scootermcgaffin wrote...
"Oh? Yes, I am very interested in that terrible thing that happened to you when you were a child/teenager/five minutes before joining my party. Yes, yes, it was terrible and you did/did not bring it on yourself and now are a better person. Yes I would be interested in a cheesy sex scene with hilariously bad fantasy music playing in the background thank you for asking/Yes, I consider you my best friend in the whole world. Now that we're in love forever/BFFs and you have your +6 to your primary stat, I never need to talk to you again, right?"

The thing I long for in games with romances is indeed for them to mean something. ME is pretty much the only game series where romance actually is a big deal for me in regards of my story. I was not happy with what they did with the Kaidan/Ashley thing in ME2. I expected to have Kaidan at my side, to fight beside me as my equal and not just as a side plot puppy who does everything I say. Actually his choice to turn me down on Horizon does make him more like a self reliant individual but I damn well hope that the development in the romance will be PROPER and WELL MADE in ME3. Not just "I'm sorry, OK hush hush, let's get married and have babies...after spending the whole ME3 game time not interacting of course."
In DA, I wasn't a fan of how Alistair is the Heir to the Throne and all that since I never pictured my heroine to get married and crowned but I would like to see LI's being bigger people. As in not just some riggidy rags you pick up from the side of the road. Wouldn't it be awesome to have some important figure, like a royal battle mage commander for example, join your group. Through time you slowly start to develop feelings for each other and eventually give in to your emotions and there you have it: You are in a relationship with someone who is A) On the same level if not above you in combat prowess and

who is an important figure and therefor your relationship might actually have an impact on people other than few smartass comments from other party members.
Seeing a spark from the start and looking it through makes the whole romance feel real and exciting. This is how ME romancing fealt for me. I hadn't even explored ME romance options when I started the game and I immediately noticed Kaidan's interest in my character. The interest was there even before the first "romance conversations". You could either ignore it or then grab it and let it roll.
In DA it was more about raising Alistair's approval and spam talk to him until you get to do something corny like telling him he is handsome. I've never done that IRL and never would <_<