[quote=“Hague, post:7, topic:6567”]Fallout 2 wasn’t a porn game either and it’s acclaimed in its genre. In that game you could have sex with: women, men, ghouls, deathclaws, dogs, and robots. With the right stats, you could even become a porn star yourself. None of the decisions were ever forced on the player but the existence of these things added to the environment. If you went to New Reno and there were no brothels or hookers, you’d definitely lose immersion. The presence of adult subject matter is easy enough to cover without being graphic. You had sex in Fallout but it was just the screen fading out to pass time and maybe a funny bit of dialogue or a message saying you strangely feel like smoking a cigarette. Though, I do recall if you made sure to get as much sex as you could, you’d get the Gigolo reputation trait and your character’s idle animation is them constantly scratching their crotch. Classy!
That said, I suspect if icky human sex stuff gets in the way of the hardcore ultra-violence, someone could always make an adult-based mod to the game instead. A liquor store with no porno rags seems a bit suspect, YMMV.
Back on topic:
Seems like vending machines should have a self-defense mechanism to prevent them from being tampered with, perhaps a defensive melee shock like the shocker zombies have? You can use a gun to destroy it, but if you bash it with your hands or a metal melee weapon you’ll get gassed or zapped? Sure, it summons cop bots, but I think a passive defense in addition would make them a bit more secure. At least you’d have to be a smarter ape about it. 
Also, on that note, what powers the vending machines? If it’s an atomic-powered thing, you’d think vandalizing it would be a source of radiation.[/quote]
I’m familiar with FO2. Surprisingly little for female PCs in it, though, and the only female (non-PC) party member I know of was a “penalty” NPC.
Specifically, Mria the rancher’s daughter: negligible skills/stats, no prospects for advancement, took up an NPC slot, and could not be disbanded short of death/sale. To the best of my knowledge, the only content available for the spouse NPCs was pimping them, forcing them to work as fluffers, divorcing them, or selling them into slavery.
So perhaps FO2 is not the best example.
I’ve very little problem with icky human sex stuff. The two porn games I’ve had the quasi-pleasure of seeing both go right through consent-bypassing and into rape, though. Rather a lot of the RP stuff that went on in the CDDA-uncut IRC channel was heading that way, last I was in there. I do have a problem with rape.
So that’s one reason I get twitchy.
When I added the vibrator, there was a fairly major pile-up of folks who found it Icky Ew NoNoNoNOOOO. I’m not sure whether they objected to the idea of sex after the Cataclysm, a vibrator as somehow non-masculine, or just found that sexuality got in the way of their ultra-violence. But that’s Twitch factor the second.
I’m not particularly eager to find a third.
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Yeah, I wouldn’t mind vending machines being able to defend themselves.