Killing and Sex in RPGS

[Chefe]

Why is there more killing than sex in RPGs?

Discuss.

 

[Hamanu]

Same reason that there's more killing than drug use, or eating for that matter. Aside from the gruesome aspects, killing has redeeming tactical and intellectual aspects. Or at least gives rise to redeeming tactical and intellectual situations. Killing in RPG's generally isn't entirely about the killing itself (as it is in manhunt) but the circumstances surrounding the killing. From Diablo, where killing is essentially used as an excuse for a stat charged munchkin-fest, to PST where killing has consequences and drives the plot forward.

Sex and drugs on the other hand don't really generate the same situations, sex and drugs are done for their own benefit and simulating them doesn't really give rise to the same experience. Think about it, if I want to get laid I'm going to wander down to the bar, or if I want to smoke a joint I'm going to buy some weed. Sitting in a room telling a bunch of guys that I'm getting high or getting laid doesn't really cut it. In the same way, if I want to fight a battle with a broadsword it's not going to end well for me if I wander down to my local bar and start hacking, but it can be very interesting to simulate a battle with a group of friends.

Most of the time in real life we're generally having copious amounts of sex, and in my case no small amount of drugs, yet killing very few people. It's something we don't do every day but it's in our nature. A role playing game is the perfect arena to bring out that side of ourselves.

 

[Hamanu]

Ah son of a whore, apparently internal server error means everything worked fine...

Sorry for the double post, could a mod please delete this?

 

[Goliath]

Why is there more killing than sex in RPGs?

Because sex is boring and killing is fun?
"My character just had sex with four whores AND a sheep AND I am playing a girl! *giggle*" (Arcanum moment #239)
Really except for making school boys giggle what's the point of putting stupid sex scenes in an RPG? They are never even just remotely sexy; much less interesting.

I want an at least half way believable world and not some female knights running around "armoured" with chainmail bikinis and vagina steel caps.

 

[Jason]

I don't like sex in video games because sex just reminds me of grandpa.

 

[Micmu]

I welcome sex & drugs in any RPG if done right and tasteful. This is what makes a game world believable, not some sterile T-rated junk.
I mean, a fantasy game world set in medieval-like setting and no hookers? Oh please. However, it's not neccessary to be able to hire them. It's pointless - unless it's like Hot Coffee minigame.

*cough* Still Water *cough*

 

[Delirious Nomad]

I welcome sex & drugs in any RPG if done right and tasteful.

Which games do feature that ?

Gothic - girl in a bathtub ( not exactly sex but tasteful )
Gothic II - sex with a hooker shown in a little movie
Ultima Ascension - sex with a hooker / black screen
Arcanum - they had this orgy thing running and some hookers
ToeE - the brothel, yeah, okay
Fallout - just some hookers
Bloodlines - okay, that is a sexy game
Fallout II - a lot of opportunities ( Mira and brother, the Bishops, hookers everywhere ) but a little undeveloped

I'd like to see the protagonist having sex with a party member and the day after, they choose to forget what happend, leaving some tension in their relationship kind of thing.

 

[foneco]

Morrowind:
A few examples of extreme hardcore (On dialogue) can be found on Tag Vos pub and kinky guild and also on Funkyone for love or money.

 

[FrancoTAU]

Drugs could be implemented into some strategy in Fallout-esque way. Do some Crystal Meth before a Dungeon Crawl and you won't have to rest at all! But suffer the affects afterwards.

Sex can be part of the plot or even a quest or some such, but i can't see anybody working it into a major part of the game.

 

[Cimmerian Nights]

This is only me but I tend to get stoned and laid more in real life than I do kill people. In fact I've never killed anyone, so the vicariousness of doing that is more intense than seeing some cyber-boobies or seeing JC Dentons vision get blurry because of freebasing Zyme. I'll get back to you after I've actually killed a man and let you know though.

 

[Jora]

Rosh has killed a man.

 

[obediah]

Maybe we'll see the F.A.T.A.L. system implemented in fallout 3. Any system that let's you roll for the size of your gnome balls is alright by me (actually it looked terrible). Maybe they'll add peyronies and hermaphrodite traits as well.

Besides, just like rpg games let you enjoy a powerful persona without the hassle of real combat training, rape lets you enjoy a sexual encounter without the hassle of real relationship building.

 

[Fresh]

I just started playing it but I believe Fahrenheit lets you kill yourself due to depression oddly enough.

 

[Naked_Lunch]

In Ultima VII you can kill children with pitchforks and also make poor little Spark have sex with a hooker while you go drink ale. It's quite fun.

 

[LlamaGod]

You could also get frekay in Arcanum if you were a female and wanted to access the gentleman's club.

Don't forget the hookers in Planescape:Torment, too!

 

[Greatatlantic]

Maybe we'll see the F.A.T.A.L. system implemented in fallout 3. Any system that let's you roll for the size of your gnome balls is alright by me (actually it looked terrible). Maybe they'll add peyronies and hermaphrodite traits as well.

Whats the F.A.T.A.L. system, its not ringing any bell for me? I get the feeling that I won't like the answer though.

On topic, its just a matter of convention I suppose. You don't defeat ultimate evil or a dragon by sleeping with it, or getting stoned.

 

[obediah]

Whats the F.A.T.A.L. system, its not ringing any bell for me? I get the feeling that I won't like the answer though.

It's a very special PNP system. You used to be able to download the rules PDF for free, but I'm not sure that's the case anymore. It's extremely detailed, un-pc, and risque system. We're talking everything from rolling the length and girth of your junk to black characters getting a strength bonus and intelligence penalty to needing 10 tables to find out how many quarts of blood you lose from that wound. It's supposed to be a gritty realisitic system but after flipping through it, I can't imagine anyone taking the time to give it a fair chance.

 

[Keldryn]

I'd like to see the protagonist having sex with a party member and the day after, they choose to forget what happend, leaving some tension in their relationship kind of thing.

Baldur's Gate II.

If you choose a romance with Aerie over Jaheira or Viconia, pretty much this exact scenario occurs. Aerie comes to you for comfort, and opens up to the idea of having sex with the PC. If you choose to, a short time later, Aerie is have trouble dealing with it, and thinks that the relationship went too fast. If I remember correctly, choosing to have sex with her at that point in the relationship effectively ends the romance with her.

 

[Keldryn]

I welcome sex & drugs in any RPG if done right and tasteful.

Which games do feature that ?

Gothic - girl in a bathtub ( not exactly sex but tasteful )
Gothic II - sex with a hooker shown in a little movie
Ultima Ascension - sex with a hooker / black screen
Arcanum - they had this orgy thing running and some hookers
ToeE - the brothel, yeah, okay
Fallout - just some hookers
Bloodlines - okay, that is a sexy game
Fallout II - a lot of opportunities ( Mira and brother, the Bishops, hookers everywhere ) but a little undeveloped

Ultima VI - there is at least one female character that a male Avatar can have sex with, and a male gypsy who will have sex with either male or female Avatars.

Ultima VII - there is at least one male and one female character than an Avatar of the opposite gender can have sex with. I can't remember if there is an option for a homosexual encounter in the game. There is a unicorn in a cave (near Destard, I think) that will only speak to a female Avatar that is a virgin. The unicorn also explains that in the process of travelling between worlds through a red moongate, the reconstruction of the body that results in starting out with untrained skills/attributes also restores one's virginity. There is also a book titled "Everything an Avatar Should Know About Sex" full of blank pages. (I think that book showed up in Ultima IX as well). Ultima VII also contains a major subplot involving the use of the venom of the silver serpent as a "street drug."

Ultima VII Part 2: A female Avatar can have sex with the leader of the Wolves in Monitor (Brendann, I think?), as well as Torissio in Moonshade. Male and female Avatars will both have an affair with Frigidazzi as part of the main plot. I'm sure there are one or two female characters that a male Avatar can have sex with, but it's been years since I played the game.

Fable allows you to seduce and have sex with NPCs of either gender, and there is the quest that involves marrying and bedding Lady Grey. Of course, the screen fades to black and you hear the NPC giggling and commenting how "naurghty" you are. You can learn the "evil" gesture of hip-thrusting, which gets a funny reaction from a lot of townsfolk.

Deus Ex contains a fair bit of drug use, but no explicit sexual content.

Jade Empire has an implied threesome with a male PC, Dawn Star, and Silk Fox. There is also the conversation with Gentle Breezes about Judge Fang and his perversions, which is pretty loaded with sexual connotations.

And who can forget Knights of Xentar? :twisted:

Oh, right, tasteful...

I'm all for more sexual situations in RPGs if they are written in a mature and tasteful fashion, and not targeted at horny 14 year-old males. Sex is a very crucial aspect of human existence, and I think that its inclusion could enrich the gaming experience. But I don't want to see more exploitative sexual content tacked-on for marketing purposes. In pretty much any RPG where there are potential romances between characters, sex would logically be an issue that would be faced as the relationship develops. Unfortunately, any frank discussion or depiciton of sex in a game is going to get it slapped with an "AO" rating and dropped from store shelves, no matter how healthy and responsible the sexuality depicted within may be. Just replace it with more explicit blood, guts, and dismemberment to get the rating dropped to "M" I suppose.

 

[LlamaGod]

The Unicorns/Virgins thing is part of medieval myth so I think it's a-okay

 

[Naked_Lunch]

There is a unicorn in a cave (near Destard, I think) that will only speak to a female Avatar that is a virgin.

No, it'll speak to any avatar as long as you're still a virgin.

 

[Keldryn]

There is a unicorn in a cave (near Destard, I think) that will only speak to a female Avatar that is a virgin.

No, it'll speak to any avatar as long as you're still a virgin.

Thanks for the correction; it's been a long time since I've played through Ultima VII.

 

[Drakron]

Well ... sort off, it ends but it really does not end with ToB.

Virconia is amusing because the next day she complains about the "performance" ... and ends up wanting a encore later on.

Never did the Jaheira romance ... takes too many checks for me to "cheat" my way with it.

If not mistaken there is also a part with Anomen but my memory is fuzzy about it.

 

[Keldryn]

Well ... sort off, it ends but it really does not end with ToB.

Virconia is amusing because the next day she complains about the "performance" ... and ends up wanting a encore later on.

Never did the Jaheira romance ... takes too many checks for me to "cheat" my way with it.

If not mistaken there is also a part with Anomen but my memory is fuzzy about it.

I never did get around to playing ToB. I believe the romance with Aerie does end at that point in the original game though. I'd forgotten about that bit with Viconia... I'm pretty sure you can have sex with Jaheira, but it doesn't change the course of the romance or anything like that.

I didn't play BG2 with a female character, so I have no idea if there was any sex involved in the romance with Anomen.

 

[Jason]

Keldryn, I wish you hadn't reminded me of Knights of Xentar. Playing that horrible game is not something I'm proud of.

I never tried the romances in BG or any other games because it just seemed so sad. Like buying a sex doll and then taking it out to dinner.