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Video game romances need to evolve beyond lore dumps (www.polygon.com)
submitted 8 months ago by to c/games@lemmy.world
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Archived version: https://web.archive.org/web/20260214075750/https://www.polygon.com/video-game-romances-need-to-grow-up/

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[–] 17 points 8 months ago (12 children)

I think it also makes them feel more shallow because the characters are all "player-sexual" to use an industry term. Basically every character is into you if you want them to be.

I'd love to see more games have characters with preset likes and dislikes and how you've built and played your character will determine who will be interested (and who will shoot you down!)

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  • [–] 5 points 8 months ago (1 child)

    Part of me thinks the devs should just be more settled about having more relationships that don't involve the player. You get 5 supporting characters, and character A, in their "relationship event" with you, admits that they have feelings for character C and want your advice because they don't know how to express it.

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  • [–] 4 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 child)

    Some games in the past were like this but people complained because "I want the goth baddie but I am not an 80 year old man with a white beard named Santa Claus, this game's romance system sucks."

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  • [–] 2 points 8 months ago

    Not just romance systems... Especially with younger crowd unless 100% of the content is accessible on a playthrough they will feel left out. Cosmetics, items, weapons whatever be it. Makes everything seem more shallow because of their fomo.

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  • [–] 3 points 8 months ago* (3 children)

    The game already works this way I believe. There was a point during EA that each character was way too keen on the PC though. Gale in particular was a problem they had to go back and fix.

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  • [–] 2 points 8 months ago (2 children)

    Do you mean the being shot down part? Cause the devs have said in interviews that they purposely made the characters player-sexual.

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  • [–] 3 points 8 months ago* (1 child)

    Yeah I mean the way you play your character, depending on the likes/dislikes of the companions does have an effect on whether or not you can romance them.

    They are otherwise player-sexual in that they are all evidently bisexual.

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  • [–] 3 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (2 children)

    Astarion shot me down :(

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  • [–] 2 points 8 months ago

    Astarion has the best relationship narratives IMO, and was by far more satisfying than any other. He's been broken for so long, forced to seduce thousands of people, never having any of his own choices. When you finally show him that he has that now, that when the REAL relationship with him starts.

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