The H-Gamer’s Song of Dawn

by Katrien Jacobs


Hentai is a Japanese word referring to sexually explicit or pornographic Japanese games or other ACG (Animation, Comics & Games) products. H-gamers attempt a conquest of attractive female characters who exhibit the typical formal attributes of manga and anime. H-Games are extensively traded on P2P file-sharing sites, together with music albums, movie DVDs, computer programs and e-books. There is also a growing trend of amateur-made H-games, as many young people want to make a great hit H-game to start their successful lives.
A nice collection of English-language games involving schoolgirls, insubordinate secretaries, or lesbian nuns can be found on www.2adultflashgames.com. Reiko 1 is “a horny goth chic and likes to suck dick.” She is rough-edged and trendy biker girl who can stroke, lick, suck head, or give a blowjob. The game opens with an energizing soundtrack interlaced with sounds of Reiko’s sucking and gasping. ( www.2adultflashgames.com/f/f-reiko-1.htm). Another highly-rated game is the Hentai version of the anime classic Ghost in the Shell entitled “Motoko Fucks Batou.” This game unfolds on an eerie song, whereby the busty android Motoko finally gives in to the advances of her muscular side-kick, Batou. Of course it is the Japanese variety of sex, so Batou is in charge here. He has actually spread her legs wide open and can now stroke, spread, finger, rub or “sex” her vaginally or anally in slow, normal or fast motion. (http://www.2adultflashgames.com/f/f-motoko-vs-batou.htm)

H-Games come in many categories, including love strategies, storyline modes, simulation (2D), virtual reality (3D) and RPGs (Role-Paying-Game). There is a category the gamers call "strip and fuck", which is for someone “who urgently wants to jerk off.” Here one could grope the big-breasted and bound Kasumi and “feel her hard-core flash.” (www.sawatex.x0.com/games/index2.htm). But according to Sean H. Hsiao, researcher of Chinese sexual subcultures and author of Topography of Sexual Fetishism, there is also a more elegant or appropriate verb to describe the gamer’s climax, which is to “moe.” It is a Japanese term specifically from the ACG field which literally means “to have a strong flame burning inside your mind”…or the anticipation of orgasm mixed with “love, lust and appreciation.”

Male players like getting trapped deeply in the imagined female psychology and finding an emotional outlet throughout the conquest. But what about female players and their pick-up strategies? Wouldn’t women be even more prone to develop overwrought scenarios to adequately seduce men? Hsiao explains that there are currently two kinds of H-games for women: “One is what we called “straight girl oriented,” where a female is going to have romance with a handsome boy. The other is the very popular Boy Love (BL) series, in which the female player becomes a male to have relations with another handsome male(s).”


These BL games typically feature "bishounen" (beautiful, somewhat feminine-looking boys), and can range anywhere from innocent implied boys' love, to full-fledged male-on-male sex. BL has a long tradition in Japanese ACG, and is an intricate female appropriation of “masculine” types of sexual desire. The first BL game launched outside Japan was Enzai - Falsely Accused (2006). It is set in Napoleonic France some years after the French Revolution, where the player assumes the role of Guys, a youth falsely convicted of murder. In prison he encounters a series of characters who will help or hinder him as he tries to gather evidence to clear his name. One of the Enzai amateur videos on youtube has already garnered much discussion from female fans about the violent prison rape scenes. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60Jr8KiWH28).

Of course these BL games are also being checked out by straight men who are perhaps as curious as women about feeling the burning flame of a gay “top” or “bottom.” As Zigfried testifies in a review:” Playing almost feels more like reading an engrossing novel. But it's not necessarily a fun immersion. There aren't any paths that protect Guys' virgin ass. No matter what choices you make, Guys will suffer many humiliating, painful, and cringe-inducing moments, often involving foreign objects and blood. I dare anyone who enjoys playing "rape the girl" games (like Virgin Roster) to try Enzai out and feel what it's like from the other side!” (http://www.honestgamers.com/systems/game.php?game_id=13699)
 


Figure SEQ Figure \* ARABIC 1.screenshots www.2adultflashgames.com/f/f-reiko- and http://www.2adultflashgames.com/f/f-motoko-vs-batou.htm

Figure SEQ Figure \* ARABIC 2 Sawatex’ Kasumi

Figure SEQ Figure \* ARABIC 3. Enzai-Falsely Accused