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Watch some episodes of Charmed and look at the characters the sisters are flirting with, they are all different kinds of straight woman wish fulfillment.
Ofc women also sometimes are in the mood to get railed and knocked up, then a big hairy muscular guy is often the thing. But that mood comes upon most women relatively rarely. It's a kind of comfort and trust that makes you want to melt into a guy.
To sexualize men for women, you have to understand women.
To men, attraction is largely visual. So to sexualize a woman for a male audience means making her look attractive, and dressed in a revealing outfit. Swapping the genders doesn't work. A visually attractive man in a revealing outfit is far more likely to appeal to either gay men sexually, or men generally as a power fantasy. To appeal to women you need a fundimentially different strategy altogether.
Consider erotic literature. Its a genre that is disproportionately popular with women. Its basically anti-porn, no visuals all story. Male characters in these stories are almost always sexualized by women for women. The attraction mostly from their choices and actions than appearance. You need a completely different approach.
Go read some smut. Talk to straight women about who and what they find attractive. You have to learn a lot about women to appeal to them. What they are looking for, and how they are looking for it is entirely different from men.
For anyone wanting to know more about these books, Reading Smut is a side-project podcast by the hosts of Reading Glasses. It's really interesting, with lots of thoughtful guests and often odd books. One of the first episodes covered a book about a door that comes to life and lusts after the woman who lives inside.
Consider erotic literature. Its a genre that is disproportionately popular with women. Its basically anti-porn, no visuals all story. Male characters in these stories are almost always sexualized by women for women. The attraction mostly from their choices and actions than appearance. You need a completely different approach.
Yes, its no visuals. Thats why there isnt 500,000,000 books with fabio ripped and glistening on the covers.
Hey, dont judge a book of smut by the rippling muscled hunk on its cover!
But how to sexualize male characters and do "fan service" for the female audience?
Easy, just add Caius Cosades to your game:
Jiggle Physics Ding Dongs
Conan Exiles has good donger physics.
I think you need to check out the genre of Otome games. There's hundreds of weird dating sim style games catered to women which feature a male cast.
It's debatable of how sexualized these characters are. But whatever they do appeals to their female audience.
Werewolf him
And vampire too
I think Hades is an excellent example of a game which just sexualizes everyone.
Seconding the otome comment, and a link to a relevant tag on vndb - you can probably find anything from not very sexualized to pure smut on that list, and there's often screenshots. https://vndb.org/g542
So lots and lots of cocaine. Got it!
Cocaine doesn't even begin to cover what happened during Zardoz.
Watch jojo. You are gonna get your answer best way possible
Jojo Rabbit? Not sure if Hitler is that sexy..
I've tried to get into Jojo so many times for the beautiful men, but I kinda get bored.
Regardless ,thanks Araki. I still love the art.
Strange, cause I'm a straight(ish) dude and it hooked me in season 2. Season 1 was cool, but the hyper batshit insanity of the following seasons hits.
I think I never finished season 1... I don't remember exactly but I felt it had a lot of filler. Might give it a chance again if season 2 is where it ramps up.
That's sexualizing men for everybody. He's asking how to do it specifically for women! It may seem like the same thing but it is different.
Same way. Hot bods, tight clothes, show plenty of skin.
Testicle cleavage and beer belly shirts. What's the sluttiest hair style a man can have?
Thinning on top with the "monk ring" style cut. Nothing gets the ladies going more.
But serious advice for guys, know when to just shave your head man. People like full heads of hair, people like bald, nobody likes thinning. Make the call and save yourself the embarrassment. Bald is beautiful.
According to my wife...
Dress shirt with sleeves rolled up to the elbow.
Kilts.
If it’s uncomfortable and disempowering for men, you’re probably doing it right. It’s often a power dynamic.
But to draw back from a sour take: This will also turn off some people. Both ways. For instance: I love sexualized designs, but some games genuinely went too far. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 and Nier Automata had genuine, serious stories to tell, but fell flat on some people for sexualizing their main (female) characters in such an objectifying way.
I also think for women, the pure visual isn’t quite as important as their movements and actions. That part gets tricky since tastes vary.
There’s a few gacha games out there designed for women that can give an idea of an extreme end to take it to. Again, keep in mind, there’s not one universal appeal for a whole gender (same for guys) so it will often turn out that the most universally appealing designs are the relatively safe ones you already see.
Love In Deepspace is your example of highly sexualized men for women.
I also think for women, the pure visual isn’t quite as important as their movements and actions. That part gets tricky since tastes vary.
I find Wolf (sekiro) very hot in part because of how his movement is animated. BUT the man looks like he hasn't bathed in weeks so... He's more of a "hear me out'.
And also not thinking about visuals... Yeah, a sexy voice can do a lot of heavy lifting for a character.
It depends on the genre of the game.
Fighting games like Mortal Kombat? Put the men in skimpy outfits that show their muscles like the women.
Survival game? I don't need to see the characters sexualized while they're trying to survive a zombie apocalypse. Give me character depth and growth, empathy, and strong story-telling visuals. I'll fall in love with man or woman that way.
I'll cite some examples:
Hades and hades 2 (all the characters) supergiant did it right in both fronts.
Khazan. (protagonist)
Elden Ring. Godfrey/ Hoarah Loux & Radagon. (Crumbling or whatever, I don't care)
Or give me a guy in full plate with a sexy gait, see: Demon's Souls Penetrator.
Or without sexy gait. See: DS1 Artorias
I'm sorry I don't make the rules.
ETA: Halsin! (BG3) how could I forget?
I can't believe you're into Halsin haha. I don't know how you manage to make a sex crazed man-bear insufferably boring but by gods, they did it!
(~~Lol, that's your objection on this list?)~~
^True,^ but I'm not exactly going for substance here, and I'm definitely into how Halsin looks (and sounds.)
There's plenty of well developed characters in BG3 that I'm not really offended by him being bland.
Tbh I'm not really all that into the way he sounds either, although I don't know how much of that is related to how he's written and acted. If we're just talking about the tone of voice I guess it's okay. But I've never really been one to go for the hunks, you know. A swelling bicep is nice and all but doesn't really move me much.
Now, a lanky tortured poet on the other hand... Something like Finn Andrews is a bit more my speed.
Oh my, how he looks at the camera... you present a strong agument tho I do not need convincing, I'm already here for it. (Also, cool song, I like it)
As an admirer of the physical form it's hard to not go for the classical examples of beauty in a question about overt sexualization (since op mentioned fan service). I threw in some wild cards in my list, but perhaps I'm just into being approached with murderous intent. XD
If we get a little more cerebral than that, yeah I guess you can talk about some more dimensional archetypes like "tortured poet" (and the like) and still answer the og question. Maybe a more interesting question would be, "how to better sexualize characters in videogames" and drop the gendered part of it. (Tho the female gaze is definitely an interesting topic to discuss, If one thing is true is that we as an audience are more open to variety.)
So hum... You are into the lanky and tortured? Is being a poet also a strong requirement for you?
Oh my, how he looks at the camera... you present a strong agument tho I do not need convincing, I'm already here for it.
Helps that his face isn't half bad either right but yeah, that gaze is just piercing isn't it? And the raspy vibrato just gets me too...
(Also, cool song, I like it)
It's a great band. I'm not even sure The Letter is their best song, it's just a great video to showcase Finn's beauty.
Also you gotta be careful saying things like that, you know. I might take it as an opening to send you a more songs I like.
As an admirer of the physical form it's hard to not go for the classical examples of beauty in a question about overt sexualization (since op mentioned fan service).
(...)
If we get a little more cerebral than that, yeah I guess you can talk about some more dimensional archetypes like "tortured poet" (and the like) and still answer the og question.
You know, it's my bad actually. I totally ignored the actual topic of the OP to needle you about Halsin and then started talking about my own preferences like a narcissistic asshole. So uhm, whoops?
I do think there is something there for me in the sense that - at least when it comes to men - I am definitely more drawn to archetypes, faces and "presence" (I refuse to call it aura out of principle). So like, I can appreciate some shirtless washboard abs and everything, it's nice, but it doesn't necessarily move the needle for me (figuratively and literally).
But again that is only navel gazing my own preferences and not really answering the OPs question at all. Also now that I'm really sitting down and thinking about it I feel like for some reason if we're talking about the male musculature then sculpted legs are kind of hotter than arms. Like, they go together obviously because if you just have one and not the other then the body will look awkward and disproportionate. But sculpted thighs are kind of hot. Biceps are overrated.
Maybe a more interesting question would be, "how to better sexualize characters in videogames" and drop the gendered part of it. (Tho the female gaze is definitely an interesting topic to discuss, If one thing is true is that we as an audience are more open to variety.)
Yes, this is an interesting topic for sure. I think the agency of the characters in question within the story and their characterization has a huge influence on the way any physical presentation is perceived. Even though sexualisation and objectification are often interlinked, they don't have to be by nature and I think this is the key. Someone can be an empowered sexual being without being characterised as an object of desire to be claimed by someone else. It's the difference between Bayonetta and Eve from Stellar Blade.
So hum... You are into the lanky and tortured? Is being a poet also a strong requirement for you?
Hah, I can be flexible. I do like the archetype and all, but as a wise woman in Disco Elysium said: "never trust a poet".
Just have to add on to all the preferences already described... don't make them vapid idiots on top of the physical preferences, and you'll be fine.
As long as they're a cohesive, fleshed out character, they could be an evil pile of shit and quite a few ladies will be thinking, "can I fix him?".
Same could be said for women characters, but it's WAY easier to sell to a horny dipshit than a horny lady, since most said dipshits don't think past hipthrust.
Just look at the sheer number of women who like Severus Snape of all people.
I cannot blame them. Snape is a cool character and not just because he was played by Alan Rickman in the movies.