Animals and Mating(not vacuum spam) lol.

Hey everyone it's been awhile, been sorta on a really long break that was much needed.
But I'm back at deving again and there's an idea of a game I'm trying to make.

I'm really struggling on how to handle a very very very important part of my game - mating between animals.
It's an online multiplayer game - mating would essentially be a way for players to get to your group without having to walk across the world to get to you and of course you start out as a small baby and have to grow over time.

But - how would someone handle the 'act' of mating when it's one of the most important mechanics in the game to make the game believable.

I'm not interested in private parts showing or anything, just simulating the 'act' without going overboard and getting an Adult Only rating for my game, I have no idea what constitutes as 'Adult Only' when I see games like GTA V not get it, but I think that has more to do with big AAA money. I'm not interested in hour long 'sessions', just more like 5 seconds to at least make it seem like something happened.

I know most if none of us are lawyers. Just looking for non-official advice on how I might should handle this.
I am not going to just skip it so that's out of the question. It has to be believable, and to do that - there must be an act of mating involved.

 

Tilt the animal to the rear back by 45 degrees, cover them in a mosaic censor. You have conveyed the idea and even if somebody applies a decensor hack somehow, all they're going to see are two barely animated animals awkwardly bumping into each other.

 

I would totally play a game that had bears (for example, any other higher-order vetebrate would be ok) that just underwent mitosis.

 

Check out Niche. One of the primary mechanics of the game is mating. From memory they simply throw a few hearts on the screen and then the female is pregnant. That's all you really need. Pick something that fits the general aesthetic of the rest of your game.

The Sims, Spore, Pinata and even Pokemon are other games with examples of totally non explicit mating.

 

In movies when humans have sex, they sometimes substitute file footage of animals having sex.
Perhaps do the reverse.

 

What if they retreat to their den, like couples in Fallout Shelter disappear into the bedroom, and then the female walks out pregnant?

 

Dwarf fortress does this really well.
If male and female creatures were ever on adjacent squares chances are female is already pregnant.
Step 1: Stand within a meter of a female.
Step 2: See you in family court.

 

Maybe just make them blush with some hearts... I sicken myself.

 

Hey sorry for not responding yesterday got quite busy..
Definitely some good ideas on here.

But the thing is - if you watch Animal Planet for example - it doesn't censor animals doing the deed, so perhaps if I didn't go crazy with it and just had a couple humps and stop that would be okay. But the Den idea someone mentioned is quite awesome as well. But I'd have to study up on what the dens for the animals look like.

The first map of the game will be in Africa - so lions, cheetah's, elephant's, rhino's, crocodiles, etc.

I guess you could say my game is a life simulator - you can either start on random area of map of an already somewhat aged child that can go around and hunt/survive, or you can be birthed in to quickly get to a pack and start as a baby and slowly age to maturity over time.

 

I think it depends on the target audience.

If the audience was young children I'd have the two animals stand next to each other side by side, some red heart shapes float up between them, and a stork swoop in to deliver the baby.

If the audience was teens I'd probably be ok with one animal mounting the rear of another animal without any back and forth motion of the animals or any parts modeled.

 

Yeah I'm starting to realize the safest route is to just some how 'make it happen' without actually taking the action to do it. perhaps just have both animals laydown next to eachother and do a "press E to mate" or something and the screen just go black for like 2 seconds and be done, then have a random chance to have 1-3 babies after 10 minutes of waiting, then you can just invite players and pop out a baby lol.

Not only is this easier design wise (no special animations, etc), it's just probably the best route to take for over-all ratings in general to whom is allowed to play it.


But I'm not really targeting children, it's a survival life-simulator I guess you can say.
Grow up as E.G. - a grizzly bear for example and have to hunt other players, whether that's bleeding them to death, or being a hyena and ripping their leg off and running with it, etc. So I can easily see it being a MA raiting, and that I'm fine with, I just simply don't want an AO (Adult Only) rating simply because of a simple mechanic to make my game believable.

I could always just do likewise as above that someone mentioned - blur them out during the session.
Could also always add an option in options to either blur it out or not so I could keep it realistic in terms of animal behaviors - but also put it as an option as soon as you start the game - a little warning message and either to allow the viewing or to blur out the ones doing it.

 

Nice society we live in when we have to be more concerned about showing mating and not violence.

 

Violence is how (practical) problems are solved but dude, mating is gross...

 

I don't think there is absolutely anything controversial about animal mating. Plenty of tv rated PG with animals mating.

 

Violence is typical of video games, and market place rules for violence in their games are well understood at this point. Depictions of animal sex are unusual in games.

 

Do it like GTA San Andreas. Let the animals walk into a barn and let the barn shake when they're doing it.

 

But this game doesn't depict humans other than humans hunting you down (other players).. This game is simply - spawn in as a young wolf for example - grow over time, be in a pack/herd, and survive as long as possible. When you reach a certain age you can mate and birth out another player (so they don't have to trek 20 miles to get to you)... It's really a mechanic that gets you instantly to your friends so you don't have to travel 20 miles or whatever but if Birthed the con is - you start as a baby rather than a somewhat aged child animal that can defend its self.

 

Not saying there's anything necessarily wrong with showing animals mating, but the degree to which something influences a human mind for better or for worse cannot be predicted simply from how apparently destructive in nature it is.

 

Near every leaving form has one, or other form of mating and breading. We only perceive something to be acceptable, or gross, because we been told so, as form of taboo and control. Yet killing and blood shading is complete fine in medias, and trying to cover every element of healthy sex life. Going to zoo in spring can be very surprising for many.

 

Why is this even necessary? Why can't a new player just spawn-in where they want to be? If I want to play the game with a friend then I have to sit around and wait until they "reach a certain age"?

 

Why not, if that is major part of the game design.

 

You don't have to sit around, you can walk to them. Otherwise you're gonna have mega tribes insta-spawning with groups thus breaking the realism of the 'life simulator'.

There are no bases in this game, no crafting, nothing - simply surviving (eating, drinking and birth) nothing else and nothing more. The hunters on the other-hand still won't craft, etc. They simply spawn somewhere - most likely camps where they can get an ATV, change their weapon, etc.

 

Pan to the window and play the sax in the background.

 

You can do something like your friend summoning/teleporting you to him, you spawn in as a kid and you remain like that until you preform some kind of action to become an adult, giving the player the freedom to be w/e.

edit:

Don't you mean "Press F to.." *clears throat* "pay respects"?

 

Spore or Viva Piñata are other examples. All depends on the target audience.
Also think about this, how do players and streamers react. "Man I need to spawn. Ok let me just f*ck that one over here."
Or even worse, if all animals are players, do two players have to mate?

Maybe you can solve this differently, in a game design way like you have X spawns left and get new ones each day or so, up to a limit.