In a film or television program, what you see on the screen is something you are not part of. You're watching the events unfold before you. In a video game, it is you who is performing the actions on screen.
That Covenant Elite that just got plasma grenaded has you to thank for that.. That's not so bad now is it? I mean, Covenant Elite don't exist. Who cares if you spend three hours a day watching it get ripped limb from limb by a grenade? Fair enough.
That Nazi soldier who's eyes now have a bullet between them: you put that bullet there. Sure, it's just a video game. Nazi's aren't real, right? Actually, they are. That avatar that you just killed represents a real human being. It might represent an evil little jerkwad, but human all the same. If you were actually on a World War II battle field and performed that exact same action, you would have just taken the life of another human being. In a video game, you are pretending to end someone's life. This is starting to get pretty real. But, I can still see how one could justify shrugging off killing someone who is responsible for the genocide of millions of Jews.
That little old lady that just wanted to cross the street just got mowed down because you wanted to see how the cops would react. I know it's just pretend, but you did just shoot a little old lady avatar because you were curious.
What I've said above is all true. But, let's be real here. It's a video game. No one really died. You didn't kill anyone. And if your mind isn't mature enough to separate the fiction of you shooting a Nazi from the reality of you going next door and killing your neighbor, you have much bigger problems than violence in video games. It's all make believe. Be an adult. And if you can't be an adult, don't play violent video games.
Kratos stopps by his pad for a quicky. Two lovely, topless goddesses await him. He climbs into bed with them and the camera pans away. You're Kratos. You are the one having sex with the two goddesses. To top it off, the sexual act is controlled by you pressing buttons to onscreen cues. Sure, your clothes are on (I hope) and you aren't actually having sex with anyone. But you are controlling the sexual act.
Just like in film and television, this is very different from acting out violent behavior. My desire to see someone die in front of me is in no way related to the fact that I just wiped out an entire building full of Nazis or Covenant soldiers or little old ladies. But, with sex, this is very real. Sex is sex. Whether the people on screen are real people or digitally created characters, there's a real potential for the viewer to become aroused, especially if the sexual act is being controlled by the gamer.
In film and television, I believe there is a tasteful way to handle sex. Likewise, I believe there is a tasteful way to handle the subject of sex in video games, though I do believe that you must be way more careful in a video game. In Final Fantasy VII, you find yourself having to confront a slum lord who likes to have the company of a "lucky" girl every evening. The only way to get in to see this man is to pose as a woman and be selected to spend the night with him. If you aren't selected, one of the two woman in your party will be selected instead, and you will have to save her. In this situation, the sex is not glorified in anyway. In fact, things don't end well for you sex crazed host.
Kratos having sex with his goddess companions isn't any more graphic than any sex scene you would find in an episode of CSI or Law and Order. But, the fact that you're in control of the act makes it that much more real, even more real than watching hardcore porn. With a porno, no matter what you might be doing alone in front of that screen, you're not actually taking part in the sexual act. In some games, you are intimately involved.
My view on foul language in video games is the same as it is for film and television. Go back and read that post if you forgot.
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