That's a problem in all of fiction, I would say. It is almost as if writers of all stripes find it very hard to not write romance in a cheesy way and instead resort to an amalgam of cliches that end up being cringe worthy. And I honestly think that kind of attitude is a big part of the problem e.g. treating romance as somehow "special" or different from other types of relationships. The way I see it, a well written romance amounts to a close friendship arc with some sexual tension thrown in, if that.
So instead of saying "friendships and rivalries and mentor-student relationships are game but romances are essentially different for some reason and therefore out" seems counterproductive. Romance is only different because we insist on treating it differently. If they just approach in pretty much the same way they do friendships and other relationships, I think we'll do fine.
Another important aspect, I should add, is that any relationship type constitutes an arc within a story. Romance is no exception and should be treated with the respect a narrative arc requires, and not as pure fanservice. Otherwise developers become too scared to do anything interesting with them. What if the romanced character breaks up with you for whatever reason, cheats on you, manipulates you or even tries to kill you? That would not only open up interesting stories but add some genuine tension and investment in these relationships, just like in real life.
You don't think it's different?
If it's not much more any other relationship, why the special plea for it?
Well, to be perfectly honest... That's the kind of romance I'd find pretty cheap. If all it amounts to is friendship with some sexual tension, better leave the romance cheese out of it and take it for what it is, friendship with some sexual tension.
Well, anyways...
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Triss was done well enough that I couldn't possibly set her aside for Yennifer, and I wish there was more Triss in TW3, but whatever. I never read the books obviously. As for Bioware, maybe Viconia? Morrigan was pretty decent as well. Some of the Swotor ones are okay. I am not including Alistair, Leliana, Ashley or Kaidan, because you have to actively stamp them down to not fall into a relationship with them. Liara sits in a bit of a grey area. I didn't play DA2 or DAI.
But Triss is one of the gold standards for me, she had her own agency, wasn't just a follower or party member.
But Triss is one of the gold standards for me, she had her own agency, wasn't just a follower or party member.
if there are to be romances in cp207, i think they should be unpredictable and unexpected, I mean, when you see the romances from dragon age or mass effect series, they are ok, but way too preductable, you always have to choose the "good" dialog option, do nice things for them, do what they want always, and you are 100% sure you will have some action with that character, but it's not realistic and in long term it is boring, if this game is to be complex, non linear and deep, then the interactions must be unpredictable, for example: a character just shows up at a place or a time we would never expect and says or does something we souldn't expect either, possibilities are endless
So you predicted that Morrigan was going to compel you to have intercourse with her on the eve of battle and conceive a god child which would in turn provide the player character with a means to defeat the Arch Demon without forfeiting his own life, huh? I commend you for your powers of prescience.
Honestly, sometimes I feel like people on this forum like to bash Bioware just 'cause, you know, they're Bioware.
Yep. Bioware has earned a -lot- of bashing by being Bioware in the last few years.
As for intercourse with the hot witch chick where she uses you for her own agenda? Yes, that was pretty easy to predict.
That's not fair though. You're Sardukhar. You can avail yourself of the emperor's spice whenever you want and see into the future.
With Dragon Age 2 this simply isn't true. You can romance someone in DA2 without ever agreeing with anything they say.
But ofc most people don't bother to play DA2 or write it off as a terrible game. Yes it was unfinished and flawed but the rivalry system was awesome and they shouldn't have dropped it.
In a way, yes they are predictable...with Morrigan/Jack as an example, player would have to "agree"/say yes to everything to push the romance forward. It is too much under player's control and usually detached from the dialogue/storyline.
That's why I think romances should not be entirely optional( at least up to a certain stage)...player/character would have a dynamic relationship regardless( romance only one of it's arcs), one that is well integrated and plays important part in main story( like a much better version of Bastilla/Revan). The very few well executed and more mature romances in video games( like Elena/Drake from Uncharted) I've seen, are developed like this.
That's why I think romances should not be entirely optional( at least up to a certain stage)...player/character would have a dynamic relationship regardless( romance only one of it's arcs), one that is well integrated and plays important part in main story( like a much better version of Bastilla/Revan). The very few well executed and more mature romances in video games( like Elena/Drake from Uncharted) I've seen, are developed like this.
I do seem to recall Morrigan being very adverse to the idea of being in any kind of relationship with your character. Seem to recall that it felt like you had to constantly convince her of that it was a good idea... and even at one point during the relationship basicly say "no" to her wanting you to break up with her.
As for Jack, if your talking about the Mass Effect Jack... then I do also seem to recall that she was sort of difficult to get to. You needed to go through a sort of maze with her, where only certain paths lead forward, and usually it was more of the gentle road... actually listening to her and what not. Getting aggresive about it, or going the lost cause route with her would only close up the shell she had around her compleatly shut. A friend of mines experience with her in general made him go "Screw her... she's a bitch, and I don't want anything to do with her!"... he never saw the side of her which I got to see due to that I took the time to navigate my way forward to getting to know her.
I do seem to recall that Morrigans romance thing was easier to get to then Jacks... but I still feel that both of their romance options was unusual compared to most other romance options I have seen in games. One where you saying the wrong thing could shut down any kind of option to have a romance with them... especially Jack I seem to recall, who would basicly stop talking to you, or just curse at you or something if you did the wrong thing at one of the later stages of it. XD Most other romance options I remember from these games, and other games to, all seem a whole lot simpler to me then either Morrigans or Jacks.
Actually, in ME other than the main ones, Ashley, Kaidan, Garrus or Liara, you can totally screw up and not end up in a relationship. I've played through ME3 a few times now (with a modded ending), and this last time I tried to romance James for a change of pace, and failed hard lol
In ME2 I have also failed to romance Jacob, though that was fine when I got to ME3 and realized how that ended up and Samantha was there to console me.
Restricting character's romance based on their sexuality sucks. Just like Dragon Age Inquisition where heterossexual males had only 2 options for romance while there were way more options for the rest. The solution would probably make everyone bissexual you ask? No, but heterossexual romance options should have a great importance.
Also in new bioware games, non sexual relationships had no impact on characters, which means, characters only develop in a way if there were sex involved therefore leaving no space for the value of friendship.
A thing that Mass Effect did wrong was limiting the romance interactions to only happen while inside the ship. It could be nice to make it a little more dynamic.
The most mediocre example of romance in video games is perhaps Fallout 4 where in 15 minutes of gameplay the companions would already treat you like their best friend.
Also in new bioware games, non sexual relationships had no impact on characters, which means, characters only develop in a way if there were sex involved therefore leaving no space for the value of friendship.
A thing that Mass Effect did wrong was limiting the romance interactions to only happen while inside the ship. It could be nice to make it a little more dynamic.
The most mediocre example of romance in video games is perhaps Fallout 4 where in 15 minutes of gameplay the companions would already treat you like their best friend.
"Gamebryo was a mistake." - Todd Howard
Viperswhip;n2871193 said:
Childhood is when you idolize Yennefer. Adulthood is when you realize that Triss makes more sense.
At least Triss would fight with geralt no matter where he went, Yennefer would refuse to do the dirty work.
Ciri is best girl, after she's 18 of course.
Ciri is best girl, after she's 18 of course.
Fucking on a side and make Geralt sad because of it is a mean fun. (was in the books)Suhiira;n9202391 said:
I mean it was 2 hetero male options (Cass, Josie), 4 hetero female options (Iron Bull, Blackwell, Cullen (if human or elf), Solas (if elf)), 2 homosexual male options (Iron Bull, Dorian), and 2 homosexual female options (Sera, Josie). So they were all pretty even. The only one with more than two was hetero females ... and that's only if they're a human or elf.Lisbeth_Salander;n9201531 said:
And I mean if you think about it in TW3 there are only 2 serious options. The rest of them are one night stands. There is something to be said for depth over quantity. I also think it makes some sense to give NPC romances options a defined sexuality. What type of person your attracted to is sort of a big character trait. The availability has to seem true to the character you know? Otherwise the whole mechanic ends up feeling even more contrived.
I would love it if there was a life path system that included a former romance option to give some depth to the PCs personal lore and with some histories the option to rekindle the relationship might exist. I would also love it if there were more than 2 serious romance options. It doesn't bother me if the want to accommodate varying consumer interests in romance options. Just so long as the number of options doesn't take away the depth of individual romances, and the characters still feel authentic.
P.S. Cass, Josie and Sera romances was well done IMO.
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Rawls In terms of equality perhaps it makes total sense. But what about money?
>around 6% of the world population is homossexual
>58% of the gamers are male with 42% of it being female
>we have no statistics relating how many of the gamers are homossexuals
So there lies the question, regarding the demographic of the gaming industry, is the percentage between female and male both heterossexual and homossexual gamers equal? Are all the four groups each representing 25% of the gaming industry, considering that probably around 6% of the world is homossexual?
These are the questions a CEO of a gaming developer perhaps had asked himself, or herself if he or she is more worried about making a profit than equality. *winks at the camera*
>around 6% of the world population is homossexual
>58% of the gamers are male with 42% of it being female
>we have no statistics relating how many of the gamers are homossexuals
So there lies the question, regarding the demographic of the gaming industry, is the percentage between female and male both heterossexual and homossexual gamers equal? Are all the four groups each representing 25% of the gaming industry, considering that probably around 6% of the world is homossexual?
These are the questions a CEO of a gaming developer perhaps had asked himself, or herself if he or she is more worried about making a profit than equality. *winks at the camera*
turns out that less than 2% of the world is homossexual.
Games should have homossexual characters. The author of this post is 100% in favor of minority and gay rights.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...=.6fdaef60b8e7
https://www.statista.com/statistics/...-video-gamers/
Games should have homossexual characters. The author of this post is 100% in favor of minority and gay rights.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...=.6fdaef60b8e7
https://www.statista.com/statistics/...-video-gamers/