Dating games

He says the point is emphatically not to find a date in the actual world. The point is to play with erotic fantasies that may not be available in humdrum old reality. "This is a fantasy. It's not there to hook up people in real life, although, for sure, we're not stopping anyone. We're giving people the ability to either play themselves or another character and then interact without the potential negative downsides of having to deal with people in real life."

The business model is yet to be decided between straight subscription or pay-per-play. Republik, a small start up, is due to announce a partnership with a "very large media distributor" that will supply marketing dollars and expertise. This unnamed company has some experience in the adult market.

Graphical realism

No screenshots have yet been released, but Coshland says the focus is on graphical realism. Characters will be customizable, but not to an especially deep degree. Gameplay is based "on whatever the player wants to do". There are no character improvements although it may be that extended gameplay opens up new areas within the game.

A game like this, though, is bound to attract a significant percentage of weirdos, oddballs, misfits, perverts and other social bacteria. How will the online world be policed?

"We can't control what our community becomes, with the exception of prohibiting people from illegal activities, he says. "But we can control, in terms of our product, the settings because we are building it. We are trying to design this to stay on the high end. We're not supporting off-beat things."

moscallout"We can control the settings because we are building it"/moscalloutHe says players can set their own preferences or limits and "can play the whole game fully clothed, if they choose". He adds that legal costs associated with the development of the title are an enormous expense. "We probably spend as much on legal as we do on development," he says. "It's something we have spent a lot of time focusing on."

Another expense that'll kick in next year is publicity. Won't this product attract a great deal of fierce debate about the nature of games, of pornography, of sexual behavior? "We expect both negative and positive coverage," he says. "When you push the boundaries that's bound to happen and it's something we are prepared for. But we stand behind the design of the product and we think it's a good thing. There is no shame in it. We're proud of it."

Gay content

Gay content will be a part of the game, although the details have not been resolved. It's not clear if players are able to choose a gay experience or relationship within the main game. Republik says there may be a separate area. "It's something that we're working on and thinking about right now," he says.