Extra Punctuation: Why No Couples in Games?

[The Noble Shade]

I love the Gears of War series, but I don't get that "arr-gwar" macho man vibe from Marcus and his crew (except Cole, but he's clearly a caricature of his respective voice actor). It makes sense to me; who's else would you send to fight herculean, nightmarish, subterranean monsters?

But on to my point. As canon goes (and this is mostly gathered from the books and comics, not much in the game), Dom and Mrs. Dom (aka Maria) were married. They were deeply in love and had two kids (that eventually died). I feel that Doms' search for Maria was to give him a little face time compared to Marcus. Without that, Doms character wouldn't have much to amount to besides being a sidekick to Marcus. When Maria dies, Dom loses all hope. The grief from loss of his entire family consumes him, and all he can think about is eradicating the Locust. Is this what Maria would've wanted? Of course not, but she's dead, and that ultimately doesn't wash away a man's heavy sorrow; the only people he has left to fight for are his friends (cheesy, I know, but what else is there). It is also a bit cheesy that he'd pretty much go on a killing spree, but I don't think there would be anything else for him to, apart from stop fighting, but as the events for Gears 3 roll around, nobody can stop fighting.

Romance in games is a fickle thing, but I think the Extra Credits episode "Sex in Games" covered the topic well.

 

[The Bandit]

I'm pretty sure Dom's wife would want him to, y'know, save the human race. It's not the same as Kratos. It's a war.

That's not to say that it wouldn't have been interesting if Dom had just said fuck it, I'm going home. They would have a nice set up for Gears 3.

 

[Moeez]

I'd say the reason why it's usually so hard is because effectively games ARE action movies, and interactive ones at that. we want the thrill of the chase, whether it's going after space orcs or that juicy pixelated skimpy dressed piece of polygon ass.

One good example on how to write a character with a relationship, though, is in the Witcher 2. Geralt starts the game with Triss, and she can, depending a bit on your choices, remain as such throughout the game. Sure, there is still booty aplenty for you to deviate with, but the game makes it entirely your choice. There is hints of another love interest who is kept offscreen throughout, but most importantly, while Triss is central to the plot, the relationship is treated very matter of factly, as an established trait of the characters, only there enough for we to know it exists and make us care a bit more about the eventual choices that come our way. Too bad the game's relative obtusiveness kept Yahtzee from it, because a great many deal of the things he champions are implemented in the game.

I was gonna suggest the Witcher games too, since you start a relationship from the first game, and then they're a full-on couple in the 2nd game. Although I didn't love Triss in the first game, I was more of a Shauni guy, and nothing came to fruition of that relationship

 

[samael_morningstar]

Ico and Yorda. Sigh... Cutest video game couple ever.

 

[loc978]

Happy couples don't risk their lives to save the world, they stay home to make risotto and erh.. watch the cartoon network. It's not interesting as a plot device, there is no McGuffin. The perfect story relationship is one of deep love obstructed by outside forces. Thats why Mario needs to rescue the princess all the time, and...

^pretty much this^
only... I would go on to say that among the kind of people who risk their lives to save the world, ones who can commit to a relationship of that sort are pretty rare. Nomadic and free-spirited or brooding and angry tend to be the character archetype for those with the necessary skillsets and experience to survive long enough in the extreme situations that video games throw at their protagonists. Neither archetype is terribly good at settling down or committing to another person.
There's also the dilemma of being an old hand at violence while trying to settle down with someone who isn't (this, of course, wouldn't apply to two adventurers getting together in a game). Unless they remove themselves from that violence completely, they'll be on edge. I knew an old sergeant who left his wife because he woke up one night strangling her in his sleep shortly after coming home from a deployment. He said he knew he had to choose between her and the army, and he figured he didn't stand a chance of succeeding in the civilian world.
So one has to factor in psychological damage from all this "saving the world" business as well. To save the world, a protagonist usually has to become a killer... and killers rarely have healthy relationships.

 

[Grampy_bone]

One game which both does and does not use a romantic relationship as a goal and/or plot device is Xenogears. While the protagonist follows a typical drawn out romance with the female lead, I always liked how the character Citan had a wife and daughter. They don't have much impact on the game, and he never seems to angst over leaving them behind, and they never seem to concerned about him running away and participating in rebellions. At one point his wife compels him to take up his sword again, which makes him even more of a badass though.

 

[Nenad]

Runaway series? The Next Best Thing? Those guys? No?

 

[AbstractStream]

This issue has always nagged at me.

By the way,

but only because Vamp was implied to be banging absolutely fucking everyone, including you as you read this (try to hold still).

This *absolutely* made me laugh my ass off. Well, off a chair at least.

 

[CardinalPiggles]

You could go and play Leisure Suit Larry *wink*

Also, dare I mention the ME2 DLC Lair of the Shadow Broker? I found the ongoing Shepard-and-Liara relationship in that surprisingly endearing.

I tapped that in ME1 Giggity goo. [sub]I feel dirty for saying that[/sub]

ARGH! SEX ON THE BRAIN!

 

[The Rogue Wolf]

Come on. We all know that the reason Mario was socking away all those coins was so that, once he finally got that daft bint back from the overgrown lizard, he could go out and enjoy the... uhm, "services" of one of the Mushroom Kingdoms "female escorts". You think they're cheap over there?

I for one don't see why we couldn't have an action game based around a family- a husband (retired Marine, two tours of duty in the Middle East) and a wife (decorated city cop) running off to find their daughter in some sort of widespread emergency. It'd make for pretty good co-op too.

"Wait! Wait! Honey, stop!"
"What?"
"I think I left the oven on. I... hm. No... no. I turned it off. Okay. Never mind."
"You do this every time we go out."

 

[mental_looney]

Gonna come in again with a DA2 comment the relationship was pretty good with Anders for me, as after a certain point there is less drama in the relationship and it's just going out to do things together and coming home and sleeping together at night, sex optional.

Got to mention LA Noire though Cole Phelps is married and has kids and I didn't realise until the end but it's a very weird snapshot of his life and you don't get much overall details.

 

[xdiesp]

There are no functional relationships because then the product would be aimed at a mature public, already grown up enough to sustain emotive and financial committment... not compatible with playing videogames full time in your spare time, or even working with them (see Yahtzee's own case of describing himself as a loner lunatic).

 

[The Deadpool]

I know it's passe to like jRPGs nowadays (and most of them are as guilty of this as any other genre, often more so) but you know what game did romance AWESOME? Wild Arms 2.

Yup. The one NO ONE played.

WILD ARMS 2 SPOILERS.

First off, Marina (main character's girl)? Not a party member. Childhood friend, runs a bakery with her mom, Ashley (main character) rents the room upstairs and helps them man the store on his time off. So right off the bat, this isn't the usual "boy meets girl" story. They've known each other for a WHILE. This relatinship of theirs has been a long time coming...

Ashley is training to be some sort of soldier/mercenary/adventurer/special ops kinda guy. He goes off on dangerous missions, and training routs and whatnot. Early in the game he's off to some ceremony and she tells him she doesn't care if he's the best special ops or the worst, or if he passes or fails, or rich or poor or whatever. She just wants him to come home in one piece. That's all. And he promises her that no matter what, he'll come home.

And that promise becomes the lynchpin of the game. To the point that me (and many other players) had a tendency to go back home to visit her after EVERY mission... Cuz that's what we promised. When the ceremony goes awry, and Ashley tries to draw the holy sword, the spirit of the sword asks him if he wants the power to destroy his enemies, or to save his life. Ashley says he wants the power so he can KEEP HIS PROMISE. Their love saves his life, their love is what keeps him moving through all the shit he goes through in the game.

And the heart of the game is a search to what it means to be a hero. Every other character (seriously, like a dozen of them) is a foil for Ashley, each with their own view of what it means to be a hero (to give up your freedom and reputation for the cause, or your morals for the cause, or your life for the cause) while Ashley blunders to find his answer. And he does. To him a hero is a guy who's going to get the job done... And remember to duck long enough to survive it. It's the guy who saves the world and then COMES HOME TO HIS FAMILY.

The romance is dealt with class and respect throughout the game. She is NOT a party member. The plot isn't to save her from kidnappers. She stays home, bakes bread and worries about him. And the scene when the two finally admit their feelings and consumate their love is also dealt with subtlety and taste.

Overall, it was a good, well thought out romance that added to the story rather than distract from it.

 

[Mount]

I think it as supposed to be Tifa since Cloud met Aeris for the first time during the game and she died about two hours of gameplay later.

OMG SPOILERS! ^_^

Now for real content: A stable relationship is BORING to anyone who isn't in it. Yay, you're happy, you had a wonderful vacation, and your kids are brilliant, please shut up. Story-driven games (and movies) depend on drama to move them; if your relationship is so bloody wonderful, then why would you want to change it? Stable relationships tend to change (and thus produce drama) only due to external stressors -- kidnapped child, cheating spouse, zombie uprising...

The things that typically motivate humans are; Lust, Greed (for wealth or power), Wrath/Vengeance, Duty, Idealism/Dream. (I think there were a couple more that were mentioned in my college writing classes, but that's been a loooong time back.) Yes, the roaring-rampage-of-revenge is hackneyed and cliche, especially when we-the-gamers have only known the spouse/victim for 45 seconds, and they were so paper-thin that they were apparently born via origami. Simply put, it's MUCH easier to write a character who's motivated by negative emotion than positive. "Rrraugh they killed my dog and must PAY!" is easier (and probably more believable) than "I don't wish to kill them, but my liege/the state/Mom said they have to die, and I am honor-bound to obey!"

BioWare has done a lot in making in-game relationships deeper and more believable, but in the end, the relationship plots in ME and DA are still of the "forced together by the Plot" variety; if it weren't for the Big Bad, you'd likely have never MET those characters. And anyway... SOME of us are still annoyed that we didn't get to boink the dwarf.

 

[CrawlingPastaHellion]

- He really does need to get laid... (Solomon Moto)
- Big time! (Tristan Taylor)

I don't have anything against fleshed out romantic relationships in games as long as they bring something to the story, thus are more than just an afterthought.

As much as I hate "Shadow of the Colossus" the bond its protagonist was chained by to his lover was a powerful driving force behind all of his actions. I even got his character, as his motivations were as clear as a good vodka: no matter the cost he would resurrect that girl. I felt respect for him, one of the few game characters I felt respect for.

 

[tzimize]

"I need to get laid". Nice.

WAIT WAIT!! I need something so I don't get whacked for low content. Er....Great post?
I liked the couple in sands of time?

Yeah, that'll do. (No, I really did like it. The dialouge there was superb. Why did they fire whoever wrote that before making sequels?!?!)

EDIT: Ouch, Vamp! Not so rough!

One of my favorite game couples as well. I also liked the pair-interaction in Enslaved: Odyssey to the west. The start of the game sets a very interesting scene as the girl eventually holds power over the guy, and he MUST help her.

I wish they'd explored their relationship a bit more than they did though, it could have been a 10.

Khalid and Jaheira has also been mentioned. Their relationship was awesome, and Khalids following death was equally devastating. It was also extremely interesting to woo Jaheira afterwards and see her struggling with the guilt and thoughts of Khalid.

Fuck I need to replay Baldurs Gate

 

[ChupathingyX]

Personally, Meng Huo and Zhu Rong have always been my favourite video game couple...


...because although they love each other they also constantly fight. And isn't that what real couples do all the time?

 

[Strazdas]

Well, fallout series had a few NPC-to-NPC relationships.

 

[FlipC]

Jackie Estacado and Jenny Ramano in The Darkness perhaps?

 

[Griffolion]

I agree that this lack of true relationships in video games is silly and it stops video games from being taken seriously as a medium. Your examples remind me of Aeris and Tifa in Final Fantasy 7. I could never tell which of them was supposed to actually be Cloud's girlfriend/love interest so I didn't really care at all when Aeris died.

I think it as supposed to be Tifa since Cloud met Aeris for the first time during the game and she died about two hours of gameplay later.

Twas a love triangle. Tifa has always liked Cloud since they were kids, but I think that when Cloud met Aeris, he fell for her a bit. In one of the special features of the Advent Children Blu Ray, there's a small video where you see Cloud finally ask Tifa out on a date.

Also, Yahtzee, just a thought. For a video game, what's more fun. Kratos murdering basically everything, or seeing a bereavement counselor twice a week? "Press X to talk about that time in the park."