Sexpert on Massively Multiplayer Online Erotic Games

Wired's sex in games 'expert' Regina Lynn is to give a keynote speech at next week's Sex in Video Games Conference in San Francisco, where instead of talking about specific games, she plans instead to talk about new MMOEGs (Massively Multiplayer Online Erotic Games) and more generally about "sex and the activities that surround it online - flirtation, courtship, rules, jealousy, attachment, love and breaking up, not necessarily in that order."

Common themes which come up in Lynn's research into online sex community participation amongst 'adult community veterans' include the following:



According to Lynn, relationships in online adult chat-rooms "follow a familiar arc: attraction, flirtation, escalating sexual interaction, deepening emotion." By extension, online role-playing games have long been platforms for romance, as Lynn observes: "Any time you can get at least six people of compatible genders and sexual orientations in one spot, you will find some sort of sexual zing among them."

The International Game Developers Association's Sex & Games blog already has an archive of more than 300 sex-themed games (NSFW obv! - Ed), including all manner of filthy fun. For those who might be interested you can find out more about that on the IGDA's website.

Most interestingly, at least for this filthy-minded SPOnG writer, there are a handful of massively multiplayer online erotic games (MMOEGs) scheduled to launch soon, including Naughty America: The Game and Red Light Center, currently in beta testing. SPOnG is gallant enough and have a good look into both of these titles to let you know more.

The key (in terms of appealing to lusty, hot-blooded men), and at the same time the problem, is that both games claim to be designed to appeal to women. But then, this beggars the obvious question, how are you ever going to know the gender of whoever's avatar you are virtually humping?

Another problem, as Lynn outlines, is the fact that most gamers scoff at the mere idea of 'erotic games' as she says: "From what I've seen in blogs and forums, "real" gamers scoff at sex games. "Go watch porn," they say, sardonic and superior. Games are serious, cybersex is not, and combining the two is just another example of the entertainment industry not getting it."

And a further problem is in appealing to non-gamers, who "the moment they encounter the frustration of complex controls, crashing avatar-customization screens or confusing game metaphors...will go back to their webcam chat rooms and instant-message buddy lists."

Lynn provides some tips to potential MMOEG designers and developers, which mainly centres on the fact that, "the [game] world itself has to be secondary to the relationships, so partners truly experience their interaction."

Lynn herself is understandably excited about the potential for on-line adult videogames, claiming: "It's possible that erotic games will rekindle interest in cyber in a way webcams and chat cannot. Virtual worlds provide a balance of self-expression and anonymity, and an experience unlike what you'll find in other online sex venues."

Of course, if the mere idea of an MMOEG is just a bit too much for you, there's always Sex Tetris, which we told you about last month, or the newly discovered Porn Pong which is actually nothing like Pong, and more like Bonking Breakout. But worth at least three minutes of anyone's time. Apart from if the boss is watching.

For those who want to know more about this weekend's Sex in Games conference in San Fran, you can see more on that on the IGDA's site.