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Bioware romances - what have I missed?
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Sonic Chronicles is a decent game and while I wouldn't really call the Amy romance "well-written", the tone it takes is refreshing when most Bioware romances are super-serious and feel the need to shoehorn in issues.
I don't see what's necessarily false about the X map location; in most games you get to a part of the narrative arc where people are vulnerable, or you reach a point of no return where characters might open up. Tie it in to your actions up to that point (and have characters with strong personalities and convictions like Sten, otherwise it doesn't work) and it can feel genuine.
The romance system in DAO was indeed horrible. I started to feel like I was running some kind of harem by force and bribery, then when I went to talk to Morrigan one time after NOT trying to romance her she told me she'd never had a relationship with a guy who didn't want to bang her before. Her mind was blown.
So was I.
This ties in better with games set up like DA2, and Jade Empire, but can't work if they're structured like ME1, ME2, DAO or KoTOR. By giving you the standard '4 hubs in any order-> endgame' you are dramatically limited in what you can write based on what the player has experienced because its going to be different for everybody. Its honesty why I prefer more linear games, because going through a hub that needs to make sense if you play it first or last is aggravating and cuts out so many potential options and character stuff for the sake of the illusion of choice.
Have romance_target_x be really interested in orphans (for whatever reason), and then have one of the areas that you go to be an orphanarium. Then the relationship with that character can change based on the player's actions there. Similar to the ME2 loyalty missions, but not quite as obvious. In DA:O, the various party members' opinion of you changed based on what you did in the various 'getting the band back together' missions, but the gift giving really outweighed it.
The best scene in DAO was when hardened Alistair confronts you if you try to spare Loghain's life.
The one thing I don't like about the story portions of Bioware's recent games are the romance options. I've suffered through them for my achievements like a good whore, but the extent to which they're there now just really makes it feel like I'm playing through somebody's horrid shipping fanfic.
Also, there were "romance" options in a Sonic game? Seriously? ._.
Sakura Taisen handles this by having the ending sequence be different depending on which female character has the highest affinity for the protagonist. For example, what if your romantic options don't make a difference until the end (let's say with 3-4 hours left in the game), at which point all your companions desert your EXCEPT for the one you have the highest relationship with?
My character ended up with Morrigan, but solely due to the power of Claudia Black's accent. Bioware, next time give the sexy voice to the non-sociopath?
It's funny that Bioware would probably put a romantic interest in a Tetris game, but the new FO games are almost completely romance free.
I would highly recommend KOTOR 2 and the Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer expansion. I recall both games having compelling romance subplots that I could actually stand. You'll notice that neither of those are actually Bioware games, but uhh... yeah.
Now calm down, the game is rated E. Not even E10+. The romance is very innocent and nowhere near the "hey let's fuck" of Bioware's other games.
Conceivably if I had someone around that always fixed all the problems and that person wanted to bang me? Why wouldn't I tell them my problems - obviously we'd work them out because they fix everything!
There really isn't that "dude I am just trying to live my life" kind of thing going on. Especially since you most likely are doing the side quests like a cocaine addict asking everyone if they have a problem so you can fix it.
The Witcher is a lot better writing in this area. The Witcher 1 was ridiculously sex filled. Witcher 2 is a lot more relaxed. I liked the writing of the Witcher 2 immensely
Yar I know the game is rated E, hence my use of quotes when using romance. It doesn't change the why is this even necessary feeling I have about it.
That's actually why I liked the Rogue/comedy conversation options for DA2, and why I like Merrill as a romance as well. It's much more natural sounding to have someone who solves problems because he has friends in trouble or because he needs money or because his aging mom needs to be taken care of. There's a point when the default Garrett talks to Anders and basically says "I just keep getting sucked into these things, don't I?"
That being said, DA2 is also the first Bioware game where I didn't feel like I had to 100% paragon/olive branch, so I feel like they did something right, flaws aside.
Ka-Chung!
Ka-Chung!
The flirting was reminiscent of an actual relationship. Well, okay, almost. Maybe.
Then again, you did offer to molest her if you took her up on the offer of a trust fall. And she was okay with it.
Hmm.
That was definitely the best part of DA2. I got to actually roleplay in a roleplaying game, rather than trying to min/max the benefits of the arbitrary good/evil meter.
Unfortunately it was replaced with a slightly less arbitrary Friendship/Rivalry meter and if you don't min/max those you end up losing party members.