Board Thread:The Last Sovereign Discussion/@comment-6349681-20180830181101/@comment-39120971-20190415181031

Retromancer1 wrote: Well, I think that a lot of players, myself included, would not have come over if it wasn't for those scenes (I knew this was an H-game coming in and was interested about why it had a small but very rabid fanbase when I first looked at checking it out). It seems like support of the game has probably grown because of that initial hook. It's a strange question, because as Fluid kind of said, without them the game wouldn't make much sense, yet at the same time it could drop them and still be fantastic. For me the crucial element is the humor. Rarely do I find myself laughing out loud at a video game, but I've done it multiple times with this game. What Retromancer1 said is basically my take on it, although my crucial element isn't the humor (though that's also welcome) but rather a certain... how do I put this?

The way TLS handles sex scenes feels like it's stripping the porn off of sex content. I mean that as a good thing.

It's almost like taking the harem genre, with all of its tropes and conventions, examining it seriously and then reinventing it in a fresh, nicer, more civilized form. The game deals with mature problems and sex is just one of many themes, but at least I feel that Sierra manages to weave it into the plot with reasons beyond titilating the players. The existence of succubi and their sex magic makes it a part of the world just like divine and arcane magic, and a valid weapon both on or off the battlefield. Here sex can hurt, heal, corrupt or extend lifespans, dominate people or restore their individuality (Simon gives us plenty of examples of how the Incubus King powers can be used for good). This makes for a mature setting that AAA games with their dark and gritty worlds cannot match, because unless it's a small sidequest, a secret hidden deep into the game, or a blatant joke, they wouldn't touch sex with a ten-foot-pole for fear of all the publicity it would bring, and the reactions of a public that always makes the logical leap that 'any sex equals porn' would cause for their brand name and profits.

I guess it also helps that Sierra's writing is so top-notch, I can appreciate almost all of the scenes (with the notable exception of the Whoring of Qum, I just cannot turn off my empathy for her during it ToT). I'm not that far into the game, but I'm an open-minded person and just seeing sex scenes written with so many details, with an eye to the emotions of partners and acknowledging their complex relationships, gives me confidence that more great things await me later. I don't view it as just running down a list of fetishes to cover, since there's no requirement for adding the romance, humor, and context that makes the sex just feel... real, and not staged and orchestrated for the players' viewing pleasure.

Sierra once said that when making TLS, she wanted to make more of the kind of game she personally enjoyed, and I am forever thankful for her creating it, we need more games like this. ^_^