The term "Gamasutra '' has been a staple of game development industry reporting for over a decade. The site, with its humble beginnings 25 years ago, an amusing twist on the Kamasutra (or not so amusing anymore, at least according to its staffers) and a modest, retro design, has been a cherished place by all those who are working in game development. The same applies even more to indie developers than the huge gaming industrial behemoth.
Now, Gamasutra is rebranding into Game Developer, which is located on GameDeveloper.com. The old address is going to be redirected to the new website, which will feature the same journalist and staff, but a new layout, design, and name. In several editorial pieces, the staff presented their headache about the old name, with one writer saying that his mom doesn't tell her friends where her son works, being that it might sound like an inappropriate magazine.
Of course, while the narrative of the rebranding focuses on anything but revenue, chances are that the key reason for it is not ethical, but fiscal (even though the wider gaming industry has been riddled with sexual harassment allegations in recent years). So, putting some distance between any commercial gaming venture and any kind of sex might sound like a shrewd business decision.
Still, the same process once again shows that the modern cultural perception of human sexuality is comically inadequate. Kamasutra is a classic of ancient literature and one of the essential texts about this important aspect of human experience and individual wellbeing. Considering Kamasutra as something innapropriate is, to say politely, very uneducated. This is why explanations from Gamasutra/Game Developer staff again prove that sex is still a massive taboo topic. Like with anything else related to video games, the safer route remains to avoid it. The irony is that this often included avoiding mentions of sexual harassments and other sexual transgressions in the game industry as well.
As the history of game development shows - better to show a murder than a kiss, not to mention other sexual activities (as presented in Kamasutra). Because of that, ultimately, the rebranding decision is likely a good move for the future of this publication. Good luck, Game Developer, many of us will still remember Gamasutra and not just because of the pictures.