Oh yeah, that’s a really valid concern. His relationship with Christine in the original novel (and in the musical, which might even be worse because of the romanticization there) is, hm. Not very healthy, to put it lightly. I’ll certainly have one heck of a job lmao
The fact stands though that the Phantom is a character who hasn’t had many positive or healthy interactions with people over the course of his life - not to mention that, at least in the musical, I interpret him as not being very good at separating fiction and reality, seeing that he has spent most of his life with operas as his only frame for what human interactions and relationships should look like.
The Phantom in my game won’t be very mentally stable either (seeing as I can’t take away his past without making him borderline unrecognizable), at least not at the beginning of the game. Daaé’s choices will be able to influence that, but I will not play into the trope of “broken” and traumatized characters being “fixed” by true love. It will not be Daaé’s job to “fix” the Phantom. The way I have it planned out at the moment is that Daaé, and the Persian (who’s reasonably close with the Phantom), will be able to act as his support system. The Phantom may try to pull a possessive stunt or be excessively jealous, but you’ll have the choice to set him straight and show him that that’s not how real, healthy relationships (romantic or platonic) are supposed to work. Like I mentioned, the Persian will also be there as support. I really want to emphaasize that the Phantom will be the one responsible for cleaning up his own act, Daaé (and the Persian) will just be there to help him along the road. Should you choose to, of course.
As an aside note, the characters don’t have set ages but the Phantom will be in his early 30’s at most while Daaé will be in their early to mid 20’s (Daaé’s exact age will be up to headcanon) as opposed to the novel/musical where the Phantom was in his 50’s while Christine was 20 at most, thus getting rid of the (imo) icky age and power imbalance.
But, for players who wish to explore it, there might also be an the option for Daaé to encourage his unhealthy impulses and behaviours, leading to what most would consider a bad ending. I will do my very best to make the main route as healthy as possible, however.
That got a bit long but thanks for coming to my TED talk lmao
To address your other topics, whether Daaé is a tenor or a soprano (regardless of their chosen pronouns) is meant to be simply an opening for people to see Daaé as transgender should they wish to. It won’t actually be mentioned outright in-game.
Lastly, stats. I have some personality stats in mind, but I haven’t given too much thought about skill stats yet! I will say though that since Daaé being a good vocalist is kinda central to the story, there won’t be any stat tracking their singing prowess. It’ll be impossible for Daaé to be a bad singer.
These are the personality stats I’ve thought about including so far (and I’m open to more ideas!)
Humble/Confident - How eager are you to show of your vocal talent? How good are you at taking compliments?
Ambitious/Content - Will you strive for fame and status by climbing the proverbial ladder in the entertainment industry, or are you satisfied to stay in your quiet and relatively unknown life?
Jovial/Austere - What is your approach to life? Do you prefer to live life with a sense of humour and merriment, or do you prefer a more sensible and serious approach?
Cynic/Naive - Do you generally trust people easily and try to see the best in them, or are you more suspicious of people’s intentions?
This reply got really long lol but I hope I was able to answer your concerns and questions in a satisfying way! If anyone has more things to ask, please feel free!