Do you NEED romance options, personally?

Well, in my honest opinion I don’t really need romance in a story, but I have to admit that it makes the whole thing more interesting (or at least it usually does). But no it’s not completely necessary, just more fun

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Edit: I stand corrected since CoG authors have confirmed that it was not required to have it. I apologize for the confusion guys.

In terms to the topic on hand, I do love romance in my CoG and HG titles, no matter how small they are as long as the characters and story are interesting. But as an author, you shouldn’t carter too much to the market if it affects your vision on your story.

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That’s…something. Thanks for letting me know.

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For me personally, romances are a must have. They make me forget how lonely I am in real life :smiley:

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I actually think if you do want to include romance a unique angle would be a love interest the reader only meets through letters. Have the romance develop over the course of the game through a series of exchanged letters.

It sounds like your story will deal with serious subject matter, so having the MC receive letters from their crush at home might offer a unique break from the serious stuff and also give some room to explore the MCs headspace by making decisions about their own written responses.

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Lately, I have been seeking out games with some kind of romantic options. Of course, the most important thing is the plot of your game but adding a little bit of romance will make it better, most of the time (in my opinion).

In short,
your story, your rules. Write/Create a game that will make you proud and happy about it.

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I don’t think this is the case. No reference to compulsory romance options is made in the COG guidelines document, and in fact an example is given of a COG game without ROs (The Fleet).

Back to the main topic, I don’t feel like every game needs romance — as has been mentioned in this thread, I enjoyed The Parenting Simulator very much. It has no romance and I never felt that it was needed, the story was perfectly complete already. Part of this might be that, adult relationships not being the focus, no character with RO potential is ever introduced.

For me it stands out more when the romance routes that are present aren’t given enough development, and having a romance subplot that goes nowhere or doesn’t get a satisfying resolution can be just as disappointing as a complete lack of romance for players who enjoy having ROs. So I agree that you definitely shouldn’t add it if it’s going to feel contrived or you’ll be uncomfortable writing it.

Like others have said, I personally think I’d enjoy the premise of your game if it’s more character-driven and not too technical (I usually find it difficult to picture troop movements and strategies and enemy positions in my mind, so for me a game that is heavy on those elements works better in a visual medium. Of course, that’s just me, so don’t give it any thought :grin:)

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I think many of the"romance only" readers would take a Look at a none romance game If it has rewarding friendship paths. Earned friendship by the reader is so much better than:" this is your best friend from childhood, care for him"
I normally choose only games with romance and Finish even less because it is obvious that the romance is only there, to be there.
I like dialogues with the characters, romance or not ,to like or hate them. The more I learn about a char, the more I feel about them. When they are after a few weeks only the thief or the warrior or the enemy, without something Special to remember, then the Story for me was just so lala, nothing I would finish or makes me want to read a second Story of that author.

So no romance is not needed, but characters are.

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This isn’t correct :slight_smile:

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Thanks for the insight. I was unsure on this so I put it in as a disclaimer about it. I better edit my post to avoid confusion.

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I think the question should be other. As a writer Do you feel like you were tortured each time you think about adding romance Because readers are something that cames really late in development. So you have to focus on yourself and The character you want to talk about. It doesn’t matter if Romance seems like a perfect fit for the rest of humanity.

I am starting to learn myself to focus on myself. first and foremost, the readers come second when the story and vision are developed. Because Readers are like grains of sand scattered around by the wind, focusing on their opinions means becoming the wheels of the bus that makes bip bip. Torn apart for hundreds of different opinions.

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For me, I enjoy romances a lot and I would prefer writing something with romance in. I don’t think it’s a necessity for me as a player, but like some people have said upthread, if there isn’t romance, I would want in depth non romantic relationships, like family, friendship or rivalry. In narrative games I like to have a sense of some sort of connection with others and to be honest it sounds like @TheGaudiestPopsicle’s idea would have a lot of that with leadership, camaraderie, professional connections etc. Don’t force romance into a story if it doesn’t feel right!

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Depends.
Are you writeing a story for the crowd?
Or is the crowd writing the story for you. Through you?

If the former. Then make watever needs be done to serve the story. If romance dosent make sense. Dont ad it for beware it might ruin the flow and plot of the tale. Sure you might lose some folk but the story will be good. And who knows. It might sell well.

If the latter then you do as the crowd say.

Ad romance ad an alien invasion. As the mc is escaping with the extracted crew. Point is that you follow what the majority crowd says. Sometimes it can be good. Sometimes not

I allways like it when a writer is of the first type. They can take feadback and ad or change stuff. But its for the sake of the story . Not for the sake of what some stat says about what most people like in a story

And sometimes they cut of romance because it dosent serve the story. Even though others might think it does.

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Personally I tend to feel frustrated by friendship routes a lot, because I always think “meh, would have wished for romance instead”. It tends to be a turn down. If I still find enough things I like in the game, I WILL care a lot for said friends, obviously.
What can be a substitute to romance to me are sibling routes though - these, I love.

Also, I said before that if I really really love the story and other stuff, I’ll still play if it doesn’t have romance. Now, there’s the other end of the bargain: sometimes I’m not very attracted to the story, but then I see the romance options, and I literally fall in love with one of them. A RO can be the only reason I play some games. And I may end up loving the game for other things aside from said romance.

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I’m going to reiterate what others have already said (like @poisonmara and @eiwynn) each choice is a trade-off.

If you are trying to get as large an audience as possible, then common wisdom would be to have romances. While the list hasn’t been updated, the top selling Hosted Games and CoGs do have romances.

If you have a specific vision, and it doesn’t include romances, then don’t. In fact, putting in romances where it is obvious not much thought was given can create a backlash of ‘why did you include this?’

However, this can also give you an opportunity to play with conventions which may also make it stick out.

This is a good example. Off-hand I don’t recall to many games that has romance by letters. Heck, one of my great-grandmas met her husband by essentially a pen-pal program during WW 2. The back and forth went on over a period of time…so this wouldn’t necessarily work for your game (caught behind enemy lines) but it is a mechanic I would love to see set in a game, especially in environments like an extended war where it would work.

This is a slight aside, and not directed at you. Obviously, make the story you wish to tell and I wish you luck with it. Anyone able to finish a story deserves congratulations.

However, for other works/writers, don’t be afraid to change things up. As some of you know, there are some people who won’t buy a CoG/HG if they can’t pick their gender, In a case like this, if you went with a more recent setting, then you would have bigger audience reach (and appreciation) if you allowed a gender choice soldier.

During the last big conflicts like in Iraq, American women soldiers saw combat. True, they weren’t assigned front-line combat, but served in supply convoys, etc. However, war doesn’t have any fixed boundaries and in many instances women saw combat. So going with a ‘behind enemy lines’ could work, especially if a main force is unable to reach said combatants.

Anyways, I know the above is off-topic, and I will edit/delete that portion if necessary.

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The ROs are probably the biggest draw for me in COGs. If there’s no good romance options I don’t end up playing them. Not having them is the fastest way to lose my interest in a game.

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A more General question I should have asked first is. How do you plan your scenes? Are the choices Stat based, like you can sneak past the enemy, when your sneak is high enough. Or is it more character centered? Like how do you keep an Team member from panicking when the enemy is near.
If you plan the first so not worry that much, If I recall other threads correctly the stat-loving players do mind missing romances less than, character loving player.

I do not like war settings, but when it was planned as my second example, I will give it a try. Oh that was not meant as a make it that way, but as a even If there is no romance and Not a favorite setting, some character and General relationship lovers might Play it. So it’ s mostly a know your audience.

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I’ll echo a lot of other people in this thread. I generally seek out CoG/HG titles for elements of either power fantasy or romance. I don’t need to have either of those things to enjoy a story, but they make them much more palatable a read.

I’ve enjoyed titles that do neither of these things, but I’ve also only played those titles based on reviews and not just picked up because the description intrigued me.

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I need romance, a lot, for its lacking in my real life. I hardly play any choices or hosted games without romance, well, I came to this wonderful site thanks to my friend, they introduced me one game that contains a well written romance story.

There’s a time I bought some games immediately because I was sold by the concept and its promise of ROMANCE, but just found out later romance was barely mentioned in those games, the interaction also hardly enough, I’m so tired of solely plot-driven games that the MC just got dragged here and there, and all the romance you can have just some very short sentences.

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I can play a game without romance (Got lot of experience due to games who has them are gender or orientation locked), but on the opposite of that…the story must be really really good though.

A romance is more then just Kissing and holding hands. It add impact, it double the stake of danger .

For your story, I would recommand if you plan on adding romance, to make it letters sent that the player can read and seal it in the end by them meeting the person (since you say they go home), it would make it a happy bittersweet . Since during war, letters from loved one were (and are very important), they make peoples fight harder, not lose hope, and something to look forward to after the nightmare thats war .

But thats just me, whatever you choose to do, in the end its really up to you. Not all stories require a romance, they are a nice addition, they make players happy, it add alot of work too . And there are stories that just can’t work with romance too. And those are still good for those who can enjoy them for what they are .

Regardless, good luck!

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