Like any burgeoning young medium, games (especially on the indie scene, but definitely around the edges of the mainstream as well) have moved into the phase wherein they must begin to offend the public sensibility in order to provoke discussion and, yes, controversy. True, it could be argued that they've been in this phase for some time now; games like the original Duke Nukem 3D and the Grand Theft Auto and Postal series are just high-exposure examples of what has been going on in video games since at least the Atari 2600 (see: Custer's Revenge).
At any rate, here are a few intriguing indie games with varying degrees of raunchiness:
This colorfully-named pseudo-SHMUP has you controlling a young man who finds himself rocketing through the skies upon the propulsive power of his uncontrollable diarrhea. He meets his spirit animal (who can turn into a sword) and fights ducks, geese, and Nazis, amongst other things.
Toilet-humor aside, this games is, at its core, a story-based SHMUP that doesn't allow the player to fire any sort of projectile. Fearless and inventive.
The oldest game of them all (save, perhaps, Don't Shit Your Loincloth or Don't Shit Too Close to the Campfire) now comes in handy interactive fiction form! Yes, it's basically an excuse to tell poop-jokes, but there's a reason why they haven't gotten old yet. Short and sweet, but containing surprising depth for its length and premise... Don't give up on it until you've become the Shit King.
While most mainstream games that contain any element of sexual expression normally do so overwhelmingly for the purpose of titillation, here's a game that relies upon sex for its premise and presentation, but does so in an artsy- and even perhaps liberating- manner.
The player takes the role of a young woman looking to copulate with as many different partners as possible (who wander around the playing field) without being caught in the act. The sex acts themselves are represented as humorously abstract animations unique to the different suitors. Not exactly groundbreaking, gameplay-wise, but intriguing for what it is.
Here's a game that uses the power of lewdness to educate! Essentially an Abuse-style shooter/platformer with enemy-specific weapons, Privates educates the player on various Sex Ed. topics through surprisingly hilarious dialogue in between action sequences. High production values and solid gameplay make trudging through an infected vagina a fun and enlightening experience. Top marks for providing evidence that "edutainment" doesn't have to be drearily dull, and that sexual education doesn't have to be awkward.
At the end of it all, aren't we all just giant genitalia flying through space, destroying similarly-themed enemies? Perhaps not, but sometimes it's not about the deeper meanings or the social and artistic progression. Sometimes it's just about taking control of the disembodied head of a dog and laying waste to millions of evil space-sperm.
Fun.
Is there a finer way to exhibit the power of words than to make up one's own vague euphemisms? Part of the Sharts series, up in the UWM Union Atrium until September 17th.
Come on, we're all adults here... And some day, we're all going to want to fuck in space. Another Shart, up in the UWM Union Atrium until 9/17!
There they were, at long last: A seething mass of groping Trunktacles met my vision as I timidly pushed aside the tall grass. The squirming appendages stretched over the forest canopy and out of my sight… They must’ve gone on for miles. I could see the aesthetic appeal, but a tourist attraction this was not; a brief glance at one of these hulking creatures confirmed its status as an Engine of War unto itself.