It's hard to deny that sex sells, but in an industry where it's still thought that the main consumers of the media it produces are children, so-called "adult content" like sex straight up is still a hard sell, despite becoming increasingly more commonplace. The industry has gotten away with a couple of bare bottoms and nipples here and there, but that's about it, and only when the game's context allows for it. But Wicked Paradise is looking to change that, and in a big way.
Not too long ago, the developer announced work on a fully fledged, erotic, game, what its staff calls the "adult version of Heavy Rain." At first glance of the few pictures scattered on the game's official Facebook page, it doesn't seem like anything special, but here's the rub - the game is being marketed primarily for the upcoming VR headset, the Oculus Rift.
Erotic and virtual reality? Yep, there's probably a market for that.
Speaking with PCGamesN, the game's head, Jeroen Van den Bosch, "always found it intriguing that there are so many beautifully crafted shooter games on the market, but not a single, well designed adult videogame, so I always had this idea of creating a high quality adult video game...I had the chance to test a very early prototype of the Oculus Rift last summer and it blew me away. I immediately realized that Virtual Reality is the perfect medium for a highly immersive adult videogame."
With big name endorsers like John Carmack, Gabe Newell, and Sony president Shuhei Yoshida, not to mention the Rift managing to rake in close to $2.5 million on Kickstarter, the peripheral certainly has a future, but as for the game, that's considerably more difficult to say.
Typically, any game that receives a rating beyond "M" rating in the U.S. is considered a kiss of death, as most retailers will refuse to carry the title, and neither will most game streaming services like Steam, or Xbox Live. Such is why the "adult" market remains an unexplored territory for most developers, even if it is rife for potential.
Bosch and the rest of the staff are hopeful that by giving the game a strong narrative, good quality, and providing an experience for both female and male gamers of all sexual preferences, Wicked Paradise will be considered far more than just a bit of immature titillation. "The first series will be from a hetero male POV, but we'll have different series that cater to different genders and sexual orientations, it's our goal to ultimately have Virtual Reality experiences for everybody to enjoy," said Bosch.
"Storyline is very important for us," he continued. "We want to generate erotic tension between the player and the virtual characters. You need a solid storyline in order to achieve that. It will be a modern day setting, I think the best way to describe is like an adult version of Heavy Rain but completely designed for Virtual Reality."
Wicked Paradise is still early in development, but has already caught a lot of attention, right or wrong. We'll keep you posted as more information comes to light on this one. You can see some early test footage of the game below, but be careful, it definitely falls under the NSFW category.
