Romance in gaming

[Phyroxis]

Meh.

Romance.. could take it or leave it.

 

[Neosage]

Like the obvious sexual tension between black mage and white mage? Or Fighter and Redmage fufufufu...

 

[Alex_P]

Half Life is the only game to this well, you could tell Alyx loves Gordon, and that Eli clearly cares for his daughter, and treats Gordon like his own.

Half-Life 2 does Alyx well -- really well. She's pretty much all the characterization in the whole game, though.

It's a game with a void masquerading as a protagonist and a ball of gibberish masquerading as a plot. (The fact that it's still playable is a testament to Valve's ability to do most everything else well.)

-- Alex

 

[I3uster]

It can ruin games like it can ruin movies

 

[Uskis]

Final fantasy series is probably one of the best examples having a romantic theme eveident some where with.

or am i just a sap

Confession time:
I loved the FFX love story. I thought it was gorgeous, and it gave me that gut-feeling, you know, where you get all sentimental and stuff
I've grown out of this kind of romance plot, like I have grown out of Final Fantasy.

I can't really recall any other romance plot that has been done right.

 

[Good morning blues]

There certainly is a place in games for romantic plots and subplots, but so far, they've almost always been pretty terrible. I've heard of games where they've been done well, but I personally haven't played them.

The problem with video games is the same as the problem with action movies - often, the only reason that the male and female leads get together is the simple fact that they're the male and female leads and that's just how it works goddammit. I remember the scene where Kyle Katarn and his pilot woman start making out in Jedi Knight II; my first thought was "wow, they should really pull the camera back so that it doesn't look like they're trying to bite each other's teeth out," and my second thought was "this is really sudden and there is no real reason for this to be here." It happens all the time in action movies - the male and female lead bicker for a bit, then the male lead saves the female lead so they have sex, just like every real-life relationship.

This might strike some people as wierd, but I also really don't think that the depictions of relationships in video games are healthy, especially for the socially ill-adjusted nerds that the gaming community is infamous for. Think about it; in a game where the player actually needs to make another character fall in love with them, how do they do it? Answer: they creepily obsess over this one character, readily agree with everything they say, and give them presents at every opportunity.

I don't know, I just wish there was some actual character development going into these relationships, and that they had even the most bare and tenuous resemblance to how this shit works in real life.

 

[Sion_Barzahd]

I think Romantic sub-plots are included into too many games of late.
I'm a fan of them, especially when well executed. Final Fantasy and Lost Odyssey are two perfect examples.
But i fear they're spreading into territory they don't belong. Ending up being awkwardly placed irritations.

 

[Fightgarr]

Shadow of Collossus is the most Romantic game ever.

 

[SomeBritishDude]

I maintain that the only game where a romance has worked is PoP:Sands of Time. Why? Because its not awequad, its not bizzard or shoved, niether characters declare their love for each other, niether are romantics, its funny, its touching, it works. Thats why.

 

[Pseudonym2]

I liked the "connection" between Gordon Freeman and Alyx Vance.

What connection? Alyx is basically Gordon's mouth.

I always feel like the developers are making fun of me when they put romance in a game.

 

[Shade Jackrabbit]

I maintain that the only game where a romance has worked is PoP:Sands of Time. Why? Because its not awequad, its not bizzard or shoved, niether characters declare their love for each other, niether are romantics, its funny, its touching, it works. Thats why.

I don't know if it's the ONLY game, but indeed the romantic subplot did in fact work very well there. And the characters were really well-written too, lending to the ability to make such a subplot work.

Really I think it's possible that romance works in games, but seeing as how an amazing storyline in a game is hard enough to find as it is, a good romantic subplot is even harder.

 

[Good morning blues]

This might strike some people as wierd, but I also really don't think that the depictions of relationships in video games are healthy, especially for the socially ill-adjusted nerds that the gaming community is infamous for. Think about it; in a game where the player actually needs to make another character fall in love with them, how do they do it? Answer: they creepily obsess over this one character, readily agree with everything they say, and give them presents at every opportunity.

Is that some kind of Sims reference? If yes I would have to say that I completely agree.

Anyway, having never actually been in a relationship (and I doubt having ASD helps either) I don't know what a relationship is supposed to be like so I wouldn't know how to make it more believable. And I doubt many game developers would either.

No, it's not a Sims reference - the Sims actually does a bit better. In The Sims, you start a relationship with someone by socializing with them, spending time with them, flirting with them, and then making a move at an appropriate moment. It might actually be the best game I've played in terms of realistic relationship development.

The best example of a bad game for this sort of depiction is probably Harvest Moon, but there are plenty of others. In Final Fantasy VII, for instance, you chose between Aeris and Tifa by constantly creepily sucking up to one more than the other.

And this may come as a surprise, but video game developers are regular people like you and me, and the vast majority of them are going to have experience with romantic relationships. I'm not really sure why you'd suppose that they aren't going to know what is and is not believable in terms of relationships in video games.

 

[Shellsh0cker]

There certainly is a place in games for romantic plots and subplots, but so far, they've almost always been pretty terrible. I've heard of games where they've been done well, but I personally haven't played them.

The problem with video games is the same as the problem with action movies - often, the only reason that the male and female leads get together is the simple fact that they're the male and female leads and that's just how it works goddammit. I remember the scene where Kyle Katarn and his pilot woman start making out in Jedi Knight II; my first thought was "wow, they should really pull the camera back so that it doesn't look like they're trying to bite each other's teeth out," and my second thought was "this is really sudden and there is no real reason for this to be here." It happens all the time in action movies - the male and female lead bicker for a bit, then the male lead saves the female lead so they have sex, just like every real-life relationship.

This might strike some people as wierd, but I also really don't think that the depictions of relationships in video games are healthy, especially for the socially ill-adjusted nerds that the gaming community is infamous for. Think about it; in a game where the player actually needs to make another character fall in love with them, how do they do it? Answer: they creepily obsess over this one character, readily agree with everything they say, and give them presents at every opportunity.

I don't know, I just wish there was some actual character development going into these relationships, and that they had even the most bare and tenuous resemblance to how this shit works in real life.

Spot on. For a good example, take the relationship between Kaylee and Simon in Firefly and Serenity.

Spoiler

It's clear that Kaylee likes Simon, and the audience is pretty sure Simon likes her back (inklings of this appear throughout the series), but they keep hitting roadblocks; Simon will say something thoughtless, and Kaylee gets offended. Finally in Serenity we realize that Simon's been so preoccupied with River that he hasn't been able to devote the necessary attention to Kaylee, and he's able to let go of that responsibility enough by the end of the movie that they're able to pursue their relationship more seriously.

What game devs need to realize, I think, is that romance and sex are not the same thing. [a href=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFywW99Uvwc]Daniel Floyd has more to say on the subject[/a]. Also, gaming is an interactive medium, and it needs to be the player's choice to pursue a relationship with any given character or not, at least with "blank slate" characters like Commander Shepard. From what I understand (I haven't played the game), you do get the option of who to have sex with, but there's no option not to do so. In games where the PC is characterized, this is a lot less important, as the story and the game are generally more separate.

 

[Syndef]

Usually, whenever developers put romance in a game, it ends up being cheesy and superficial, and in the end, not worth it. I haven't yet played a game that had a well-developed romance implement.

 

[Bagaloo]

Half Life is the only game to this well, you could tell Alyx loves Gordon, and that Eli clearly cares for his daughter, and treats Gordon like his own.

I totally agree.
It felt like the combine just killed my father :<

 

[Littaly]

If done really well it can make a difference. One of the reasons i like the starfox series is because of the relationship between fox and krystal.

You kiddin'? That was so clique and predictable, granted, so is Star Fox in general, and that's partially why I love it ^^

It was pretty much

Krystal: Thanks for saving me
Fox: Hey, no probs. I borrowed your staff, hope that's OK.
Krystal: Yeah, that's cool
*sexual tension*
Fox: Wanna join the team?

On the other hand it does earn bonus points for taking an unexpected turn in Star Fox Command.

I really adore the FFVIII one (though everyone else seem to hate it), and the one(s) form Balder's Gate are also really well done. I facepalmed at the one in TFU ^^

 

[Avatar Roku]

I liked the "connection" between Gordon Freeman and Alyx Vance.

Now that is epic; Gordon hasn't even spoken to her yet!

Maybe that's why she likes him. Who was it that said "Better to keep your mouth shut and look like a fool then open it and prove it"?

I maintain that the only game where a romance has worked is PoP:Sands of Time. Why? Because its not awequad, its not bizzard or shoved, niether characters declare their love for each other, niether are romantics, its funny, its touching, it works. Thats why.

QFT.

I liked the "connection" between Gordon Freeman and Alyx Vance.

What connection? Gordon has no personality - for all we know, he could be head over heels in love with Barney.

Oh. My. God. It all makes sense now!

 

[Mungini]

I'm a romantic so I enjoy these sorts of games but I don't think we see enough alternate lifestyle choices like homosexual and transvestite relantionships. Its all a litle taboo. Hey I think it'd be a bit funny to even see bestiality (I always thought the dog and the hero in fable 2 were quite close)

 

[Hyoscine]

Shadow of Collossus is the most Romantic game ever.

One man and his horse?

Silent Hill 2 gets my vote for the most romantic game ever, with Ico as a close second.

 

[AceDiamond]

If done really well it can make a difference. One of the reasons i like the starfox series is because of the relationship between fox and krystal.

This was done decently up to a point, that point being the clunkily-written Starfox Command.