Levine: Current game sex like "puppets with their clothes off"
Are videogames allowed to depict sex? Aren't they? Speaking with VG247, BioShock creator Ken Levine posed a different question: should they? For the time being, he's not so sure.
"I think it's not about being interactive. I think it's more about people not understanding what it is. If you think about the amount of, for example, nudity in a videogame... it's not even nudity. It's a puppet with its clothes off. There are other problems as well. It's kind of silly in videogames right now, because – again – puppets with their clothes off.
"It's more like [the movie] Team America. The sex scene in Team America as opposed to, you know, the sex scene in Black Swan," he said, speaking on the phone.
Levine, however, doesn't think that's the sole reason games don't often tackle what is - like it or not - a fundamental life experience. He continued:
"The fact that's even controversial says that the perception of the industry is that we're making toys or something, as opposed to making creative expressions for a range of audiences – including adults. I think there's still some prudishness."
He added: "There's even some prudishness in the industry itself. I did an interview recently and someone pointed out, 'Ken, you use a lot of foul language.' And I was like, 'Jesus, come on. We're all big boys and girls here.' If I'm going to drop an F-bomb, I'm going to drop an F-bomb. I'm a big boy and I get to do that. It's one of the privileges of being an adult."
Look for the full interview later this week. Sadly, there are no more Team America references, but - while we know it can't hope to fill the hole in your heart - some new BioShock Infinite info is a decent consolation, right? We'd like to think so, anyway.