I'm not sure this argument makes any sense. It's not porn. And the "sexual content" in games is probably far less problematic to expose children to than the mass murder, rampant swearing and racism.
Well, the "opt out" option is always available by merely telling the romantic option that you're not interested - far as I'm aware the games in this line have always made romance a player choice so I don't know why it'd change now.
Secondly though, and what I would say genuinely baffles me about your post, is why you consider a game like this, or any other game for that matter, would be more "family-friendly" without romance, as if it's romance that's the crux of the matter and not violence, swearing, themes and so on. Nevermind that the sheer reading level of the game along with complex RPG machanics already make it a pretty inaccessible game for younger audiences. Now, *sex* I can (kind of) understand, but romance =/= sex, and if this game is to approach romance like the IE games did then nothing at all graphic will be shown. But romance has been the core appeal to many a family-friendly story - heck, hard to find examples of Disney films and franchises that don't include one in some fashion or other.
Hi:)
Yes, the player can always opt out of romantic relationships with npcs. But can you opt out of even the possibility of romantic interaction? That's what I had in mind. I think it would be a great player option. It would be a means of turning off sexual situations (even such things as flirting) for both personal and parental considerations--because, honestly, how often in games do we find romance without sexual connotation/innuendo/suggestion? Now, of course, additional filters (language, gore, for example) would also be nice, but it's the romantic and sexual content that I believe, in general, has the greater potential to be offensive to people.
Personally, I do not have a problem with genuine romance. I think it's a wonderful thing in the real world...but, I have rarely, if ever, seen romance in games done well. I honestly find it shocking sometimes what developers implement into their games and call "romance." I'm not here to bash, though. I'm only here to offer a suggestion that I think might make a good game even better.
