LolaLei wrote...
I would definitely prefer the obvious flirt button to be taken away, simply because I enjoy experimenting with different dialogue options and I like to try and guess for myself which line of dialogue will have what outcome. Knowing that I could sweet talk the character just by picking the heart icon made it too easy for me and kinda ruined the thrill of the chase and the unpredictable nature of their response.
Yeah, I agree with you there. I understand where the flirt option started because people were feeling ninjamanced, but the problem is really the romantic paraphrases.
For instance "You're not alone. I care about you." could mean "we're friends and I'm sorry that life sucks but I'm here for you."
It could also mean "take off your panties."
That's just something I think the devs could easily fix by making the paraphrases more clear.
I also missed being able to ask my companions what their feelings were regarding the current quest and then being able to return to them once that quest was finished to unlock new dialogue regarding its outcome. It made them all feel more real, like they actually had opinions on topics beyond the issues that define them.
You're touching on something there in that last sentence that I've been thinking about for awhile, but may not actually be what you're getting at at all - but it reminded me so I'm going to say something, LOL.
I felt like the romanceable characters in DAII were pretty gimmicky.
Anders was the troubled, possessed mage on a crusade to end Chantry control of mages, and that was really all we ever saw of his character - the cause. I guess that's appropriate for him since he was literally possessed with the cause, but I wish now we'd been able to see the cracks in Justice's influence to the Anders that was inside.
Fenris was a ticked off former slave who hated mages. That's literally all we ever got out of him in our romances.
Merrill was consumed with her mission to restore the eluvian and her desire to convince the world that she could handle being a blood mage. I felt like she got a little more personal with her likes and dislikes, her background and such than the others did.
Isabela was actually interesting because she was a character who screamed "gimmick" and then ended up being so much more than that. So well done, Bioware! But I still wish we'd been able to explore her transformation much deeper.
DA:O had gimmick characters like Oghren, but we didn't romance him - he was there for comic relief. Alistair was my favorite romance and he didn't have a gimmick at all. He was just a guy struggling through the Blight with you, but he still found plenty to talk to you about. You learn that he's the heir but not until much later. Zevran's only slightly gimmicky trait was that he was such a flirt. Morrigan's was that she was dangerous, but she wasn't constantly reminding you of that fact.
So I guess I'm saying that I'm really ok with just romancing *normal* people. The drama can come in the details, in the fibers of who they are and not what they do or how they dress. Or let us have a few more surprises like Isabela. I've read some of the writers say that what makes a good romance is drama - that you don't actually want to romance someone in the game that you would romance in real life. Are you kidding me? I would have married a real life Alistair in a heartbeat. Less than a heartbeat. I gave up re-romancing Anders or Fenris, because I felt more like I was babysitting them. It's less maddening to be the girl that helps put them back together for the next guy or girl who can love them better than I can. That tells a story, but it's not great romance.
Modifié par brushyourteeth, 01 juin 2012 - 03:15 .