this post was submitted on 17 Aug 2024
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TL;DR: Video game actors being told to mo-cap sex scenes without being told beforehand

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[–] [email protected] 194 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (7 children)

A summary of the story, scene breakdown and scripts should be distributed to all cast members in advance.

performers should be able to request a closed set where access is kept to a minimum.

A competent intimacy coordinator should be engaged.

These are not big asks.

In one recording for a major game she first learned it was explicit only when she turned up for work.

"This was actually a full-on sex scene," she said.

"I had to [vocally] match the scene and through the glass in the booth was the entire team, all male, watching me.

"It was excruciating... at that stage I had been in the games industry a while, and I had never felt so shaken".

Not unreasonable to say that this situation should not be repeated.

[–] [email protected] 85 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

Yeah, what they're asking for is pretty standard stuff in other media. A friend of mine is an actor who played a scene where he had to shoot a masturbation scene. He was alone in a room with like 3-4 people: sound guy, camera guy, director, and I think the intimacy coach was there too.

Having a whole team watch you pretend to have sex is not okay, what the hell.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 3 weeks ago

I mean, most of the team should be watching because they're trying to do their jobs, not because they're ogling the actors. And this is even more removed from sex than movies' simulated sex, because I assume they're in full mocap suits and everything.

Hell, you don't even need both people doing motion at the same time, as long as you have the poses roughly correct. You can edit the motion curves to make the rhythm match.

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[–] Cethin 25 points 3 weeks ago

They are the bare minimum that should be expected. Honestly, the studios who did this should be named and shamed. The actors shouldn't ever have to deal with this, and I'm sure the studio would lose far more money than they could wish to gain by being deceptive. It's capitalism. They're after profit. Make honesty the most profitable option or you'll get dishonesty.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 3 weeks ago

I don’t believe you’re wrong here in saying that. These don’t seem like unreasonable asks at all, and something I’d expect to be normal standards for the industry.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

Yes, these precipts seem to be common in the TV industry

Ms Jefferies stresses the guidelines are not trying to put boundaries on storytelling ... She says - and "these guidelines are just to bring it even more in line with the best practices in the film and TV industry".

And I can't think of news stories that show this is a problem in terms of leaking a story.

So, why not have the same degree of safety and protocols in game development?

[–] [email protected] 13 points 3 weeks ago

I wonder if that would be a genuine use case for "AI". If the voice actor consents to have his voice represented in such a scene but doesn't want to play it out in a studio, the computer model could take over that part.

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[–] [email protected] 163 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (5 children)

And on the other side we have the Baldur's Gate actors praising Larian for hiring intimacy coordinators and not requiring themselves to mocap the sex scenes.

Edit: Ah, just saw that this is addressed at the end of the article.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 3 weeks ago (4 children)
[–] [email protected] 92 points 3 weeks ago

Actor here. Doing intimacy scenes is surprisingly difficult, arguably more so than combat, because usually people train and get certified in sword and dagger, rapier, firearms etc to get cast

When working a job, putting your mouth on another person's mouth is a very unusual act, and you want your actors - regardless of gender - to feel safe, comfortable, professional and not exploited - not to mention you might spend 2x 14 hours days on this sequence from multiple angles getting it the same every time

[–] [email protected] 61 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

That's someone whose job is to liaise and advocate for actors to the production crew for intimate scenes, especially nude and sex scenes.

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[–] [email protected] 37 points 3 weeks ago

People who help other people who work on scenes that involve intimacy to make the whole process as pleasant as possible for everyone involved.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 3 weeks ago

It's a somewhat new job title, but it's now becoming standard across the movie industry.

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[–] [email protected] 80 points 3 weeks ago (5 children)

What game is motion-capping realistic rape scenes? Jesus Christ.

[–] [email protected] 45 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

There's a lot of straight up porn games out there so who knows what kind of shit these actors end up in when they show up for a generic "motion/voice capture for video game" gig.

[–] [email protected] 33 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

I don't think many adult games can afford mocap though. Typically the adult content is purely animated models.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Wild Life, an indie porn game currently still in development, has mocap.

[–] [email protected] 28 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

All indie porn games are still in development. That's their default state.

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[–] [email protected] 14 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Probably David Cage games lol.

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[–] [email protected] 12 points 3 weeks ago

Fear and Hunger if it wasn't rpgmaker level graphics

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[–] [email protected] 61 points 3 weeks ago (6 children)

Sex scenes are common in modern games - and are often made by filming human actors who are then digitised into game characters.

Is “common” referring to cringey low budget Steam games? I don’t think I’ve seen any sort of on screen simulated sex in a game, ever. Granted I tend to only play well publicized indie games and larger releases. But how common is this? Am I out of the loop?

[–] [email protected] 102 points 3 weeks ago (18 children)

Mass Effect, The Witcher, San Andreas Hot Coffee Mod, Sega Bass Fishing 2, Cyberpunk 2077.

It's pretty common.

[–] [email protected] 85 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Sega Bass Fishing 2

Sorry, what ?

[–] [email protected] 87 points 3 weeks ago (5 children)

I don’t recommend it, but going bass-to-mouth was a very popular and hyped feature addition for SEGA Bass Fishing. I’m surprised this is the first you are hearing of it

[–] [email protected] 10 points 3 weeks ago
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[–] [email protected] 41 points 3 weeks ago (4 children)

The Witcher and Cyberpunk I’ll give you, but Mass Effect definitely fades to black before getting to actual sex, the other two are mods. I wasn’t saying sex in games doesn’t exist, but if we’ve gotta go back several decades for a handful examples, that doesn’t feel like something that’s “common.”

[–] [email protected] 33 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

BG3. The sex scenes in that are just a slight camera angle away from full blown porn. And it's also incredibly new.

[–] [email protected] 27 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

If I'm not mistaken the Hot Coffee mod restores content made by Rockstar that was cut last minute.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 3 weeks ago

Yeah, there was a whole kerfuffle about it because all the files were still on the disc, therefore some jurisdictions re-rated the game to some version of adults only. Rockstar definitely did all the development work to get that sex in the game, they just decided not to show it in normal gameplay.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 3 weeks ago

Mass Effect Andromeda had one or two fairly graphic sex scenes. Nothing more than what you'd typically see in an R rated Hollywood movie.

Unfortunately the scenes were with the most human characters. Imagine my disappointment when it just did fade to black with the Turian girl...

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[–] [email protected] 27 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)
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[–] [email protected] 15 points 3 weeks ago

Dragon Age, too. Then ask the Fahrenheit line of games. There's a lot overall.

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[–] [email protected] 54 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Sometimes I forget how unprofessional the game industry still is or how little respect people have for well being of others. I'd like to say I'm surprised but that would require having some expectations towards those companies.

I hope more VAs speak up about stuff like this so we can have some real changes.

[–] [email protected] 22 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)

I'd say that isn't the game industry, but it's basically every company and employer everywhere. Nobody matters. Nobody is important. We're all expendable seems to be the world.

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[–] [email protected] 41 points 3 weeks ago

Yeah, that sounds like some pretty fair demands.

[–] [email protected] 33 points 3 weeks ago (4 children)

Sex scenes in games (and movies) are useless 90% of the time

[–] [email protected] 17 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

Yep. It's usually always cringe fan service. The sex scenes in cyberpunk are awful.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 3 weeks ago

I don't even understand who enjoys them. Just go on the internet for your smut!

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[–] [email protected] 30 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

What do they mean sex scenes are common? None of the games I have played in the last couple years haves had those kinds of scenes. Some minor flirting and romance, but no sex.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

Geralt of Rivia: Let me introduce myself

[–] [email protected] 22 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Hot take but I wish sex scenes were just eliminated from games entirely. A nice fade to black is a million times better than awkwardly watching some 3D models gyrating along with weird exaggerated "this is what sex sounds like" acting.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 3 weeks ago (4 children)

Should just be an option in the settings.

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[–] [email protected] 15 points 3 weeks ago

Important topic but the headline is terribly misleading.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (3 children)

~~What video game sex scenes? Hell isn't sexual content basically just not allowed in video games anymore because of the "Wider moral audience" that executives keep insisting exists but clearly doesn't given how thirsty people get anytime a woman or man in a video game looks even remotely attractive?~~

Edit: Misleading title, in actuality a video game actress did a sex scene without being told it was a sex scene then a bunch of male brodudes saw a digital recreation of her getting railed by a fictional character. Situation completely misread, when I saw the title I thought outraged soccer moms were complaining about seeing Chun Li's legs again.

I'm completely on the side of the actors, that straight up sounds like it could (and should) legally count as a form of sexual assault and the studio owes her both an apology and a heavy paycheck

[–] [email protected] 21 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)

It's not just a digital recreation, it can involve physical acting as well. This article quotes a motion-capture performer:

Ms Jefferies told the BBC she was once asked to act out a scene with a male performer involving a sexual assault with no prior warning.

"I turned up and was told what I would be filming would be a graphic rape scene," she said.

"This act could be watched for as long or as little time as the player wanted through a window, and then a player would be able to shoot this character in the head.

"It was just purely gratuitous in my opinion."

She refused to act out the "disgusting" scene - which was made worse as she was the only female on set.

"There's no nudity involved, but its still an act and there's an intimacy in that act and also a violence in this situation," she said.

"So yes there may be a layer of Lycra between us, but you are still there and still having to truly immerse yourself in this scene."

In the end her concerns were listened to and the scene was not recorded.

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