My gamebook doesn't have any romance until the sequel, will that be a con for you guys?

What are your opinions?

Not every story needs romance, for me.

@DaveDPF
Yay:P I’ve seen a lot of reviews on the other gamebooks complaining about lack of romance, so I was hoping mine wouldn’t receive the same treatment.

Nope, doesn’t bother me. Sabres of Infinity was amazing and it had no romance.

@fo694013
Very good point. I’d have to say Sabres of Infinity is my favorite choicescript novel. ( @Cataphrak :smiley: )

@DJ_CUTY
Aww, thanks man.

The first installment of a series needs to do a lot of things, and its the author’s prerogative to figure out what those things are. If you think romance is superfluous in that respect, leave it out of book 1.

@Cataphrak
Yeah it wouldn’t make any sense in the context of my first installment to incorporate any type of romance…I’d either have to change the entire story, or make it stupid:P neither of which I want to do. I’m glad you guys don’t think I absolutely need it.

On the contrary. I usually dislike romance options so their absence would not be a problem.

It´s ok not each game need it. Always story is good and i have my freedom to be little mischevious cunning or charismatic you make me happy.

It would depend on how much the romance options are featured in the first game. If you clearly build up the romance, giving the player choices to spend time with the character or having romantic events that feature the other character, then you should at least provide a hint that there will be more to come in the sequel.

You could just put a small scene at the end of the game where the romance character does something minor but loving, like holding hands, but at the very least you should tell the player that you plan on continuing this romance and developing it further in the sequel, so that they don’t feel cheated or led on.

@Eindride
Awesome:) I’m not much of a romance person either, but I thought I should put it in the sequel to mix it up and alter the feel of the story a little bit.

@Marajade
Yeah you can be all of those things! I actually have intelligence, morality and relationship stats, so it kind of fits with what you wanted.

@Rhodes
My story is a big combat adventure, so there isn’t much time for romance to be realistically be fit into the storyline in the first book. You actually don’t meet your (supposed) interest until the beginning of the 2nd book.

@DJ_CUTY if ther e is ONLY ONE I preffer not romance at all , Where its choice? you could marry a or a its a horribly bastard butbis the only man woman in planet. Also that implies not replay value about romances if you only could have one . I prefer none option to be forced to one

@Marajade
It’s a pretty small scale story so you don’t meet very many people. You can choose to not romance him/her at all.

So its live my live alone of stick a only person in the planet? Your game don’t have romances then the fun of romance is the ilussion of choice if you are totally obliged to one its a arranged marriadge not a romance. Well I want the option to poison her him if I only coul friend one person I want kill him to be alone without remorse. Oh that’s coool poison the only love interest . >:)

@MaraJade
it’s not arranged marriage 0.0 basically, in the 2nd book, you save someone from 3 misogynists (if you’re attracted to women) and you can decide if you want her to accompany you. If you let her, you can then build a relationship with her or not. It’s totally up to you.

Oh but let me kill her him could be fun . But probably I choose go to hell Emma let me alone or just don’t save him her. I never save people in games except they clearly have money or I could steal and or killed them so I never save him in first place

No romance is fine and some romance is fine, but I’d personally do one or the other.
If you leave it out of book one entirely, it may not go down so favourably when you throw it into book two. People develop their own idea of what things *should* be.

Ferraris are meant to be cool and fast! Says who? No one that matters, but do you think they’d sell one if it were ugly and slow? If a game starts with something and then drops it or starts without and adds, it can ruin their personal vision of the game.

This isn’t always the case and some individuals will care more than others, but it’s something worth keeping in mind.

Zombie Exodus had no romance in the first bit, from what I recall. I’d prefer no romance at all as opposed to only one female character there to romance. What if I like men and not women? Also rescuing a woman from some misogynists is playing into the whole damsel in distress trope.

If you don’t like writing romance, don’t do it. There’s no need for it. Especially if you’re just forcing it in there for the sake of it. If you want to be different but still have a woman be rescued, have her be rescued and then mention her husband/wife and not be romanceable but still become your friend. That’s different.

Or have your main character already married, with a spouse who has a completely different career, and either approves or disapproves of their dangerous job. That too is different.

Everything you write should be what you enjoy writing – if you try to write something just because “it sells” but it isn’t what you personally enjoy, it’ll probably show.

Be ready for people to complain whether you include romance or not. :slight_smile: There’s a strong constituency for both, and it’s totally impossible to keep both sides happy.

@Havenstone
@FairyGodfeather
@CJW

Thanks for the feedback, everyone. Maybe I won’t have any romance, since what I was planning seems too linear and forced, and to make it better I’d have to change the plot and the first book. Plus I’m more of a fantasy and adventure writer:P. And FairyGodfeather, if you’re attracted to males, then the person would be a male.