Shallow Depths

What makes character design sexualised?

I've been thinking about this question a lot recently.  I've encountered a few game characters lately who show a lot of skin, but don't imply (to me) that sex was objective of their design.  I find this quite encouraging, but of course not everyone sees these particular examples in the same way.

It's possible that being a straight female makes it easier for me to see female nudity (or semi-nudity) as something other than sexual, but I suspect that's being unfair.  It's also quite possible I'm just horribly naïve, but even if my examples turn out to be poor the idea remains interesting.

Some people do continue to complain about nudity in painting and sculpture, but there's mainstream acceptance of the artistic merits. I don't see any reason games shouldn't also be capable of meaningful exploration of the human form.

I worry sometimes about how censorship alters the perception of our bodies. Where once a naked child might have represented innocence, now it probably implies something much darker. Innocence is corrupted not just by paedophilia itself, but also by the perception and consciousness of it.

Nudity does not automatically equal sex, though. I like to approach it with a more open mind.

In The Void the Sisters are naked except for glowing chains, which are gradually removed as you feed them with colour. Their bodies writhe, dance, or spin. Depending on your viewpoint it's either cheap titillation or tasteful art.

I haven't played far enough yet to know what's going on in The Void. I don't know what my later interpretations will be. But the important point is that I didn't automatically link this nudity to sex. It's an artistic game overall, and that's how I approached it.

My initial impressions are definitely about beauty and vulnerability rather than eroticism. Naturally linking a nude female to vulnerability may be problematic for other reasons, but it was my honest reaction.

Our male character is also shown naked, though he's also rather, erm, emasculated, which probably adds to the impression of his vulnerability. Sisters are also lacking when it comes to genitals, but that doesn't carry quite the same connotations.  It acts as an equaliser, at least in my early stage of the game.  As my character becomes more powerful I expect to see him quite differently, but maybe if the game remains tense enough he might retain that vulnerability.

Recently I've had some good-natured arguments about Jack from Mass Effect 2. In her default outfit she's naked above the waist, with only a thin harness for modesty. Now, Jack is arguably a sexual character. At least, she has a casual approach to sex and is a romance option for male Shepard. That's not the first impression I get from her appearance though.

I know I'm not the best judge of female attractiveness, but to me the look is more tough than sexy. She'll wear whatever the fuck she wants, and I find it doubtful she's doing it to pander to a sexual gaze. The tattoos also make her seem more clothed than she actually is.



My Shepard is also not to be messed with, so watching her and Jack facing off is pretty interesting. My partner has a more paragon approach, and finds Jack's attitude intimidating and appearance confronting. Our reactions were very different, and I think he'd say I was being too generous in suggesting that Jack's appearance was not sexually motivated. I think of her in pretty much the same way I would a man with their shirt off.  In the hot day socially acceptable sense, not the male model sense.

Where the Sisters in the Void are naked and vulnerable, Jack bares her skin as a sign of strength. There's a huge diversity of symbols and ideas we potentially cut ourselves off from through censorship, or by simplifying nudity in our minds to always be about sex.

Not to say that there's necessarily a problem when it is about sex. There's nothing wrong with exploring natural elements of human experience.

With a large pile of unfinished games spoilers are always a potential issue.  I am pretty far along the spoiler-hating spectrum.  I avoid trailers, and sometimes even refuse to read book blurbs.  I realise that's pretty extreme, and I don't actually expect anyone to be that considerate.  I've had to learn to make allowances, but I am still reasonably choosy about the information I read.

If I care strongly about a particular game I'll prioritise playing it, and be careful about what I read online.  Normally this works out fine.

Mass Effect 2 is something I would normally prioritise, partly because a lot of my friends play it.  But I held off this time, and decided to finish Dragon Age: Origins first.  This plan didn't work out very well.  I started to get really bored with the monotonous Deep Roads (old Dwarven tunnels).  Then the weather started to get colder, making console gaming by the heater a more attractive option than the PC in my freezing bedroom.

So, of course Mass Effect 2 has been coming up in conversation at just about every social event I attend.  I have talkative friends who are not easily put off once they start telling anecdotes.  One or two of these conversations I could have handled, but after the third or fourth I rapidly hit my spoiler threshold and started acting like a brat about it.

And it really is being brat.  Maybe if it came out last week I'd have something to complain about.  As is, it's a pretty minor thing and I brought it on myself.  I could do to get more perspective sometimes.

What actually interested me most about this situation was the difference of opinion about what constitutes a spoiler.  Once everyone knows someone listening hasn't played a game (and intends to) there are certain things they will hold back, and other things they continue to discuss without any concern.

We are probably all in agreement about any pivotal plot twists being spoilers.  But after that it gets messier.

In the case of Bioware games, I normally expect very little from the overarching plot.  The first Mass Effect really interested me at first, with the worlds and characters it had created.  By by the end it had devolved into sickening patriotism, with humanity as the last hope for the universe.  I rapidly went from loving to hating it.  My major wish for the series is that we all get bitten in the arse for our arrogance.  Which may well happen, but I still don't really trust them to fix the things I have big problems with.

So, I haven't been too concerned about the larger-scale stuff in Mass Effect 2.  I am much more interested in the smaller stories and character interactions.  Those are also the things my friends have been less guarded about, and after so many conversations I've heard about quite a lot of them.  They are spoilers to me, but clearly I have opposite ideas about which topics are most important to avoid.

I've been thinking a lot about spoilers in my writing, and how to handle them.  As usual the answer is just to use my best judgement, and keep working on improving my writing.  As well as hoping people will forgive me when I do cross a line.