Violence in games is big business, yet emotional situations closer to everyone's real life--falling in love, having sex, making a family--are scarcely represented in most video and tabletop role playing games. When present they often fall into hetero-normative, gender-scripted and discriminatory patterns. Join game designers Meguey Baker, Emily Care Boss and Lizzie Stark as they talk about their experiences running and designing games that embrace love and sex in inclusive and socially progressive narratives. From transformational larps dealing with the AIDS in gay communities in the 1980s to sex-positive tabletop role playing games, they share models that offer a wider look at the human experience. In their own work, Baker teaches sexuality health curricula, Boss wrote a trio of games with a romance theme, and Stark runs workshops on a Nordic technique created by Emma Wieslander called "Ars amandi" (http://www.ars-amandi.se), which allows players to platonically simulate sex in live action role playing games.
Tweets
Talking about romance in games at #AlterConf with @LizzieStark and @emilycare pic.twitter.com/Foi4BuTSxV
— Jenna Hoffstein (@jhoffstein) September 16, 2014
"We want fewer murder hobos, and more people falling in love and getting it on." —@lizziestark #alterconf
— Annika Backstrom (@abackstrom) September 16, 2014
"We want fewer murder hobos, and more people falling in love and getting it on." —@lizziestark #alterconf
— Annika Backstrom (@abackstrom) September 16, 2014
Lizzie brings up a need for 'aftercare' in sex or romance mechanics in games (LARPs especially) #AlterConf
— Fun Ruiner Prime (@inurashii) September 16, 2014
Talk about Ars Amandi: framework represents/abstracts intimacy, from Nordic LARP "Mellan Himmel Och Hav" http://t.co/0oPDylSPBN #alterconf
— Dilettante Dingus (@BooDooPerson) September 16, 2014
Keys: Consent, Transparency, Safewords, Aftercare. Abstraction allows broad range of views/interpretations of the "intimacy" #AlterConf
— Dilettante Dingus (@BooDooPerson) September 16, 2014
This talk at #alterconf about sex/romance design ideas for games is GREAT (but I'm still in an emotional fugue state post-public speaking)
— Maddy Myers (@samusclone) September 16, 2014
A list by @emilycare of games that involve love/sex/romance #AlterConf pic.twitter.com/foZqHTQNtl
— Gamebits (@gamebits) September 16, 2014
.@emilycare describing games that let people explore romantic relationships in a safe space. #alterconf
— Annika Backstrom (@abackstrom) September 16, 2014