DEFINING THE TAG
For the purposes of the game tag, "Shota" can be defined as a genre wherein pubescent or adolescent males are presented in an erotic manner, most typically as the protagonist or main characters in the game. Most games with shota content are "straight shota", that is, the shota character is heterosexual and engages in sexual activity with girls his own age range and/or older women(typically, "milfs"). A game with a young male character who is not sexualized would not properly be considered "Shota" under this definition. Typically, the shota character, particularly if the Main Character, is seen as having agency and being the driving force behind most or all of the sexual activity in the game. This tag/genre is inherently controversial due to, first, legal considerations and restrictions regarding the graphic sexual portrayal of underage persons in media, even if said portrayal involves wholly fictional persons portrayed solely in digital form(i.e., unrealistic or pseudorealistic hand drawn or CG figures), and second, related moral, ethical or erotic-aesthetic objections thereto.
ASPECTS AND CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TAGGED THEME
The relative "innocence" of the shota character is a major aspect of the tag/genre. The character may be completely lacking in sexual experience and/or knowledge of human sexuality, driven by their own growing desires and hormonal urges and a sense of sexual curiosity. Or they may have limited sexual experience and be largely driven by a desire to consummate their own urges, particularly if there is something taboo or forbidden about those urges(e.g., incest, nonconsensual, various fetishes, harem).
The relative/apparent age of the shota MC may drive aspects of the story. A "tween" character(the most controversial) is likely to be the most innocent, unless they are a sort of "anti-shota"(see, e.g., Urban Demons) who is driven by a desire to corrupt and subvert their objects of affection. The mid-range age for a shota MC would be late junior high/early high school, and the upper end, arguably, is late high school/early college. Usually the shota MC starts as a virgin, though some may have limited prior experience(one or two girlfriends, for example).
Curiosity and exploration are major aspects of the tag. The shota character often engages in inappropriate behavior like peeping(voyeurism), "creeping", groping, etc. They may show inappropriate interest in family members, due to their proximity and the opportunity presented. The shota MC may also engage in relatively normal romantic/sexual activities such as dating, "fooling around", and so forth. One major characteristic of the genre/tag is the way adult characters interact with the shota MC--they often underestimate them, talk down to them as if they are younger than they really are, and make allowances for them due to their youth/hormones.
TYPES AND VARIETIES OF THE TAGGED THEME
"Straight shota" is the most common type of shota content. The basic premise is "young MC begins to explore their sexuality and has 'adventures' with various girls and older women". Content with a younger MC may be different thematically than that with an older shota MC(greater agency, broader selection of love interests). The challenges and difficulties faced by younger and older MCs will of course vary.
"Anti-shota" is a young character who is non-innocent, they are pursuing objects of affection in a more "ruthless" fashion, resorting to corruption, blackmail, coercion, domination, deceit and manipulation, even mind control to achieve sexual objective. Examples include Bobby from Bad Bobby Saga, and the MC from Urban Demons.
Shota games often features themes and tags common to other games, such as harem, mind control, incest(these tags seem to go together like "peanut butter and jelly"), voyeurism, etc.
COMMON SCENARIOS INVOLVING THE TAGGED THEME
The most common scenario involving the shota tag is the basic "contemporary suburban family household", typically featuring an attractive mother and younger/older sister(or both, or three sisters), attractive neighbors, possibly a best friend with a hot mom or sister, and of course an entire school full of temptations. The MC may or may not discover a means to make things a lot easier(e.g., mind control or other maguffin), but regardless, a path to success will eventually reveal itself. The "Angel MC" works hard to solve problems faced by the household and this leads the women in the household to offer themselves to him, while the "Devil MC" manipulates the situation to coerce, seduce, corrupt or manipulate the women to submit to his base desires.
Another common scenario is the "survivor genre", where the MC is part of a group(typically a family) who has survived some kind of societal upheaval and now must help rebuild society. The normal rules of society have been destroyed and the opportunities created give the MC a unique chance to succeed.
There are also fantasy scenarios (both sword and sorcery style and urban fantasy style) where the MC is a sort of "chosen one" and their success later in the game is largely based upon this status.
WRITING AND DEVELOPING FOR THE TAGGED THEME
1. Decide early on the "realism level" for the game and stick to it. Are there going to be fantastical elements like magic or mind control in the game? If so then you may not want to worry overmuch about whether the behavior of characters is "realistic" or not. But if you decide to make it more realistic, then just be consistent with that. Create a rationale for characters to say yes or no to the MC's advances. Give the MC a personality and motivation.
2. Write the shota at their age level and write the other character's dialogue to it as well. Don't have Mom talk to the adolescent son as though he's still 6! If she does, have it piss him off. If the older sister's only a year older, she's not going to call him a "little brat". And if the MC speaks to the older character with an air of maturity or precocity, it should be a bit jarring, and might even add an air of menace.
3. The MC is growing and learning; show that. There's going to be a lot of "trial and error" in the MC's efforts to succeed sexually. Don't be afraid to both show him failing, and then show how he can learn from that.
4. Don't explicitly identify the shota character's age. Duh. Not if you want Patreon to keep your page up. You can debate the absurdity of the law elsewhere.
5. The MC has succeeded against all odds. What now? Give some thought as to how to play out the typical scenario a bit further. How does the harem work? Is he really going to become a father in his teens? Do new goals emerge? Variety is the spice of life. Are there new positions, new fetishes, new women to explore?
For the purposes of the game tag, "Shota" can be defined as a genre wherein pubescent or adolescent males are presented in an erotic manner, most typically as the protagonist or main characters in the game. Most games with shota content are "straight shota", that is, the shota character is heterosexual and engages in sexual activity with girls his own age range and/or older women(typically, "milfs"). A game with a young male character who is not sexualized would not properly be considered "Shota" under this definition. Typically, the shota character, particularly if the Main Character, is seen as having agency and being the driving force behind most or all of the sexual activity in the game. This tag/genre is inherently controversial due to, first, legal considerations and restrictions regarding the graphic sexual portrayal of underage persons in media, even if said portrayal involves wholly fictional persons portrayed solely in digital form(i.e., unrealistic or pseudorealistic hand drawn or CG figures), and second, related moral, ethical or erotic-aesthetic objections thereto.
ASPECTS AND CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TAGGED THEME
The relative "innocence" of the shota character is a major aspect of the tag/genre. The character may be completely lacking in sexual experience and/or knowledge of human sexuality, driven by their own growing desires and hormonal urges and a sense of sexual curiosity. Or they may have limited sexual experience and be largely driven by a desire to consummate their own urges, particularly if there is something taboo or forbidden about those urges(e.g., incest, nonconsensual, various fetishes, harem).
The relative/apparent age of the shota MC may drive aspects of the story. A "tween" character(the most controversial) is likely to be the most innocent, unless they are a sort of "anti-shota"(see, e.g., Urban Demons) who is driven by a desire to corrupt and subvert their objects of affection. The mid-range age for a shota MC would be late junior high/early high school, and the upper end, arguably, is late high school/early college. Usually the shota MC starts as a virgin, though some may have limited prior experience(one or two girlfriends, for example).
Curiosity and exploration are major aspects of the tag. The shota character often engages in inappropriate behavior like peeping(voyeurism), "creeping", groping, etc. They may show inappropriate interest in family members, due to their proximity and the opportunity presented. The shota MC may also engage in relatively normal romantic/sexual activities such as dating, "fooling around", and so forth. One major characteristic of the genre/tag is the way adult characters interact with the shota MC--they often underestimate them, talk down to them as if they are younger than they really are, and make allowances for them due to their youth/hormones.
TYPES AND VARIETIES OF THE TAGGED THEME
"Straight shota" is the most common type of shota content. The basic premise is "young MC begins to explore their sexuality and has 'adventures' with various girls and older women". Content with a younger MC may be different thematically than that with an older shota MC(greater agency, broader selection of love interests). The challenges and difficulties faced by younger and older MCs will of course vary.
"Anti-shota" is a young character who is non-innocent, they are pursuing objects of affection in a more "ruthless" fashion, resorting to corruption, blackmail, coercion, domination, deceit and manipulation, even mind control to achieve sexual objective. Examples include Bobby from Bad Bobby Saga, and the MC from Urban Demons.
Shota games often features themes and tags common to other games, such as harem, mind control, incest(these tags seem to go together like "peanut butter and jelly"), voyeurism, etc.
COMMON SCENARIOS INVOLVING THE TAGGED THEME
The most common scenario involving the shota tag is the basic "contemporary suburban family household", typically featuring an attractive mother and younger/older sister(or both, or three sisters), attractive neighbors, possibly a best friend with a hot mom or sister, and of course an entire school full of temptations. The MC may or may not discover a means to make things a lot easier(e.g., mind control or other maguffin), but regardless, a path to success will eventually reveal itself. The "Angel MC" works hard to solve problems faced by the household and this leads the women in the household to offer themselves to him, while the "Devil MC" manipulates the situation to coerce, seduce, corrupt or manipulate the women to submit to his base desires.
Another common scenario is the "survivor genre", where the MC is part of a group(typically a family) who has survived some kind of societal upheaval and now must help rebuild society. The normal rules of society have been destroyed and the opportunities created give the MC a unique chance to succeed.
There are also fantasy scenarios (both sword and sorcery style and urban fantasy style) where the MC is a sort of "chosen one" and their success later in the game is largely based upon this status.
WRITING AND DEVELOPING FOR THE TAGGED THEME
1. Decide early on the "realism level" for the game and stick to it. Are there going to be fantastical elements like magic or mind control in the game? If so then you may not want to worry overmuch about whether the behavior of characters is "realistic" or not. But if you decide to make it more realistic, then just be consistent with that. Create a rationale for characters to say yes or no to the MC's advances. Give the MC a personality and motivation.
2. Write the shota at their age level and write the other character's dialogue to it as well. Don't have Mom talk to the adolescent son as though he's still 6! If she does, have it piss him off. If the older sister's only a year older, she's not going to call him a "little brat". And if the MC speaks to the older character with an air of maturity or precocity, it should be a bit jarring, and might even add an air of menace.
3. The MC is growing and learning; show that. There's going to be a lot of "trial and error" in the MC's efforts to succeed sexually. Don't be afraid to both show him failing, and then show how he can learn from that.
4. Don't explicitly identify the shota character's age. Duh. Not if you want Patreon to keep your page up. You can debate the absurdity of the law elsewhere.
5. The MC has succeeded against all odds. What now? Give some thought as to how to play out the typical scenario a bit further. How does the harem work? Is he really going to become a father in his teens? Do new goals emerge? Variety is the spice of life. Are there new positions, new fetishes, new women to explore?
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