I recently touched on Scarlet Blade’s marketing ploy, a mature game that’s not afraid to show off a bit of flesh here and there, but there have been other MMO games that have taken this to other levels.
The Secret World, a Funcom title that suffered heavy issues during launch, was immediately criticsed for featuring a scene involving oral sex. I literally played the free weekend purely to see that event, but not to satisfy my insatiable lust for needless nudity, but to see exactly how far games are willing to go in today’s society. Sex sells, it’s a common practice and a common phrase, but does it really need to infect gaming further? In all honesty, the scene was tame and didn’t involve anything I wouldn’t expect to see on a soap or TV drama; so I have no idea what all the fuss was about.
Another game that comes to mind, albeit one that’s gone a little quiet recently, is Orgia Romanus. Developed by FoxySoft with Alex Allen at the helm, a project director previously of Sony Online Entertainment, Orgia Romanus aimed to “facilitate sexual interactions between players” as one of it’s main game goals. The true extent of this has yet to be realized but if it’s an integral part of the game, you probably won’t be far wrong assuming it’s going to push a few boundaries.
Taking the blame or responsibilities away from actual developers, players have been known to bring a little sex into their online experience as well. World of Warcraft had a business minded female selling virtual sex and companionship for in-game currency, while Age of Conan had a player that goaded a GM into cyber-sex before reporting the incident resulting in the loss of work for the employee involved. Not quite as admirable as the young lady from WoW, but still relevant to the discussion; well a little. Okay well not really, but damn it’s funny.
So what do you think? Are you the kind of player that would support realistic sex scenes and mechanics in online games? Or do you feel these are reserved for the top shelves of your local rental retailer?