202 réponses à ce sujet

[Lyrandori]

What I'd like to see is a companion actually rejecting the PC during or right after attempting to flirt or 'making advances'.

 

I can imagine something along the lines of (and it's just one example):

 

Male Andromeda Protagonist: " You know... you look great in this attire. * smiles subtly * " I particularly liked how you dispatched that alien trying to grab you by the legs. You're quite... effective... * winks * "

Female Companion: " * hesitantly replies with a nervous voice tone * Oh, thanks, hehe. * breaks eye contact and nervously looks around the cabin * "

Male AP: " * approaches her slowly * The way you took care of that alien on our last mission wa- "

Female Companion: " * gently stops him from getting closer with both hands on his chest * Look, you're a good guy but I'm already engaged. "

Male AP: " * adopts a surprised expression and comments * You are? It's... someone in the station? "

Female Companion: " Wi- with due respect, sir... I don't believe that it is of you business. Sorry, but I am rather incomfortable right now. * starts to walk away *

Male AP: " * comments as she walks away * I didn't want to intrude in your personal life, but I read everyone's dossier. And yours made me believe that you were single. There's no mention of a partner that would have been part of the crew in this expedition that I would have had to be aware of, and respect. I'm in the unknown here.

Female Companion: " * stops and turns to face and look at him, takes a slower and deeper breath before replying * I chose not to mention it, sir. "

Male AP: " So... you lied. * followed by a moment of silence as both stare in each other's eyes *

Female Companion: " Writing 'confidential' would have sufficed? "

Male AP: " * hesitantly nods slowly * I would say yes, and definitely better than just leave a blank spac- "

Female Companion: " I'm lesbian, need more details? Just don't go around revealing it to the entire crew... sir. "

Male AP: " * jaw slightly drops, speechless, eyes wide opened * Oh... I, well I didn't know that, either. "

Female Companion: " * rolls eyes * Tsk... well now you do, and it's personal. "

 

Actual player who wanted to bang the chick: " WTF BioWare! WTF!!! "

BioWare: " I made that character, I decide, go cry me a river * /ends internal thinking * " Here at BioWare we believe that artistic integrity is of utmost importance. "

 

* Manly tears *

 

But I agree with the OP to a degree. In some cases it felt like we, the player, are the only ones with actual feelings. In Inquisition I was the one having to do the first move towards Josy, heck Josy wasn't even aware that my OBVIOUS romantic one-liners were actually intended for her and not the random bird 15 meters away (thanks to Leliana for waking her up about it, sheesh). If, for example, we'd engage in let's say... two heart-shaped dialogue options with Josy only to ignore the following ones then SHE would NEVER be the one to then try something towards the Inquisitor (much less actually initiating the whole thing to start with). Same thing with Sera... except of course the first time you meet her (at least as a female Qunari). She's obvious at first glance about how she is attracted to you... but AFTER that scene we have to do absolutely all the job and then once the BioWare-flavored romance mini game is done she goes " OH.. wha-... oh... OOOOH ok I get it! You're attracted to me too! *pffffst * you daft ****** you didn't say before! ", and that's precisely when I feel like my brain will explode.

 

It's not always like that, however. I absolutely loved how Isabela just went to your place in DA2 and got pretty damn straightforward with it. She wanted you right there, and now. Now... not saying that's fitting for every LIs but specifically with Isabela it was indeed fitting. Although, as far as Isabela is concerned Hawke still has to click those heart-shaped lines a few times before that scene can even happen at all (if I'm not mistaken... cause I really don't think it can happen if there was no actual flirting beforehand). Ultimately, we the player usually do have to do the advances and in the grand scheme of things it doesn't help with immersion or "plausibility", and can definitely make the 'targeted' LIs feel like robots programmed to just react to our interests only if we happen to have any toward them, otherwise we end up completely alone.

[XxPrincess(x)ThreatxX]

I don't mind companions flirting 1st, just irritates me when they don't get the hint after the PC says no or i get ninjamaced just cos i was nice to certain characters & they took it as "im interested in you sexually"

[9TailsFox]

I actually have to tell her "No" TWICE in the same conversation.  Even after telling her  I was interested in Ash instead, she was all like "But you 're interested in me too, right?"

Being interested in someone don't automatically make you not interested in anyone else you can like 2 or more people at the same time. So what Liara asking is perfectly normal. And Liara look like she is same as Isabela fine with polygamy.

[Iakus]

BioWare loves to overcorrect. After everyone went nuclear over Liara "ninjamancing" Shepard in ME1 it seems all BW PCs must now initiate the romance.

True.  But in this case I think this is the lesser evil.

[SinisterSquash]

Uhh....they don't?

Liara has to be batted off with a stick in the first game and never seems to get the message in multiple games if you inadvertently express something that could be interpreted as even the slightest interest at any point (I.e. not being a huge dick to her).

Kaidan drops not so subtle hints with fair frequency that should be rather obvious given his usually introverted personality.

Miranda engages in what could be construed as mild sexual harrassment if Broshep says something innocuous to the effect of "nice to see you smile for a change" after her loyalty mission.

Jack literally proposes to screw before you can even do the proper "romance."

Thane affectionately starts calling you "siha" (i.e. goddess) out of nowhere because you merely helped him stop being a shitty parent and chose not to be a dick about it by rubbing it in.

Tali has the completely obvious "what could I possibly suggesting?" pass after her mission as well as interpreting the neutral reply that's something to the effect of, "it's too dangerous even if I'm interested" as "I am interested", and has to be explicitly told no.

There are others that have to be pushed a bit but it usually matches their personality. The only thing I find strange is that most of the female LI's seem unusually more aggressive compared to some of the males (Garrus, initially Jacob). Admittely, for the ones who do make passes at you, you have to go and talk to them to advance the subplot, but that is a characteristic of the medium. 

 

FemShep has to initially flirt, sometimes aggressively, with all her male LIs except Kaidan.

 

For example, FemShep actually flirts with Thane first very early in their conversations, but he seems stumped initially before finally getting it...

 

FemShep: You've spent a lot of your life alone, Thane.

Thane: Work fulfilled me. Reading. I barely spoke to anyone outside my family. It seems there will be no one to mourn me when I die. You're the only friend I've made in ten years.

FemShep:[Just a friend?] A friend, huh? That's a start.

Thane: A start? That's... intriguing. I will always be here to talk.

 

 

Thane will not call you Siha unless, after he speaks about his deceased wife, whom he loved with all his heart and lost to a tragic death of his own carelessness, femShep pursues...

 

 That is pretty forward. Here is the full dialogue...

 

Thane: I haven't spoken about my wife in... I don't think I ever have. I didn't have anyone left to tell it to.

FemShep: [I want you, Thane.] Maybe I haven't been as upfront as I should be. I'm here for you, Thane. Whatever you need.

Thane: You... you are very kind.

Thane: Thank you for listening, siha.

Shepard: I think my translator just glitched. What did you call me?

Thane: Siha. One day I'll tell you what it means.

 

He then tells her how he has never felt affection towards other species and is uncertain about what to do, to which, femShep jumps to mentioning "love", which I am still uncertain why it even needed to be mentioned....

 

Thane: When I married Irikah, the hanar let me leave their service to raise a family. But I had no other skills, so I freelanced. When Irikah was killed, I pursued those responsible. Once I eliminated them, I had no goal. I accepted the Dantius commission because I didn't know what else to do.

FemShep: Not the healthiest attitude to take on a mission.

Thane: You're right, it's not. Looking back now, it's clear I'd resigned myself to death. 

Thane: I would've fulfilled my contract. If Nassana's guards caught me afterwars, it would have been a good death.But someone else was pushing to reach the target. Forcing me to move faster. Challenging me. I had to reach her first.

FemShep: I had no idea you'd planned to die in there.

Thane: It wasn't a plan. My body had accepted it's death. My mind had been dead a long time.

Thane: But I met another siha. Few are priviledged to meet even one.

Shepard: You still haven't told me what a siha is.

Thane: One of the warrior-angels of the goddess Arashu. Fierce in wrath. A tenacious protector. I confess, I've come to care for you. Perhaps I'm being foolish. We are very different.

FemShep:  I'm not sure we know each other well enough to call it love. But I feel something for you too. Something more than friendship.

Thane: I've never felt affection for another species. I'm not sure what to do now.

Shepard: We'll just have to figure it out.

Thane: I look forward to the memories.

 

And then, as you mentioned above, the unpleasant overly forced I want to bang you dialogue for a reluctant at first Jacob and Garrus. 

 

MaleShep has female Lis and npcs throwing their knickers at him all the time.

 

WTF BioWare???

 

....Thane used an old pet name for his dead wife on femShep...

 

Wait...

 

I just looked at the Garrus romance again. For femShep, after his recruitment and after he leaves the infirmary, he may say to her "some women find facial scars attractive" in a flirtatious manner. So he did flirt first, and then got nervous when femShep pursued aggressively later on. I don't know what to make of this now. 

[Amirit]

I thought the problem with Anders was that there were only two responds:

1) Let's have sex

2) **** off

 

But it's been few years since I played DA2, so maybe there's a polite answer as well.

 

As for companions flirting with main character... why not? I don't really care. It would be refreshing and maybe more natural than just picking "I want to bang you" option in first conversation.

 

No, you are right, that was exactly the problem - no neutral option and negative one yielding rivalry points. Yet, BW took it as "why the hell he is flirting with me" and like with absolutely everything in DA2 made something grotesque opposite in following games, overcompensating for different mistake. Hence - no flirting from companions, period.

[Dean_the_Young]

True.  But in this case I think this is the lesser evil.

 

Ninjamancing is a legitimate concern, but now that they've tried and tested their 'flirt button' paths- dialogue paths that explicitly entail romance, rather than hiding romance flags in normal dialogue branches- I think they've gotten secure enough mechanics-wise to try 'companion-initiated' again.

 

It could be the sort of thing where a character does some coy flirting- but with the player having the option to flirt back (big flirt button) or pretend to ignore it. Depending on the companion, if the player doesn't return the flirts- plays dumb, like a lot of people IRL do- then the companion drops it and doesn't bring it up again. And, of course, if the player already has a romance, it doesn't raise in the first place.

 

I think it'd be a good way to have a companion express initial interest, without the risk of ninjamancing by playing friendly, that plagued the earlier games.

[Former_Fiend]

No, you are right, that was exactly the problem - no neutral option and negative one yielding rivalry points. Yet, BW took it as "why the hell he is flirting with me" and like with absolutely everything in DA2 made something grotesque opposite in following games, overcompensating for different mistake. Hence - no flirting from companions, period.

 

Well, Sera does flirt a bit with a female qunari Inquisitor. But yeah, for the most part they've gotten away from that.

[Calinstel]

I have never found myself accidentally in a romance. ever. it is not that hard to avoid them. at all.

For myself, I found that I was saying "No, I don't want a relationship." more often than not.  I'm a nice guy in rl and I tend to play my games the same way.  As it turns out, being the nice (paragon) person turns your character in to a gigolo/tramp ready to sleep with anyone.

 

Needless to say, after my first playthroughs of each game, I answered some with, what I feel, is out of character statements just to head off any unintended misunderstandings. 

[Kierro Ren]

Kylo Ren: "Don't fight it! You know you can't!"

Dominance baby Gotta love it.

[Guitar-Hero]

If they do this it'll make the straight boys cry (see: Anders).

Im straight and i didn't cry, and being hit on by a gay guy is one of the biggest compliments you can get as a straight man, so if you haven't tried that you are missing out. Id love to have more companion initiated romances, nothing sexier than a woman who knows what she wants.

[Twilight_Princess]

Yup, the female protag is in desperate need of an assertive male love interest. Someone who is confident and smooth. And while we're at it, someone who doesn't have a friggin' military background. I don't want another LI that's worried about rules and professionalism because of rank , it stops them making the first move! Give me a bounty hunter, a thief, a merc for hire just not another soldier.

[Seboist]

Yup, the female protag is in desperate need of an assertive male love interest. Someone who is confident and smooth. And while we're at it, someone who doesn't have a friggin' military background. I don't want another LI that's worried about rules and professionalism because of rank , it stops them making the first move! Give me a bounty hunter, a thief, a merc for hire just not another soldier.

 

We could've had that with Zaeed, but poor renegade femshep ended up getting vagblocked. Instead, we have gross aliens and goobers like Kaidan and Jacob to choose from, and needless to say, my femshep was as dry as the sahara as a result.

[Vegeta 77]

Bioware should put a option in the game for people who want some squad mates to make the first move.

 

But some people find it uncomfortable like with Anders so bioware are trying not to make the players uncomfortable in the game nothing wrong with that. Not everyone wants to do the romance content or have people come on to them.

 

Liara in ME1 was annoying and Anders did make me uncomfortable and getting rival points from him was uncool but i like that some make the first move like isabela.

 

I am fine with it coming back.

[SinisterSquash]

...my femshep was as dry as the sahara as a result.

Does she not ovulate every month?  It's a great way to feign excitement, but you damn sure better wear protection. 

[Seboist]

Does she not ovulate every month?  It's a great way to feign excitement, but you damn sure better wear protection. 

 

Think her eggs all fried when entering Alchera's atmosphere in ME2. Poor gal.

[Giantdeathrobot]

Because that worked so well and was so widely accepted when Anders did it.

[KaiserShep]

Because that worked so well and was so widely accepted when Anders did it.

 

The problem with Anders, I feel, is two-fold. He's a downer of a character and the player is saddled with dialogue options that have no happy medium between rejection and friendly banter. 

 

If it was someone like, say, Dorian who came on to my M!Hawke, then I wouldn't have minded at all, because I think he's fun. 

[SinisterSquash]

Think her eggs all fried when entering Alchera's atmosphere in ME2. Poor gal.

Nah. Like maleShep's delicate...

pink/grey/brown/black/wrinkled/shriveled/droopy/perky/even/uneven/uni/duo/firm/lemon/grape/grapefruit/hairy/bald/permed/smelly/perfumed/glittery balls (must be inclusive, sorry if I missed a demographic), the Illusive Man took extreme interest in their regrowth and preservation. Bring him/her back exactly as they were (eggs and spam).

[Giantdeathrobot]

The problem with Anders, I feel, is two-fold. He's a downer of a character and the player is saddled with dialogue options that have no happy medium between rejection and friendly banter. 

 

If it was someone like, say, Dorian who came on to my M!Hawke, then I wouldn't have minded at all, because I think he's fun. 

 

For you, that was the problem.

 

I'm pretty certain that a non-insignificant amount of people were angry just because a dude dared to hit on their dude. Liara was also disliked by some because of how she threw herself in the PC's arms, and the blow was softened by her being the requisite alien space babe.

 

I'm not sure people are ever going to take well that NPCs have the initiative regarding romances. At best they woud be Isabelas who makes tons of flirtatious comments but still wait for the player to give their go before things get serious.

[Former_Fiend]

Did anyone complain when Zevran hit on them?

[CrazyCatDude]

No one minded Liara or Isabela practically throwing themselves at the PC, that I can remember...

 

Clearly you weren't paying attention.  If I have to endure one more thread about how Bioware forced Liara down our throats, or how big a **** Isabela is, I'm gonna invent Omni-blades, just so I can use them on the person who starts the thread.

[BraveVesperia]

I'd like it if companions hit on us, provided they give us good options to accept or decline. Especially if it fits their character. I always thought it was weird that Anders will initiate a romance with you, but Isabela doesn't. She flirts in her recruitment mission sure, but nothing that will start a romance. Though the only time I've ever been ninjamanced was with Leliana, who was determined to think my Warden fancied her, because I accepted her compliments about hair and shoes. She went into at least two angry rants about how my Warden was 'cheating' on her with Zevran. And she wouldn't accept any attempts to break up our 'relationship'. Put me off her for a while, even if it was just a bug.

 

Did anyone complain when Zevran hit on them?

I remember some people saying they killed him specifically to prevent it happening.

[Former_Fiend]

 

I remember some people saying they killed him specifically to prevent it happening.

 

Alright. I was actually legitimately asking; I wasn't around on the BSN back then.

 

Do you recall if it was specifically straight men uncomfortable with a man flirting with them, or if it was people in general uncomfortable with Zevran's attitude towards sexuality? 

[PhroXenGold]

I think part of the reason that the romances all seem to be player initiated is that, although there are certainly times when the NPCs initiate the flirting, it's almost always the player who initiate the conversation. You have to actively go and talk to them for the romance to begin. They will never just walk up to you and start flirting when you are doing something other than deliberately chatting to them.