Nudity in Games

[m0ds]

There was a really hot practically naked pole dancer in the demo trailer for Dark Earth many years ago...
...and it was almost purely for that reason that I bought the game.

But I gave up on it long before I reached that part

I have no real problem with nudity, sexual scenes etc. But an old man masturbation scene would make me cringe. But that's mainly cos I'm a young guy who's all up for seeing semi-naked pole dancers but not orgasming OAP's. Still, I'm sure you could find someone who enjoys that kinda thing

My demo featured boobies and it was nominated for best demo 2006! But I like to think that was because of the amazing puzzles and not the animated boobs :p Though they too were amazing sprite works... LOL.

good luck!

ps - not so sure you'll be able to keep your 13+ rating with nudity in it though, but from what I've seen, that scene looks fantastic...should work well tho, can't say I'd personally be a fan of a warning prior to a scene with nudity, that would be really odd. A warning before or on the start up screen would suffice.

[deadsuperhero]

But you see, we've become so desensitized by porn and the internet that we no longer need games with sex in it...just find your nearest Google and "Jack in" if you will.

[Radiant]

The internet is really really great for porn
I've got a fast connection so i don't have to wait for porn
There's always some new site for porn
I browse all day and night for porn
It's like i'm surfing at the speed of light for porn

-- Avenue Q

[deadsuperhero]

What wonderous poetry, you've just rhymed "porn" with "porn"!
You're a poet and didn't know it!

[EldKatt]

You'll find that it does rhyme if you remove the "for porn" exclamations (which are sung by a different character). Also I don't think Radiant is the pen name of Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx.

I've accepted that not everyone gives a damn about Broadway, but don't kids these days keep up with internet memes? Dancing WoW creatures? Hello?

[jetxl]

Sexy gnomes make good eye candy.

[Ghost]

I'd ike to take it one step further: Games already are very, very sexist.

Looking at the game scene everyone will realise that we all buy games with a sexy "hook". Take Lara Croft. Take Nightsong. Take Jade. Take the Diablo 2 Amazon (and the Sorceress, oooh, the Sorceress  8) )
They are story elements that sell a game. Even Tomb Raider 5 sold okay because of the lady.

Often enough I find myself facing a character screen that allows me to play as a male or a female character. Often enough I go for the lady. Why? She's nicer to look at. I am male, I have a body, I'm okay with it, but I would rather spend a few hours jumping through ruins looking at Lara's back than mine.

I's say nudity in a game as part of the story, go for it- it may enrich your game and offer you a hook to get the x10 d'loads. But only if the game can justify it. Nudity in a good game won't lose you players, but nudity for the sake of it, nah, there's only one series where that ever worked, and that was LSL. Part 3, I think.

Just a personal opinion: I always found a woman more attractive when she had clothes on, hinting at her perfect figure. Sheer nakedness always lacks some of the magic that a plain soft shirt can cast.

[Lucifiel]

Hmmm... I prefer nudity to naked people. Plus, naked people often equates to tasteless models of naked women likely created by a 14 yr old teen and often in various positions that we've all likely seen already. It's like the person's never seen sex before and thus, needs to show you as many as sex positions as possible.

Nudity to me, means that it's done more tastefully. A bit of skin here and there showing but not so "in your face".

But hey, it's your game, do what you want. *shrugs*

As a female, I've rarely gone for the female characters in most games. They tend to sound like they're having sex all the time and overall, I think it's actually more insulting to the average male's intelligence since it seems to indicate they're incapable of thinking something other than sex.

[m0ds]

Just a personal opinion: I always found a woman more attractive when she had clothes on, hinting at her perfect figure. Sheer nakedness always lacks some of the magic that a plain soft shirt can cast.

Hey, nice comment! I totally see where you're coming from. But lets not expand this, I think it's a personal kink thing...

[LimpingFish]

(Sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex...)

What?

The new Conan game:Bondage! Breasts! Gimlet-eyed women!

God of War 2: Bubbles! Breasts! Gimlet-eyed women!

...

Breasts are the new bullet-time, it would seem.

[m0ds]

But five years ago bullet time was the new breasts...

Nudity will never grow old

LOL at God of War 2 though. Every time something interesting happens we see a closeup of some pissing fountain? Great. So are the developers giving people boobs or are they giving them pissing fountains? Lol, sheer awfulness :/

[Tuomas]

Well as far as I'm concerned, pretty half-nude women are an essential par of Conan the Barbarian, whereas stupid magic isn't. Just a sidenote.

[lo_res_man]

If someone wants to make a porn game, zats alright, just make sure its marked PORN.
And if the nudity makes sence for the story and its not just a drool factor to increase sales/downloads whatever, then fine go with that. And if its art and your claiming its art, fine, art seems to be whatever you say is art. and if its meant to be funny, if it really is funny, not just a joke been told by a topless woman of the female presausion, okey, alright. but if its just there to sell copies or add downloads or controversal for publicity, then no way pal, youve crossed my line. Its probebly not everyones line, but its mine.

[Nightfable]

...what's funny is that I was debating on adding a scene in my game I'm currently fervently working on (it's a secret, hehee) where the main character becomes an elf-lord's concubine and has to somehow escape without being assaulted by him. I was actually wondering weather a cutscene showing that one nudity-filled scene would be too much for an innocent adventure game - you know if the main character doesn't escape in time. I'm not really into hardcore pornographic imagery, I would keep it tasteful... perhaps add some animations here and there but cover parts with a cloth or bedpost, lol.

But I would definitely cringe inwardly knowing so many people would see it... what if my grand-ma downloads it?!! Doh!!

[quixotecoyote]

If I grandmother played adventure games I'd switch to her ginkoba...

[zabnat]

I must say it's hard to imagine a strip club scene without naked people. Because those strippers usually tend to get naked in there. And if there would be warning just before the scene it would be really awkward.

[Radiant]

I must say it's hard to imagine a strip club scene without naked people.

Well, yes, but is there a functional reason why the game plays in a strip club as opposed to a regular disco, or is that just to draw attention to the game?

Also, depending on what you want, you can go a long way with implying nudity without actually showing it, either in a serious way (silhouettes and so forth) or by parodying it (think about the opening scene to Austin Powers 2).

[Babar]

I never quite got the arbitrary 'limit' of nudity. If a person is wearing a bikini, it is okay (although if they are in their underwear, it is somehow less okay, though we'll skip over that in this topic). If a person is wearing all their clothes, and hell, even a hat, but has a 'stylish slash' : across the breasts that expose the nipples, it is not okay? Or if a person is completely naked except for...a sticker exactly covering the nipples, and has her legs crossed, it is not okay? Or if a person is without any pants, but the excessive amounts of hair they have in that region covers everything controversial, it is okay?

That being said, unless it is absolutely unnatural without it, I would probably not have nudity in a game I make. Of course, it probably has something to do with the type and style of games I'd like to make (Ever notice how movies use the double sets of saggy bouncy boobies around the one man to indicate his immoral hookering?).

[Tuomas]

heh, good point babar. Just add a blur around the buttcrack, the genitals and on the nipples, and nudity at least on prime time tv is completely allright even though the covered part would be some 0,1%of the body. Or even better, apply strings, and you don't have to blur the behind or the front, just the two nipples that no-one cares about.

[big brother]

In the God of War games, I didn't understand why the breasts were modeled after implants. This was obviously a purposeful (though anachronistic) design decision.

However, the "sex" minigames were far from frivolous. They appeared early on in both games (GOW: beginning of second level, GOW2: end of first level) and taught the player all the motions for the boss action sequences and finishing moves for some of the enemy types (gorgon, cyclops, etc.). It served to give the player a way to practice the moves without punishment.