Chris Avellone on Story and Sex in Role-Playing Games
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A snip from their conversation on story and writing:
"In terms of improving stories for games, I feel that narrative designers should study writing conventions outside of games, both in scriptwriting and in other media, such as novels and graphic novels. In addition, a story should not be divorced from the actual gameplay, it should reinforce it, give it purpose, and when possible, work in tandem with a game's systems and themes.
"When a story paralyzes a player (watch this cut scene, stop and read this book) or has to work to force itself onto the player with exposition, I think you start traveling down the dark road of cutting off immersion and turning a game into a passive experience, rather than an active one. Also, and to cue off a lecture from Ken Levine, I think much of a story or character can be told in a game level or in the environment itself, without a bunch of text or books littered around the game world."
And a bit on the acceptance of sex:
"I think it's an important step, and it's not sex for sex's sake, but it's part of human interaction that makes you more involved in the game world and your characters," he says. "Just like in the real world, sex runs the range from entertainment to a symbol of the depth of feeling between two people, and not having that reflected in a role-playing experience feels does RPGs an injustice."As long as it's optional and isn't specifically used to market the game, I'm fine with in-game romance.
So, when will sex be allowed in a videogame without causing a media storm like we saw with Mass Effect?: "I imagine TV's going to be the deciding factor here, not games. As soon as it's acceptable on mainstream TV, games won't be far behind. But that's my guess."
