Poll: Forced love interest

[Altar]

(Keeping poll simple, hopefully it works)

I would make a 'am I the only one' thread but... people seem to hate said things on these forums so... but anyways I'm just curious about other peoples opinions on (Forced) love interests in games.

I personally can't stand when a game throws a love interest into the mix and I usually go from liking the character to absolutely hating them when that happens. I.e the one from GTA 4 I hated Kate?! (I think that was the name) and absolutely hated her because of that to the point that when SPOILERS coming

Spoiler

She got killed I was extremely happy, in fact I didn't wanna kill Pegarino (Spelling?!)

So overall what is your opinion on (Forced) Love interests? Have they ever caused you to hate a character that you liked before?!

 

[Monkfish Acc.]

Yeah, it is always pretty annoying when a character is strangled by the red string.
It doesn't usually make me hate the character. Just the way in which the romance was portrayed.
You know, unless they were already pretty flat to begin with.

 

[NeutralDrow]

At worst, I simply ignore the love interest. More often, I find something endearing about them. I through myself in as the one "no" vote...full in the awareness of how utterly loaded the poll question is.

Admittedly, the genre I frequent most often tends to define themselves a lot by love interest, but I'm actually not counting those. If I was, my opinion would be overwhelmingly positive instead of mildly positive.

 

[viranimus]

Too many games have been putting in love interests. It seems to be falling into the hollywood motif that every release needs to have certain archtypes.

I mean your spending your time dodging mutant crab headed creatures who are the advanced army of the gods who were sent to earth at the will of an omnipotent sentient program that has established the only way for intergalactic peace is to travel back in time to wipe out the human race before it develops space flight technology... do you really have time to go off pandering to some frigid ***** with self esteem issues who gets jealous because you forgot to bring her roses because you got mugged by irradiated supermutants on the way to the restaurant?

I would say 8/10 love interests in games are really unneeded and only serve to detract from the plot.

 

[Guest_Star]

Depends.
If the game is built up around a relationship (it being the main story and so on) it's ok since it's prolly marketed as such and you know what to expect.

If it's just something tacked on that has no connection to anything else (like in GTA4) it's just annoying.
But then GTA4 was full of flaws like that, the enormous divergence between Story-Nico (whiny emo with needy girlfriend) and Player-Nico (stone cold serial killer with 6 ladyfriends all over town).

 

[MiracleOfSound]

I was very dissapointed Soap didn't get to have his way Captain Price, that moustache is far too camp to waste on the womenfolk.

 

[Altar]

I was very dissapointed Soap didn't get to have his way Captain Price, that moustache is far too camp to waste on the womenfolk.

Yes, yes, Price is dreamy isn't he?! the only character I wouldn't have mind as a love interest... Ahem... yeah...

 

[Subzerowings]

I hate them, especially that girl from InFamous (I think she was called Trish).
I didn't give a shit about her, but the game kept pretending that I did.
Glad she died, but then she had to say how proud she was about me and blah blah blah.

 

[Vrex360]

It depends.
For the most part, if it's really clear that this is a plot with no need for a romantic entanglement involved then I am not a fan. Nothing annoys me more than seeing something added in that is totally out of place and romances can be serious examples of that.
I hate seeing female characters designed to be sex symbols that serve no other plot device other than to be a romantic figure for the lead character and more often then not this makes her a damsel in distress. Overall if she's forced on me and it doesn't do anything to enhance the character or plot then I call bullshit.

However sometimes, just sometimes mind, a romance fits properly. It doesn't ever actually have to be expressed as a romance though, sometimes it's just a clear sign of a bond. Take Halo for instance, the bond between Masterchief and Cortana is never the main focal point of the story but in Halo 1 and 2 it is always apparent. Apparent that they respect one another and that they care about each other, it doesn't distract from the main plot and since Cortana has a genuine essential reason to be in the plot then it doesn't matter so much.
Point is, it conveyed a sense of emotional attachment without getting cheesy and I eventually grew to like Cortana for that reason.
So while plenty of other love interests do piss me off I can point out that they can work if done right.

Incidentally I actually think, what with the creepy amount of obsession Tali gets on the web, that a lot of the time people only hate the LI in games about a character who the player merely acts as the puppeteer to is because they themselves aren't romancing them. Like I actually reckon that the Tali romance in Mass Effect 2 has all the cheese and random out of placeness of a lot of other romance subplots in non RPG games (A socially awkward young woman giving up her virginity to the boy she has a crush on, yeah that fits the context of a Sci Fi epic.) but because she's directing that at the player rather than just a character people tend to overlook that fact.
I really do believe that if put into a different context as Nathan Drake's next lady, Tali's romance would be perceived as a 'cheesy cliched borderline sexist mess'. So in some respects if we choose the character and if it feels like they are talking to us then we connect better then if we are just being told we like a certain character.

I mean no offense to any Tali fans out there by the way, just using her as an example because she's one of the more popular in recent months.

 

[maddawg IAJI]

I just ignored Kate when I played GTA IV. Hell, I didn't like the whole "Treat these guys right and they'll give you benefits." stuff. I understand that it was probably used to make it more immerse, but the city alone was enough to do that. Heck, Rockstar is so good at it, that when I felt immersed in Red Dead Redemption and there was nothing for miles most of the time.

As for me, I could go either way, it really depends on the character. For example, I like almost every character Bioware has managed to create in their games (With the exception of Bastillia from Kotor. I absolutely hate her.)and don't mind love interests with them, but in games like....wow, its been so long since I had a bad love interest that I can't even name one game.

 

[Xiorell]

I'm not a fan of when a game MAKES you have a love interest, like you're example, GTA4, sorta crow-barred it in there.
I am happy when a game lets me do that stuff on my terms, like Mass Effect 1, first play I didn't do any romance stuff and the game didn't force me too. Dragon age didn't force me too either etc.

 

[Timotei]

Almost always.

When you live most of your life, doing your own thing alone, you tend to see people who hitch along as a liability. The longer someone is around you, the more likely they are to either put themselves in danger and force you to put a hold on your plans, or will fuck them up outright.

 

[Frankster]

Kerrigan-Raynor from sc2 fits perfectly in this thread imo ¬¬

Maybe there was something in sc1 I completely missed it but finding that out in sc2 was hard to swallow.
And yup, these changes (amongst other things) have caused me to dislike characters I used to like, maybe cos they are nothing like I remembered them to be in this case.

 

[mrF00bar]

I was very dissapointed Soap didn't get to have his way Captain Price, that moustache is far too camp to waste on the womenfolk.

I always thought of him as more of a Gaz man haha.

I don't mind love interests in a game, although being forced into it is a bit annoying and off putting. GTA4 for the same reasons OP suggested.

 

[Chimpzy_v1legacy]

Love interests in games have a tendency to not be believable. Rarely do you get the impression that there is a genuine chemistry between your character and the love interest. PoP: Sands of Time is one of the few games that succeeds at this. The prince and Farah interact in believable way, have well-written dialogue and most importantly, their relationship develops over time (in contrast to most games which simply go 'Boom! Here is your love interest. Now care about her/him.')

 

[Vampire cat]

In GTA IV I didn't spend any time with Michelle beond what you HAD to, so when she betrayed me I was like "meh". Love in games are so boring cause they are without emotion. Whats love without emotion? Nothing =3

I admit, in The Sims I'd always try to make me people love each other and it made me sooo happy when they did =3. But it's not really the same, cause it's not forced.

Interesting question tho; have you experienced forced love interests in real life? OO

 

[acosn]

I very seldom actually like the characters when it involves a forced love interest.

Last game that actually even comes to mind is Tales of the Abyss. The love interest doesn't feel forced and it's not falling into a "well that felt inevitable" system you see far too often.

 

[Roofstone]

Depends on the feel of the game, and the characters. But mostly, yes, I hate it.

When we can choose, AkA mass effect style. It is awesome, and a blessing from the video game gods. But forced? Meh.

Edit: Yay for post nr 100 by me.

 

[GloatingSwine]

Depends on the nature of the game and the protagonist. If the protagonist is a defined character with predetermined character development then it makes sense for any romantic engagement to be a part of that predetermined development.

If the protagonist is supposed to be an "open" character as in most WRPGs, then a predetermined love interest makes less sense.

 

[Altorin]

the worst was Force Unleashed.

The romance didn't even make any sense and just appeared out of nowhere.