When the 1982 Swamp Thing movie was getting underway, costume designer William Munns debated whether to give the plant hero a penis. The dong analogue didn't wind up happening, which is good. Swamp Thing has never needed a penis to be sexy.

When William Hanna and Joseph Barbera's original Flintstones cartoon first aired back in 1960, it was a clever, campy celebration of suburban sprawl and a very particular kind of middle class American Dream™. In Mark Russell and Steve Pugh's recently-ended Flintstones comic series, that same dream is explored in a much darker, funnier way.

Ladykiller In A Bind -- which Heather found to be a bold exploration of sexual experiences and perspectives -- is finally coming to Steam on January 10. It will be fully uncensored, despite the way Valve usually handles these things. For creator Christine Love, reaching this point wasn't easy.

For the past few days, popular Twitch broadcasters and their audiences have been embroiled in a heated debate. The topic? Women streamers and whether they should -- or shouldn't -- be showing skin on stream.

Coming out to friends about any sort of sexuality or queer identity is terrifying. What if they don't understand? What if they don't like you anymore? One Team Fortress 2 player decided to tell his friends in a language they all understood: the game itself.

"I don't mean to sound gay here, but…" "You did what? You bought her flowers? That's a bit bent, mate." "He's pure under the thumb now, man. Since he started going out with her he's become a bit of a poof." -- All things I've heard many times from heterosexual men, aimed at other heterosexual men.

BioWare has been hooking up players with non-player character party members in its games for more than a decade, but there's not been a strictly male-seeking-male option available until Dragon Age Inquisition's Dorian.

It's tough enough getting women and dudes who aren't white into a starring role in a video game. So imagine how impossible it is to try and get a gay or lesbian character in the spotlight.

And here I thought people were joking when they said we're slowly turning everything into a game. Nope. Gamification has a new target, and it's female masturbation.

Continuing the amazing list of personal games that touch on difficult subjects comes this Twine game called "What's in a Name?" It's about how someone learns they are bisexual, only to second-guess themselves because some folks in the LGBT community aren't accepting of that sexuality. The idea is that you're either straight or you're gay. That's it.

Each of the three secret societies in Funcom's paranormal MMO The Secret World have their own way of introducing players to the game's primary conflict. The Templar use magic. The Illuminati use drugs. And the mysterious Dragon? They induct their members the old fashioned, NSFW way.

Video games cause depression. Video games cause violence. Video games are a waste of time. The next time someone pulls out one of these arguments against our favourite hobby, send them to read the stories at How Video Games Saved My Life, and hope they're not sharp enough to refute them with cold logic.

"I have no problem with the reviewer personally, but I dont want to see what is obviously a man, trying to look like a woman, its just too weird and I find it offensive, I dont want to be bombarded with gay/lesbian/transgender stuff on a gaming website, just have a regular guy or woman reviewing the games." – airwalker2000 in Gamespot comments

Last week we lauded BioWare writer David Gaider for his eloquent defence of the inclusion of love interests for players of any sexual orientation in Dragon Age 2. Now one gamer has started an internet petition asking that Gaider be fired for his poor portrayal of gay men.

When a forum poster decided to criticize the developer for neglecting the core role-playing game market - straight male gamers - when developing romance prospects for Dragon Age II, BioWare writer David Gaider's response was swift and elegant.

Out.com, the online presence of the gay lifestyle magazine Out, has selected its "Gayest Video Games." This is like pouring jet fuel on a thermite-and-napalm salad, but these are games that trip their gaydar, not ones straight people call "gay."

A DigiPen gaming school student has created a new "Gaymer" survey, hoping to determine what homosexual, bisexual and heterosexual gamers look for in a video game.

I've got a re-cap of last Saturday's Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation right here, but if you're looking for quick quotes and interesting issues to rehash, here are a few gems.

Physically, you may not have been at EA Redwood Shores this weekend. But if you commented on to Justin Cole's op-ed column to Kotaku, you were there in spirit.