198 réponses à ce sujet

[duckley]

For me - I love the romance - but the relationships between the companions are wonderful too. The lack of meaningful romance/relationships took a lot away from my enjoyment of other games, like Skyrim.

Although not at the same level - the Uncharted romance between Nathan Drake and Elena Fischer - the banter between them and Sully too - helped to make a fun game even more enjoyable.

So yes, keep up the romance and the friendships Bioware!

[Nimrodell]

sasukeuchiha225 wrote...

Hey guys just wanted to make a quick post about romances are they really worth it in the Dragon Age franchise. The reason i ask is because we don"t know if  the romances are returning or if they will only be mentioned ( I think I spelled that right). So what is your take do you not mind if the romances return or do you want to see the love of your Warden and Hawkes life again. Thanks for taking the time to read.

Honestly, for the 1st time here, I won't even read other posts... yes, they are worth it if you actually found romance story arc that is worth, simple as that. Take of that what you will... and to be honest, I can't believe you posed this question... it's your Warden or Hawke, who gives a sheit what anyone else thinks? Romace whomever you want, make the story flows as you wish (there are boundries ofc to it, but still, you have huge freedom) and never ever again pose this question, 'cause if you need to ask it, then, you're not suited for this genre and type of game, which is quite fine and ok.

[Tigress M]

JasonPogo wrote...

ok again I have to say that would be a valid argument if you were playing the same character again in the next game.  But say you did Romance Isabela in DA2.  Then in DA3 you play someone other than Hawke.  Would you want Isabela as a romance again?  Poor Hawke...

Okay so this is going a tad off-topic but you make SUCH a vaild point, I had to comment!  It was bad enough when I started my second play-through of DAO and heard Alistair say all those sweet things to my new Warden.  I was like... WAIT!  He's MINE!  I of course got over it (and it bugged me less and less in futuer playthroughs), but I did have to chuckle at myself for that reaction.  So... seeing Alistair romancing the MC in DA3 would be horrid.  

Now... back to topic.  Yes they're worth it.  I love exploring them and discovering things about the characters I romance.  I also love the idea of having your loved one fight by your side. 

[Renmiri1]

"To be concerned about being grown up, to admire the grown up because it is grown up, to blush at the suspicion of being childish; these things are the marks of childhood and adolescence.... When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty I read them openly. When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up.”
- C.S. Lewis

[legbamel]

Well, if the romances engage the fan base and engender this much discussion they must be doing something right. In the sense that it draws many people deeper into the world and thus encourages them to stay with the series and search for books/comics/T-shirts/what-have-you then I'd definitely say they're worth the investment.

[Fast Jimmy]

Renmiri1 wrote...

"To be concerned about being grown up, to admire the grown up because it is grown up, to blush at the suspicion of being childish; these things are the marks of childhood and adolescence.... When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty I read them openly. When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up.”
- C.S. Lewis

It isn't fear or shame that drives people to say romances should be toned down. I don't hide from any of my friends because they see me playing a Bioware game. I mean, its not like a freaking Twilight book. 

I never minded Bioware having romances in BG, or KOTOR or Jade Empire... mostly because the main stories of those games were solid and very enjoyable. Now stories, the one hallmark of Bioware games, are playing second fiddle while "companion interaction" is taking front seat. 

Bioware hasn't made a game in three releases of their flagship IPs that didn't end in a forced cliff hanger or abject confusion (in the case of DA2, I'd say it was both). 

But, instead, let's keep 8 romances. Because who needs more than one ending, right? I can head canon all the romantic things me and my virtual GF/BF are going to be doing togeher.

Modifié par Fast Jimmy, 02 avril 2013 - 01:21 .

[Fast Jimmy]

legbamel wrote...

Well, if the romances engage the fan base and engender this much discussion they must be doing something right. In the sense that it draws many people deeper into the world and thus encourages them to stay with the series and search for books/comics/T-shirts/what-have-you then I'd definitely say they're worth the investment.

Can't argue there. It makes too much business sense for Bioware to ever let go of their corner of the virtual escort service market.

Modifié par Fast Jimmy, 02 avril 2013 - 01:21 .

[eye basher]

You get an achivement for it that's the only reason i do it for after that there's no point.

[Straw Nihilist]

EntropicAngel wrote...

No.

[MASSEFFECTfanforlife101]

YEAH!

[Monica21]

Fast Jimmy wrote...
Romances were not "part of the formula" for DA:O and ME1. In ME1 and DA:O, there were three and four romance options (respectively). In ME2, this was brought up to 6 (7 if you include Liara post LotSB, 8 if you count Kelly Chambers), in DA2 it was brought up to 5 and in ME3 (excluding the ME2 romance references, of which there were a good amount) there was 8. 

So one cannot argue that "romancing everything" was part of the original Bioware formula. It was truly optional side content, easily missed. Now, with the vast amount of romanceable characters, it is nearly impossible to NOT trip and fall into a romance.

Which is fine, if the core content was of high quality. But it hasn't. Many fans of Bioware games have said that they focus on characters, but, if the characters are removed, does the game stand on its own two legs?

I'd say decisions like the Anvil and choosing who the Dwarven king should be, choices that are still talked about today, are good plot. I'd say things like the Dark Ritual, still debated on the forums, are excellent sources of story. I'd say the admiration people have for an antagonist like Loghain, who was well written enough to be believable, (versus the contempt they have for the cartoon cut outs of Meredith and Orsino) says volumes about a game's ability to even have multiple perspectives on the enemies you are fighting. 

But we have been seeing a greater and greater reduction in variable chocies. Less polish and coherency in the overall main plot arcs. Endings that pale in comparisson to the types of closure that were presetned in DA:O or even Awakening. 

If the romances were abandoned (not companions, notice, but ROMANCES), would this magically solve these problems? Maybe, but probably not. But it would leave a lot of the side content out and shine a pretty big light on the main story and maybe reveal some serious lack of story-telling foundations on that front. Instead, it seems that a disproportionate amount of resources are being used to build in fan service romance content which obscures the fact that the main story is a random collection of plot contrivances and railroads. Without that optional, side content to distract, maybe it would be clearer for everyone involved what areas might, in retrospect, stick out as needing more work to making an overall consistent and enjoyable story.

All of this. I wish I could think of something to add except I can't. The only thing I will add is that neither of my canon characters romanced anyone, and both my Warden and my Hawke enjoyed having friends instead of lovers.

[A Crusty Knight Of Colour]

But romance arcs that are only there to fill different emotional niches for the player is what makes BioWare writing so deep, enjoyable and not generic.

(That said, the train has long left the station. It'd be suicide to jump out now.)

[wsandista]

Sylvianus wrote...

wsandista wrote...

No. Romances(and any other kind of relationship) are only worth it if they serve a thematic purpose or help advance the story/character development in some way other than "LOL I'm banging Anders".

Good romances are like Gann and Safia in MotB.

Romance in dragon age overall helped advance the story / character development of My PC and above all our companions.

I learned some things about Morrigan, that I wouldn't if it was only for friendship. For example she way she behaves with her beloved warden has showed how she was more noble than she thought, and how Flemeth really influenced her during her childhood.

Look at what I said were good romances. They are good because they are there to explore themes already heavy in the plot of the game, not just for the PC to have sex with. Morrigan and Alistar are similar(although not as well written as Gann IMO) because they both tie in heavily to the plot and romancing them does impact the plot.

Leliana, Zevran, and the DA2 romances did not impact the plot in any meaningful way other than "LOL I'm banging X". Nothing was revealed about the characters by having the PC have the secks with them, no exploration of themes that was not already present occurred.

Modifié par wsandista, 02 avril 2013 - 05:23 .

[Zeldrik1389]

wsandista wrote...

Sylvianus wrote...

wsandista wrote...

No. Romances(and any other kind of relationship) are only worth it if they serve a thematic purpose or help advance the story/character development in some way other than "LOL I'm banging Anders".

Good romances are like Gann and Safia in MotB.

Romance in dragon age overall helped advance the story / character development of My PC and above all our companions.

I learned some things about Morrigan, that I wouldn't if it was only for friendship. For example she way she behaves with her beloved warden has showed how she was more noble than she thought, and how Flemeth really influenced her during her childhood.

Look at what I said were good romances. They are good because they are there to explore themes already heavy in the plot of the game, not just for the PC to have sex with. Morrigan and Alistar are similar(although not as well written as Gann IMO) because they both tie in heavily to the plot and romancing them does impact the plot.

Leliana, Zevran, and the DA2 romances did not impact the plot in any meaningful way other than "LOL I'm banging X". Nothing was revealed about the characters by having the PC have the secks with them, no exploration of themes that was not already present occurred.

Second that. Though since Leliana is somewhat related to the later events, I kinda hope they will give us something more on her romance. But yeah, Zev and DA 2's romances are pretty flat (especially Anders ... that mofo, imo was the worst thing that appear in DA world) and irrelevant to the game's story. They are more a filter than an actual love interest that worth your attention.

[Danny Boy 7]

nvm

Modifié par Danny Boy 7, 02 avril 2013 - 08:34 .

[Dutchess]

I think the romances are worth playing, but if your definition of worth depends on their continuation in the next game, the answer would be "no". The DAO romances got a quick mention in DA2 at most, or not even that, because the romance import was bugged (Zevran) or the romanced companion didn't appear at all (Morrigan).

[SafetyShattered]

Yes, I definately think they are. Characters like Morrigan were extremely enjoyable to romance. And as afar as whether or not romance will be in the next Dragon Age I can assure you they are. Like someone else said someone from Bioware did say that the heart icon would return. Also, besides that could you imagine the fan outcry if there wasn't? Especially after Bioware's recent controversies I highly doubt that would be a move they'd want to make.

[Darth Death]

"Worth it" in what sense? Depends on the individual; as for myself, I dunno.

[Renmiri1]

Fast Jimmy wrote...

Renmiri1 wrote...

"To be concerned about being grown up, to admire the grown up because it is grown up, to blush at the suspicion of being childish; these things are the marks of childhood and adolescence.... When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty I read them openly. When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up.”
- C.S. Lewis

It isn't fear or shame that drives people to say romances should be toned down

*snip *
.... instead, let's keep 8 romances. Because who needs more than one ending, right? I can head canon all the romantic things me and my virtual GF/BF are going to be doing togeher.

Fast Jimmy wrote... It makes too much business sense for Bioware to ever let go of their corner of the virtual escort service market.

You sure it isn't ? All this spite and hate for a minor part of the game ?  ME3 puts to death the myth that several endings are good per se. Bad writing is bad writing, be it in romance or romance -free story archs.

You are seeing correlation and thinking it is causation. Bioware added more romances and story went downhill. Does this mean more romances are to blame ? Dunno, we also had, global warming, a major financial crisis, microtransactions, 2 elections and many other world events happening at the same time. You can't just suppose that one event causes the other just because they happened in roughly the same time period.

I myself blame the financial crisis, making stockmarkets go sour on gaming companies which in turn started abandoning quality in search of more cash from sweet microtransactions and "gaming as a service". Not because this all happened at the same time stories were going downhill, as I have some knowledge of statistics and don't go for pure time period as causation . But because it is what several industry experts have been saying for years and predicting the game quality downgrade we have been seeing. But you wanna blame the waifus and the pixelated sex, go ahead... It's just not very logical or grown up 

Modifié par Renmiri1, 02 avril 2013 - 04:12 .

[SerenityRebirth]

First, I'll address you main question: It wholly depends on your sense of immersion and desire in the story. Some people love being the proverbial "lonewolf." They're purpose in life is to solely be alone and the fight the ultimate evil. Others find that part of their epic story is to find love (even if it doesn't last till the end of the story). I am of the latter.

To answer your other question: I am not personally interested in seeing my previous romances unless it is in the background story. The reason being that it may "force" any ending onto my Warden/Hawke. I know that this was a cause of frustration for some people who romances some characters in Origins, and then saw something different in DA2.

I can't only imagine how ruffled I'd personally feel with a character being: "Yeah, I was with Hawke through thick and thin...but you (new DA character) are my TRUE companion." That'd be funny but also suck.

[Renmiri1]

My Warden loved Alistair to bits (and vice versa) and my Hawke was crazy for her crazy mage. Two different people, two different LI.

[New Display Name]

It's not like the romances are hard to do.

[EpicBoot2daFace]

I couldn't care less. I want great gameplay first and foremost. If romances help sell Bioware games and they enjoy doing them, more power to them. That said, from the way David Gaider talks about them it seems like they don't enjoy them very much.

Chracters (and arguably romances) are one of the few things Bioware does well. Gameplay? Not so much. Perhaps they should focus less on romances and more on gameplay. Because that's where they keep dropping the ball, in my opinion.

Modifié par EpicBoot2daFace, 02 avril 2013 - 05:49 .

[SilentK]

I love the romances. Something new to look forward to since I so far never have romanced the same LI two PT:s in a row. It gives me something new and shiny with each character.

Next Hawke will romance Fenris for the first time, next Shepard will romance Liara in ME3 for the first time. Already looking forward to those PT:s. Think I will start them in the fall gearing up for DA3.