Okay. I want to make one thing clear because it keeps coming up again and again.
It is not about being prude for the sake of being prude or religious for the sake of being religious - just because someone wants to be better than someone else or more holy or some sort of nonsense like that. Just because someone is from the US, or the Bible belt, or whatever, and they believe in certain moral standards, doesn't mean that they are upholding such standards just because they feel like it. I mean, some are, of course, upholding such standards because that's what they've been taught and nothing more, but there is a valid reason why people like me are doing this kind of thing. I am not out here speaking up about this kind of thing so that I can be persecuted or attacked or so that people will praise me for being righteous or holy or whatever. I do not enjoy this, actually.
The reason for my stance (and why many are "prude" about such things) is because of this concept: We are trying to look out for others who are weak against certain temptations to help them NOT commit criminal acts as a result OR that may cause them to destroy their lives. It is this concept and reason that leads me and others (again not everyone, obviously) to speak up.
Sex is different from violence because most individuals can watch hours and hours of violence and not be affected by it in the slightest. Meanwhile, turn on an explicit sex scene, and within fifteen seconds everyone in the room is feeling the heat. With some, it doesn't even take that long. Sexual desire is strong, and it demands instant gratification. Without a healthy way of appeasing said desire, many people - not just a few - turn to buying it or worse; rape or molestation. I have also known people, and heard plenty of stories, about how because someone could not control their sexual appetites, they ruined their marriages. They either wanted their spouse to give them something they saw in media, and that spouse was unwilling to do it because they didn't like it or felt wrong about it, or they felt their spouse wasn't giving them enough sex, or whatever the reason. When their spouses put on weight and no longer live up to the images of men or women that are displayed in media, they become dissatisfied and "fall out of love" with them. Some hunger for sex so much because they see it everywhere that as soon as a coworker or friend starts hitting on them, they struggle to resist such temptations.
Now, that's, of course, not everyone, but that's not the point. Because I and others care, and because we don't want to see our brothers and sisters and friends destroy their lives, we speak out against such explicit sex scenes being in media. We may not be as vocal about violence, but again it is because it doesn't instantly spark intense feelings and urges.
So, again, the point of this is to say that people like me are not speaking out against this kind of stuff because we're just being prude. I'm speaking out because it pains me deeply when I speak with people who work in the anti-sex trafficking ministry and I hear about all the terrible things those men and women go through who are being kidnapped and forced to sell themselves because there are a LOT of people who can't control their sexual appetites. It also pains me when I hear about marriages being destroyed because someone can't control their sexual appetites and they go and cheat on their spouses and so forth. It's because I care about people and I've seen and heard too much to deny that sex in media has a great impact on men and women of any age. A single nude image can spark intense lust and cause someone to do something stupid.
And just to be totally clear, I highly doubt this is the reason that the OP created this post. Again, I'm fairly certain he was just being a troll to stir people up. I'm only saying all this because people keep attacking the US and the Bible belt and Christians in general by expressing their frustration that we're all just being prudes. Some of us are, but not all of us.
And for those who want to knit pick the definition, let's clearly define a prude: "a person who is or claims to be easily shocked by matters relating to sex or nudity." Lord knows, I am not shocked by it. I simply don't approve of it, nor do I like seeing it or hearing about it being in media.
So, you have it on good authority that these criminal activities are caused by sex in video games? What about the terrible things that happened to people in ancient Rome? Did they have video games, and we just didn't know, or is it more likely that it's part of the human condition? If someone's having a problem with this kind of thing, they, or their families, need to take the steps to get the help they need. It is not your responsibility, or moral obligation, to say what should or should not be published in a video game because "but these people". They would be better served with boots on the ground trying to help them, than trying to change a video game that some, or most of them will most likely never even see.
I did not say "sex in video games" I said sex in media, and Rome was full of sexual promiscuity, violence and loose morals on every front. Why was Rome the way it was? Because they didn't care about the morals of one another. And that's exactly where the "civilized" world as a whole is going. People don't care that certain things cause others to have issues. They've adopted the attitude of "Ah just grow up," and "that's not my problem, it's yours" not realizing that maturity and age have nothing to do with people struggling to control themselves. You can be 80 years old and still struggling with the same things you struggled with at 15.
What media did they have in Ancient Rome? None. So, as I postulated, it's just part of the human condition. We are all of us born with these urges, some act on them in one way, some in other ways, others try to suppress them in others, for their own good... Media quite obviously had nothing to do with it. I don't see it as not my problem, I see it as not my business. I guess that's not entirely true, because someone's sex addiction isn't my problem, unless I'm in a relationship with them, or directly related. Some poor soul in Arizona struggling with this isn't on me where I live. It's also not on me to assign blame for how they came to have these issues. Maybe, instead of "sex in media", it was an abusive parent, or maybe they were totally neglected, or spoiled? Maybe they're just a sick bleep.
For all of that, you once did a thread where you suggested a fade to black for the sex scenes. I was 100% on board with that optional feature. At the time, I even stated that I might even use it myself, since pixel sex really isn't my thing. I'm not fussed about it one way or another, but I'm also not on board for crusades with "think of the (insert group here)". I'm not down with trying to exert my will onto others, whether it's "nope, you can't have that black screen" or "remove the sex", or anything in between. I'm down for letting game studios make the games they want to make, and if it doesn't appeal to me, I won't buy it. But I also won't be going to their forums with "you need to change x if you want me to buy your game". I would expect to get a reply, publicly or privately telling me that I can just spend my money elsewhere.
