I’m still not certain why you couldn’t just select bisexual at the start, and then choose to only target whichever gender (or RO) you prefer. Other than Games that involve gender-flipping characters, I don’t imagine that it’ll change much. And it almost certainly won’t force you to romance both genders.
Yeah sure, but the question stays how well-liked it actually is when games ask right in the beginning for the orientation of the MC. Some people seem to feel at least some dislike for that way to handle things.
Oh, yes, I agree it can be somewhat annoying (and this coming from someone who never has to think about his decision), but I can see why an author might want to find out early on.
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One big reason that I personally would rather see a game ask at the start is the same reason I would like to fill in my gender right away. Not all games have the option, if every author was going to ensure that my MC can be in a romance with another female then great, however your artistic soul wishes to express that I fully accept. On the flip side though if a game doesn’t have an option for my MC to be a lesbian then I personally am done there, I don’t like playing games where I can’t identify with the MC, I don’t want to play as a guy and I don’t want to be forced to play as straight (got enough of that from my parents 
)
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That is a completely different breed of problem to be honest.
There are some WIPs/games that don’t ask for orientation and none of them forced me to play straight either.
And I don’t think that this can really happen with hosted games because the description normally tells you what is possible. (Though being told specifically when a game is gender locked would be helpful)
My mother after three years still doesn’t understand what pansexual means, so she just assumes I’m lesbian…
if she would at least stop to out me as such for the rest of the extended family…or if she would at least out me as what I am.
Purple Reign (WIP)
There is now growing pressure on you to find a spouse. It is highly unconventional for a woman to rule on her own and so your advisors have brought before you a number of possible husbands. Upon marrying them, whoever you choose will be crowned Emperor and probably expect to take control of the administration. As much as you would rather not share your authority, you will need an heir and marriage is the only way to produce one.
Prime Minister Nikephorus brings before you two examplary candidates for such a position. The first one is not particularly impressive looking with his thinning hair and wiry frame. However his expensive attire gives him away as a man of considerable wealth.
“My fair Empress,” he begins, “May I present to you Constantine Doukas, a man of the very finest aristocratic blood and immense experience in the affairs of state.”
“It is an honour simply to be in your presence my Empress,” he says solemnly, “May I express my admiration for the achievements of your father, he was a great man.”
The next man to step forward is far more striking, with his athletic build and handsome features.
“And let me introduce our second candidate, the great young military leader, Theodore.”
Equipped with a disarming smile, Theodore speaks, “To merely lay eyes upon you is a privilage beyond description, never has the Roman Empire been ruled by such a fine young purple-born than yourself!”
Of course, as much as Nikephorus wishes to force his choices upon you, the decision is very much your own. You have been formulating your own plans for some time. A dashing young member of the Palace Guard caught your eye and although such a match would be politically disadvantageous, you hope that by marrying a man of his lowly standing with little education, you might be able to retain control over the administration.
But who should you choose? Marriage for an Empress is not about love or even attraction but politics and diplomacy. Which match makes the most sense?
Constantine, the aristocrat.
Theodore, the military man.
Nicholas, the Palace Guard.
In all of the official Choice of Games, if your gender is defined, then you can choose to be female. (There’s a few games where you don’t pick a gender at all.) And if there’s romance, then the games must, at the very least, allow for both same and opposite sex romances.
With Hosted Games of course it’s a mixed bag. I do wish they were more clearly labelled which games only allow for straight characters. Which games only let you play as male. I’d like those clearly marked.
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Oh, I didn’t mean flirting; I was talking about serious pursue as in a RO gathering all their courage to 'fess up, which could make the players feel bad. Didn’t know that the word “advances” was meant for flirting only.
By that, I wanted to talk about the ROs that start getting receptive AFTER the MC starts showing interest, too, not outright coqueting with the MC. Since most of the checks are done with the relationship bar, being friendly with the RO is very much the same as giving them greenlight, unless you reject them after they confess or something.
I think it’s possible, but to be honest with you, if it’s too much work it’s not worth it; coders have enough troubles with other weird bugs in ChoiceScript and scenes in general 
Same with what I told to @Sammysam; I meant ROs of the wanted gender that start getting receptive AFTER the MC shows interest in them. Since a lot of games only use the relationship bar, being friendly with them is enough, so it’s a bit like maths;
(wanted gender) + (at least 70% relationship) = Love!
(not wanted relationship) + (at least 70% relationship) = Only friends!
Eh, I honestly don’t know. There are games where the ROs just knows, but I didn’t make them, so I have no idea how do they do that 
Not necessarily more difficult, but certainly more work, and depending on how many ROs there are… yep, could scalate quickly. Also variables, and how to keep track of them.
Right, that was my point with that, if its marked then great, I’ll pass because I don’t think an author should be forced to change their vision for me, I just personally would rather skip that story. Sorry if I was unclear, they are redoing the carpets in the apartment next door…I should have been asleep hours ago lol
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I didn’t say all of them do that but that this is a completely different problem as the one we are actually discussing: how people prefer it to be presented in games that give you a choice for orientation. (Being asked in the beginning loses it’s usefulness - at least for that kind of problem - as soon as it gets clearly communicated if a game locks you in a certain gender/orientation)
So what when a character has the gender my MC feels attracted to but my MC still only wants to be friends? Wouldn’t that end in the same dilemma?
Edit: To clarify: I know you said after the MC showed interest, but how would the game differentiate between that and the MC just being interested in friendship of said NPC if really only the relationship bars are used to track that? And if the game anyway tracks it by giving explicitely romantic option besides just friendly options the question for the orientation anyway gets obsolet expect the explicit romantic options aren’t explicit enough for people to get it.
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That’s what I do when I have to. As I mentioned earlier, I hate labels, for myself and for my characters, but I hate labeling - or worse, mislabelling - other people more. But beyond that, the other reason I’m uncomfortable with picking “bisexual/pansexual” is that I see my MC as a character I am discovering and figuring out along the way, not actually “creating”, “crafting” or “deciding” anything about (not unlike the characters I write in my stories). It’s more like the character emerges from the story, rather than me deciding who they are for them.
So I set out with the question “Who are you?” in mind, without any preconceptions like “I’m going to play a black, gay, non-binary, slingshot-wielding character with a silver tongue”. Over the course of the game, I choose options I like best in the moment, and slowly I get an idea of who my character is. That includes getting to know the ROs, and seeing who my MC is interested in, what flows more naturally.
So when I am asked at the very start my MC’s orientation, I often don’t know how to respond because I don’t know yet who the character is, or what their interactions with the other characters will be like. Choosing bisexual/pansexual or whatever at the start is what I do if I have to, but it might turn out that the character is really 100% gay or straight later on (i.e. I really couldn’t imagine them with someone of the same/opposite sex). Then I have to think “Well, they were just questioning at the time” or that I made a mistake labeling them. This bugs me because I feel it’s dismissive of actual bisexual/pansexual people, kind of the same way people have been annoyed by player-sexual NPCs which are technically bi, but don’t adequately portray true bisexual characters.
It’s worse with games that gender-flip their characters, sometimes at random if you choose bisexual.
I realize this is not the way a lot, maybe even most people play and reason, and it might sound nit-picky. It’s not game-breaking, it just breaks my immersion for a while and that’s annoying. It seems to me that unlike the player-sexual problem which may be required for the author’s convenience, this would be an easy thing to fix if the question isn’t a mechanism for gender-flipping, simply by not asking it at the beginning.
Yes, too many ROs are a problem no matter what, and I understand the need for the question if it has the gender-flipping mechanism. I don’t personally like that too much, but I’ll put up with it if the story is good. Otherwise I don’t see how it would require more variables really…
My thoughts exactly, if you already have to implement this type of rejection, why not just have that option for all ROs regardless of the MCs orientation and be done with it ?
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Many of you don’t stop tell Why would be player annoying other sex different or not try to flirt with?
I found it TERRIBLY ANNOYING because authors do it TERRIBLY. I have found myself intimidate almost forced by the way some authors try to shoehorned romances on me. Yes I said i prefer x or z . but that doesn’t mean I WANT TO BANG EVERYONE THAT SWITCH THAT LABEL. or i found all men women or non binary sexual pleasant. Choice of romance almost rape you with two characters De vega or Mendoza. It doesn’t matter you always SAY NO GAME TRY EVEN TO TEAR DOWN MY DOOR to allowing one of them directly rape the queen sayin ten times in a row go bang a basket. I found it terrible and nasty so I don’t replay the game anymore. Hero rises in first edition did same with Black Magic you couldn’t avoid go bed her and that. So no I don’t want Npcs trying to break my door and bang me without choice because The sexuality matchesm
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r-really, mara? …you like nbs too? like, possibly, like-like? wow… 
so many people define their sexualities as liking male or female, but there’s really so little nb romance options in games… sniff… ohhh…
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Actually, this is quite often how I do play, although sexuality is one of the few things that is always set. After all, I can play as a straight character in all sorts of other games, and I have no interest in playing one when I needn’t.
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who is this character can we make them our new cog mascot
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I am a weird case my best friend says. I just see a non binary man as man and non binary woman as woman. Only the people who is androgynous and that ass non binary. I found androgynous attractive. But If you feel you are a woman you are a woman for me . I dont care you have beard and dress like a hunter in crisis. Real situation everyone in the bar looked me as crazy when i give two kisses in cheeks and called Maria to the beard men hairy as a teddy bear.
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See? See!? I’ll fight someone to the death for Mara’s honour.
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I told her to change clothing though hunter shirts are too lumber jack and out of trend. There are years I didn’t see her probably I would not recognized her she was thinking in started the hormonal treatment (here is free same as medical cirugy.
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Why on Earth do you find issue with a character being gay, or straight, for that matter, by convenience? The characters are simply tools to be used, and if through these tools’ not having concrete sexualities it allows a player of either gender to be able to romance them and hence get more out of them, how is that a negative thing?
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Giving characters a pre-determined sexual orientation can allow writers to flesh them and their background stories out in higher detail, making the character feel more ‘real’, but the effect differs per writer. Some are perfectly capable of writing out well-rounded characters without ever referring to things like orientation or previous relationships, while others feel more comfortable when they are able to write out references like that in the actual story. If the character feels more ‘real’ to them chances are that the effects of that will carry through in their writing.
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