Azriel Nightshade said:
Think about the legion of Rule 34 art there is for any game, comic, book, entertainment series you can name. Think about all the flash games and videos depicting said art in animated form. Think about how it's a joke that when games like Skyrim come out, there are at least 10 different mods who's sole purpose is to let you see naked people in the games. The desire is there, but the need is being meet mostly by other fans and not the makers of said entertainment.
Everyone has sexual fantasies, and if that involves writing a fanfiction of Cortana "literally" helping Master Chief out of his armor then that is what they fantasize. But while most people like ice cream, there are specific flavors of ice cream people favor more than others. So sexual themes are more toleratable than others. For example: Hypothetically, there are some fanfiction of Zelda and Link engaging in consensual sex. But there can also be fanfiction of Link raping Zelda, or Zelda getting her whip out to 'punish' Link. Most people are okay with fetishes of rape or BDSM scenes in their porn, while others are not.
This is where I think games like "Dead or Alive" and "Dragon's Crown" fail in terms of fan service as they want to satisfy an audiences sexual desires, but they generalize it too much. There were quite a few males that didn't like the Sorceress and Amazon aesthetic at all, yet others saw it sexually appealing. In contrast, people might find more defined characters like Alyx Vance (Half-Life 2) or Jade (Beyond Good & Evil) more sexually attractive due to their bravery, intelligence, and cunning. Game developers *cannot* predict what kind of person is going to play their game, so they generalize all sexual interests into a male that likes big boobs and arse. Sure it might attract some people, but not everyone.
It's like an ice cream truck that comes to your area but they only serve one flavor of ice cream. Some people are okay with this, but others don't get what they want.
Azriel Nightshade said:
1. Adding explicit sex to the game would detract from the core gameplay.
-I would say no, givin that the other games I've listed, (the Elder Scroll series, Dragon Age, Mass Effect, the Fable trilogy, Saints Row, the Witcher, Fallout), have sexual themes, but no sex. I'm going to go out on a limb and say games of those kind can have their established gameplay elements in addition to gameplay that is explicit sexual content.
From what I seen sex is not part of the core mechanics of either these games. They are more in the realm of the narrative engine that requires no input from the player, unless they want to skip the cutscene to get back into the game. To give an example, sexual encounters in these games are given as a reward to the player for successfully charming the NPC. But the player never has any agency on what position to try, what organ to use, or even where to sleep with their partner. Actually, in most cases these games only give you one chance to sleep with these characters per game campaign. An equivalent example would be seeing the cutscene of the world being saved after defeating the final boss in every game.
This raises the next issue on how explicit the sexual content is. If the sexual encounters were interactive, the player would have to see, hear, and be involved in the sexual encounter. That means developing rules and putting resources meant for the core mechanics of the game aside for this one-time mini-game or comical quick-time event (See God of War). All of this would have to be evaluated during the game development -- while avoiding the sexual conservative views of politicians and parents in countries like the United States.
Finally, sexual content in games are often part of the narrative. Games like "The Witcher" or "Mass Effect" use sex to show how mature and 'adult' their stories are. "Dragon's Crown" isn't a game that is meant to be played for its story, at least from what I see in the trailers. It's a hack & slash game where you and three buddies get together to slash up some goblins and fight a dragon. It is literally "Castle Crashers" with tits. Because of this it would be hard to pre-define NPCs to favor whatever the player is. What if that Nun could be slept with if the player makes the right choice? Would that mean she is capable of being slept with a female elf, lumbering male warrior/dwarf, and a bulky amazon? And what about your friends? What if the Nun offers herself to all four of you on the couch?
Azriel Nightshade said:
2. No game retailer would sell there games.
-True. But we live in a world where digital distribution is a thing. These kinds of sexual games do not have to go through the Walmarts and Game Stops of the world.
What digital distribution site could they go to? Steam? Steam's greenlight started with some naughty games trying to get in, until Valve kicked them out and enforced a $100 fee on anyone wanting to sign in via Greenlight with a red sign saying "No porn allowed". Digital distribution is becoming more popular, but it also has to follow a strict guideline of what content is available to users of all ages. An example would be the good Visual Novel "Katawa Shoujo". While not technically porn, it does contain sexually explicit scenes and the game is given away for free. I doubt any digital distribution site -- Steam, Desura, and even Origin -- want to host that game on their server.
