i replayed the game again after i read this answer by taylor on their favorite games and their appeal:
VA-11 Hall-A (2016) by Sukeban Games: This game had a sex worker character and her whole sex work thing was treated as more like a fun game. I hated the character and yet at the same time I couldn’t hate her because she was loved by everyone and was never shamed for it. It helped me realize that I wanted to explain sex work from my perspective. I hope one day I can make a game that feels as fun as this one.
taylor’s response to dorothy is perhaps the most interesting section of the entire interview. there’s no doubt that dorothy is a beloved character, but it does obscure some of the parts that make sex work actual work.
i am reminded of sections from Revolting Prostitutes: The Fight for Sex Workers' Rights by Juno Mac and Molly Smith who argue that people who are pro or anti sex work are missing the point: sex work is work and we all work in order to receive wages to live. in the semiautobiographic case of He Fucked the Girl Out of Me, the protagonist is doing it to get hormones. poverty means people who want to live will have to find means, even ones that they don’t want to do. medicine, food, shelter, etc. are all necessities people need, but they are forced to do shit that’s stigmatized to this day.
i think it’s tempting to look at the bright side of (sex) workers and say they are the brave and heroic underclass. but underdogs don’t really exist in real life: people just want to live and get respected as a human being. games like He Fucked the Girl Out of Me remain important because they show so clearly and sincerely that the negative side of life exists. positivity matters, but so does negativity. as much as we’d like the world to be positive, there are negative hues coloring our world too.
it’s vital such games not only exist but get talked about as much as possible. its subject matter being difficult to broach is precisely why it needs to be talked about. i hope more honest games like this appear and i hope to contribute to this someday.
