Games & Sex: another video by me!

[sephfire]

Video Games and Sex (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFywW99Uvwc)

Remember a few months back when I posted that video on games and storytelling? Well, I found an opportunity to make a "sequel" of sorts. This time, the topic is video games and sex.

This is a short video presentation I just finished for my Media Theory class. I'm not presenting it until tomorrow, but I'm more interested in you guys' feedback anyway. I doubt more than a handful of people in the class care about this at all anyway. As before, I loosely emulated Yahtzee's Zero Punctuation review style to keep it from getting dull.

Thanks to CarboHydroM and djpretzel for unknowingly providing intro and outro music.

Enjoy!

[djpretzel]

Proud to have my mix involved in this; well put-together. I was honestly thinking of comebacks or ways to disagree or point out something you missed or oversimplified the whole time I was watching, but every time I thought I had something... you covered it. So, seriously, :nicework:

[DrumUltimA]

Nice! Great argument, love the presentation.

[Bleck]

Not only is it very well written, you have a hilarious voice as well. Excellent work.

[sephfire]

That's actually my voice pitch-bent up about 10%. I realized in making the first one that my regular voice gets very boring after a few minutes. Plus, I like the toon version of me being a kind of character on his own.

[Malaki-LEGEND.sys]

Malaki approves this message.

[Arek the Absolute]

seph is a man of many talents
thumbs up

[Tables]

Neat! Informative and entertaining, a combination sought by many and achieved by few, and you done it good there yes sir.

[avaris]

Haha loved alot of the points made here. The subtle comparison of FFX to FFX-2 was priceless.

[Geoffrey Taucer]

Approved.

Well thought-out, well executed.

[cobaltstarfire]

I liked it, made some interesting points, although it did drag on a tad/get competitive.

The end was pretty amusing.

[The Damned]

YOUR NAME IS DANIEL? All this time I've been calling you Dave, and no on told me! FUCK.

Any plans for a third one?

[Darklink42]

Very well made presentation again. I loved the first one because it talked about something in video games that I care a lot about. This one was just as good, and gave some things to think about even though sex and games aren't really a big deal for me.

I did want to say one thing though, in that I, personally, can't think of a movie that was particularly enhanced by the sensual (and/or sexual) content to the point that the movie wouldn't have been the same without it. Perhaps that's because I've seen a lot of films and my brain's not seizing on one. Still, it just seemed a little over generalized to state that everyone knows such a film. That's just me though.

I'd give it an A.

[prophetik]

excellent. favorited.

[OverCoat]

this was neat

[Brushfire]

That was all kinds of awesome. I agree with your giving kids the flak we get. Bout time someone put those whippersnappers in their place.

[Chiwalker]

That was super clever!
I like the raised pitch on the voice - it never gets boring.

[Steben]

Hey that was fun, and informative. Thank you for the past ten minutes of my life. :)

[The Dennis]

Thanks for putting it all into words. I had bits and pieces, so did everyone else, and here it is, all put together. : )

[HalcyonSpirit]

Best straight ten minutes of my life in the past two weeks. Definitely. :nicework:

[The Pezman]

YOUR NAME IS DANIEL? All this time I've been calling you Dave, and no on told me! FUCK.
??????

http://photos-e.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v253/7/114/17303203/n17303203_31151412_8029.jpg

[EvilHorde]

Great stuff. Congrats!

[DarkeSword]

I love the bit at the end with the "screw the next generation" attitude. RIGHT ON.

[Beatdrop]

This is exceedingly impressive. I kept feeling an urge to fast-forward, but then everytime that urge came up, the topic at hand, the direction it was going, or the video itself prevented me. SO! Well done. Start shipping it to news agencies.

(not that they'd give a shit)

[Vivi22]

Great video. My only nitpick (because I love the game and am anal about this); it's pronounced ee-ko, not I-ko.

[Fishy]

These are so fun to watch, I hope you make more.

[sephfire]

I'd love to try and spread these around a bit more, but I'm not sure what sort of places would be best for that. Kotaku maybe? I don't know.


These are so fun to watch, I hope you make more.

I'd love to make more, but I don't really have any new topics in mind at the moment. These have both been for class projects so far and I don't think I'll have any new research assignments for a while (if ever). Maybe something interesting will come up, though.

[Overflow]

Many great points were raised, and overall it is a great video.
I think that you were 100% correct in stating that sex in games must be present when appropriate, not just as some extra, cheap thrills.
Intimacy is the first hurdle, however, that game developers haven't overcome. Look at LoZ TP for example. They had a great opportunity between Link and Illia, but once the developers realized it, they had to think up some way to remove the intimacy so they wouldn't have to deal with it, so *SPOILER* bye bye Illia's memory! */SPOILER*
The only time I can think of a movie where the sex was necessary was Terminator, because Sarah having a son was an integral part of the story. Too often in movies is sex put in just because there's space for it, but all this does is just present sex as a cheap thrill, and it's the same in games. Personally, I think games are more enjoyable when you aren't distracted by, ahem, 'women', and if a game is based purely on being distracted by such 'women', I think that's just a sad, last-resort attempt at getting money from a shallow, male demographic.

[The Author]

I'd love to make more, but I don't really have any new topics in mind at the moment. These have both been for class projects so far and I don't think I'll have any new research assignments for a while (if ever). Maybe something interesting will come up, though.

Videogames and violence

Videogames as art

Videogames as a reflection of culture

Videogames in pop culture

Videogames as literature

Videogames and feminism

There ya go, glad to help.

[Malaki-LEGEND.sys]

For video games and feminism, you could do some kind of point, counterpoint-styled argument to point out how video games have helped and/or hindered the movement or something along those lines.

I like the idea of video games and as a reflection of culture. You could do stuff relating to how games are sometimes subject to cultural stereotypes, in-culture concepts, etc., etc... I think it could be taken to lengths on a number of things

[X]

Interesting and informative for people who don't already know all this stuff (read as "non-gamers"), but it does tend to drag on a bit, though perhaps understandably so.

In reality, people only hinder the advancement of video games because they're greedy idiots. For one, people are quick to condemn something they don't understand - they don't play video games and therefore slam people that do and are willing to find feeble (and likely untrue) excuses to do so. The reason that it reveals a motivation of greed is because bad coverage sells, and what reason would someone have to tell the truth if the opposite didn't earn them some benefit in the long run? None apparently. There's no care in honesty if it doesn't make you look good, and there's also no sense in not using it as a means of extortion in the process. Anything else is thoroughly "un-[insert nationalism of choice]." The video game industry simply makes for an easy target. That's all.

[Bleck]

For one, people are quick to condemn something they don't understand - they don't play video games and therefore slam people that do

I play video games and I still think WoW is a terrible and frightening habit.

[X]

I play video games and I still think WoW is a terrible and frightening habit.
You mean like EverCrack? ;-) Personally, I've never been able to get into any MMO's, but that doesn't mean that they're bad. It's just not my thing. If people want to roleplay their lives away, that's fine by me. It's their choice after all...

[Aninymouse]

That's actually my voice pitch-bent up about 10%. I realized in making the first one that my regular voice gets very boring after a few minutes...

STILL SNORE-INDUCING, LET ME ASSURE YOU caps.

[Less Ashamed Of Self]

Sephfire, in a just world you would be getting paid to do these. I knew your name from some remixes, and from general forum posts from within the community... but now I'm never forgetting the name sephfire (re:Daniel Floyd) as a clever ranter; I hope you find value in that.

[The Damned]

??????

http://photos-e.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v253/7/114/17303203/n17303203_31151412_8029.jpg

Someone doesn't watch enough Simpsons reruns...

[Hy Bound]

Really well-done. My wife and I actually watched this together. She isn't exactly what you would call a gamer, but she actually really enjoyed; possibly as much as I did.

Great work, Seph!

[Robotaki]

Looks like someone is multitalented =p As some people have already suggested, you should continue this act you got going I'm in full support of it anyway. Perfect meld of humour and education for me.

[Chiwalker]

Hey where is the file for the first song played on your vid?

Sounds like a remix of super mario 64 snow or bomb battlefield levels, but it's not on ocremix?

[SLyGeN]

After watching this video, I had to check out the first one.

The thing that impressed me most was how coherent every single idea was and how every single thought flowed seamlessly from one to the other. That's talent.

[Tables]

Hey where is the file for the first song played on your vid?

Sounds like a remix of super mario 64 snow or bomb battlefield levels, but it's not on ocremix?


Well, it's called Penguin Cap according to yonder credits, but yeah I guess its not on OCR. Quick to the time machine! I want to find this too.

edit: Screw the time machine, a careful google search revealed this to me in a dream:
http://dod.vgmix.com/past/jul05/03%20-%20CarboHydroM%20-%20Mario%2064%20-%20Penguin%20Cap.mp3

I'm still confused as to why it isn't on OCR, but nonetheless:

Again, awesome video funny voice A++

[JCvgluvr]

I would really enjoy more presentations from you. Your obvious imitation of Yahtzee is not just forgivable, but made unique thanks to your voice modulation and alternation between seriousness and silly satire. A couple pictures that amused me were your "governator" and "It prints money". Good stuff my friend.

STILL SNORE-INDUCING, LET ME ASSURE YOU caps.

As a joke, this wasn't funny. As a serious criticism, it was unfounded and uncalled for. So, which was it?

[BardicKnowledge]

Well done -- and yet another reason why FFX was much, much better than FFX2.

[sephfire]

Well done -- and yet another reason why FFX was much, much better than FFX2.

I still hold that FFX-2's battle system was one of the finest ever created for a turn-based RPG and the soundtrack was still great, but otherwise I have a hard time arguing.

[Overflow]

I would really enjoy more presentations from you. Your obvious imitation of Yahtzee is not just forgivable, but made unique thanks to your voice modulation and alternation between seriousness and silly satire. A couple pictures that amused me were your "governator" and "It prints money". Good stuff my friend.
I actually find this better than most of Yahtzee's stuff. Dan's ideas are much more coherent and logical, not just criticisms. Also, I really appreciate the absence of over-the-top language. While funny in Yahtzee's vids, it also makes me a little embarrassed and uncomfortable to hear the F-bomb so many times.

Now I just need to sit back and wait until the inevitable: F*** F*** F*** etc comes along, just to tease me, lol.

[Dhsu]

I did want to say one thing though, in that I, personally, can't think of a movie that was particularly enhanced by the sensual (and/or sexual) content to the point that the movie wouldn't have been the same without it. Perhaps that's because I've seen a lot of films and my brain's not seizing on one. Still, it just seemed a little over generalized to state that everyone knows such a film. That's just me though.
Yeah, I think that assumption was the weakest area of an otherwise provoking, if not entirely compelling, argument. It would be stronger in my opinion if you were to show how the "mature" portrayal of sex directly affected the acceptance of film as an art form. Providing examples like "The Graduate" is a good start, but correlation does not imply causation.

That said, if you had mentioned this project beforehand, I would've recommended talking shortly about Japanese eroge (hhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eroge) dating sims and visual novels (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_novel). These games often focus very strongly on the intimacy aspect, which ends up making the eventual sex scenes more meaningful and rewarding. Then again, eroge are not generally considered works of art, so perhaps that wouldn't be so helpful to your argument, heh.

[Bigfoot]

Hey look, you're on Kotaku.

http://kotaku.com/5011043/video-game-sex-lecture-time

[sephfire]

Sweet. And they even think I'm a professor. :D

[Dhsu]

If exploring sexuality is a fundamental of art, then I guess music isn't art. Oh wait...
I think this is a great point, actually. You might argue that sex is ubiquitous in today's popular music, but I wouldn't call songs like "Sex in the Kitchen" works of art (well...maybe I would, but critics might disagree :) ).

On the other hand, love songs are as old as music itself. I think music's ability to separate love from sex is actually part of what makes it mature as an art form. And the same might be argued for artwork...yeah there are plenty of naked people, but artists managed to completely separate the human form from any sexual connotations. When you see Leonardo's Vitruvian Man or David, you don't think "wow, props to Leo for dealing with intimacy in a mature way." Same goes for literature...haven't ever read a book where sex (rather than love) specifically adds to my respect for it.

[The Author]

I think in some cases, sexuality was more important than sex.

Had Oedipus only held hands with his mother, I'm pretty sure he would have kept his eyes.
Sexuality is an important part of the human experience, more than romance, I think. This is reflected in multiple works of arts. I remember Atwood's Rape Fantasy, which was built around a sexual / power act, and that the discussion of that act in that short story was at the core of the experience. Just as Atwood's Surfacing (yeah, I love Margaret Atwood, sue me), dealt with consequences of sex.

The idea is that some works of art basically grew by including sex beyond a simple "and then they made sweet love until the sun rose."

Music (and by music I do not include lyrics, since these are textual and can include sex rather easily) is a non-textual art. It is also an auditory experience rather than visual. By these traits, it is rather harder to express anything other than general emotions. However, through connotative content, music can express love, passion, desire, and well, sex. A good example of that is porn movie soundtracks. Even if you remove the visual and the acted parts, the purely aural values of the music expresses sexuality.

[cobaltstarfire]

Had Oedipus only held hands with his mother, I'm pretty sure he would have kept his eyes.

Had Oedipus known she was his mother he would have never boned her either. :P

[Effector]

Saw this thread last night and watched the video. Was impressed indeed.

Loaded up Wired today to see you on Game|Life (http://blog.wired.com/games/2008/05/sex-in-gaming-e.html). So you're definitely getting the coverage, whether you initiated it or not. Well-deserved coverage, I might add.

[sephfire]

Yeah, I'm a bit surprised at how much attention this thing has gotten. Last time youtube updated, the thing had a little under 18,000 views. Not bad for 48 hours. :shock:

edit:
26,000 now. Crazy.

[anosou]

You sound an aweful lot like Conker :)
good video. and not only because of the conker thing.

[The Unsung Plumber]

Yeah, I'm a bit surprised at how much attention this thing has gotten. Last time youtube updated, the thing had a little under 18,000 views. Not bad for 48 hours. :shock:

edit:
26,000 now. Crazy.

Yeah, it's up on kotaku
http://kotaku.com/5011043/video-game-sex-lecture-time

and a lot of other places too.

Nice work man!!:mrgreen:

[Blake]

Haha good job dude. I'm sure this has far exceeded your expectations. When do you plan on telling everyone you're not a professor?

[Maco70]

Well done.

[sephfire]

When do you plan on telling everyone you're not a professor?

Heh, yeah I emailed one of the kotaku guys about it. Hopefully, that part will get cleared up at some point.

[BardicKnowledge]

I still hold that FFX-2's battle system was one of the finest ever created for a turn-based RPG and the soundtrack was still great, but otherwise I have a hard time arguing.

^Agreed -- the battle system was awesome. If only there was a way to learn certain skills a la FFV....

Oh, and congrats on all the coverage -- has it motivated you to start another video?

[sephfire]

I haven't really got a topic in mind. Both of these videos have involved a good bit of research, so it may take while, but I'd like to do more.

[The Author]

I haven't really got a topic in mind. Both of these videos have involved a good bit of research, so it may take while, but I'd like to do more.


Hmmm, my list was ignored... my heart is broken...

However, I shall live on in hopes of seeing another great video.

[kyleh93710]

This was a well thought out and humerous presentation, that was much worth 10 minutes, and much worth watching multiple times. I love this and you will get an A.
My LOL List:
Companion Cube(Oh Portal, My Portal)
Knocked Up Picture
Hey look! I'm drawing pictures!
I don't have a picture of James Portnow.

Great movie, humerous in many different types of humor.

[Dhsu]

Oh yeah, that reminds me, I think you should explain the Companion Cube, or else just leave it out altogether.

The James Portnow gag is funny the first 2 or 3 times, but after that you might try improvising a different silly picture, like perhaps a port + now rebus of some sort.

[Bigfoot]

Hey, now you're on Joystiq.

http://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/29/everything-you-wanted-to-know-about-gaming-and-sex-but-were-afr/

[Liontamer]

No link to your website or music in the video description when it looks like the video is blowing up?!?

Dan...you're failing me here.

EDIT: No outro mention of your website or music in the video?!?

Dan...you're totally failing me here. :banghead:

[Dunnowhathuh]

Looks like these videos of yours are becoming pretty popular on the internets, kudos to ya.

[prophetik]

71k views in a few weeks is solid, particularly for something 9 minutes long and aimed at a niche audience.

[sephfire]

71k views in a few weeks is solid, particularly for something 9 minutes long and aimed at a niche audience.

It's only been a few days. And it has an additional 10k views over at Gametrailers. This is all really cool.


Dan...you're totally failing me here.

That's "Professor Dan" to you. :<

[The Vagrance]

Probably one of the best things I've seen/read regarding the issue. All the points were laid out very nicely and the images were used to illustrate rather than imitate. I don't think its completely fair to draw imitations to Yahtzee because you're both trying to accomplish something much different through similar measures, its like comparing Metroid Prime to Halo.

Anyway, well done chap.

[The Author]

That's "Professor Dan" to you. :<

If you cannot make a coconut radio, you are not a professor.

[Raziellink]

Just finshed watching it. I can't add anything that hasn't already been said.

However, more tone variation in your voice would be nice.

[Aninymouse]

I would really enjoy more presentations from you. Your obvious imitation of Yahtzee is not just forgivable, but made unique thanks to your voice modulation and alternation between seriousness and silly satire. A couple pictures that amused me were your "governator" and "It prints money". Good stuff my friend.



As a joke, this wasn't funny. As a serious criticism, it was unfounded and uncalled for. So, which was it?

Ah, so only polite criticism is tolerated on the interbutts, huh? I hadn't realized I had hurt Sephire's feelings.

In that case, let me E-L-A-B-O-R-A-T-E.

Even considering that I am a lifelong gamer by choice, having played them steadily since 1994, I found the TONE. and DELIVERY. of your dissertation to be quite a bore. It was fine for the first two minutes, sure; but by that mark your tone of voice cause me to stop paying attention and start wondering, as an audience member, what you were on about all this "artistic medium" jazz. I woke back up when you uttered the word "Ico," and you held my attention for the most part for the remainder, but if I were to simply not look at the edgy, cut-away imagery and concentrate solely on your delivery...

Honestly?

You tried really hard. And who knows, maybe your real voice would have made things much worse. Doesn't matter -- you have an issue with tone and delivery that shows a greenness to public speaking. Listeners pick up on this instantly when your tone and delivery start to waver in odd ways or your voice, all the sudden, starts to l o w e r i n p i t c h a n d b o g d o w n.

When YOU get tired of talking about something or explaining something, people are trained to start losing interest in paying attention.

A noble effort. With the video, it seems passable as a school video project. I'm sure you did fairly well in marks without having too many people spend the duration with their faces pointed elsewhere.

I, personally, thought it was boring.

That is all.

Now fuck off, JCvgluvr; I took time to pander to your smart ass.

[prophetik]

internet: serious business.

[Aninymouse]

Apparently.

[JCvgluvr]

At least you took the time to explain your views this time. That's admirable, at least.

Take a chill pill, and don't blow a gasket when someone reminds you to mind your manners. :|

Your first criticism was how the video was snore inducing. Yet its getting glowing recommendations from this topic, and its getting featured all over the fricking place! That's why I saw it as uncalled for. I guess you find funny, witty, eye-grabbing video presentations boring. Go figure.

Heck, I don't even really care either way, its just the internet...

[Maco70]

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y40/Maco70/tcp.jpg

=D

[Aninymouse]

Heck, I don't even really care either way, its just the internet...

Good. We see eye to eye, then.

I'd make some comment on how this "witty, eye-grabbing" video is some such or another, but I guess we all have our tastes.







I think Yahtzee's a high-larious guy, really.

[prophetik]

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y40/Maco70/tcp.jpg

rahr 10chars

[Liontamer]

This video has been removed by the user.

Say whaaaaa?

EDIT: Ohgnoz, you killed off the original video link.

[big giant circles]

I was honestly thinking of comebacks or ways to disagree or point out something you missed or oversimplified the whole time I was watching, but every time I thought I had something... you covered it. So, seriously, :nicework:

damn, that actually says a lot. i don't think i've ever heard dave say "uh, i have no valid counterpoint to your statement" :lol:

that was really enjoyable, dan. nice work indeed!