I wouldn’t mind it (that would be realistic since many people get dumped by their SO for other people) but I would be confused tho.
Usually, RO stay through all the game, it’s up to you if you want to romantise them or not, or just befriend them.
Why not just have them non-RO at the beginning anyway and still have them in a relationship with whoever they were supposed to be with initiatly. It doesn’t matter if you romantise them (if they were RO), them breaking up with you is sounds like scripted moment and it would happen anyway even if you don’t romantise them.
I don’t know, I just find it weird.
I’ll say it this way: it happened to my character in (I believe) Heart of the House. My instant reaction was in the lines of “how did it happen” and certainly not the expected one, but not only did it make perfect sense in context of the story and the way my character was behaving towards the RO throughout the game (friendly, never rejecting, but also never commiting), but it’s one of the most memorable moments of all the times I’ve played games.
So the short answer is that I prefer when my choices in game have consequences - good and bad one alike, no matter how my character would feel about them.
So I said that I wouldn’t mind, but that’s not true, it was just the closest answer to my mindset. I wouldn’t mind if that happened but then that’s only if I had the opportunity to still romance them, win them over or something like that. If I can’t pursue them at all then it shouldn’t list them as a RO, especially if there’s no way for me to romance them, regardless of right or wrong choices.
If it’s unavoidable no matter what I do, I’d stop playing and never finish the game. Not because I’m mad, but I invested time and feelings and all I get in the end is a blank for picking the wrong person. Nah, thank you.
Don’t get me wrong, I like to see my MCs suffer (from time to time), but I want to have control over the situation. Let them do terrible things, regrettable stuff so all this actions lead to the point, at which the RO says: “Sorry buddy, this thing between us? Not gonna happen.”
I think the manner in which the RO would reject my MC would probably have a bigger impact (that and if they were falsely advertised as RO) on how mad I would be. If it’s like pre-relationship or early into the relationship, I’d be okay with it.
If I found out they were cheating? I’d be a little annoyed at that scenario.
So I responded “livid”, though that isn’t quite accurate.
If a game advertises a person as an RO, then the RO isn’t actually one, I would 100% never (knowingly) read something by that author again. It’s a betrayal of sorts. Makes me think of the guy who created Fable - his extra features disappeared due to funding and time constraints, but I still felt let down. For a game that doesn’t generally have a time constraint and doesn’t have wild features that involve 15,000 lines of code for 20 seconds of action, I would definitely feel betrayed.
That said, if it’s something along the lines of, say, the guard in MetaHuman - who was homosexual - I’d be a-okay with it. ROs having their own preferences is fine. I’m even okay with ROs dating other ROs (GarrusxTali 4 life). Just…give my character a shot, man.
If my char gets rejected by an RO I really wanted to pursue, I would HATE it. But here’s the thing, I would hate it because getting rejected sucks, and getting rejected by someone you actually care about sucks more, and if you get that type of emotional response from the player, you have succeeded as an author.
My feelings in general are this: if a character is a romance option, an mc should be able to romance them. That doesn’t mean it has to be easy and it doesn’t mean that it shouldn’t be possible for the RO to break things off if the mc is played as someone who makes choices they dislike, but the option itself should not be false if they are presented as being one. If you want the mc to play matchmaker, let them do it for characters who are not RO’s.
A side note: I’m one of those people who very much dislikes it when RO’s are paired off with each other if not romanced. To me, that is the author saying that this other relationship is the default of that world/game, so honestly why should I bother trying for any of those paths? It makes me feel as if the mc is forced into the situation and is second best to everything else, which is a big no from me. I would rather not play the game at all, whatever it might be, than have to sit through something like that. I know there are people who do like this scenario and others who will say “but it’s realistic.” However, I don’t play interactive fiction for realism. I play it to escape and have fun in worlds created by others, to enjoy interesting characters and the paths you can take with them–friendship or romance or otherwise. Added issues of an RO not being interested at all or cheating or getting with someone else won’t be explored by me because I simply will not play it (or I’ll avoid it, if I’m able to. Same thing with love triangles).
If a character is an RO, then I should be able to, in some way, end the game in a relationship with them (or have it set up to eventually be in a relationship with them, if it’s a slow burn for a series). But that’s just how I feel on the matter.
Would not mind if it is possible to romance them and all I do is ignor the RO then why not… but if it is impossible to romance them… Then I see them as not a RO option.
Every story I play, I’m playing as myself. And I have a fear of rejection. It something I want to relive in world I’m escaping to to get way from earth.
If the character has been suggested to be an RO, but there is no actual way to romance them, then yeah I wouldn’t be happy. If the game is advertised as exploring the themes of romantic rejection or failed relationships or whatever, that might be different, but that’s because I know going in not to expect things to work out.
I like for ROs to have personality/behavioral preferences, so if you are rejected just because you have acted in a way they don’t like but you could have romanced them if you acted right, I’m cool with that.
I agree with @VenusHeart about ROs ending up with other people if you don’t romance them feeling like that’s the ‘one true pairing’ and you’re just interrupting it if you move in.
Frankly it takes some skill to get me to want to be interested in a romantic interest at all.
If the romance between the two other characters is likely going to seem more well-written than it is with me self-inserting my ass into the story, I’ll totally be fine with them going at it.
If it’s framed in a more venomous ‘swoops in and steals yo girl’/man kind of way, that can be equally interesting. Besides, it can give you a goal to work towards of trying to steal them back if you can by stories end, presuming that’s an option. Adds a fun element of the story and if there’s other, bigger stakes to work towards, it can cause the player to decide for themselves if it’s worth trying to get the romance back or go ahead and, I dunno, get rich or save the orphans or some something or other.
sureeeeeee…get turned down with ‘another life…better luck next time’ from Samara…is different then being ditched for someone else . That just mean…you actually get a chance if you re-incarnate lol
But a character turning you down EVEN IF they know you are in love with them ? have a crush on them ? and such ? are we talking about that kind of thing?
Thats mean…heartbreaking and manipulative . and any '‘FEELING’ i may had…will be gone forever . That kind of romance is a total turn off…evil…make me wanna smack them…go Holy on their butt…
thats assuming said romance KNOW you had feeling for them and led you on that is .
But…if they didnt know and they are in love with someone else…shrug…it hurt,…its dissapointing…but its their choice and there is nothing to do . I wouldnt go and force anything . its their choice…if it were mean to be…it wouldve happen ,y’know .
now if it was advertised to be a romance…and it wasnt…or is gender-orientation locked…well…thats my daily life anyway…cant hurt whats broken a million time over lol …
If they’re a false, impossible-to-get RO but the author makes it seem like they’re a regular RO so they can boost that RO number in marketing – I would definitely be wary about buying another story from the author in the future.
If they’re a false, impossible-to-get RO that you know in advance is impossible but you still can flirt with (like in Dragon Age 2 with Aveline) – I enjoy this greatly.
If, due to consequences of your own making, one RO decides to be with someone else… but there’s really no warning (like in Heart of the House) – I feel like that’s going down the path of punishing the player for playing “the wrong way”.
If, due to consequences of your own making, one RO decides to be with someone else… and you know in advance it’ll happen (like in Harvest Moon/Story of Seasons with the rival heart events) – I enjoy this greatly, too.
Meh. I don’t even like romance in games, and I certainly don’t want every character to be a love interest, but false advertising is silly and pointless.
