But for people who it does have an impact on, they might not want to engage with a game where it feels they are punished for just playing the way they want to. Nobody is entitled to what they want, naturally, but the act of having rejection as an element from ROs will cause some people to become dejected. There is no way to make everyone happy.
My issue though, would be if the RO is completely unromanceable, no matter what you do. If someone is listed as romanceable, there should be a version of the story written where they can be romanced. It is a bit too deceptive to me, IMO. Mostly just because it raises hopes for some players then shoots it down, but if you do the wrong thing, fuck up and end up pushing the RO away on accident that is fair game.
Obviously havenât read the entire thread, so sorry if i repeat already talked about point.
I wouldnât mind it depending how itâs done.
If itâs advertise as you can romance X character then midway through the game goes ânah actually notâ. I would be quite annoyed, because itâs intentionally wasting my time.
For example. I believe in Zombie exodus SH part 3 one of the RO would die a scripted death to show that romance options donât have âplot armorâ, author later changed that after backlash or something. I simply donât see the the point of making character a romance option just to off them later. Itâs just a cheap âgotcha, try someone else next timeâ moment.
On other hand if itâs because choices made by player i donât particularly mind.
If they turn my character down because of my players personality, their own sexuality or a lack of romance flags being triggered then I personally find it interesting to explore their route with another character.
However, if the author has been giving me the idea that our romance is destined to be (with max points and all) just to spin around and toss in another character that pops out of the woodworks and happens to sweep my chosen route off of their feet so itâs either an out-of-the-blue compulsory poly situation or me just being the hopeless cling-on who canât read a room, then yeah Iâll be annoyed. Mostly because I hate having to start stories again and I usually build a character around finicky ROâs in romance-heavy plots, so missing out on the other ROâs that are generally friendzoned halfway through the first book would leave me a little bitter, lol.
Reasonability would play as a factor, like if a RO would reject you because they disapprove your choices too many times, you turn into an alignment incompatible with theirs, or you donât display sufficient care to your relationship, I wouldnât mind much. If not that might decrease attractiveness of the game.
I wish there were more characters who would reject you depending on your personality.
I feel like there is not very many games where that plays much of a factor, Fallen Hero is one. Most games though flirtation is how you get an RO, and there is little involved other than boldly or shyly flirting your way into their pantaloons.
While personally I donât mind it sometimes, I wish there was more variety in the approach to ROs more generally. Like, for example, an RO who is less attracted to a MC who tries to flirt with them, or isnât attracted to an MC who tries to boldly flirt because they are someone who prefers being the âpursuerâ.
If anyone has recommendations that addresses that then feel free to let me know as I am always open for new experiences and there is a ton of IF I havenât checked out before!
It can be restricting though (for me anyway) because you have to adhere to that personality in order to pursue them. I know in RL, there are personalities that are compatible and some are not but in games, either you have to restrict some part of your audience or give your audience a chance to RP as much as you can present them.
Of course, this is my perspective as a consumer though and a certain group of audience that usually donât play a game multiple times.
Edit: I think Persona series social links apply here. You have to choose certain choices to level up each social links even though there are some questionable concerns. hahaha I only played Persona 3 Portable and Person 4 Golden, I donât know if it changed in Person 5 Royal.
Edit 2: I just remembered the Tokimeki Girlâs Side series are notorious about this! You will only be able to pursue someone if you pass stat checks like you should be brainy or athletic etc. in order to get notice by one of the ROs. I remember in order to pursue the main RO, all your stats should be a certain level.
Ew gross, I didnât mean stat checks, I meant how you act around the RO themself.
Mind you, I do think the stat checks can be used to show how your acts change based off your own behaviour but just having a stat check cut off a relationship feels pretty not fun . Not to say that it canât be done in a way that works well, just that I personally bristle at the idea on first pass.
The only time Iâd get annoyed at the situation is if you can spend a large portion of a book focussing on the RO in question only for them to then switch off to another character over halfway through the story, obviously then thereâs branches involved in that scenario too, if thereâs drama that can ensue between the MC and the RO and if they can be confronted about the situation would make it all much better.
Iâd prefer characters like that to just not be ROs because it kinda isnât an âoptionâ at that point if theyâre always going to go away from you for someone else.
I kind of understand the urge to do it, but I think such characters should just be listed as âflingsâ or the like, like Shonin in Whiskey Four. If you canât really be with them in the end of the game.
Yeah, obviously it depends on how itâs set out in the story and it definitely can work better in some stories more than others. Like Whiskey-Four, youâre on a mission the entire time (I havenât read recent updates so I may be wrong on that) and so things being more casual makes more sense and those characters having external lives make way more sense.
If a character is set up to give you the chance to romance them for most of the book and then they break it off for something out of your control and you canât then go down a different route then people can be annoyed at the circumstance, itâs a very story specific and not really umbrella discussion for this kind of question.
I was referring to this question when I first mentioned the Tokimeki Memorial Girlâs Side. Technically, the MC gets rejected by the RO if youâre certain stat like Attentives or Art didnât met their standards.
I might have misinterpreted the question. hahaha I did enjoy them when I was young but now, I wouldnât play them again because youâre adhering to the ROs preference than being yourself. xD I did enjoy how Persona 3 Portable handle their romance route though. xD
Itâs because you canât have kids together. Itâs possible to talk him around with the right choices - or to become his mistress.
I donât mind ROs who are gated by choices the character makes (like Alistair). I do mind ROs who show serious interest in other characters before or while youâre attempting to romance them, unless thereâs a poly situation on offer. And I definitely hate fakeout ROs.
The âcanât have everybodyâ answer doesnât make sense because an RO is by definition part of the list of characters you CAN have, itâs in the name âRomantic Optionâ. If a character is listed as an RO and you canât actually romance them, itâs straight up false advertising.
Letâs be honest, itâs because of how the poll question is vague and the answer purposefully phrased to push people to pick âItâs realisticâ if they just glance at the original post and poll.
Thatâs generally called a break up, not a rejection. A rejection is used to mean refusing to enter a relationship.
I hate when people talk about realism in this context. Sexualities? Sure. Conflicts, misbeliefs, and flaws? Yes. Rejection? No, especially if the game leads you on as if youâre actually romancing them.
I donât see how you could possibly want to get rejected in a game, of all things, just because itâs realistic that you canât have everyone. Go confess your feelings to a real life person if thatâs what youâre after.
Now, if your character did something that doesnât align with the ROâs views and beliefs, rejection actually makes sense. I wouldnât be upset about that. But if the game leads you on, only to have the RO reject you for someone else, and thereâs nothing you can do about it? Absolutely not. Iâd be too angry to even continue playing, tbh.
This is an interesting quandary. Much as I love an escapist fantasy, itâs often struck me as very âconvenientâ that every potential love interest happens to reciprocate the playerâs feelings. In real life itâs a lottery whether the person you like feels the same way, and on top of matters of character agency and autonomy I find it hard to relate to a character who seems to exude some kind of pheromone that makes everyone swoon over them (provided you pick the right options).
However, Iâm not sure what the alternative is. Tying it to personality traits wouldnât work; whereâs the excitement in a romance between two people with the exact same values? Perhaps (although this is usually something I intensely dislike) some sort of randomness factor would be an option - provided itâs still possible to be friends with the character after theyâve rejected you, and that itâs possible to pursue another character afterwards. Or maybe thatâs a terrible idea, I donât know.
. Not to say that it canât be done in a way that works well, just that I personally bristle at the idea on first pass.