23 Comments
User's avatar
Chris (90s and 00s nostalgia)'s avatar

You turned "does every game need a big titty mod" into a genuine cultural history essay and somehow made it heartfelt by the end. That's talent right there.

The Homie Big Picture Mode's avatar

AYO! Thank you so much glad you enjoyed it. It was a wild piece to build, but I’m glad people get to have it now.

Roger Renfro's avatar

Ass Effect for the Sexbox 360 has lived rent free in my mind since that segment aired. I played Mass Effect when it came out, and when the sex scene happened it was so short and tame that I wasn't even worried that my parents would walk into the living room while it was happening. They'd probably be more offended at the fact that I chose the blue alien thing to get with.

Awesome article. Loved the historical context.

The Homie Big Picture Mode's avatar

Bro, watching that Fox News segment live had me yelling at tv. Admitting that you got caught lying and still being like nahh you’re lying is CRAZY WORK.

Jayden's avatar

Mate this was equal parts hilarious and impressive journalism.

The Homie Big Picture Mode's avatar

Yo! Thanks so much, I really wanted to push my limits while writing this one. Glad you liked it!

Scott M's avatar

Well, it’s a moddable video game on the internet. Doesn’t matter whether it needs it per se (probably not), but someone will inevitably create it

Marcy's avatar

Tokimeki memorial being mentioned???? Bit yes I agree that sex is huge in the modding industry, heck the wicked Whims creator makes over $5k a month because of it.

The Homie Big Picture Mode's avatar

Yo Marcy! Off rip, I played so much Tokimeki during the research portion of this piece. I love these games now. On the other hand, I didn’t know shit bout the booming economy that is Sims erotic mods. The Patreon exclusive mod world is DEEP!

Marcy's avatar

So many folks always recommend that one mod and MCCC because it’s so layered lmaooo. Even I can’t live without it in my game.

Another hand it’s so rare to find folks who played any of the tokimeki series because of the localization unless you use emulators or use forums. Glad you enjoyed it!

Troy Klingler's avatar

This is a rhetorical question, right?

Amy J's avatar

This was a golden read, I loved it! You took me on a rollercoaster and it was so much fun. There’s so much nuance around sex and media, what’s considered “tasteful” or “crass”, and you definitely covered the whole spectrum here.

However, I’m sadly reminded of “nude” and “tig ol’ biddy” mods sadly prove that good old misogynists are still around. (Mostly) Men aren’t happy until they can see women without clothes, and they will, because they can and they think that’s their right. 🙃 I enjoy when the female characters seem to have some agency, like if you fuck up your choices, you don’t necessarily get the sexy options, there’s no forced nudity or submissive character going along with whatever. It’s not a given that you’re going to get to see those boobs, and that’s the same IRL! You gotta work for that!

My friend and I howled with laughter at the OG Sims cheat where you could move the shower and bed while they were using them. Those poor Sims were flat as Barbie and Action Man though, and when they were meant to be “woohoo-ing” the character models just lay there dispassionately. Probably more like real life than us kids realised at the time 🤣🙈

Finally, oh my I’m in love with Dorian from Date Everything but that might be more to do with my huge fangirl crush on Ben Starr aka Clive Rosfield 🙈

The Homie Big Picture Mode's avatar

Yo Amy! Glad you dug the piece! I was lucky to come up on a lot of games with female characters promoting their autonomy. It’s one of the reasons I love Parasite Eve and FFX-2. Despite all the learning, the industry still fucking up, but shit has kinda improved from the early 2000s.

Sims cheats and bug fixes will always be funny. If you ever need a laugh just scroll through Sims patch fixes logs.

Zack Goodwin's avatar

Vallhalla mention! Dorothy simultaneously makes me extremely uncomfortable and exists in a place very dear to my heart.

Also it's funny that Evangelion is what you bring up as a Gainax example. Is it probably their most famous work? Yes. Does it have any examples of Gainaxing? No. Gurren Lagann is a much better example. Or the world's most irreverent comedy anime: PSG.

This was a fascinating read.

The Homie Big Picture Mode's avatar

Y’all KNOW IM MENTIONING VALHALLA! Eva got that mentioned for comedy sake and its mass awareness. Gurren Lagann RIPS tho.

Jay Rooney's avatar

> “SHUT UP DICKWAD, Viva La Bam is on!”

🤣🤣🤣 Yup, I remember those days alright!

Excellent work, as always!

The Homie Big Picture Mode's avatar

YO JAY! Thanks so much. I had Viva La Bam episodes running on repeat while writing this section. Glad to know I nailed the vibe.

Jay Rooney's avatar

Hell yeah, brother! I could feel the EXTREME(-ly cringe) late 90s to mid 00’s vibes pulsing through my screen, set to a Nu Metal soundtrack, obviously (man, that was a weird time to come of age in lmao). Totally nailed it! Didn’t even know about that Guy Game before, but after seeing that screenshot, yup that was an early ‘00s title alright 😆

Oh yea, I forgot to answer your prompt: I had a HUGE teenage boy crush on Tifa growing up, so I’ll throw her name in the vidya waifu ring.

Joe Ferencz's avatar

Great read / rant.

What’s interesting is in today’s gaming world, where there is no shortage of real and well-loved games designed to satisfy certain visual fixations, these mods persist. There’s a real human truth there. I won’t say what it is.

The Homie Big Picture Mode's avatar

Human reflections beyond a screen type shit.

DwarvenAllFather's avatar

Yes, yes they all do.