Earl's Musings: Porn Games and Consent

Okay so, I was thinking about some design ideas for porn games, and somehow my mind stumbled onto the idea of consent, and some ideas put themselves together, and now I wanna share said ideas. So, obviously, consent is at the center of all good, healthy sex. The kind not depicted in most porn games because we're all sick fucks, myself included. Of course, consent is also present in most forms of porn. When I sit down to watch porn, I am essentially giving my consent to whatever I'm watching. If ever I stop I can just...close the video and move on. Or, if I know the end gets better and I just dislike a small section in the middle, I can skip ahead and just watch the good bits.

But what about porn games? Obviously, by playing one, you're consenting to whatever you're going to see, but what about when something in that game stops being something you like? That opens up some interesting questions. After all, porn games are a lot more about immersion, about developing a proper interest and emotional bond with what's happening, so the sex part of it feels more fulfilling. (Emotional bond optional) With this heightened investment, I feel as though there's a need for a more hands on approach to consent.

This consent doesn't have to be offered in the form of a "Are you okay with this Yes/No?" question. It could be a boss battle for instance, where if you lose you end up being raped. That is, functionally, a form of consent check. If you lose, you can just close the game and re-load from before, picking up where you left off and trying again to avoid the bad outcome. Likewise, if you have a choice that can lead to sex or avoid it, you've got a consent check of sorts. But what if sex is part of the linear experience? What if your character just...fucks a character you don't like as part of the story? You can't just close the game to avoid it. Well, you can, but you can't progress in the game if you do.

The problem posed here is an interesting one, because it means that porn games either need to have A. choices before each sex encounter to dodge it, or B. be non-linear, so as to make all content encountered a result of your actions, known or not. Or, people could just not worry about it and carry on. That works too. I for one, am probably going to look into including sex avoiding options in the winning scenes, just to facilitate this new thought. Also to facilitate purity runs, one of the funnest parts about porn games in my mind. (Assuming I ever resume work on Shield High)

I do apologize for the half-baked-ness of the thought, it just kinda came to me and I needed to vent. Expect to one day see it again in a more thorough and well-articulated format.

Pudding Earl