One of the great taboos of any society is rape. It is an extremely sensitive subject, and probably not one that is appropriate as entertainment. However, aside from a genre of Japanese simulation games, the one video game that approached the subject with any sort of maturity was Harlan Ellison's "I Have No Mouth, And I Must Scream", the video game published by Cyberdreams based on his novella of the same name.

It isn't playable, but there is a character named Ellen who was a victim of rape, who is forced to confront her anxiety and fear over the past event. It was handled as sensitively as one could imagine, and was not the sole focus of the game. That's as close as the games industry has come to that particular subject.

To put aside the subject of sex-related taboos, some people also consider religion a fairly hot-button topic. For the most part, religion is only handled as a passive mechanic, where a player may decide to choose from a pantheon of gods who will impart specific powers to their adherent. I can't think of an instance of a game that specifically addresses the concept of religious belief, unless you count the upcoming Dante's Inferno game, to be published by Electronic Arts. That title certainly pays lip service to the concept of the Christian belief system, but only in the sense of its use of Hell as the setting for violent adventure.

Thought they may argue otherwise, the game's designers have included elements of sin and redemption in the game that really only serve as set pieces and changes of opponent, rather than any serious meditation upon the nature of humanity. To be sure, there has been some controversy surrounding the title, but ironically a lot of the furor comes not from religious camps but from players themselves who seem to view the whole thing as contrived.

However, there is a particular section of gameplay that involves the killing of "bad babies", or infants that attack the main character. At this point, it isn't known what the nature or origin of these creatures are, whether they are the shades of mortal babies, or demons in infant form. But the inclusion of an Achievement for their wholesale slaughter is certainly beyond the pale.

For the most part, it doesn't seem as though taboos make for good, or even interesting gameplay. Underage sex hasn't been an issue, nor has the subject of abortion. Political ideology has remained absent for the most part. But none of this presupposes that it's not possible for a game to tackle these topics, merely that very few have.

Would a game that discusses the concept of any kind of taboo be interesting merely because it makes the point? Would any game be improved by deliberately courting controversy? Should games purposefully stay away from subjects that are too sensitive?