196 réponses à ce sujet

[Rahelron]

Romance Haters can find their own self-help group in the Obsidian forums. Play Pillars of Eternity if you want a game without love stories.

 

Here is the home of those who like romances in their games, and thanks for that.

[Killdren88]

Romance Haters can find their own self-help group in the Obsidian forums. Play Pillars of Eternity if you want a game without love stories.

 

Here is the home of those who like romances in their games, and thanks for that.

 

Never said I hated romance in these games. Merely concerned that people value that more so than anything else in the game.

[CronoDragoon]

Never said I hated romance in these games. Merely concerned that people value that more so than anything else in the game.

Oh, we're talking about the fans, not BioWare?

The answer is still no, because fans will place emphasis on whatever they find important. It's the question of value, which changes from person to person. The value of romance for you is very low. For others it is very high. What you could say is that the degree to which romance is important to some users and the degree to which romance is important in the game can be wildly disproportionate, particularly on the BSN.

[Fredward]

Never said I hated romance in these games. Merely concerned that people value that more so than anything else in the game.

 

Why's it matter what other people value?

[Gtdef]

Why's it matter what other people value?

 

 

Lots of reasons. If the majority cares more about romances, the devs may try to please them and steer the game. Or perhaps they modernize the game too much (already too late but whatever). Plenty of reasons to be concerned for things that can potentially destroy the game for you.

[Zered]

No, a rpg game without romance is like a bread without butter.

 

 

Some of the best games have no romance in it.

 

Romances are not the thing that define the rpg genre.

 

Still I think that the comunity is much more focused on romances then the devs.

[Andraste_Reborn]

Never said I hated romance in these games. Merely concerned that people value that more so than anything else in the game.

 

I think some people are far too quick to assume that any player who's invested in the romances only cares about that - especially if the player is female. It is, miraculously, possible to care about more than one part of a game. I enjoy the romances, but I also enjoyed the world and the rest of the story and the characters and the exploring and killing the Harvester and Malvernis on Nightmare and about a thousand other things about Dragon Age. If they stopped putting romances in DA games, I would be a little sad but I would still buy them and probably love them. I'm really looking forward to Pillars of Eternity, too.

 

And if there are people who are only here for the romances ... well, so what? It's something almost no other (Western) CRPG company bothers with, especially the LGB content, so I can see why it would attract people who didn't otherwise care.

 

I think one of the reasons that romance gets talked about a lot in the lead-up to release is that there's so much fuel for discussion there. Take another aspect of the game I care about at least as much as the romances: the programmable tactics system. I sincerely hope its in Inquisition (and it was last I heard) but what is there to say about it, really? I could make a thread speculating about how many slots we'll get and if we'll have to spend Skill Points on them like in DAO, but it doesn't offer nearly as much scope for speculation as 'how many of these people can we actually bang?'

[Panda]

I thinks it's the players who emphase romances more than devs. There has been only 3 romance confirmations and they were just fast like: these are LI's. Devs have many times said how romances are small and optional part of game.. well personally I disagree, they make big and important part in my playthrougs and in many else's as well. I have played DA games without romance as well but it feels dull and lonely to me.

[fiveforchaos]

Lots of reasons. If the majority cares more about romances, the devs may try to please them and steer the game. Or perhaps they modernize the game too much (already too late but whatever). Plenty of reasons to be concerned for things that can potentially destroy the game for you.

I don't think the majority cares about romances as much as they like to talk about romances. Romance arcs are fun to talk about for some people (I include myself in this), they're the juicy gossip of the game development process. But when it comes down to the game as a whole, I think a lot of people would be willing to let some of the romance stuff slide if it meant improved content in other aspects of the game.

[Ajna]

The reason people love it so much is because BioWare are so damn good at it!  They're good at story and characters, they're fantastic at engaging you emotionally and getting you invested in the characters, nothing else has come close in my experience.

[NWN_baba yaga]

Not to much emphasis on romances but problems with the minds of gamers these days i think. I mean it was meant to add to the "ambience" and support here and there some story telling or giving a special quest by a specific time... but today it´s totaly out of control with this romancing thing. A game that is an ARPG should be that... a story drivin action roleplaying game and not a romance/ sex simulator for people who feels the need to project themself into illusionary relationships where the classical RPG element is less important then that romance stimulator. I think that is realy a problem, when i want a berzerker dude stupid and dirty in my mind and one of the NPCS or my own PC can give me that he should NOT be forced to romance every humanoid on planet ingame And i dont mean that you can just IGNORE all the romance options... he should not be able to romance anyone or just one specific person with a reason think about int. or cha. check back then...!

 

I hope i made myself clear that i dont dismiss romances but the unbalanced and sometimes "makes no sense" use of them. I know bioware people can write good tales and special relationships when they make "sense" but once you force something into a game that is "forced" to just appeal someone it also leads to the destruction of ambience for other players. So it always should make sense first and has to support the story in a balanced way. Balance is maybe the key thing here.

 

You should also think about "relationships" are not always happy... so if you portray relationships misery and tragedys are always 70 % 30 in reality

[Fiery Phoenix]

Fans just like to talk about it a lot.

This.

 

If I make all kinds of awesome meals at my diner and people mostly talk about my pizza of all dishes, that's not because I told them the pizza is what I focus on; it's quite simply because they like my pizza and its variations, so they enjoy talking about it between each other. And that's kinda flattering, if you ask me.

[Elena]

Wow, odd mixed topic here. Honestly, as far as DA games so far, I never ever got the sense romance was a must. It's always been an entirely optional thing and totally able to avoid it if you want. I don't see any particular problem with the romance thing really. In DA2 I even liked that they introduced the "rivalry" system, that made for an interesting change in pace lol. I always felt it just adds to the storytelling *shrugs* but that's just me.

 

I've come across other games with WAAAAAAAY more emphasis on romance and...well yeah. Trust me, as far as I'm concerned, Bioware has done a much better job at NOT making romance too big a focus on the overall of the game lol. But that's just my two cents. I can see many people would disagree with my view and others wouldn't. That's ok.

[frostajulie]

Psychologically fiction is often inspired by life and life is about interaction, it is about connecting to people, in fiction people are characters.  Romantic interest is nothing new to fiction but its exploration is new to video games and its exploration is unique with bioware.  The romantic connection to characters and story is just one more way to engage the limbic system as a player immerses themselves in the game world.  People do it with game characters where romances are not a part of the story My Link was in love with Princess Zelda and left a trail of blood and corpses in his wake as he killed his way to her side. In breath of Fire my character always loved Nina and it devastated them to lose her. Romance is part of the human condition and as countless bodice rippers will attest it is a popular form of escapism.  Anyone who has read a romance novel written by a good author knows it is one aspect of the story- just as important are the characterizations of the protagonists, subsidiary characters and antagonists, the plot, plot twists and story engagement, the humor and drama are also important as well, the romance is simply one aspect of story drama that is not historically explored in the video game genre. 

 

I know that with the option the characters do seem more real to me.  The story takes on deeper meaning as you become emotionally invested in the fiction before you. Terry Goodkind's epic Sword of Truth series would not have held such power over so many fans were it not for the allure of the love story central to the two leading protagonists.  To quote one character to know Richard is to know Kahlan.  While I would never want the romance to become the driving force of the story, to become the stories main focus, I am definitely an advocate for more content, more depth, and more options. 

 

For myself I am the kind of person who would spend money on DLC's that added character development content and romance content to the game but then I also loved the Javik DLC and how well integrated he was in ME3 and the humor and character feels of Citadel DLC.  Bioware games are about story and characters romance enriches both of these.  It is what makes me return to the company's offerings even after the ending of ME3 and the reused environments of DA2.

 

To conclude, no I do not think there is an overemphasis on romance in Bioware games, however when browsing the forums and using that as your point of conjecture it is easy to understand why such an erroneous conclusion could be reached.

[Gtdef]

I don't think the majority cares about romances as much as they like to talk about romances. Romance arcs are fun to talk about for some people (I include myself in this), they're the juicy gossip of the game development process. But when it comes down to the game as a whole, I think a lot of people would be willing to let some of the romance stuff slide if it meant improved content in other aspects of the game.

 

 

Agreed, It's the same reason I lurk around here too, posting on silly things that escalate faster than you can say escalate.

[cindercatz]

Think of it this way. There are four broad legs on the DA table: "Gameplay" (combat, basic interaction, etc.), "Story" (plot, characters, dialogue, cinematic design, etc.), Exploration, and Customiztion. I care about each category about equally, but Romance touches three of those legs (since "Gameplay" has been kind of purposely kept seperate ).

 

So a broad base of players are attracted to it in these games for different reasons. If "Story" is a primary draw (and that's kind of a defining element of what makes a BioWare game), then romance takes on a greater importance, because if it's integrated better (ME3, ME1, KoTOR, and DA:O to different degrees), it can fairly radically transform the way you experience the game's plot, and alter the flavor of character interactions. If you also care about replay, it obviously takes on greater value in that. So those extra scenes also become very valuable.

 

Are you losing better value for their expense? I'd say that's extremely unlikely, because optional romance content is really fantastic bang for the buck.

[Fredward]

Lots of reasons. If the majority cares more about romances, the devs may try to please them and steer the game. Or perhaps they modernize the game too much (already too late but whatever). Plenty of reasons to be concerned for things that can potentially destroy the game for you.

 

So this is actually just about selfishness is what you're saying? People like the OP don't want what they see as an overemphasis on romance but they're afraid the majority/enough people care about this thing that is counter to their wants that the game might go in that direction anyway BUT because they value their own opinion higher they create threads such as this to cause... I dunno? Dissent? Point out an issue that isn't actually an issue but they wanted treated as such because they don't like it?

 

But that doesn't really jam for me. Because two problems. One, the forum population cannot be used as a representative sample for the client base in general, too intense. Second, the argument treats the devs like they're a weather vane, they just move in the general direction of the popular opinion and that's kinda iffy. I always dislike the idea that people just lose autonomy if enough people want something, true their businesspeople and so the popular opinion no doubt matters but like we've covered previously popular opinion ≠ forum opinion and even if it did the devs would still maintain some level of autonomy over which direction the game would take and they have (on multiple occasions) shown a certain level of exasperation when confronted with a select faction amongst us and their relentless desire for virtual amour.

 

So... yeah. Non-issue topic is a non-issue.

[General TSAR]

Here is the home of those who like romances in their games, and thanks for that.

Or those who enjoy BioWare's stories.

 

I doubt that's the case. Way I see it, Bioware used this place to note trends. We are their test subjects.

Nope, we are a broken and rat-infested ship anchored at BioWare's pier with a small team of 3rd party exterminators trying their hardest to keep it as sanitized as possible. 

[Oswin]

We're romance people here at BSN.

 

I really don't think you miss out if you have no interest in pursuing a romance. Personally it is part of the game that I really enjoy, because y'know...

 

 

Heh. No, I just like being in control of the romance in a story. I grew up on JRPGs where the protagonist would fall in love with the most annoying girl they could find. I hated romance being in games back then. But in Bioware games where I can pick and choose? Love it. I don't feel like I miss out when I choose to romance no one and if I do then it just makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside

 

It's the easiest thing to talk about right now. It's difficult to discuss all the other aspects of the game until I actually get to play it. But discussing which companions I hope I can get to know a little bit better is something I can do. It doesn't mean it's all I care about in the game, it's just all I've got to work with.

[fighterchick]

There doesn't seem to be that much emphasis in romance.  On the forum itself, I think people focus on it, but the majority of those that play the game don't even do the romance.  (I don't have a link, but if you google the stats for the previous games, I think only a quarter of the players even engaged in a romance).  It's a selling point for the forums, certainly, and that shows in the character threads that reach insane pages.  Though, the majority of those character threads are the same people repeatedly posting.  

 

I like the romances in the game and think they get enough attention inside the game.  But during the conferences, the romances are definitely not the focus.  If they were, we'd have a list of all the romanceable companions, the race/gender restrictions all announced already.  

[Cylan Cooper]

I think that to the vast majority of people, love interests are just another nifty feature.

[Cheech 2.0]

I like the romances being a choice, and not mandatory. If you want to pursue one great if not no worries. Although my Snarky Lady Hawke was a trouble maker, she still needed a little companionship and it was fun to see it unfold.

[AlanC9]

Lots of reasons. If the majority cares more about romances, the devs may try to please them and steer the game. Or perhaps they modernize the game too much (already too late but whatever). Plenty of reasons to be concerned for things that can potentially destroy the game for you.

Modernize?

Remember, folks, we're talking about something like 2 percent of the content. Maybe less.

[Gtdef]

So this is actually just about selfishness is what you're saying? People like the OP don't want what they see as an overemphasis on romance but they're afraid the majority/enough people care about this thing that is counter to their wants that the game might go in that direction anyway BUT because they value their own opinion higher they create threads such as this to cause... I dunno? Dissent? Point out an issue that isn't actually an issue but they wanted treated as such because they don't like it?

 

But that doesn't really jam for me. Because two problems. One, the forum population cannot be used as a representative sample for the client base in general, too intense. Second, the argument treats the devs like they're a weather vane, they just move in the general direction of the popular opinion and that's kinda iffy. I always dislike the idea that people just lose autonomy if enough people want something, true their businesspeople and so the popular opinion no doubt matters but like we've covered previously popular opinion ≠ forum opinion and even if it did the devs would still maintain some level of autonomy over which direction the game would take and they have (on multiple occasions) shown a certain level of exasperation when confronted with a select faction amongst us and their relentless desire for virtual amour.

 

So... yeah. Non-issue topic is a non-issue.

 

 

Not sure if selfishness is the right word. Some people do like to voice their concerns first and think about it later. Others think that perhaps it's thought provoking and a viable topic for conversation. I don't know exactly how much the op is invested in the forum community, but romance and sexuality are the most active topics on this forum. Easy to presume if you don't know.

 

Truth is that anyone who has followed the whole thing knows that Bioware claims that views romances as an extra dimension to their characters (from blog posts) and the only info that they actually gave us is that there are 3 confirmed and there will be more than the previous games. The forum naturally trying to extract every possible meaning from this should not surprise anyone that is a part of it so I can only conclude that the op thinks that the forum has more power than it actually has and is compelled to increase "awareness" cause he feels that there are more important things than romance. 

[L. Han]

(Un)fortunately, ever since BioWare started putting in romances in their games (Baldur's Gate 2, etc etc) it has almost been mandatory for BioWare to add in romances for all their games. While I don't think romance has too much emphasis (yet), I still think the magnitude of attention it gets is starting to send out the wrong impression to everyone. 

 

There has been comparisons to Sim Date games and that is not entirely without merit. But then again, romances in BioWare games have become their niche and it is what keeping a lot of (lonely) fans interested in their products. Just look at how much popularity some of these characters get EVEN before the game comes out. It's quite bizarre. 

 

The real reason behind why most fans are so into the romance sub plots is beyond me. Perhaps it's player agency? Lusty trips? I really don't know.