Yesterday’s post is well and good, but it’s all just sexy hot air if it can’t deliver. Translation: the real test of the (humble) Sex and New Games Journalism theory is whether or not it’ll hold up in an actual review. And the thing about actual reviews is, well, you need something to review. So then the question at hand becomes: what game would be right for a pioneer Sex & NGJ experiment? Anything blatantly sexual would be too… obvious. Then again, something really G-rated (I’m thinking puzzle games) would probably be a bit of a stretch - though it might be downright funny. Frankly, the whole thing isn’t that serious; I mean, I’m serious about the ideas behind it, but there’s no reason not to have fun with it, and this thing could turn out pee-in-your-pants funny. Maybe something more action/adventure based, with a little survival horror mixed in for good measure, an Eternal Darkness type title. Or perhaps, to be able to clearly see the effects the game, I’d have to review a new release, something I’m playing for the first time, instead of after the second or third semi-numb run-through. Anyways, the point is, I’m open to suggestions.

Then it’s off to find a site that actually wants to publish a Sex & NGJ review. Hmm, that’ll make for some interesting pitch letters, and even more interesting responses. “Dear Ms. Ruberg, we thank you for your interest, but currently IGN does not consider “sexiness” as an appropriate category by which to judge our games. We are very glad to hear that [insert title here] has inspired you to learn how to manipulate a controller one-handed, but we are not sure that our younger readers would appreciate hearing this story as much as we have…”

In other news, check out some colorful new pics from our trip to the Nintendo World Store, either by clicking “images” above, or using the flickr tag link on the left hand side of the site below.

As much as I despise New Games Journalism, and really I do (not the constructive Julian Dibell-type, but the hundreds of needless, self-centered rants that pose as legitimate reviews), there is something interesting at the heart of the matter - the idea of reciprocal interactivity, a kind of AC/DC flow, if you will. That’s to say, you as the gamer interact and make changes within the playable world of the video game, but at the same time the game interacts and makes changes in you, creating a sort of emotional mirror of your visibly “real” interactions in the game. It’s the elements that relate to the former side of the screen which are critiqued in traditional games journalism: gameplay, graphics, etc. Of course, it’s much harder (if not impossible) to objectively or constructively judge the latter half of things, the personal half. But perhaps, as the brighter stars of New Games Journalism claim, it really is just as important.

We already know lots about how players interact with games. The next step, it would seem, in investigating reciprocal interactivity is figuring out just how games interact with players. “Emotional response” is a convenient, fancy-pants term, but it covers far too large an area. Could you not write whole separate NGJ reviews of a game for different categories of response? How does this title affect your feelings of self-confidence, your happiness, your self-image, your perception of gender roles? Does it make you cranky, frustrated, hungry? Couldn’t you ask, in a form of NGJ all its own, how does that game make you feel… sexually?

I don’t mean the obvious stuff. Take, for example, GameGirl Advance Jane’s infamous article on using a Rez vibrator (Video games and sex toys, why can’t you be friends more often?), a case of undeniable physical reciprocal interactivity: Jane’s boyfriend plays Rez, Jane’s vibrator gets Jane off. I’m talking about sexual response on an interior level. And it doesn’t have to be as simple as what turns you on - though that would definitely be part of it. Varying in-game experiences or aesthetic encounters might spark different sexual feelings. The triggers themselves might not be of an overtly sexual nature. For example, running a stranger’s car into the wall in Burnout might inspire a moment’s inkling for a bout of soft-core bondage. Who knows.

The point is, just like no two gamers will play a game identically, no two will react to it in exactly the same way. That, some journalists believe, makes our responses as individuals worth chronicling, because it’s us, not the games, who are supposedly important. Given that, why stop the discussion with emotions like happy, sad or bored? Why not discover something useful about ourselves as gamers in the process, and let the mirror of reciprocal interactivity shine a little light on our on sexuality? We’re sexual creatures, whether we like it or not, and our sexual feelings play an influential role in everything we do, even “nonsexual” activities like gaming. Let’s just admit it; it might make for some interesting journalism.

Dan at GameGal pointed out this out to me, a nice post over at Joystiq on my “I’m the Pink One” editorial that went up a few days ago. It’s always a little frightening when you know someone is making a comment on something you’ve written, especially when that someone is male and your piece could be described as (oh my God, no!) “feminist”. Even normally bright, insightful game guys can turn snarly when they feel their innate right to testosterone-induced gaming is being threatened. Which is why I was downright happy to see that Joystiq found the topic worthwhile enough for a real constructive discussion, and readers seemed to agree, judging by the number of posted comments. (Although, I admit, I couldn’t bring myself to read through them; sometimes doing that is interesting, but more often it’s just unsettling). The point being, thanks to Joystiq for the post and for caring about gender equality on XBL. Not if we could just solve racism, bigotry and general stupidity, we’d be set for a pleasant round of Halo 2.

A lovely day was spent yesterday wandering New York City with three male friends (which, apparently, qualifies you as a prostitute in the city of Chicago. Don’t ask me why, I don’t make up the rules), complete with a trip to Nintendo World. The store itself was shiny and pretty (an important selling point, especially if you, like me, are constantly attracted to anything that sparkles), but content-wise pretty mediocre. More on that, however, to follow over at Planet GameCube. On the upside of things, I did get a chance to shove ten-year-old boys aside for a place at the Nintendogs demo table, and that only after a full minute spent hugging hundreds of stuffed, super-deformed puppies by pressing my body against a rack of too-adorable merch. All in all, quite a productive visit.

In real news, the International Game Developers Association has recently set up a new Sex SIG, which has, in turn, gone and set up a “Sex and Games” blog. The blog, in my opinion, is a great place for open and constructive discussion on the topic; the developers who run it are anti-censorship and believe in sexual content as a valid form of art. At the same time, I don’t envy their position at all. As a part of the IGDA, they have a real public face to maintain, and a lot of people and opinions to try and balance - including angry parents and howling conservatives. So far, it seems like they’re doing a great job keeping things open and objective. On top of it all, they’re providing a ton of informative links - really creating a web of the articles that have come out on the topic and the sites that are willing to talk, including, most recently, Thumb Bandits, a girl and lesbian-friendly gaming site with a super-nice staff and my thumbs up.

Interestingly enough, the “Sex and Games” bloggers say the SIG wasn’t created in response to “Hot Coffee”, that it’s been in the works for a while. How nice to hear. It gives some indication that these developers are really interested in the issue, not just the current hype. Here’s to hoping the attention they get, not just the blog, is still going full steam after the hype is gone. In the meantime, check this out (NSFW).

You may be asking yourself, if you care, what the heck is up with all these redheaded avatars on Heroine Sheik. Here’s the thing: they’re all still me (you know, like you do), but the site looked boring with the same smirky Zelda attached to every post, so I’m trying to change thing’s up. No worries, I haven’t gone schizo or anything, at least not yet. And to put it frankly, I’ve got a thing for redheads. Also, I am one. I know, it’s messed up. It probably has something to do with being proud to see other women like you in art, and then realizing, well, that they’re hot. And since we’re on the topic, there’s a serious lack of redhead representation in video games. I demand equality :-).

I’m off tomorrow to NYC to check out the Nintendo World store, where I know a giant Pikachu will no longer wait for me, but hopefully other fun will. Also, an editorial at PGC is sure to ensue, promising good times for all ages. Actual video game gender and sexuality news coverage and commentary should be back online by Wednesday. In the meantime, if you’d like to say nice things about redheads in my absence, be my guest.

A column/editorial thingy of mine, “I’m the Pink One: Women on Xbox Live,” went up today over at GameGal… and they even gave it some pretty pictures! The piece talks about how certain girl gamer issues pan out on XBL, as a relatively new medium for gaming with certain elements, like voice chat, that set it apart from other kinds of online play. It also goes into such important topics as discrimination, gender expectations and cupcakes. Okay, so I’m lying about the cupcakes, but wouldn’t that be nice? Thanks to the lovely people over at GameGal for their great work on the site, and for posting my column:-). Glad we could work together!

A bunch of other pieces are in the works, on top of the lesbian gamers article for Killer Betties, including a piece for Slashdot on the aesthetics of Zelda. Check back soon; it might be up. Now back to that cupcake thing…