CW: Sex/body horror, sexism, sexual violence, dicks

I added Agony to my wishlist at some point, but after further review, nope. I have thoughts about how creative direction & game design could aim for a hellish but anti-toxic experience, especially for the straight males.

I suspect they were just going for straight male gamer wank material. I'm talking out my ass because I haven't played it, but I have done some diligence reading up on it. Seems to be a toxic objectification of women that's just hypersexualized feminine body horror plus male gaze.

If they wanted to really disturb the straight males (and more of the rest of us) they should have focused on the player body & sense of presence, targeting that with the body horror, instead of women as sexy-scary background props. Pft. How about add anti-wank material?

For many men, myself included, uncertainty & dysphoria about my body is hellish. I've had moments where male health issues had me damn terrified. I have felt insecure about my masculinity when faced with not just the limits of my body's capability, but also it's appearance.

These relatable anxieties are ripe material for a horror game. Of course, this is not just a horror game, it's also dealing with the circumstance of hell, so there's a presumption of sin & subverting it for torment.

I'm not for sex shaming, but in the context of addressing perpetrators of sexual violence, straight male gratifying intercourse should NOT be a reward or a means as this game seems to wield it. I think flipping power dynamics nonsexually throughout play is what's appropriate.

Mess with expectations. What physical power players think they have, make it difficult to wield, risky & inconsistent. Throw non-jokey physical changes at them in a way that is preferably not disability or disease focused (ableist stuff), but alien, cumbersome & incompatible.

Honestly my uninspired designer brain's go-to is to make the player terrified for their dick. Dick puzzles? Dick mutations? Dick traps? I don't know. Dick trepidation seems requisite in sex horror, but I'm personally biased towards dicks.

Maybe throw in some butt stuff

Of course toxic masculinity is about the entire physical body & its limits (not that I'm an expert, just a dude). Maybe adduncertainty about what jumps you can make, what things you can lift, what you can reach, your coordination & timing.

There's also homophobia, how it can be addressed & subverted. Representation of different bodies, solidarity in real male struggles, men calling out men who engage with toxic ideas and behavior—these are good for subversion. Ground the male player with other men.

Solidarity with other human bodies is a pretty great direction in general. What if you get other souls in hell to help you get past puzzles? What if you have a special ability for self sacrifice? That is pretty affirming.

Dick regeneration from dick traps in dick puzzles to open doors for others.

Being left alone with your body, especially because of your body horror & consideration of its twisted necessity in navigating your way out of hell, could maybe make for interesting choices.

It could all be done without vaginas & without demonizing them. Monstrous vaginas are super sexist especially in this context. I'd rather see folks with different bodies from the player's as powerful allies, their minds & partnership resourceful. Eyes & ears against monsters.

Because I'm sure someone has a sex vs salvation idea for these other characters analagous to Bioshock saving vs killing the little sisters - no. No exploitation. No straight male sexual gratification. Just trial & error cowardice with puzzle/monster helpers every now & then.

Maybe your dick is the real little sister

Anyway, I'm not sure if this thread is good or useful or inspiring, but I feel like it was productive, at least for myself as a creative What do you think?