The Guy Game

The Guy Game is an adult video game developed by Topheavy Studios and published by Gathering, released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, and Xbox in 2004. Presented in a trivia gameshow-style supporting up to four players, it consists of about 1,000 questions spread out over 20 episodes. Much of the game involves watching live-action video footage of young women in bikinis, and as the player succeeds in the game the women eventually expose their breasts. The game garnered much controversy and was the subject of a lawsuit.

The Guy Game
NTSC PlayStation 2 cover
Developer(s)Topheavy Studios
Publisher(s)Gathering
Director(s)Jeff Spangenberg
Producer(s)Jeff Spangenberg
Designer(s)
  • Jeff Spangenberg
  • Matt Sadler
  • Matt Bearden
  • Steve Williams
  • Zachary Bolena
Programmer(s)Steve Williams
Artist(s)Zachary Bolena
Writer(s)Matt Sadler
Composer(s)Charlie Wan
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, Xbox
ReleaseXbox, PlayStation 2
Microsoft Windows
  • NA: December 22, 2004
Genre(s)Quiz/Trivia
Mode(s)Single-player, Multiplayer (up to four)

Gameplay

After every question there is video footage—shot during spring break festivities on South Padre Island—of host Matt Sadler giving the same question to young females in bikinis (referred to as "hotties"). If they answer incorrectly, they are required to show their breasts. Before they give their answers, the footage is paused and the player is asked to guess whether the hotties answered correctly or not. In the "TitWitz" portions of the game, the player is told that they were wrong, and asked to guess what wrong answer they gave. The more times the player is able to correctly predict the outcome, the higher the "Flash-O-Meter" (with levels based on the erectile process) rises, and the more exposed the breasts become. At first, the breasts are obscured by a Guy Game logo ("Soft and Squishy" level), then just digitally blurred ("Sorta Chubby" level), and finally fully uncensored ("Super Stiff" level, maxed-out meter). Once the player reaches the uncensored level, the episode can be played again with no visual censorship. As the game progresses, the players are ranked as President, Vice President, Treasurer, or Asshole. Also included are the "Ballz" minigames which can give players extra points during an episode. Before the game, each player chooses a female avatar (called cheerleaders) to represent them. Based on how often the player correctly guesses the outcome of each hottie's response, the more clothes the cheerleader removes. At the end of the episode, a short video montage is shown of the cheerleader belonging to the player who reached the rank of President. Many other rules can be enabled, most inspired by drinking games.

Controversy

Lawsuit

Four months after the game's release, a lawsuit was brought against Topheavy Studios, Gathering of Developers, Sony, and Microsoft.[2] A girl explained that she was not informed that footage would be used to promote the video game.[3] At the time the footage was recorded, the girl was only 17 years old, making her underage, thus making The Guy Game illegal to own or sell in some countries as child pornography. A temporary injunction was granted, prohibiting the further production of copies of the game that contained the girl's image, voice, and name.[4]

After the lawsuit, developer Topheavy Studios released a DVD, The Guy Game: Game Over, which featured the footage filmed for the game as well as additional content and bonus features.[4]

In 2022, Brian Blum and Amy Bushaw released the 5th edition of a lawschool textbook in the Aspen Casebook Series titled Contracts: Cases, Discussions, and Problems. In Chapter 14: Illegality, Violation of Public Policy, and Lack of Contractual Capacity, the section D. Incapacity Based on Minority, subsection 3. Misrepresentation, an excerpt from the lawsuit is used as an example of the ability for a minor to avoid a contract, and explains that the court will only prevent a minor from disaffirming if the other party can prove they exercised ordinary care and reasonable diligence regarding the minor's age- implying that TopHeavy Studios was found wanting.

Platform bans

The Guy Game is explicitly banned from streaming on game streaming site Twitch, and is one of the only ESRB "M" rated games to be banned on the site.[5]

Reception

The Guy Game received generally unfavorable reviews across all three platforms, with the Xbox version holding an aggregated Metacritic score of 47/100 based on 20 critic reviews,[6] the PlayStation 2 version holding a score of 48/100 based on 20 reviews,[7] and the Microsoft Windows version holding a score of 23/100 based on two reviews.[8]

Conversely, IGN gave the game a 7.7 out of 10, stating "It may be tasteless, but I prefer this kind of tastelessness over BMX XXX." The reviewer also noted that the game was "solid, simple and fun".[9]

References
  1. Adams, David (September 1, 2004). "The Guy Game Now Available". IGN.
  2. Thorsen, Tor (December 23, 2004). "Topless teen sues over 'The Guy Game'". CNET. CBS Interactive. Retrieved October 30, 2016.
  3. Warner, Richard (January 17, 2008). "Topheavy Studios, Inc. v. Jane Doe". Chicago-Kent College of Law. Illinois Institute of Technology. Retrieved October 30, 2016.
  4. "The Guy Game banned, goes straight to video". GameSpot. Retrieved January 2, 2017.
  5. List of Prohibited Games (Twitch), retrieved November 16, 2021
  6. "The Guy Game Critic Reviews for Xbox". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved October 30, 2016.
  7. "The Guy Game Critic Reviews for PlayStation 2". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved October 30, 2016.
  8. "The Guy Game Critic Reviews for PC". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved October 30, 2016.
  9. Perry, Douglass (August 30, 2004), The Guy Game – IGN, archived from the original on August 3, 2016, retrieved February 4, 2020
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