That raises the question, what, then, constitutes corruption? If Sabia literally whoring herself out to gain power and favor isn't, then what is? Is it only corruption when it's "Bimbofication"? Sabias #1 approach to any problem seems to be "Lets suck some dicks and see if the problem goes away", so even that applies. Nobody ever said "corrupted" girls don't enjoy sex, quite to the contrary, your typical corruption game is about making a girl lose all shame - and that also applies to Sabia.
Unless you're defining "Corruption" as something really weird that probably would not apply to any self-styled "corruption" games, Sierra is simply wrong on this one. I mean, you can prove me wrong by offering a definition of "corruption" that somehow applies to those corruption games and the concept as it's traditionally understood, but not to KoD, but I'm not gonna hold my breath over here.
Oh, and in case you're wondering, Shame/Shamelessness is what I consider to be the primary "Corruption" axis, and what traditional corruption games primarily work with, with addition to submissiveness as a second one in trainer games in particular.
Defining corruption is easy, in my opinion. However the problem is that its so loosely defined as a genre. Much of what is classified as corruption is actually a Molestation/Rape game. For instance, you'll find corruption on Anna's Exciting Adventure, Elena's Life, Katie's Corruption, Road Trip, California Bound, etc. California Bound and Katie's Corruption do have just enough options to keep them from being full molestation games, but also both have paper thin premises for the blackmail or forced sexual content to occur and still include a lot of forced sex, therefore making them less about corruption and more about forced sexual encounters.
Corruption, lets look at the word:
- the action of making someone or something morally depraved or the state of being so.
Disclaimer: I do not believe female sexuality is actually morally depraved. However for the sake of the argument of the existence of corruption we aren't looking at how we believe personally, but how A the character believes, and B the society around the character reacts. If her sexual deviancy is treated with shock, its safe to say that society believes her to be morally depraved. If she feels dirty for her actions, it's safe to say that she feels morally depraved.
Now, note, its not making someone perform actions that are morally depraved, but making that person morally depraved. And that's the kicker. In order for something to be corrupted it has to become that which you are "changing" it into. In most of the above games the MC doesn't ever actually become a slut. She doesn't ever choose to do those things. She is always forced. Katie's Corruption, if you manage to defeat the boss, even has you go back to your normal life and live for the future as if nothing ever happened. Most of them give you insight into the character's mindset and tell you explicitly that she doesn't want to be doing this. They may make her second guess herself, starting to believe the things their abuser is saying, but internalizing abuse and actually becoming corrupt aren't the same thing.
In that sense, corruption implies that the corrupted one be complicit. They have to make a choice. They have to choose to use "Morally Depraved" methods to achieve their goals. Good Girl Gone Bad, Zoe's Temptation, Chloe18, and Coceter Chronicles all fit this. Ashley, of GGGB, is all about a girl who wants to explore her sexuality, and gives her the option to do more and more depraved things in that quest. Zoe's adventure is all about how corrupt she truly is, and whether or not she is a creature of lust or the fae as a result. Chloe18, the choice is made before the game even begins, but Chloe has decided to do whatever it takes to reach her goals. Tabitha starts out pretty sexually liberated, and if you play her as such you'll find there's not much to corrupt, but with the plethora of choices to be made to solve certain problems, its safe to say that the Tabitha who chooses sex is the one who's choosing the morally depraved way of doing things.
Now, I'm not saying that either game shouldn't be made, but I am saying that the average "Retard in Lechertown" isn't a corruption game, its a molestation/rape game. The liberated sexual adventures of Ashley, Zoe, Chloe, and Tabitha are much more in line with corruption, however, if you prefer to see sexual liberation as a positive, you could also call them coming of age.
I've not played KoD, however, knowing the premise, I know that the MC seems to be a stronger character and chooses sex, however I don't know if there's an option that isn't sex to balance the scale. Without the secondary option I don't know how her situation is any less molestation than the Retard in Lechertown, however if she does have the option and still chooses sex, because she sees it as a tool and isn't ashamed to use it, then it's certainly corruption.
