Adult Analysis Anthology #2

Video games about sex have existed as long as video games have existed, but you'd never know it by looking at the past several decades of video-game-focused journalism and criticism. Adult games are seen as lesser, their content shameful and sophomoric, embarrassing to even acknowledge - never mind write about. Advertiser prudery more or less guarantees that no large outlets will ever dedicate more than the occasional article to the subject of adult games, and what other coverage that exists on the topic amounts to little more than surface-level reviews of new releases on small-scale enthusiast sites.

And yet - there are thousands of adult games, played by millions of people. From dubiously-translated Japanese imports, to crass, high-energy Flash photo hunts, to experimental Twine explorations of darker kinks, to the current-day crop of Ren'Py-powered visual novels and RPGMaker offerings, adult games have shaped and excited our sexuality through countless experiences. Surely, within all of those experiences, all of that history, all of that craft, there must be SOME things worth writing about!

And write about them we did, in the first-ever issue of the Adult Analysis Anthology! The reception to the first issue was so positive that we were able to complete a successful Indiegogo campaign to fund the creation of a second issue! This one's a beast, too - ten essays! Thirty pages and over 10,000 words longer than the first issue! We sincerely hope you enjoy this celebration of adult games and adult game culture!

CONTENTS

COMING OUT ON TOP: A TEN-YEAR RETROSPECTIVE - Davis G. See examines how seminal gay porn VN Coming Out On Top filled a huge gap in Western porn culture, and how it's shaped said culture well beyond its 2014 release.

DON'T PLAY COY: MARKETING ADVICE FOR ADULT GAME DEVS - A critique of the marketing copy for many adult games (which often neglect to discuss the kinks and fantasies the games appeal to), why it's a problem, and how to write copy that attracts the people who want to play your game, by RagingHadron.

FEMBOYS, FUTANARI, AND FINDING MYSELF IN THE SPACE BETWEEN THEIR BODIES -  A scrutinization of the pornographic character archetypes of the "futanari", the "femboy", and the "sissy", how these archetypes are articulated, how they are played against each other, and where their boundaries break down, using Tales of Androgyny as a lens, from Lynn Robinson.

THE DYNAMICS OF SEX IN THE RANCE SERIES - An examination by Eithi of the Rance eroge series and its employment of nonconsensual sexual relationships, and how entries like Rance VI and Sengoku Rance subvert this pattern.

WHAT MAKES A GAME STOREFRONT NSFW-FRIENDLY? - A discussion of what makes platforms like Steam and Itch hostile to developers of NSFW games, what an NSFW-friendly platform might look like, and how such a platform could service NSFW game developers, publishers, and, most of all, players. Told from the perspective of the developer of the upcoming Benefitship game, MadCreativity.

CUMMING TOGETHER: LEWDTUBING, EROGE, AND COMMUNITY - LewdNeko's recounting of four years as a VTuber/lewdtuber, sharing experiences with building a community that is centred around sharing sex/kink positivity and embracing porn gaming as a hobby, rather than as a shameful pastime.

THIS ABUNDANCE OF SEX IS KINDA NICE, ACTUALLY - Cozy games are all the rage - but what makes a "cozy" porn game? Writer Blit employs Project Horseshoe's report "Coziness in Games: An Exploration of Safety, Softness, and Satisfied Needs" as a framework to analyze three such games.

THE QUALITY AND QUANTITY QUANDARY OF ADULT GAMES - An interrogation of the ways that inflated, unrealistic expectations for the amount of content that ought to be in an adult game are being addressed by art thieves and AI-generated slop, by Leo G.

"I'M GAME IF YOU ARE" - RECLAIMING CONSENT THROUGH PORN GAMES - An exploration by Laney Norman of how porn/romance games help those with complex relationships to sex get back in touch with their sexuality in a controlled environment, drawing on the author's own experiences.

WHAT IF IT HAD BEEN GOOD: THE SUBVERSE REVIEW - Adult Analysis Anthology editor Bigg fulfills his Indiegogo-campaign-dictated obligations with this dizzyingly thorough review of one of Western porn gaming's most ambitious titles.

Note: The essays in this anthology will also be posted to the BP Games Cohost page over the course of July-September 2024.