hisaoSexualized video games are not causing harm to male or female players, according to new research
I dunno if it’s just cause I’m older, but sex scenes in games and movies seem so unnecessary, what are they even there for? I was playing cyberpunk and nudity isnt a big deal but why were those sexually explicit ads necessary to the story?
Something basic like the Mass Effect series helps sell the idea that you really did form a fully fledged relationship over the course of the game. As for Cyberpunk, the setting is literally designed to be dripping with sexuality. It’s not necessary for the story itself, but if you removed all the sex ads the setting simply wouldn’t reach the same level of “megacorporations maximizing psychological exploitation techniques”.
The paint is, sex and sexuality is rarely ever part of the narrative. Take it away and the story is still the same.
the fact that it made you uncomfortable, or at least thought that it was too much is the point. in the future the author/designers are making a comment on sexual exploitation for profit is commonplace and has been normalised
it’s there to make the setting similar to those familiar to us from universes like blade runner, altered carbon, (to a lesser degree) firefly. it’s the standard sci-fi canon that future corporatocratic society is filled with these things: the money buys whatever you like - the basest of desires are on the table no matter what
and it’s also there in all of those universes as a comment on exploitation and morality: just because you (or rather a select few) can buy it doesn’t make it right
it may not often be part of the narrative per se, but it’s an integral part of universe building: you can’t have narrative in a void, so you need to build a convincing universe to tell the story inside
Cringe isn’t the uncomfortable that I think they’re going for. I avoid any relationship content in all games.