ABSTRACT
This chapter posits that there are three main schools of aesthetic, narrative, and presentation for sex in games and larger media: the sacred, the profane, and the mundane. For reference, the book refers to it as “the sexual trifecta.” Sacred depictions of sex emphasize transcendence, spiritual ecstasy, and intense passion and emotion. Profane depictions of sex emphasize lust, physical ecstasy, heat, and what we would call “raunchiness.” Mundane depictions of sex emphasize sex as something normal and natural in daily life, spanning anything from fun one-night stands to bored sex to pass the time to emotional romantic encounters. Of course, the lines between these three blur heavily, and many scenes (or larger themes of the game) end up as hybrids of two or three. The chapter provides a sample Venn diagram for the trifecta and suggests using it to analyze existing games or upcoming projects with sex scenes.
