And my parents put the TV on and a lot of things that i shouldn't have seen i saw. Watership down, Chucky, hell even some porn my dad had on VHS. I also discovered porn on the early internet at 13.

I know ratings are guidelines, from things you don't have to explain to have fun, and kids understanding fantasy isn't reality and they shouldn't emulate what they see or do in a game/movie.

Then there's healthy and unhealthy things to learn. Call me old fashioned, but kids should be able to have the energy to run outside, play in the dirt, and just be kids, and they will grow up in time but you don't destroy innocence and trust. If you have to explain it before they are old enough, it probably shouldn't be there.

If you yourself watched stuff like that when you were young I don't get why you're so worried about it with kiddos today? Did you not turn out fine? Do you think you were scarred in some way? I don't really agree with this at all, I think the US is way too prudish about sex if anything. Even if I did agree with it though, I have to again say I don't think CRPGs are made for little kids. I get that your point seems to be they SHOULD be made with kids in mind, but I very much disagree with you there. CRPGs are usually pretty mature level of games, both in gameplay (tactics, strategy, moral choices) and story.

I'm totally with StingingVelvet here. I'm pretty sure most kids in the western sphere discover violent games and erotic material in their teens (at latest!), and that's not really a problem. If anything, I feel like teen years is probably the best time of life to be enjoying games, and it would be a shame if the selection were limited to disney and sports games.

That said, everything in moderation. I wouldn't feel good about teenagers watching porn and brutal gore all day long, but thankfully most adults are responsible enough that it is not happening anyway, even if they let their kids have a bit of fun with GTA and sometimes a movie that has a scene or two with exposed skin and then some..

For sure, don't just hand 18+ games to your 7-year-old who still probably ought to be playing more outside than in front of a screen. But a few sex scenes in what is presumably a lengthy CRPG isn't going to turn it into a "porn game" (even if it had AO rating) and isn't exactly a massive step from the 90s games with their demons, torture chambers, brothels and sex slaves, gory gibs and human flesh armor.. the 13 yo kiddo who's presumably old enough to have discovered porn for themselves anyway is surely not going to be broken if they happen to witness an adult scene among all the other stuff that's going on in these games.

I think that these CRPGs are complex games with complex mechanics and lots of text; they are clearly made not made for little kids. And I think they really are better off for dealing with mature topics in a mature way, and that is for the better for both adult players and the teens whose parents aren't too hung up on the ratings. They don't need to be made for kids, and watering them down would just ruin 'em for everyone.

I remember some old games having parental controls but even that seems kinda pointless; if the game is dealing with mature topics that seem too much for the 7-year-old daughter, I'd rather wait a few years before letting them play the game than pretend it's all fine if you just disable blood and cut a scene or two. Chances are it's just not the right game for them at that age anyway and a little bit of censorship won't change that.

Being exposed to the stuff early with no idea what it was and having nightmares hardly makes it fine. Can't say i've gone out of my way to watch any Chucky or that stuff when i got older, though there's certainly anime and other stuff that gets on par and maybe worse (but this is decades later). I've had many episodes especially when i was 12-16 where i had violent, terrible visions or horribly murdering my brothers and me, and it scared me. Add to that severe depression and at that point bible-thumping parents where i can't talk to them about anything, sounds like a recipe for a well ground up person to me. Yes i'm being sarcastic, that was a terrible childhood.

There was a thing some time ago where they were teaching about suicide to kids in school, probably historically relevant or interesting, but then a bunch of girls would be killing themselves in the bathroom. Then they stopped teaching that stuff, since if they hadn't put the suggestion/idea in their heads in the first place, those kids never would have happened. After Superman the movie came out, some kids were jumping off roofs because they thought they could fly. Recently there was also the TidePod challenge dare crap as of recent where they had to actually do a PSA telling you not to put those detergent bags in your mouth. I have no doubt that if some kids play games with bear fucking, a few of them will decide 'well what if i put this i my cat/dog' and you'll get a random string of stories of kids screwing or killing their animals or having injuries while trying to do so.

Kids are dumb when they are young, and experimental, don't put stupid ideas in their heads.

perhaps, but its called "identity" which is social media speak
so everybody will see that option, point is, this kind of nonsense is what pushes language changes
before you can say "BG3 is awesome af" you re in the center of a shitstorm because you used the "wrong language"
thats why i am so focused on it and that it should not be there at all

What i try too say here, we as players should start gatekeeping hard, Hogwarts Legacy was a valuable lesson
NOT to engulfe a game into this kind of stuff. Because creators where attacked over it, for no other reason than
to show the game to their audience.... what a bloody mess.

what this kind of option does, is erroding our language so stupid mindgames can be "planted"
ppl can be attacked for stupid internet points, that is what we witnessed the last 10 years over and over
and its propagandaed as a good thing, that is just insane.

Language evolves though, social norms evolve. I try very hard not to be the old guy yelling at the kids on the street because I hate change. Change is normal and inevitable, and as long as everyone is a consenting adult I don't care who they fuck or what they want to call themselves. You be polite to me, I'll be polite to you, and that's all that really matters to me.

I had to google it to check that specific video with the bear sex scene.

I don't understand why there is so much enthusiasm among the crowd. Perhaps it was staged and it was specifically requested by *proper people* to show *proper content for proper people*.

I find the scene ridicilious with the whole intention to be that way plus the content of course. Not my thing but I don't care since it was not specifically designed for everyone but for a specific group of gamers. In my RPG games with romance options I prefer to look at attractive naturally born female companion. So since the bear love is optional and can be avoided - why bother?

I will not buy it at GOG since GOG doesn't want my money. I don't know why but I bought it on Steam some time ago, no going back now.

It's mostly a gag, a bone thrown to furries maybe but also a gag. Look at their response to the "controversy" and how it's written.

Genital customization? Oh, so it's like Cyberpunk 2077.

When I heard people talk about a "Bear sex scene", I assumed it was bear on bear. When I realised it was bear on humanoid, I can't lie, it did put me off.

It's a druid, not a bear. He just takes on a bear whatever... shape? Image? Persona? In any case it's a druid. Don't get me wrong, it's freaking weird, but it's half a gag and Larian has always done silly shit and no one is forced to go for that romance at all. Honestly it's mostly about marketing.

It was a thing that was voted on, and they voted for it multiple times.

You are doing the "No officer! She's actually a 100 years old dragon goddess that just looks like a 10 year old!" excuse.

I'm not "excusing" anything because I don't think there's anything to excuse.