What, does Frogger have a girlfriend now?
Next week I’ll be headed up to San Francisco for the first annual Sex in Video Games conference. To quote the website:
This unique conference will focus on the design, development, and technology of sex in video games from a national as well as international perspective. In addition, this conference will also have a strong focus on business matchmaking and networking. During the conference’s two day run, it will feature numerous lectures and keynotes, a machinima art show (erotic art and movies derived from video games) as well as panel discussions with leaders in video game and adult video game development.
I’ll be one of the moderators.
Video game sexual content became a national issue when the Hot Coffee minigame was exposed in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas last year.
The attention given to the controversy was a lightning rod for the yin/yang of American sexuality: repression and growth. New York Senator Hillary Clinton, “child advocate” Joseph Lieberman and others used GTA’s explicit, hidden bonus game as a soapbox to regulate video games more thoroughly, comparing grainy digital characters to XXXX porn. Rockstar Games was practically forced to recall San Andreas. Concerned parents began boycotting its tongue-in-cheek, yet entirely unrelated title, Bully. Originally set for a Fall 2005 release, the Rockstar title will now probably come out Neverwary 2010 (a). Rockstar Games lost an estimated $50 million. Also, it likely had and will continue to have a chilling effect (b) on mature titles from companies that aren’t under the Rockstar/Take Two umbrella.
The positive side of this mess is that Rockstar’s frat-boy prank got people talking about digital fooking (c).
According to years of feedback given to me directly or through other video game journalism colleagues, Mainstream America (d) still views video games as Pac-Man or perhaps Super Mario Bros - not the fancy new game with the Wii-mote stick, but the one that came with Duck Hunt. This is likely the last video game they’ve played. Before Hot Coffee, it was easy to dismiss sexuality in the video game realm: “What, does Frogger have a girlfriend now?”
Seeing the brittle, nippleless San Andreas characters bumping uglies in the crudest (mini-)game since Custer’s Revenge tended to bring people up to the year 2005. Perhaps 1998. Magazines that wouldn’t even know how to correctly capitalize the word “XBox” began writing earnestly about the muckity muck. As they say, “All publicity is…”
Lara Croft was perhaps the first digital sex symbol, but San Andreas’ CJ was the first to have mainstream notoriety for actually having sex (e). It’s like the difference between Marilyn Monroe and Jenna Jameson. With Hot Coffee, Rockstar Games started a $50 million discussion.
The Sex in Video Games conference will hopefully bear some positive fruits after the Hot Coffee controversy, though Rockstar nor any mainstream porn stars will be involved. It will just be me, sex journalists, sexual game designers, and other parties talking about how we can move games and game journalism from their adolescent (as in “look, I have a penis!”) phase. It should be wonderful.
Special thanks to SiVG organizer Brenda Brathwaite for having me involved. (f)
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(a) Probably also the reason why we’re getting this instead of GTA IV this year. We’ve been served.
(b) Who says taking undergrad law classes doesn’t pay?
(c) Not a new word. Just don’t want to begin the blog talking like a sailor. That will happen later, as I get more comfortable.
(d) I don’t know where it is located, either.
(e)The lesbians of Fear Effect 2: Retro Helix notwithstanding.
(f) And we have XXLMAG.com to thank/blame for the blog footnoting technique. The notes may be a phase - it is my favorite blog by far nowadays - but it stays for now. What I can promise is no David Fostering here. Ever.