@JROWE
Good writing prevents a character/ story from being just a trope. I think that every adventure, sci-fi, mystery, and whatever other genre are the same in a very very general sence or else they wouldn’t be characterized that way, but people still like them.
I play romance (otome specifically) games and character’s can fall into a general category like best friend, jerk with a heart of gold, etc. , but it is the character’s personality and situation that set them apart and give them their own identity.
For the question, I prefer romance, but I will play games without them. If it came down to buying a game with good romance or one without romance, I’d buy the romance game first. COG isn’t a platformer with lots of button clicking or joysticking or graphics, so it’s major strength lies in the characters (and setting). Some games are better without romance especially when MC is young.
However, if you name the game - Best Romance Game Ever - and there is no romance, I won’t like the game because it’s misleading.
I want to specify that when I say romance, I mean MC and NPC romance. NPC and NPC romance is often done poorly.
It’s really hard for me to play a game that doesn’t have the romance, however if it is written well and I really enjoy the story I’m totally fine with it not having it. In fact I like to cry a little and quietly ship everybody if it doesn’t so, that’s even more fun when I get to fantasize about what relationships would exist.
@Cataphrak does really well is romance are more natural since you have to you known work them. And the one he has in the infinite Sea series are very well-defined characters. And they could drag you into their Affairs if you go down that path and not necessarily may not be a good thing. I’m looking at you Katherine .
Well it kinda depends on the story you are writing.
Are you writing a story along the lines of Mecha Ace, MetaHuman or Swamp Kingdom, those games excelled with little to no romance options.
Are you writing a trilogy or series? Then yes, more often than not, you want more romance possibilities, because if you are building a character, long term that is, you want at least some romance included.
Are you writing a game like A Midsummer’s Night Choice where the main focus is on romance, or a school setting game, like Psy High or Way Walkers then by all means, add some romance.
Like I said before, it pretty much depends on the story. Also, if you do make the decision to include romance, make sure it works well with the story, not too little where people want more, and not too much where romance is the main course, or to the point of excessive romance.
Let it hit the spot, just right, so you leave people reading your story satisfied.
Not unless the story bills itself as a romance, in which case I would be quite miffed at the false advertising if it didn’t have any.
In general it varies depending on the story; some stories are better-suited to having romance subplots than others, and sometimes (though less often than many think) not having a romance subplot would leave things wanting. I tend to lean toward minimal romance outside the genre myself, but that’s just me.
I love the Sabres if Infinity/Guns of Infinity series so far. The opportunities for romance are nonexistent in the first and limited in the second. Still, it is a great series and I am anticipating the next piece of the series, which is not due out for at least a year. The “romance” in Lords of Aswick is limited to choosing who to marry relatively early on. It is, by its nature, a political decision and your wife (you’re always the “lord”, given the Medieval time period, and your m/m choices are limited) has only a very limited role in the game (well, one of the choices ends up poisoning you at game’s end, but that’s a function of the fact that you married her for political reasons and not for love). All of this is a lengthy way of saying that a good story is a good story. Romance can play a crucial part of a good story. But a good story teller can keep you fascinated and involved even without the romantic subtext.
A good enough game/story doesn’t need to have a romance. A lot of it boils down to the genre I’m buying. I mean, if I’m getting a brawler/beat’em up, then romance isn’t exactly a priority option.
That said, I also don’t care for a romance to just be tacked on, and a lot of CoG games lately have that feeling over the last few months. The Daring Mermaid Expedition is a good example of that (at least to me).
Of course, some of that also depends on how engaged one gets in the story. Choice of Deathless really had minimal romances, but hooked me with Ashley Wakefield.
Many genres in today’s writing have expectations tacked into them. Is a vampire story allowed to have no romance in it? Pick up fifteen random vampire titles and I bet you find every single one of them has romance.
I agree with @Lys that lately many of the offerings from CoG seem to be more interested in checking boxes on a list than actual story telling. Pushing boundaries in stories is a good thing but if you sacrifice the overall quality of the story, is it worth pushing progressive elements?
There really should be a balance and a balance that doesn’t ignore the basics to try to accommodate something new.
It isn’t just CoG doing this either, it is an industry-wide trend.
I definitely will, I prefer a good story over a romance tacked on because it’s ecpected, but if you have a game without romance you will get complaints in the reviews.
Oh definitely. When a company gets associated with things, like CoG with romance, it will get complaints if something deviates from it. Success can definitely become a limiting factor.
I mean, I can’t picture BioWare making an RPG without including romances…but I also remember how shocked BioWare was when their romances in Baldur’s Gate II resonated with a large segment of their audience.
Depending on what one does for a project, they definitely have to consider what is the normal ‘target’ audience and whether they want to include what is normally expected.
I’d probably play a game without it but I’d fawn over my preferred character anyway. Sometimes I wish the romances weren’t “achievements”. It seems that most ran into “DA2 romance” where everyone just happens to be the mc choice or just a trophy to acquire.
It’s not a must but I admit i would like really romance to Ben in a game. If the story is good that’s fine for me. If there were love interests in a story that didn’t appeal to me I would usually skip it.
Hmmm… depends really. I think a RPG or CYOA needs to have romantic elements for immersion and to get the player more emotionally invested in the story and characters. It can also depend on the setting, say if “Lost Heir” didn’t have romance it would be genuinely baffling. A prince or princess would be expected to wed someone.
Romance isn’t a requirement nor are intra personal relationships but they do have a tendency to draw people deeper if done well but the same can be said of nearly all story aspects. Poorly implemented features always do more harm than good but in that case being able to bypass these monstrosities or minor annoyances would do just as well but being forced to chew through it is like your parents putting something you hate on your plate for dinner and saying you can’t leave till you’ve eaten everything as opposed to letting you fix your own plate aka making your own choices.
If the setting of a story involves stuff like sexism where every man in the story to teases you all the time (If you’re a female) then gender selection play a large role.
Besides, you’ll want your character to be preferred as either he/she, isn’t it? Not “it” nor you-know-who
Fact is, it’s not fun to be discriminated against in that way in escapism. If anything, questions of gender in a non-romance game should serve the same purpose as in a romance game: identification with and projection onto the main character.
- and there is no romance, I won’t like the game because it’s misleading.
Sometimes I wish the romances weren’t “achievements”. It seems that most ran into “DA2 romance” where everyone just happens to be the mc choice or just a trophy to acquire.