Sex Scenes in BioWare's RPGs

I guess I'm alone when I say I think it's tasteless. Movies were so much better before the rating system allowed for crud like Clockwork Orange. I don't think video games have seen or will see any benefit of them either.

 

I voted indifferent. Personally I thought the sex scenes in Dragonage and Mass Effect 1 were corny and not very stimulating emotionally or physically.

I'm more in favor of sex scenes ala BG2; hard to initiate, don't always end well, more realistic and doesn't show silly underwear humping. However, the "sex scene" in Mass Effect 2 with Tali was pretty good. They didn't show anything silly (like the aforementioned), but the act of removing her mask and allowing you to see her was very romantic. I think it helped that your relationship spanned two games.

Either way, I don't find it repulsive. When it's a bad sex scene, it's comic relief. When it's a good sex scene, it can be romantic and furthering to the story.

 

Indifferent here. If it fits the story line then why not? It's not like people don't know sex exists

 

Indifferent. I do not mind the content, as it can be avoided. However, it is infinitely more tasteful if such scenes are limited to the non - erotica dialogues; thusly, the actual sex is only implied, never described nor shown.

Pixels rubbing against each other in their own PG 13 way are a... most disturbing sight. 'Silly underwear humping' indeed, as Rahkir aptly put it. This kind of hilarity, however, quickly turns from LOL to WUT - and the realization that someone, somewhere will find this arousing... *shudders*.

 

I guess I kind of like the idea, given it contributes to the story. In Mass Effect 2, I kind of had some excitement going into the romance, but like someone pointed out, there was one year in between.

I guess it IS pixels rubbing against each other, but I tend to have an affiinity for the character, and it's nice to see he's getting some.

 

Indifferent. I don't like it but I don't hate it. 'Silly underwear humping' is ridiculous, especially as Dragon Age has an 18 cert over here. The Witcher's approach was much better. It knew what it was doing and did it with far more humour rather than trying to pretend it was being grown up.

 

I love it, if it's done properly, with the characters acting in character, and if there is a plot related reason for it.

 

Morrigan actually puts on a bra, before sex. now thats wierd.

 

Hahahah! She is a tad shy, maybe. Still... seeing this elven assassin guy with a male dwarf made me hate the friend who sent the link, my curiosity and youtube. That was just too wrong on too many levels.

 

There should be a poll option for those of us who find the scenes hilarious.

 

The best was in Leisure Suit Larry when they made a black box over the then bed which kept getting wider, then slimmer with each ... movement.

 

Very true, Bruno. Hmm....damn those games were FUN.

 

Nudity is no gamplay. Gameplay first Bioware. Gameplay is 80% of the game.

I do not find in game sex important. A romance can be.

 

That's kinda like "I only read Playboy for the articles". (Back when Playboy used to be considered risqué, of course.)

 

The sex scenes are ridiculous so I really don't care for them but that is not because of the sexual nature of these scenes. I really don't see how unmodded scenes can be seen as offensive as they are really PG13 and ridiculous.

Some mods are a bit too graphic but I have to say Bioware fails by going half way through. Either use a fade to black or just work some angles so the scene is more suggested than shown. The way it is now, in DAO Morrigan puts on a fur bra to have sex which wouldn't be that bad if she wasn't braless all the time...

I can't help thinking about One Million Years B.C. when I see the underwear in DAO.

That being said I went for poll option number 1 because I like the possibility to give characters a sexual identity and a sexual orientation so I'm all in favour of sexual content. The way I see it Diamonds Are Forever wouldn't be the same if Mr Wint and Mr Kidd weren't lovers and in DAO you can emulate this with Zevran and the Gay Warden.

Censorship is bad. I'm going to stir the hornet's nest a bit but I find it silly that the existence of a bi elf like Zevran attracted so much attention because it allowed for same sex romance but then all the violence was rather well tolerated and not criticized that much by the media. Quite clearly some people see characters kissing as being worse than brutal decapitations and showers of blood.

 

They add depth to relationships in-game. When done right, they're pretty awesome.

The 'sex' scene in Mass Effect between Shepard and Liara was the closest BioWare has come to a good sex scene. The scenes in DA:O and ME2 seem *very* conservative. I say, if it's rated 'M for Mature'...don't bother with a sex scene in underwear. Make it realistic with some pixelated naked bodies!

Right now, I don't think it's possible to create a realistic scene when it comes to character on character "interaction." The physics and graphics just aren't up to spec yet. I always laugh when the Illusive Man smokes his cigarette thru his chin or when a piece of plate armor magically passes thru another piece of the armor.

 

From memory Morrigan asks the player to join her in her tent, I expected to see a cutscene of her leading the player into the tent by the hand, fadeout then fade back in afterwards. I voted like but I'm really not sure now that I think about it, I'm all for games for all ages, but when even 'mature' games have to be censored because of this persistent view that all video games are for kids, perhaps a generation from now that view will have died out. Right now sex scenes have to be very very PG which can end up turning a romance into a bad joke, I'm not saying break out the full frontal nudity, I think Mass Effect did it just right, but even then it still stirred up controversy...

 

I voted OK when relevant to story.

I'm going to add my voice to those who found the DAO scenes ridiculous. The execution was just horrible and it felt like I was watching one of the developers' fantasies rather than an important moment of character progression or a true romantic interlude amidst constant violence and bloodshed. The scene would have been less ridiculous with actual nudity, but it would remain tasteless and corny.

The problem is that BioWare seems to think that sex scenes are now a mandatory conclusion to a romance plot. I'm in favour of romance; it's part of human nature and in the context of RPGs it is only logical for some characters develop feelings for each others over time (though I wish it weren't always about the PC; Aerie+Haer'dalis in BG2 was a nice touch). But it doesn't have to end with sex. I guess it's a side effect of the achievement culture we currently live in, where few people can appreciate something if there's no reward candy at the end.

One "sex scene" that was well done in my opinion is Tali's in Mass Effect 2. For all intents and purposes, it was a simple fade to black but it was a nice conclusion to the romance plot (with Tali being afraid of getting sick, etc.) and the camera work made the scene more sentimental than "omg boobs".

That reminds me of an interview I saw with a novelist who wrote medieval novels. One of his books depicted a brutal battle where people were getting beheaded and babies thrown out of windows. Another one had a scene from a female servant's point of view where she was giving a bath to her Lord and expressed curiosity at seeing a "male member" for the first time. The second novel was banished from school libraries, the first one wasn't.

 

Especially when the characters in question happen to be of the same gender. Do not get me wrong, I am not going on a crusade to defend equality and uphold the holy laws of political correctness. 'Twas merely an observation; a remark on the double standard that exists.

I find the notion that violence should be rated anyhow irrational. What kids and adolescents can find in games could not possibly be worse than what they are exposed to in everyday life: watching the news, crossing the street, or even reading a fairy tale by the Grimm brothers. Brutality is an inevitable part of life. Pretending it does not exist will not do any good, methinks.