I was gonna post this with a TwitLonger, but I think posting here will be more appropriate. (Thanks for putting that image of porno Mario in my head, btw.)
I agree with your first point and wanted to bring something to light. A lot of games I've seen or personally been a fan of tend to use sexual violence as a sort of "fail state." In most cases, the player character is the victim. Many of the games in question tend to be action platformers or action RPGs. Those genres are exclusively focused around violence. And certain combinations with genres—like survival horror—will inevitably make sexual violence unavoidable. It's never treated more seriously because the games for the most aren't meant to be taken seriously. It's no secret in the adult games space and has come to be widely accepted. The games themselves have more of a "tongue-in-cheek" flavor (look up anything from Remtairy or ONEONE1 on Steam for an example).
I'm willing to argue that the stories and settings to these games are deliberately written in a way that justifies sexual violence. A few of the games on my Steam recommendation list have these kinds of flavors. Libra Heart, the developer that inspired me to get into adult games development, released a game in late 2014 titled "Succubus." Now if the title didn't clue you in, the main character is a succubus. In the game, you can go around "seducing" enemies by shooting hearts at them to make them aroused. She would then be able to have sex with them to "defeat" them and restore your health and magic. This is actually one of Libra Heart's staple characters who would go on to appear in more titles. That's sort of the theme they've got going on.
I believe the casual treatment of sexual violence in adult games was a trope grandfathered in from the hentai genre. Before discovering Libra Heart, I was heavily into the Monster Girl Encyclopedia by Kenkou Cross. That setting was built upon non-consensual sex. I think most of it is the author's sexual fantasies and, by proxy, the viewer's fantasies. The viewers make a conscious decision to consume this type of media, but no real-world harm is being enacted. No crime is being committed. Even with games that are meant to appeal to darker fantasies, like RapeLay. That's what they should remain, fantasies. To insinuate otherwise would be painting the "Do violent video games create mass murderers?" argument with a different brush. Do sexually violent games create serial rapists?
Actual perpetrators of sexual violence do so for power and control. They have no empathy. Functional adults fully understand consent. These games might function as a—safer and legal—way to explore these fantasies without feeling shame or guilt, though not exclusively for that purpose. Trigger warnings are there for the people that don't share these fantasies.
I completely agree with you that adult games do not create serial rapists much like how violent video games do not cause serial killers. Adult games are a safe outlet for both authors and players to explore these feelings. And that's exactly why I wanted to cover this topic.
I do agree with your analysis of violence as the default way that games have for interacting with the world but I think presenting that as the origin or the main reason for the use of sexual violence in adult videogames is a little of a missrepresentation of the issue. In most cases, I would argue, is not a matter of a failed design choice, but of a conscious choice.
I would argue most adult games with sexual violence are appealing / catering to dark and taboo sexual fantasies. And I agree adult games can go beyond just catering to fetishes when dealing with this heavy themes. But at the same time, I think adult games can still be just a source of entertainment. At the end, I think the heart of the matter is to recognize that , like you put it in your article, let adults decide what they want to see in their media.
I think RapeLay , at the end of the day, was nothing more than what it seems, a dark adult game to cater to dark adult fantasies. And I think it is not more inmoral, dangerous or disgusting than watching some particular gory or violent films. On the same vein, those who enjoyed or enjoy such games are nothing more than functional adults consenting to consume and engage in dark sexual fiction. Claiming otherwise is nothing more than reenacting the same "Do videogames cause violence?" outcry (And I would even argue it would be even more nonsensical to hold this attitude towards adult games with sexual violence. While there is something to discuss about how promiment and normalized is violence in media and how accesible it is for children, in the case of dark adult games we are talking about a niche genre of an alredy niche genre which remains hidden to the mainstream). To anwser the question that begins this Newsletter, I think to claim that there is no place for sexual violence in adult games would be a terrible loss, both in the narrative posibilities to adress this dark topic or as a way for consenting adults to engage in fantasies without hurting anybody.
To end this comment, I would like to point out something abou your article that in my opinion is distasteful. I think bringing up the topic of the age of consent in Japan while talking about the ages of the characters in RapeLay perpetuates a distorted view of the country. As you pointed out, the age of consent of 13 is nothing more than a curiosity/remmanant of the time that law was written and that in fact Japan has an age of consent similar to most nations. I know the topic of underaged characters in sexual fiction in Japan is a complicated topic which makes many people uncomfortable, but to mention the curiosity of the age of consent just contributes to this image of Japan as a sexualy debauched place, where the sexualization and even the sexual act with minors is normalized, which I think is a pretty harmful and offensive image to promote for any country. I may not be japanese, but I do happen to be from a country who also has suffered from this kind of stereotyping which at the end it only has two effects: It promotes this image of being a backwards "savage" country, which in itself is nothing but a form of colonial racism; and it attracts actual predators who think they would have an easier time commiting crimes on those places. I know I am just an internet nobody, and you have zero reasons to heard me, but I do feel strongly about this topic, and I think people should stop contributing to this kind of stereotyping, even if they do it by accident.
The question whether violent video games cause violence has been soundly rebuked by research by now but there hasn't been as much investigation in the relation between sexual violence and video games. To be clear, I don't think such a connection exists, but the literature on the topic isn't there yet.
I wanted to write a newsletter about this particular topic _because_ it is so sensitive. There is no reason that sexual violence can't be used in an adult video game; rape is unfortunately part of the human condition. And adult games are a medium like any other, with a capacity for empathy as well as trauma. But what I see rarely discussed is what kind of impact these kinds of storylines can have.
And yeah, your point about including Japan's age of consent is valid. The reason I included it is because I wanted to highlight that the story in RapeLay is egregious even when considering that it was written in a different cultural context. Let me put it this way: if Japan's age of consent had been 25 for some reason, I would have included that info as well I was also trying to preempt accusations of _approving_ of this kind of narrative violence against minors, which has unfortunately been a common occurrence. I acknowledge that I lack the cultural context to fully explain the situation. If I was writing a book about this topic, I would have absolutely sought out the advice of domain experts.
Finally, I'm very happy to have you in my community. I think your voice is important and I'm glad you feel comfortable enough to speak up. Your feedback makes my writing better, so I hope you continue to keep adding your two cents. <3
I was gonna post this with a TwitLonger, but I think posting here will be more appropriate. (Thanks for putting that image of porno Mario in my head, btw.)
I agree with your first point and wanted to bring something to light. A lot of games I've seen or personally been a fan of tend to use sexual violence as a sort of "fail state." In most cases, the player character is the victim. Many of the games in question tend to be action platformers or action RPGs. Those genres are exclusively focused around violence. And certain combinations with genres—like survival horror—will inevitably make sexual violence unavoidable. It's never treated more seriously because the games for the most aren't meant to be taken seriously. It's no secret in the adult games space and has come to be widely accepted. The games themselves have more of a "tongue-in-cheek" flavor (look up anything from Remtairy or ONEONE1 on Steam for an example).
I'm willing to argue that the stories and settings to these games are deliberately written in a way that justifies sexual violence. A few of the games on my Steam recommendation list have these kinds of flavors. Libra Heart, the developer that inspired me to get into adult games development, released a game in late 2014 titled "Succubus." Now if the title didn't clue you in, the main character is a succubus. In the game, you can go around "seducing" enemies by shooting hearts at them to make them aroused. She would then be able to have sex with them to "defeat" them and restore your health and magic. This is actually one of Libra Heart's staple characters who would go on to appear in more titles. That's sort of the theme they've got going on.
I believe the casual treatment of sexual violence in adult games was a trope grandfathered in from the hentai genre. Before discovering Libra Heart, I was heavily into the Monster Girl Encyclopedia by Kenkou Cross. That setting was built upon non-consensual sex. I think most of it is the author's sexual fantasies and, by proxy, the viewer's fantasies. The viewers make a conscious decision to consume this type of media, but no real-world harm is being enacted. No crime is being committed. Even with games that are meant to appeal to darker fantasies, like RapeLay. That's what they should remain, fantasies. To insinuate otherwise would be painting the "Do violent video games create mass murderers?" argument with a different brush. Do sexually violent games create serial rapists?
Actual perpetrators of sexual violence do so for power and control. They have no empathy. Functional adults fully understand consent. These games might function as a—safer and legal—way to explore these fantasies without feeling shame or guilt, though not exclusively for that purpose. Trigger warnings are there for the people that don't share these fantasies.
Thank you so much for your thoughtful comment!
I completely agree with you that adult games do not create serial rapists much like how violent video games do not cause serial killers. Adult games are a safe outlet for both authors and players to explore these feelings. And that's exactly why I wanted to cover this topic.
I do agree with your analysis of violence as the default way that games have for interacting with the world but I think presenting that as the origin or the main reason for the use of sexual violence in adult videogames is a little of a missrepresentation of the issue. In most cases, I would argue, is not a matter of a failed design choice, but of a conscious choice.
I would argue most adult games with sexual violence are appealing / catering to dark and taboo sexual fantasies. And I agree adult games can go beyond just catering to fetishes when dealing with this heavy themes. But at the same time, I think adult games can still be just a source of entertainment. At the end, I think the heart of the matter is to recognize that , like you put it in your article, let adults decide what they want to see in their media.
I think RapeLay , at the end of the day, was nothing more than what it seems, a dark adult game to cater to dark adult fantasies. And I think it is not more inmoral, dangerous or disgusting than watching some particular gory or violent films. On the same vein, those who enjoyed or enjoy such games are nothing more than functional adults consenting to consume and engage in dark sexual fiction. Claiming otherwise is nothing more than reenacting the same "Do videogames cause violence?" outcry (And I would even argue it would be even more nonsensical to hold this attitude towards adult games with sexual violence. While there is something to discuss about how promiment and normalized is violence in media and how accesible it is for children, in the case of dark adult games we are talking about a niche genre of an alredy niche genre which remains hidden to the mainstream). To anwser the question that begins this Newsletter, I think to claim that there is no place for sexual violence in adult games would be a terrible loss, both in the narrative posibilities to adress this dark topic or as a way for consenting adults to engage in fantasies without hurting anybody.
To end this comment, I would like to point out something abou your article that in my opinion is distasteful. I think bringing up the topic of the age of consent in Japan while talking about the ages of the characters in RapeLay perpetuates a distorted view of the country. As you pointed out, the age of consent of 13 is nothing more than a curiosity/remmanant of the time that law was written and that in fact Japan has an age of consent similar to most nations. I know the topic of underaged characters in sexual fiction in Japan is a complicated topic which makes many people uncomfortable, but to mention the curiosity of the age of consent just contributes to this image of Japan as a sexualy debauched place, where the sexualization and even the sexual act with minors is normalized, which I think is a pretty harmful and offensive image to promote for any country. I may not be japanese, but I do happen to be from a country who also has suffered from this kind of stereotyping which at the end it only has two effects: It promotes this image of being a backwards "savage" country, which in itself is nothing but a form of colonial racism; and it attracts actual predators who think they would have an easier time commiting crimes on those places. I know I am just an internet nobody, and you have zero reasons to heard me, but I do feel strongly about this topic, and I think people should stop contributing to this kind of stereotyping, even if they do it by accident.
Thank you so much for your thoughtful comment!
The question whether violent video games cause violence has been soundly rebuked by research by now but there hasn't been as much investigation in the relation between sexual violence and video games. To be clear, I don't think such a connection exists, but the literature on the topic isn't there yet.
I wanted to write a newsletter about this particular topic _because_ it is so sensitive. There is no reason that sexual violence can't be used in an adult video game; rape is unfortunately part of the human condition. And adult games are a medium like any other, with a capacity for empathy as well as trauma. But what I see rarely discussed is what kind of impact these kinds of storylines can have.
And yeah, your point about including Japan's age of consent is valid. The reason I included it is because I wanted to highlight that the story in RapeLay is egregious even when considering that it was written in a different cultural context. Let me put it this way: if Japan's age of consent had been 25 for some reason, I would have included that info as well I was also trying to preempt accusations of _approving_ of this kind of narrative violence against minors, which has unfortunately been a common occurrence. I acknowledge that I lack the cultural context to fully explain the situation. If I was writing a book about this topic, I would have absolutely sought out the advice of domain experts.
Finally, I'm very happy to have you in my community. I think your voice is important and I'm glad you feel comfortable enough to speak up. Your feedback makes my writing better, so I hope you continue to keep adding your two cents. <3
"(I would recommend against reading the comment section, though.)"
Too late. My curiosity was too strong and I 100% regret reading them
I tried to warn you! It's a cesspool in there. 😅