Wow, has it really been twenty years? My God.
Back in 1996, I released the first version of the sex game Onyx. It's a game for two to six adult players, played a bit like Monopoly (the players can buy properties on a game board) but with a twist. Each player fills out a profile specifying sex, orientation, and kinks, and if a player lands on a property owned by someone of the correct sex and orientation, the player can pay rent or work off the debt. Working off the debt causes the game to search its database of sex acts and draw an appropriate act that fits the genders and kinks of the players.
All very straightforward, right?
Fast forward twenty years. I'm working on (among many, many other things) an update to Onyx, Onyx version 4, and I'm a lot more aware now than I was then.
Twenty years ago, I thought there were only two possible sexes, and the idea that someone might be trans wasn't even on my radar. (And nonbinary genders? Way outside my conception!) One of the things this new update includes is a complete overhaul of my assumptions, which means a complete overhaul of some legacy code that stretches clear back to version 1.0.
Onyx 4 will allow players to specify their own pronouns however they like, and will be much more accommodating of trans and nonbinary players. As part of the update, I'm going through the database of sex acts, and man, I made a lot of assumptions.
Assumptions about pronouns. Assumptions about genitalia. Assumptions about what would and would not be possible when someone identified as a particular gender.
It's slow going. There are hundreds of actions in the database, and I'm having to go through and check every one: am I using hard-coded pronouns? Am I presuming what the players' bodies look like? (Spoiler: Yes. Yes, I was.)
It's been an interesting exercise, being confronted with these assumptions in a direct and systematic way. I hope the new version, whenever it's done, will be more accessible and accommodating for more people.
Back in 1996, I released the first version of the sex game Onyx. It's a game for two to six adult players, played a bit like Monopoly (the players can buy properties on a game board) but with a twist. Each player fills out a profile specifying sex, orientation, and kinks, and if a player lands on a property owned by someone of the correct sex and orientation, the player can pay rent or work off the debt. Working off the debt causes the game to search its database of sex acts and draw an appropriate act that fits the genders and kinks of the players.
All very straightforward, right?
Fast forward twenty years. I'm working on (among many, many other things) an update to Onyx, Onyx version 4, and I'm a lot more aware now than I was then.
Twenty years ago, I thought there were only two possible sexes, and the idea that someone might be trans wasn't even on my radar. (And nonbinary genders? Way outside my conception!) One of the things this new update includes is a complete overhaul of my assumptions, which means a complete overhaul of some legacy code that stretches clear back to version 1.0.
Onyx 4 will allow players to specify their own pronouns however they like, and will be much more accommodating of trans and nonbinary players. As part of the update, I'm going through the database of sex acts, and man, I made a lot of assumptions.
Assumptions about pronouns. Assumptions about genitalia. Assumptions about what would and would not be possible when someone identified as a particular gender.
It's slow going. There are hundreds of actions in the database, and I'm having to go through and check every one: am I using hard-coded pronouns? Am I presuming what the players' bodies look like? (Spoiler: Yes. Yes, I was.)
It's been an interesting exercise, being confronted with these assumptions in a direct and systematic way. I hope the new version, whenever it's done, will be more accessible and accommodating for more people.
Comments
<3!
There are many things on the map I personally believe are morally wrong: pedophilia, child sex tourism, rape, and yes, fetishizing trans people.
Are you saying that nobody ever fetishizes trans people, and you're mad at me because the map says people do?
Other great feature would be the ability to choose multiple card decks to a game depending on the mood and players. E.g. take the basic deck and add a couple of specific fetish decks to suit the players.
Onyx 4 will make it easier to share decks, since you'll be able to put a whole bunch of deck files in one folder and it will automatically use all of them.
Back when I got it originally (a few years back), I built in a deck of my own particular interests: hypnosis/mind control, verbal bondage, and threw in a few trap cards "X, pick a word that Y is no longer allowed to use. If they do, you're allowed to do Z..." that kind of thing. The deck is gone (lost in transfer between computers), but I'd be curious to rebuild it on the new model...
I was 8, when you first created this ^^
The players were a mix of experienced BDSM edge and novice, dominant and submissives. What we found, was that dominants were often being asked to do non-dominant things, or people having hard limits, such as feet, were having to use opt-outs too frequently.
So, we'd be looking at having the prop system revised into a more general user giver / user receiver system. I'd also see if that could be extended into a actions system, where it could help to keep types of actions in classifications to make that easier to restrict or encourage groups of items.
(Prop = mild dominant ; user = giver | receiver …)
Two problems need to be addressed. Player profile creation time, and difficulty editing.
Profiles can probably be simplified by choosing from a number of defaults, including props and limits in the sample "default" profiles. (Use cases will be helpful here)
Editing is gonna be the real problem. Various sorts and views will be needed to help in making a good well balanced game and deck. (Or Decks)
Anyhow ... Thanks for a good game, even if we're bending the rules arbitrarily while playing.
Really looking forward to the newer version. Ideally one where I can choose what gender I am and what genitals I have separately.
I don't know how many times I have been annoyed about having to drag out the computer and boot it up and then having to turn it around for each players turn.
Just running it on a surfpad on the table would be easier to do and bring on trips and so on...
Btw thanks for a amazing game.