Pursuing the Libido's Dark Side

[Akasha]

Lord Foucault is an admitted rapist. He does it on impulse -- for the thrill of it and for the feeling of control he has over his female victims.

But he's not attacking women in real life. Instead, Lord Foucault is a character in Sociolotron, an online virtual world that gives players a platform where they can act out a wide range of fantasies.

"My character ... does it for a few reasons," said Lord Foucault. "He does it for power, and it is motivated by opportunity. If he sees a girl that interests him and he can have sex with them, he does."

Sociolotron, currently in beta, is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game. The game offers fare such as battling monsters, questing and other fantasies familiar to players of games like EverQuest and Ultima Online. But Sociolotron differs by providing a way to indulge in sexual taboos like rape and bondage with consequences like sexually transmitted diseases and even pregnancy. And it is quite explicit in informing would-be players about what they may experience in-world.

To some of the game's players, it's appealing to know that they may encounter what would be a nightmare in the real world.

"Rape in reality is an ugly thing," said a player known as Pert. "But many people have rape fantasies that have nothing to do with real rape, like being slaughtered by a tall, handsome stranger and the like. It's those fantasies that can be lived out."

Indeed, Pert said she sees opening her character up to Sociolotron's risks as something akin to wandering through the pages of dark novels.

"I get out of it what I would get out of an erotic book, some excitement that is without real danger, something risqué," she said. "I enjoyed the Anne Rice Beauty series, (and) it's a bit like being in that book."

To Patric Lagny, Sociolotron's developer, the game is about breaking down the social conventions that limit what players can do in the EverQuests of the world.

"I see it as an environment where you should be able to do anything you want," he said. "It goes beyond the real and gives people the opportunity to do things you couldn't in reality."

Rape in virtual worlds is not an entirely new concept. In 1993, Julian Dibbell wrote a piece for the Village Voice titled "A Rape in Cyberspace." In it, he described the circumstances of a rape and its aftermath in the game LambdaMOO.

The difference between LambdaMOO and Sociolotron is that in the former, the rape Dibbell wrote about shook up the game; it was unexpected, and players were unclear on how to deal with it. In Sociolotron, players know rapes may occur -- and there is a mechanism for dealing with it when it happens.

According to Lagny, rapes -- as with other in-game crimes like theft, murder and the like -- are quickly investigated. If the perpetrator is caught, he or she is sent to trial. There, a prosecutor, judge and jury -- all roles filled by players -- preside as the accused argues his or her case. Penalties for rape range from a week to two weeks in the game's jail, said Lagny.

"It looks like they're saying, why don't we take the mechanisms of society as they exist, which already have checks and balances built in," said Dibbell, "and just map them into the game play."

Dibbell suggests, however, that in-world rapes rise above other crimes, even though each is no more than a reconfiguring of 1s and 0s.

"I think sexual crimes are interesting," he said, "because unlike killing or (other) physical violence, there is a real psychological element of degradation and humiliation."

And the reactions of those who have been slaughtered in Sociolotron is revealing, especially given that they knew ahead of time that it could happen to them.

"While being slaughtered, it's a loss of control," said a female Sociolotron player known as Phoenix. I "have (only) been slaughtered once by an unknown rapist, (and it) scared the daylights out of me at first."

Men, too, are often rape victims, as well as perpetrators, in the game.

"I spent about an hour talking to a male victim of a male rapist in the game," said a player known as Ginger, "and he was actually quite distressed about it all in a real-life way."

Even the rapists themselves sometimes have the tables turned on them, said Lord Foucault.

"Being slaughtered myself was shocking at first," he said. "When it happened on a public street where anyone could see it, I was shocked."

Surprisingly, however, some players find that, even though they identify with the emotions their characters feel, they don't always think being slaughtered in the game is all that awful, especially after the first time. And that has every bit to do with the fact that they know they are participating in a world where, as Lagny says, players are encouraged to act as they wish.

"We get very emotional about what happens to our characters, as we do put a lot of work into them," said Phoenix. "But we also need to remember (that) when we signed up for the game that we were all warned about what can and will happen in the game. And we have to figure out how our characters will deal with the 'emotional damage.'"

For Lord Foucault, that meant deciding that what had happened to him was "cool" and then figuring out ways to make sure it didn't happen again.

Ren Reynolds, who wrote about Sociolotron on the blog Terra Nova and who has written about rape issues in single-player games, said it's vital to remember that what happens in the game stays in the game. Therefore, he added, people shouldn't be afraid that the game's players will step away from their computers filled with violent lust.

"It's extremely spurious," Reynolds said, "to argue that playing the game is going to encourage real-life acts of rape."

In fact, Reynolds said, the fact that rape and other so-called bad acts are possible in a game like Sociolotron can actually be a valuable social experiment.

"On the face of it, it looks immoral," he said. "But there are all kinds of reasons, from notions of what games are and what imagination and playing with concepts are, and the fact that, assuming that everyone there is an adult and knows what they're doing, it's not that easy to mount a moral argument against it."

More to the point, said Ginger, Sociolotron's world is one where caveat emptor is the ruling philosophy, and adults who consent to participate in such a world should be left to their own devices.

"If you can't handle virtual bad things happening to you in a virtual world, then you really shouldn't be playing," Ginger said. "This place has been created to get away from the mainstream, to give players a dark environment with which to play in. If they don't want a dark environment where bad things happen, then they should go back to (The Sims Online) or wherever else it was they came from."

Information Source : Wired News!

*Puts soapbox down and jumps ontop*

This is probably going to sound really harsh, but after reading through that you have to think "Why?" Why would someone make a game where rape was a part of it etc, but more the point why the hell are people playing it that are obviously getting upset about it in real life. If you want to play a game like that, sure go ahead I aint gonna stop you... but if your character is slaughtered, mugged, beaten up in a game.. something that is not real please don't cry about it in real life.

I would actually be more supportive and understanding if someone came to me in tears saying they have just lost their 60AC with massive stats breastplate because someone they hit delete without checking and a GM won't give it back before I would comfort someone who's character was slaughtered. I felt wrong but I actually laughed at the guy who was upset that he got slaughtered by another guy because I can probably guess what he got the game in the first place *raises eyebrows*

"I get out of it what I would get out of an erotic book, some excitement that is without real danger, something risqué," she said. "I enjoyed the Anne Rice Beauty series, (and) it's a bit like being in that book."

That type of player in my opinion can play a game like this... he/she knows it's not real and hopefully won't let it effect his real life.

"While being raped, it's a loss of control," said a female Sociolotron player known as Phoenix. I "have (only) been raped once by an unknown rapist, (and it) scared the daylights out of me at first."

How would a gamer like this cope the first time they were feared in EQ? Back when you actually ran instead of spinning in a circle... what about if they were in KC (Karnors Castle) otherwise known as train city where sometimes trains were so bad you couldn't get to the zone because 50 mobs had pinned you on the spot. Would they class that as a gang rape? I know we used to in EQ lol.

"I spent about an hour talking to a male victim of a male rapist in the game," said a player known as Ginger, "and he was actually quite distressed about it all in a real-life way."

This type of gamer should never have been allowed to go into EB Games and purchase it in the first place!

[boscolio]

i find this to be an interesting concept. in game rape is like a version of one-sided pvp, but in a psychological form. i can't say i do or don't agree with this idea. i do know i won't ever play it.

i also find it curious that the men participating in this beta didn't seem to consider male rape. they shouldn't play if they can't handle the idea.

the griefing that will happen to low level player is disturbing in itself. not only the amount but the scope of this griefing.

on the otherhand a game with this element is aimed at a specific audience. i hope that the people who will choose to play this understand the realism involved. there are people (men and women) who have rape fantasies. i'm sure those folks could enjoy that sort of element in this game.

ideally, the game this will attract the audience it caters to. with luck no one else will get sucked into it.

[Azathoth]

I pretty much agree with your thoughts Akasha.

The people who can seperate reality from fantasy will do just fine. In my experience, however, far too many who play online games CAN make that distinction. Just think of all the stories about broken homes/marriages, or children left unattended because of EQ.

[Dilatos]

I guess this is coming from a weird mans perspective... But I think that a game like that is only a step backwards in the scheme of things... Games should be about venting a persons frustration yes. And they should be about a person living out a fantasy... But if rape is a fantasy for you, I don't know what to say, guess I really got speed things up and get to college so I can study psychology, maybe then I will have a clue.

I just think that people who may have fantasies like that may only be furthered or in a way have things that they had long kept in control, lose a lil grip on that. Sorry but its just my view that people in this world can be deranged at times, and I cannot help but notice that something like this is trying to break barriers between fantasy and reality. Such a thing like that can be dangerous for some. But I guess for the controlled people it shouldn't hurt too much... All I will say is this, I am betting alot of "I told you so's" are going to come outta this and not in a good way.

[Corrupt_magi]

*sigh* All I have to say is that's just wrong in so many ways. I mean not to mention that rape is actually part of the gameplay what the hell!? Who thought up that? I mean sure some may say that it is innovative but can you really say you have fun having a pixelated male/female (hey it happens) rape you? Eh I can't really make a difference but tell me how many of you would find that fun? or would some of you be aroused by it (I hope this is on topic) well that's your business so don't tell me although I asked...well anywho we can't really stop these people (unless of course we dictate there are actually psychological effects fo being slaughtered and there are whoever said there wasen't needs to look into some rape cases that I worked with) It's a sad day in the gaming world when something like this is "created" a monster far worse than anything frakenstein could have created. Some may argue that we are given freedom to do what we please esp in a virtual world where what we do to other players well I have a message for those who wish to think of themselves above the "laws" even on a virtual stand point there are limits to the freedoms the government gives us, and besides we don't know what type of effect we have on the people we grief or do whatever to. For all we know the people we laugh at in the game or make fun of or you know just grief (not saying any of you do any of that stuff just talking about the overall community) could be on the verge on a mentality that borders on psychoitc as such they could become enraged by your constant beligering and decide to go kill some people...oh god...I've ranted for far too long and have no idea what I was talking about...well anyway *waves hand* heck I forget just go out and eat something or something I'm going to go get some food

Bottom line: um..It's wrong