Just wanted to direct your attention to an invitation Cynthia Freese was kind enough to leave in the comments of our SiVG Conference discussion about next year’s event: Anyone who wants to participate as a speaker, advisor, or chair is free to contact her!  Gone on, do it, share the sexy love.  Cynthia’s contact info can be found here.

Also, I wanted to clarify–in case there was some minor confusion–my thoughts on this year’s conference: While it’s important to offer constructive criticism, I really did enjoy (and admire) the event, and I think it went very well, especially given the initial obstacles.  I wish it the best of luck in the future, and I hope, as the conference grows, more of you will get the chance to head out to San Fran and show your support.

Thanks again to those who organized.  See you in ‘07!

Are consequences sexy? 

So far, there’s been some minor chatter (and some sort of resolution about sea mammals) on the topic, but no one’s stepped to the plate to defend the game in question: the infamous Sociolotron.

As has been mentioned before, when asked what makes sex games appealing, most people answer: freedom, control, safety.  So how is it that a game like Sociolotron, with the threat of pregnancy, STD’s, and even character death looming around the corner, can be chugging along quite so happily?

Granted, the game has a humble population, and even creator Patric Lagny admits it’s definitely not for everyone, but somebody (a whole bunch of somebodies, in fact) finds it sexy, so let’s think about why…

To me, the main question is whether players are attracted to the consequence or just the threat.  Is gonorrhea, for example, sexy?  Probably not.  But the adrenaline rush of putting your health on the line?  That might just get you going.

Then the question arises, is the excitement of a risk proportional to what you’re putting on the line?  And how much of a risk is a virtual life?  Obviously, you have time, energy, and emotions invested in your toon.  But how much has to be at stake for it to get you off?

July 4th has come and gone–and hopefully none of us have lost our oh-so crucial body parts to the hazards of bootleg fireworks.  Down in Florida, I spent my Independence Day watching sunburnt families hanging out in parking lots, leaning up against their SUV’s, and downing cases of beer.  God bless America.

Here at Heroine Sheik, we’ve talked about holidays before:  What makes them sexy, what makes them deviant, how they fit into game space/time.  But I was thinking the other day, as I picked my way through the red, white, and blue litter that coats the ground in Philadelphia, about how holidays are themselves a lot like games.

Holidays, ritual days, exist outside the normal logical flow of society.  Habits and customs are turned on their head; we are permitted, even expected, to do things we never would otherwise.  Gamers, starting to sound familiar?

Maybe it’s hard for us to understand holidays in this way when we think of contemporary American celebrations: brunch for Mother’s Day, a Memorial Day cook-out.  But if we go back to the root idea of holiday–a day that’s separate, with separate rules–we see that things weren’t always so watered down.  Any latin dork worth her weight in macrons knows the planned social upheaval that was Saturnalia… the predecessor to our modern-day Christmas.

Play time, like holiday time, stands apart.  When we play, we step outside certain social and logical bounds–and enter what some might consider a more innate state of interaction, of being.  

Both play and holidays are necessary counter-points to the regimented structure of “normal” life.  They are escapes, of sorts, but ones which are themselves part of the larger system from which they break away.

Something else that came up at the SiVG Conference that I’ve been meaning to mention:

Sitting next to us at our table the first morning was a pair of women who looked, let’s say, uncomfortable. During Brenda’s opening speech, when she remarked that one day sex in games could become an accepted part of society, both women turned to each other and shook their heads in semi disgust.

Eventually, once they’d chilled out a bit, we found out that they weren’t part of the sex in games world at all; they were from “the government.” More specifically, from the part of the health and safety department that deals with sexually transmitted diseases.

They had come to the conference to learn about using sex games to educate players about STD’s. But what really got them talking was the fact that nowhere in any of these sexy games (save Sociolotron) was there any mention of real-life safety.

Now, I can certainly understand how a gamer maker, who’s creating fantasy- and technology-based sex, would feel totally justified in excluding that element from his/her game. For most people, mentioning STD’s is something of a joy-kill.

But, in the overall, these women turned out quite friendly, and I think their point is an important one. Here on the internet, on websites like this, we talk about sex all the time. Sex, sex, sex. See, look at us go. But we never stop to remind those around us, and ourselves, that safety comes first.

Are there exceptions to this rule? Do we have the right to bring harm to ourselves? In my opinion, yes. But that can of worms is taking an afternoon at the beach. Another day, maybe.

In the meantime, this has been a message from your friendly, local sex blogger: be safe.

Wow, that sounds kind of sad.

Anyways, it is indeed my birthday.  If you’re reading this, I’m off exercising my newly-acquired right to drink fluorescent cocktails and feed the slot gods with loose change.  I’m really just in it for the flashing lights.  And that great cha-ching noise they make, even when you lose.

At twenty-one, what do you get?  Nothing particularly sexy.  Porn comes at eighteen, but so does jury duty.  And twenty-one… the ability to go at it while hammered?

Any particularly sex-tastic twenty-first stories out there?  Me, I’m off to have a love affair with some cake.