The Official Romance Thread

[Augustus]

The lack of romance didn't really bother me in this game, I never really noticed it during a full playthrough. I find romances to be a really tricky thing in most RPGs, they have to be done well or they end up being a major detriment to the quality of the story. I prefer not having romance options at all rather than one that is half-baked or forced into the game. 

[mtamarcelo]

People like to use that quote from George RR Martin, "you don't mind decapitations, but can't stand a sex scene". I agree with him, but the problem is sex and a  well writen romance are some of the most difficult things to write. That's why you have romances in almost every movie but few of those stands out.

 

Baldur's Gate 2 had good romances, KOTOR did it satisfactory. Fallouts successfully adressed sex, gender and other adult themes (New Vegas, mostly). Dragon Age handles those same themes pretty well too. Mass Effect also has some well writen romances. I even think Mass Effect has an importance in the medium for showing 'lesbian' sex and romance in 2007. Final Fantasy VI and VII also shows romance in a not cringeworthy way.

 

Sex is part of life, and I think games as an art form should address and discuss it. You don't need to actually depict graphic sex scenes in order to adress the theme. Bayonetta, only by its aesthetics was able to adress themes like gender and sexuality, generating buzz and good discussions in the medium.

 

That being said, I don't think Pillars of Eternity lacks romance, although it would be nice to adress it since you have mixed societies and the Godlikes in this world. My main character is a naive death godlike aristocrat cast out from her house and seeking to fell in love in her new life. It's a background interesting enough to develop a romance.

[Praemorior]

Aerie, Miria, Bastila, Tali, Morrigan, Merril, Josephine, Cadegund?!

 

We need romances.

Edited April 2, 2015 by Praemorior

[Tylaris]

Miria? Waaaait... the one from the shotgun wedding? Good thing, Father Tully can also perform divorces...when he isn't dead drunk, that is.

Now that was a fine romance.

[Monte Carlo]

The lack of inventory babies in this game is deeply disappointing.

[Longknife]

I have read all of the examples of romance "done right" listed here and I still find them incredibly dull, predictable and boring.

 

I do not understand this appeal. I also find it very telling that even the pro-romance side cannot come to a concensus in regards to a good romance example. This is exactly why it doesn't happen: because the amount of people that'll be fully satisfied with any potential romance option presented will be far too small to warrant the effort provided to make the subplot to begin with.

Edited April 3, 2015 by Longknife

[Sleazebag]

Oh player character I am so attracted to you because you are the player character I won't ever mention any other love interests or people I'm attracted to because I'm playersexual. Now queue up a one minute cutscene where we awkwardly rub our chests together because that's basically sex. Oh wait weren't we supposed to save the world or something oh guess that can wait while we exchange bodily fluids

[Longknife]

Oh player character I am so attracted to you because you are the player character I won't ever mention any other love interests or people I'm attracted to because I'm playersexual. Now queue up a one minute cutscene where we awkwardly rub our chests together because that's basically sex. Oh wait weren't we supposed to save the world or something oh guess that can wait while we exchange bodily fluids

 

 

Stop turning me on dude, wtf.

[Elerond]

The lack of inventory babies in this game is deeply disappointing.

 

There is one

[takamorisan]

I don't mind romances in my games, not my cup of tea. If you like it I won't tell you otherwise.

 

But regarding the subject of the thread, my issue is that romance in video games always end up being a cheesy quest that your reward is a fade to black screen(Or some light porn animations if you are playing dragon age).

 

My feeling is that the "game feature" is basically a badly written visual novel attached to the game just to give a senseless reward of: "hey you got the waifu/husbando ~~teheee~~"

[Praemorior]

Romance ≠ Sex

 

I'd love to love someone, but no need for awkward fades to black or anything of the sorts. It just fun to see how different personalities and races deal with the whole romancing thingy. Gives more depth to the characters.

[navlasop]

If I could choose between having a romance option in a game and not having it, I would go with a romance option in general.

 

That said, I never actually felt the *need* for a romance in this game, and I do think it would have detracted from the plot / story as it is written.

To me it was more like "hmm...oh..no romance..ah well" after 20+ hours in game before i sorta noticed

I would much rather prefer a polished story and plot, then a mediocre romance addition.

 

A *good* romance addition tough, is a different story, but as the plot\story is in this game I feel it is not required at all.

 

Now if they could somehow get good romance in the expanion or sequel, that really fit in, that would of course be awsomesauce :D

[Duncan]

I never liked the romance in games. It takes a lot of things to match for a decent (not even good, great) romance to occur. How likely is that the very little side of a person you get to see during a couple adventures is enough for you to want to romance said person? Therefore this moves on to romancing for the sake of romance, and that doesn't make sense to me either. Good thing you made this thread because I always if anyone else shared my view? I've always been.. Shocked, to say the least, to see thousands of people "romancing" a single character with barely a sample of her(his) personality. Like...how?

 

Good thing it's never forced. And I do flirt, like I would in real life. But an actual romance? It better be one hell of a person with a game that lasts over a month for me to even consider.

No such game yet.

 

Edit: I didn't read after the first page so feel free to ignore if the topic derailed and I'm out of touch. After a thread gets so long I usually stop following. Feel free to send a pm if that exists in these forums.

Edited April 4, 2015 by Duncan

[dimvision]

I'd really like to see a character who "constantly" flirts/hits on the protagonist. Even if you say no, that said character will still try from time to time to hit on you.

Edited April 4, 2015 by dimvision

[RedSocialKnight]

Well, before the game came out I saw no need for romance, but now I've met Durance and I can't rest until I become his FIERY WHORE.

 

Make it happen, Obsidian.

 

Edited April 4, 2015 by RedSocialKnight

[cirdanx]

I never liked the romance in games. It takes a lot of things to match for a decent (not even good, great) romance to occur.

You have a valid point there and writing a good romance in a game is a difficult thing to do. I don´t remember many good romances in games, they are usualy not well done (in my opinion). However, IF they are well written, they can add a great amount of immersion and roleplaying to the gameworld!

 

Even after ten+ years, the BG2 romances still stand out for me. They were well written mostly, easy to screw up and actually comprehensible. Not like those Dragon Age romances were you basically just gifted stuff until you got the (horrible done) sex scene.

 

But in BG2 the romances alone made me replay the game because i looked at them as content and thanks to the great writing i still have a lot of memories about these characters.

 

I´m not that dissapointed that Pillars doesn´t have them, especially because i remember an interview where one dev said they left it out because they didn´t thought it would fit or couldn´t do them justice in the context of the game. Thats fine and a good reason.

 

PoE to me is a lot like the original Baldurs Gate, in the sense that it lays out the groundwork and flashes out the world. I hope it will be successfull enough for them to make a second game where they can improve everything and then hopefully bring in romances. (pretty much what BG2 did back then) Also lets net forget the awesome modding community, so romance options will be in the game when its moddable. That will be one of the first things people make

[Bayzent]

 

As per the last installment.

 

Romance in PoE Thread Rules

 

- This thread is for people who wish to actually discuss the roleplaying merits of romances (or lack thereof) in regards to Pillars of Eternity. You can lament or celebrate that they are not included, argue why the game would have been better or worse, give examples from games that did it well or did it poorly, talk about modding efforts to add it in, or discuss how it might be included in future expansions or installments and anything related to those subjects, etc.

 

- Anyone posting simply to make fun of or abuse people who like or dislike romance or to point out how often this topic has been done before will find their posts deleted. If the thread goes off-topic or gets very hostile, it will get pruned.

 

- Other romance threads will either be deleted or merged into this one.

 

Knock yourselves out.

 

Gods I'm glad there is none, nor that it would have mattered since I create my parties but after being forced with the bloody pedo Elven hobo in NWN2 I really think we dodged a bullet here.

 

And besides "dialogue minigame" with "****scene at the end"...well you said we shouldn't say anything about people who like it so I'll leave at that...tbh I don't thinkl any game can really do that kind of relationships right, not even eroges.

[McMayhem]

 

 

As per the last installment.

 

Romance in PoE Thread Rules

 

- This thread is for people who wish to actually discuss the roleplaying merits of romances (or lack thereof) in regards to Pillars of Eternity. You can lament or celebrate that they are not included, argue why the game would have been better or worse, give examples from games that did it well or did it poorly, talk about modding efforts to add it in, or discuss how it might be included in future expansions or installments and anything related to those subjects, etc.

 

- Anyone posting simply to make fun of or abuse people who like or dislike romance or to point out how often this topic has been done before will find their posts deleted. If the thread goes off-topic or gets very hostile, it will get pruned.

 

- Other romance threads will either be deleted or merged into this one.

 

Knock yourselves out.

 

Gods I'm glad there is none, nor that it would have mattered since I create my parties but after being forced with the bloody pedo Elven hobo in NWN2 I really think we dodged a bullet here.

 

And besides "dialogue minigame" with "****scene at the end"...well you said we shouldn't say anything about people who like it so I'll leave at that...tbh I don't thinkl any game can really do that kind of relationships right, not even eroges.

 

 

I don't think that we should be citing single instances of bad romance representations as reasons to never do it again in any scenario. I actually really liked the romance in Mass Effect (no, not the sex scenes, I mean the actual growing of relationships between characters.Some romantic, some not) and in Knights of the Old Republic. Those kinds of interactions really do deepen the roleplaying aspect of the game, and for many, they add a sense of urgency to the story.

 

I feel more connected to that "special someone" and genuinely want them to survive. That doesn't necessitate sex in any way or any kind of campy storyline. Someone said at the beginning that it's fine as long as it isn't required to get the best story experience out of the game, I agree 100% with that notion. 

 

I just don't understand how something that is, and should be completely optional ruffles some people's skirts so much (pun very much intended.) It reminds me of the criticism EQ2 had because you could play as a humanoid rat. To this notion, I offer the same retort, just opt out of it. I think enough people like romance that it could be included in a way that doesn't require it as a game or story mechanic.

 

Maybe it's because I'm a homo, but those are things that really brighten the gameplay for me. :/

[Voss]

Ugency?  How does 'can't talk again* until next metagame checkpoint' foster a sense of urgency?

 

*beyond 'hey, just checking in,' or one of the thousand variants thereof.

Edited April 4, 2015 by Voss

[Bayzent]

 

I don't think that we should be citing single instances of bad romance representations as reasons to never do it again in any scenario. I actually really liked the romance in Mass Effect (no, not the sex scenes, I mean the actual growing of relationships between characters.Some romantic, some not) and in Knights of the Old Republic. Those kinds of interactions really do deepen the roleplaying aspect of the game, and for many, they add a sense of urgency to the story.

 

I feel more connected to that "special someone" and genuinely want them to survive. That doesn't necessitate sex in any way or any kind of campy storyline. Someone said at the beginning that it's fine as long as it isn't required to get the best story experience out of the game, I agree 100% with that notion. 

 

I just don't understand how something that is, and should be completely optional ruffles some people's skirts so much (pun very much intended.) It reminds me of the criticism EQ2 had because you could play as a humanoid rat. To this notion, I offer the same retort, just opt out of it. I think enough people like romance that it could be included in a way that doesn't require it as a game or story mechanic.

 

Maybe it's because I'm a homo, but those are things that really brighten the gameplay for me. :/

 

 

TBH I would not be able to recognize "Good Romance" from "Bad Romance" because to me all of the romances in these games are offensively simplistic...I have so many Celibate Characters that one day they'll build a monastery and mock me with the name.

 

But hey, dunno, maybe I'm the one with the problem here, I just feel that most game devs don't really get human interaction at that level, which on the other hand is a cliche in itself I would not indulge in, or that I should see them as One night stands and that's it.

 

I understand that people ask for them as optional, but even then they'll either do it half assedly like in NWN2 or they'll put effort into it like, well, nobody has to this point, and then it will be taking resources from improving other areas. The way I see it at least.

Edited April 4, 2015 by Bayzent

[McMayhem]

 

 

 

Ugency?  How does 'can't talk again* until next metagame checkpoint' foster a sense of urgency?

 

*beyond 'hey, just checking in,' or one of the thousand variants thereof.

That's a gross oversimplification of my point. I take it you are referring to mass effect with that one. Yes, you are correct, that talk option does appear when there is nothing left to say at that point. I assume you'd rather they put in hours and hours of filler conversation instead? I'll take the "just checking in" option over that any day. The urgency does not stem from any one dialogue option, that would be absurd. Rather, it stems from a process of conversation in which a character becomes very important to you, so important that you want them to survive whatever conflict you are in more than yourself. 

 

 

 

 

I don't think that we should be citing single instances of bad romance representations as reasons to never do it again in any scenario. I actually really liked the romance in Mass Effect (no, not the sex scenes, I mean the actual growing of relationships between characters.Some romantic, some not) and in Knights of the Old Republic. Those kinds of interactions really do deepen the roleplaying aspect of the game, and for many, they add a sense of urgency to the story.

 

I feel more connected to that "special someone" and genuinely want them to survive. That doesn't necessitate sex in any way or any kind of campy storyline. Someone said at the beginning that it's fine as long as it isn't required to get the best story experience out of the game, I agree 100% with that notion. 

 

I just don't understand how something that is, and should be completely optional ruffles some people's skirts so much (pun very much intended.) It reminds me of the criticism EQ2 had because you could play as a humanoid rat. To this notion, I offer the same retort, just opt out of it. I think enough people like romance that it could be included in a way that doesn't require it as a game or story mechanic.

 

Maybe it's because I'm a homo, but those are things that really brighten the gameplay for me. :/

 

 

TBH I would not be able to recognize "Good Romance" from "Bad Romance" because to me all of the romances in these games are offensively simplistic...I have so many Celibate Characters that one day they'll build a monastery and mock me with the name.

 

But hey, dunno, maybe I'm the one with the problem here, I just feel that most game devs don't really get human interaction at that level, which on the other hand is a cliche in itself I would not indulge in, or that I should see them as One night stands and that's it.

 

I understand that people ask for them as optional, but even then they'll either do it half assedly like in NWN2 or they'll put effort into it like, well, nobody has to this point, and then it will be taking resources from improving other areas. The way I see it at least.

 

That is a perfectly valid point to make, and to be honest, I agree that if it does detract from the more important aspects of the game, it shouldn't be included at all. I have experienced enough romance scenarios in games, however, to believe that the two are not mutually exclusive. 

[Elerond]

There are romance plot lines in the game

There is cheap sex in the game which only point is to give player bonuses

There are several gay romance plot lines in the game which on includes female pc.

There is tragic romantic tale that includes three people and has severe Shakespearian feeling in it.

There is so sexual character in game that even most pan sexuals can't be so open minded.

There is two spirited companion with both male and female soul and another companion that restlessly pursues that companion female aspect.

And any of these content is not backer made.

Only thing that is missing is PC to be able to romance some of the companions.

But I has to say that I am quite pleased of amount of romantic content that we got

[Gallenger]

I mean....  I'm a bit biased in that I've never particularly cared for romances in video games - if anything the 2 romances you could *try* for in Torment were so immediately truncated that it left this sort of feeling of mutual connection, and unfulfilled tension that was kind of interesting its own way. 

 

 

But this game, the story it's trying to tell, and with the characters at hand, romance just doesn't make sense.   You can *sort* of get a romance with *somebody* (a non NPC for the party anyways).  If you choose your dialogue correctly, it is a sort of romance.   But it just wouldn't fit here, and from having seen a few interviews on the topic, the devs here simply didn't want to do it it.  If they were really enthusiastic about the story potential of romances they'd maybe have switched some things up.  But having played the game a romance just doesn't fit.  You're this horribly messed up dude/dudette seeing people getting burned at the stake all the time for no reason, seeing spirits walk all around, having flashbacks of past lives, constant nightmares, and staring at dead bodies for hours.  Now those may be fun couples experiences for *some* but it'd be *pretty* hard to sell here lol. 

Edited April 4, 2015 by Gallenger

[McMayhem]

I mean....  I'm a bit biased in that I've never particularly cared for romances in video games - if anything the 2 romances you could *try* for in Torment were so immediately truncated that it left this sort of feeling of mutual connection, and unfulfilled tension that was kind of interesting its own way. 

 

 

But this game, the story it's trying to tell, and with the characters at hand, romance just doesn't make sense.   You can *sort* of get a romance with *somebody* (a non NPC for the party anyways).  If you choose your dialogue correctly, it is a sort of romance.   But it just wouldn't fit here, and from having seen a few interviews on the topic, the devs here simply didn't want to do it it.  If they were really enthusiastic about the story potential of romances they'd maybe have switched some things up.  But having played the game a romance just doesn't fit.  You're this horribly messed up dude/dudette seeing people getting burned at the stake all the time for no reason, seeing spirits walk all around, having flashbacks of past lives, constant nightmares, and staring at dead bodies for hours.  Now those may be fun couples experiences for *some* but it'd be *pretty* hard to sell here lol. 

 

I disagree that the game's setting negates any possibility of a romance. I actually think that horrendous atmospheres produce some of the most interesting romance material. However, you pointed out that the devs didn't want to do it, and if that's the case, I'm glad they didn't. I wouldn't want the devs to feel pressured into doing something their heart isn't fully vested in, especially where story is concerned. 

 

Either way, the game's world and story are fantastic. I don't feel negatively impacted by the current depth of romance included in the game, and that's just fine with me. I suppose I'm indifferent on the subject as it applies to this particular title.

 

*By horrendous atmospheres, I don't mean to imply that they did a horrendous job on the atmosphere. I mean an atmosphere that evokes a particular sense of horror.

Edited April 4, 2015 by McMayhem

[Yenkins]

Would be nice, as long as it is not Skyrim-like romance.

 

 

- Heey, check out this pretty necklaces I have, wanna be my wife?

- Okay!

 

[black elf wife acquired]

 

xD

 

 

BG2 romances were actually very good. Different levels of complexity, chances to screw up and so on.