Live Magazine February Issue February 2014 | Page 27

Sex in video games. Some people say that like it’s something that should be considered unusual. And I suppose, on a purely statistical viewpoint, it is unusual – only because it’s not very common. But really, sex is just sex. Sex is something every single person will encounter in their lives. Sex is something we do for fun. Sex is a part of life – hell, sex is life; it is literally the primary factor of the continued existence of our species. The question of “Has it gone too far?” I find to be ridiculous. Why? Because it is so normal that it should not be considered unusual to be featured in any artistic medium, especially one as popular as video games. I find the very question to be on par of if someone were to ask, “Humans in video games. Have the gone too far?” – it simply should not need to be asked, and just shows how restricted and sheltered our community and society is. Don’t get me wrong, there are definitely games that have no need to feature sex in any capacity. Most of them, actually. But if the developers who are creating these games – these stories, and these characters – feel that sex should be present in their particular game, there is no “..THERE IS NO GOOD REASON WHY THEY SHOULD HAVE TO THINK TWICE ABOUT IT, IT’S THEIR GAME, IT’S THEIR CHOICE. AND IF WE DON’T LIKE TO PAY IT, WE DON’T HAVE TO PLAY IT.” good reason why they should have to think twice about it. It’s their game, it’s their choice. And if we don’t like it, we don’t have to play it. Not to mention that we have an established classification board between the players and the developers to detail things like sexual activity. At the end of the day, sex is a normal part of life, whether you like it or not. And a big one at that. In fact, right now, someone somewhere is having sex. Let that sink in. Now why is something that is so normal, enjoyable, important and happening right now too sacred to have a place in the most popular entertainment industry in the world? The real question isn’t about sex in video games. It’s about how some people view sex in real life. JOHN ELLIOTT