardless, the use of Paige is insulting. While the men all have interesting back-stories and nuances, Paige alternates between playing the role of the whore and the roll of the nurse.

 

 

Alyx, Gordon's love interest in the Half Life 2 series, is an interesting character. She isn't built like a porn star, she shows affection for characters and things other than our lead hero, and as of now, her and Gordon's relationship has been completely clean. Many would argue that Valve is at the forefront of game storytelling and this is honestly a great example. Yes, Alyx is definitely used for sex appeal, so she isn't perfect, but she is a compelling character in her own right. Still, it's hard to call this a relationship when one side doesn't talk. And that is the real waste in this game. We're not seeing the relationship here. We're seeing a woman flirting with a man who never talks back to her and never shows her any affection whatsoever. Is that what relationships are like? I don't think so. Alyx is a well written woman. One of the few in gaming, but she and Gordon do not represent a maturely presented relationship.

 

 

Both The Sands of Time and the 2008 version of Prince of Persia feature some really great writing and relationships. Let's just work with the more modern 2008 Prince of Persia. You have Elika, who is a well rounded, intelligent, and strong woman. Great. Then you have The Prince. Yea, he doesn't have a name. This is another Gordon situation. Would a woman really fall in love with someone who never tells her his name? A man who won't reveal anything about himself? It just doesn't make sense. But the ending to the game is the second best example of true romance in gaming. I won't ruin it for those who haven't played it yet, but the final sequence in Prince of Persia had gamers raging. But it was a moment where the medium rose above itself to become something a little greater. A truly shining moment that few discuss and fewer will remember.

 

 

You'll notice the far greater number of modern games on this list compared to games from several generations ago. There is a good reason for that. We are really going forward when it comes to game writing and possibly the best example of a good action game script thus far is the Uncharted series. This is the third best attempt at sex in gaming in my mind. You have a love triangle that features three fully developed characters with multiple motives, desires, goals, and nuances. These characters feel real, and they have histories and back-stories. And most importantly, they have names and voices. Nathan still has to choose between the good girl and the bad girl here, but there are more to these two women than "nice girl" and "bad girl". The real flaw here is intimacy. Yes the characters are well written, but there is very little time spent on the quiet, touching moments that make true romance tales shine. This is a really great example of sex done well, but it isn't sex done great. It isn't on the same level as the most compelling tales in other modern forms of fiction.

 

 

What's great about Enslaved is the evolution of the characters. This is an action game like Uncharted. But there is a key difference here. Yes you have two well-developed characters that are realistic, and deep and so forth like Uncharted. But the difference here is that you have those quiet moments. You have the experiences where you really feel the characters bonding. And bondage is also what holds this tale back. The idea of a slave falling in love with his master is of course possible, but it really isn't the best way to start a relationship. Again, the characters do change, but everything feels just a hair bit forced. That isn't to say it is bad, because it isn't. Ninja Theory is a master at creating great stories and Enslaved is certainly a great well written tale. And I would argue that it is overall the second best example of Sex in gaming. It is a great example, but like Uncharted it just isn't on that level of mastery that the greatest works of art are.

 

So we come to the end of our list. There is just one more game I want to put forth. It is the only game made thus far that I think has done sex right. I'm sure most of you know what is coming. So without further ado I present

 

 

There is no sex in this game. The main characters are both children. There are less than 50 lines of dialogue in the whole game. So why is Ico the penultimate example of sex in games done right? Because it explores what it means to be in a relationship more realistically than most movies and novels. Love is all about give and take. It's about sacrifice and hard work. You have to protect the princess. Your goal is to save her. But she isn't locked away in a palace. She is there with you. And you have to help each other. You work together to get by obstacles that apart neither of you could overcome. That is the foundation of a good relationship - Lovers working together, holding each other up, making each other better. It isn't about primal sexuality. Half of this game you play by holding hands with the princess. Holding hands. That's the most intimate it gets, but in a sense that is the most intimate any game has ever come. It is a sense of closeness, of mutual respect, of real love, that no other game has ever come close to revealing. It is what games need to prove that they should be taken as seriously as other forms of art. It's when the gameplay itself doesn't make you the leader and her the follower. It's when you are both equals, and when there doesn't need to be sexuality to make it powerful. These are just kids, but their relationship is more meaningful than any adult relationship in games thus far. Simply put, Ico is one of the single best games ever made, and presents the medium to the critics in a light that is simply great. If only anyone could have equaled that in the intervening 10 years.

 

Conclusion

Today I have put forth a list of popular games that have been well regarded in the realm of presenting relationships. You'll notice that every game on this list was made this century. That isn't because I didn't play games before this century, it's simply because stories in games have simply gotten better. Now I know some might argue that I am missing Final Fantasy on this list, but in all honesty I haven't played through any Final Fantasy game ever so, sorry. Outside of that, though, really very few games from before this decade have really done sex even decently. More often we'd see things like Lara Croft and Duke Nukem. And of course new entries in both those series are due out this year. But we have invariably made progress, and vast progress at that. Part of that is the increase in computing power allowed designers to make realistic character models and the increase in budget and disc space has allowed for professional actors to voice the lines written by those designers. We still have a long way to go, at least those outside of Team Ico and Ninja Theory have a long way to go. But we are getting better all the time. Here's to hoping that games continue to evolve and marry gameplay and story in a way that makes us think about love and sex in ways that other mediums can't. And no, I don't mean playing a sex scene. That isn't what we need at all. What we need is gameplay that facilitates mutual respect and admiration, and in which both characters have equal footing in the relatioship. It's a hard thing to accomplish, but we've proven at least once that we can do it right. Here's to doing it that well many more times to come.