Romance in (non-romantic) games: linear plots
This is a translation of the article by Alexander Fried “Writing Romance in (non-Romance) Games: Linear Romances” (the first of the two). The author is a game designer, writes novels and comics. By the way, he is now working on the novel “Outcast-one”, and in his record of service - the position of BioWare's lead screenwriter ( Star Wars: The Old Republic and Shadow Realms projects).
A few notes:
Oh, this romance!
Love lines have always been difficult to describe. If we talk about their significance for linear media - just think about how many excellent films and novels in all the rest suffered from an unconvincing, weak or even excessive romantic component? Add to this the difficulty of implementing an interactive narrative - and it is not surprising that the affairs of romance are always bad.
')
But all this is not a reason to abandon the romantic plot lines in general, and it is obvious that the real goldmine is hidden here. So what should we, as game writers, think about when we introduce the element of romance into projects? What pitfalls await us, and what specific problems of games will you have to solve?
I will divide it into at least two parts: first I will analyze games with a non-branching plot, and in the next article I will focus on the love line in the branching narrative (perhaps in the meantime I’ll dwell on some other points). However, before we get to all this, let's clarify the context a little ...
All this is a huge layer of material, and we will only touch on its part.
Namely - we are interested in games, the main focus of which is not on romance . Many of the tips below do not apply if you are writing an adventure game with a story about the development of a specific romantic relationship, a party organizer simulator, where the creation of pairs is the basic mechanics, a date simulator, or any other game, where removing a love line will deprive you of a significant part of the plot. almost no gameplay. True, many tips can still be useful, and in such cases - just be sure to consider everything in the right context.
I also assume that you want to see a romantic relationship as a significant and thoroughly developed part of the narrative (and if your conceived love line is equivalent to the relationship between Mario and Princess Peach, my advice is unlikely to be useful to you). And you should be able to describe something romantic in more traditional formats. If you still do not know how to solve basic problems - how to set the pace of development of relations, how to endow an object of romantic interest with an attractive and convincing character, how to create a romantic dialogue, how to avoid gender stereotypes and so on - then this article will not help you. We will only consider the romantic relationship between the player’s character and non-player characters. If you are thinking about how to vividly show the romantic relationship between NPCs, then this is a worthy task, but its solution differs from finding ways to make the player empathize with any relationship between two NPCs - because the player looks at all romantic relationships with his own eyes. The main thing is how these relationships relate to the protagonist. Perhaps this is worthy of a separate article.
We will not touch upon the audio, visual or technical aspects of the realization of romantic relationships in a narrative in detail, although we will touch on all of this in several places. This is also an interesting topic for discussion (you can easily write an article or two about character design as objects of romantic interest - both for players and their characters, and so on), but not today.
We will not talk specifically about sex. Since we are not interested in games that focus on lovemaking, and since it is assumed that you can write well and have good taste, then sex scenes should be the easiest part compared to everything else.
We will talk about the romantic storylines of all stripes - not only about "fantasy" love. Delicate, complex, and even detrimental relationships — all are good as a complement to a good narration, and we will highlight a few problems that are characteristic of unhealthy or simply not superpositive love relationships.
The main idea, to which we will come back again and again, is to use romantic relationships as you would use any other important topic inside a more extensive narrative . The difference between embedding elements of romance and embedding elements of horror in your military shooter is not so significant. And yet, players expect a lot from romantic relationships, and they react strongly to them, which raises the stakes - and the likelihood of putting the whole narrative down the drain.
Implement a romantic relationship in games with a non-branching plot is easier than in games with a branching plot. But “just” doesn't mean “easy,” and there can be a lot of problems.
Notice that I use the word “non-branched” instead of “linear” to include in this term, for example, open-world games that do not have branching plotlines. It is possible to argue whether Assassin's Creed or Grand Theft Auto are linear plot games, but if they do not have a lot of different plot branches, they are related to games with a non-branching plot.
In the world of AAA games, non-branched plots have a very bad reputation in terms of serving romantic relationships. Very often, the whole love line comes down to “you killed my dog” or the beaten “obligatory romantic Hollywood story”, and none of this adds to the realism of what is happening or the depth of the character’s character. These are not the approaches that are easy to get rid of just by making mental efforts, but let's assume that you still have ambitions and you have tried to avoid all this.
But let's get down to business.
First of all, the risk of including romantic relationships in a game with a non-branching plot is as follows: the narrative in the game is strongest when the player’s motivation and his emotions are synchronized with the character’s motivation and emotions ; while love and desire is difficult to adequately reproduce for the players.
It’s one thing to make me (as a player) define, I like a non-player character, or I hate him, but it’s quite another (and much harder) to make me feel attracted to someone (assuming that I am generally attracted to people of the same sex, as this NPC). My ability to empathize with the protagonist relationship and the ability to enjoy feeding relationships from an exciting drama (for example, reading a book or watching a movie) is less important in the game than my ability to move into a character’s head.
You will not be able to adequately include the romantic line in the plot - and you risk that the player will be disappointed and distance himself from his character. “Why is this,” our hypothetical player asks, “does my character spend so much time pursuing this type, which is definitely terrible (or just not my type)?” I do not want to do this. I want to shoot the aliens again. ”
If you think that adding an element of relationship in your story is worth the risk, there are ways to avoid such problems or at least mitigate them. In this case, you do not need to use all the tools listed below. Most likely, you do not want. But each separately is a way to smooth out such situations.
Very often, the game narration “captivates” the player, setting certain expectations in the early stages. If you are going to put a player's character in a romantic situation, make sure that the player understands from the very beginning - he will not have the opportunity to project his own personality and motives on the character. That is - that the character of the player’s character is largely predetermined, and that the player does not so much infuse the character as accompanies him. The more control the player has (as he thinks), the more he will be disappointed if the character does something uncharacteristic for the player.
And make sure that the personality of the player’s character looks good not only on paper, try to make the details as unambiguous as possible! That is, players will less resist a love line for a player character like Nathan Drake (a person with a clearly defined character) than for a character like Gordon Freeman (silent and completely projected by the player himself). Nonetheless, we will talk about truly indefinite or passive protagonists in the section “Follow the principle of a one-way road” below.
The more power a player feels over his character (and, if he broadens his notions, his romantic relationships), the more likely he will be unhappy at those moments when romantic relationships develop without his control (“I don’t even like him - why are we kissing? "). Of course, there is a downside to reducing this power. Power is a powerful and valuable tool for enhancing player engagement. Changing something, make sure that the game is worth the candle.
This item is inextricably linked with the previous one. To achieve this goal, you need to convince the player that his character and object of romantic interest should attract each other - due to the nature of their characters. In this case, the situation makes sense , even if the player does not like it. If a player ever had the question “What did my character find in him / her?”, Then you have serious problems.
You may not be able to create an emotional connection between the player and his character, but at least you can hook the player on an intellectual level (which, in turn, can lead to an audience sympathy for the protagonist - this can be found in traditional art forms). This works well for complex or doomed relationships - if the attraction is obvious and convincing, the player will be more inclined to agree with the plot than to give up on it.
How to arrange all this in practice? Excellent dialogue will help. If good-natured jokes look funny and read easily in the case of a conversation between a player’s character and his romantic interest, and not between someone else, or if the player’s character and his passion share special interests that no one else has, then you can start. Do not rely on appearance, or some vague charismatic "feeling", or mystery - if you can not look at the dialogue and finally say: "Yes, maybe I personally do not like this choice, but it definitely suits the hero!" then you tried not enough.
The statement that the player's character was already involved in some kind of relationship with the object of his romantic interest before the start of the game can help bribe the player. He may not like what is happening, but he will not ask questions about the choice of character - in contrast to the case where the relationship originated during the game.
It is worth noting that this is not a reason not to do the preparatory work. You still need to convince the player that these characters are really perfect for each other. This method just makes the process of conviction a little easier.
Do you really need to talk? Yes need. The more the love line resembles something that I want to see, the more funny, soul-warming, burning (but be careful here, considering the diversity in the orientation of players and their interests) and the like, all the more romantic relationship, and the sooner I agree to accept them as part of the story. Make me grin when two characters joke with each other. Make me smile when two shy characters flirting uncertainly with each other. Make me laugh nervously - out of horror, looking at the antics of two villains in love. If it amuses me, I will assume that it amuses my character and give him more freedom.
It is here that many games have failed, presenting potential lovers tragically divided, or giving relationships extremely difficult, and even in stressful, tense conditions. This will not make the player have a positive attitude towards the love line as it is - at best, he will only want to ease the pain of the character. If your goal is for me to want romance, make it something worthy of desire .
There is talk about a “bad” romantic relationship, this method has its limitations. When relationships have significant shortcomings, and they are doomed from the very beginning, you cannot make them truly desirable. But it can play an important role in emphasizing the positive side of the situation. Bad relationships with no compensating features are not very likely or interesting.
I personally don’t like this trick, but it can work : clean out all the rough edges of the object of romantic interest, make sure that he or she constantly supports the player’s character (but doesn’t suffer from excessive servility and lack of a sense of humor), give this character a sparkling, but harmless sense of humor, and never let seriously argue, lie or put your interests above the interests of me as a player. Make this character attractive and don't give the player the slightest chance of not loving him.
The problem with this approach is that you end up with a not very interesting character, and you unwittingly get rid of most of the potential to create a brilliant emotional drama. You give the player a sweet cotton candy, and this seldom has a good effect on the plot, which has some meaning.
I will not lie: people love sweets. But you are above that, aren't you?
On the other hand, you need to be extremely careful, turning your love line into an obstacle - well, an obstacle before anything that a player may want. Little that annoys the player more than the hindrance in his path. Does this hinder the progress of the main storyline (the mission in which I must save my love instead of killing the alien leader)? Does this distract me from the gameplay (long romantic cutscenes that do not directly affect the plot, or is it an object of romantic interest that wants to protect me from danger)? Does this make the elements of gloom in my gaming experience (escort missions!)? When you turn your love line into an obstacle, you run the risk of annoying the player with romance as a whole because of the incompatibility with the narrative.
Worry, no matter how significant it is outside the game, is another obstacle. In addition, it is difficult to file it properly - and it is extremely difficult to make the player and his character dry by the NPC or suffer from the loss of lovers together. And it is not easy to give the player the opportunity to do much in such cases. Games are an active experience, and while the emotionally suffering characters of the player as a whole are in order, you can easily find what to occupy the player, show which direction to move.
I do not want to say that you can never file a love line as an obstacle. But it works best when the player is already bribed by the idea. If I am forced to turn off the path in order to save my object of romantic interest, it is worthwhile to make me truly interested in this character. And we are talking not so much about the player’s character as about the player himself.
This is closely related to the previous points (see also the section “Remember what your game really is about” below). If your love line does not affect the gameplay, it is by definition an obstacle to the main gaming experience.
However, “integration” and “impact” can mean many things. The object of the player’s romantic interest is a useful helper, whose presence is pleasant and logical during the game? Is character's passion a voice giving advice or instructions? Funny opponent to fight? Various levels of gameplay demonstrate aspects of the soul of an object of romantic interest? The “mechanics of relationships” is built into the gameplay, and the more certain actions a player performs (protects his assistant, who is also an object of romantic interest, collects flowers, and so on), the stronger the relationships become and the more bonuses the player's character gets?
Be very careful when using the romantic plot as a contrasting element to the main plot of the game, and as a result, consider romance as a passive gaming experience to which the player turns between the "real" parts of the game. Try not to make a “speed bump” out of romance. If you want my toughie player to return to his spouse in between missions, don't make passive cutscenes out of this - find a way to captivate the player and make this experience relevant to the rest of the game.
Or ... do things differently. It works well with the relatively undefined player characters — the silent protagonist and his ilk — and the more incredibly awkward the more the character and personality develops. An object of romantic interest that a player’s character adores can be a strong part — players tend to respond well to flattery and admiration, and to feeling welcome , even if they don’t really want it. I will probably sympathize with a well-written and interesting character who is definitely (without the elements of eeriness and without excessive secrecy) in love with me.
Of course, you will need to explain why a player’s character does not respond to these feelings (does not accept or reject them). For taciturn protagonists who are in subtle relations, everything is in order, but in the case of more active characters you may need to put a real barrier to communication (the relationship is literally one-sided, and the object of romantic interest can speak with the player's character, but not vice versa).
As mentioned, you need to be really careful to avoid feeling horrible about what happens when using this method. For this reason, I highly recommend not trying to invert the situation - the adoring character of the player and the passive / silent / dead object of romantic interest will most likely lead to a feeling of painful domination.
Love is stress. If you want to convey this tension, make sure that the player feels when the character of the player and the object of his romantic interest are separate.
If we assume that the romantic relationship is served in a positive way, then emphasize the positive moments when the object of romantic interest is present, and the negative - when it is absent. For example, if I have a satellite that is an object of romantic interest, and the relationship is built on excitement and rivalry, make sure that the missions that I go through with this satellite feel incredibly exciting and generally the best, and those without it are something sad, the character feels lonely or forced to act cautiously. Make sure that many of the best moments (no matter how you define the word “best”) go along with the object of romantic interest, so I will always want to return to him or her. You do not need the character of the player to be depressed in solitude - if the rest of the time the joy of an active relationship is strong enough, then the player will figure it out.
If the relationship is extremely painful, follow the opposite direction: no matter how good life becomes in the presence of an object of romantic interest, I should feel better when this character is not around.
If as a relationship you show only disputes, whining, or one of the partners is in trouble and disappointed the other, then these moments will determine the relationship. You cannot express a healthy, vibrant, warm relationship, if most of the time two characters demonstrate completely opposite things. Make sure that whatever the essence of your relationship, it will be the main point in most scenes.
Let us return to what has already been mentioned several times: even if you convinced me that the relationship between the player’s character and the NPC is plausible , this does not mean that I like this relationship or the object of romantic interest itself. You still need to convince me that I can like any character, regardless of its likelihood. Elaboration of character, behavior and ability to like, by itself, do not become less important in relation to the character already in the relationship.
If you are trying to create "bad" relationships, be careful and do not reduce everything to irritation . You probably want the player to suffer, not knowing if he wants to be in this relationship to the end. In this case, you will most likely still need to emphasize the positive aspects of the situation so that they prevail over the negative ones (both in the relationship as a whole and in the object of romantic interest) because, unlike in real life, the relationships in the game will “sour” quickly . The player has not invested so much in their development - why cling to something bad?
If you make a first-person shooter, your game is most likely about violence. If you are doing an RPG, your game may be about research or the desire for power. Your game is about what the basic mechanic you chose is seasoned and directed — or limited by — your narrative. Most often this means that your game is not about romance.
Therefore, make sure that bringing a romantic relationship into your game fits well - and is an auxiliary element - into the main themes. The idea of "the power of love conquers all" at the end of your shooter is not likely to take off. After all, you have just created 10 hours of gameplay that the power of shooting people defeats everything, and then you add a third-party romantic plot - and expect that as a player this will worry me?
For whatever reason you do not include romantic relationships in your game, you need to put them in the appropriate place in your narrative. Do not invest in this idea more than it can give, and remember that the “exhaust” is determined mainly by the integration of the idea into the gameplay (as was mentioned above).
Looking for a way to ignore almost all of the above and still successfully build a love line into the game? I am sure that there are ways. Perhaps you should play on the power of archetypes - a game like Passage still evokes emotions, despite the lack of crutches like “actually existing” characters. Or you can rely on symbolism. Perhaps your “romantic relationship” is completely hidden in the subtext, and the text itself allows for a completely platonic definition of the relationship between the player’s character and the NPC. Or maybe procedural generation and smart mechanics can create a convincing love line in the context of a roguelike game!
The article devoted much time to examining examples of the traditional love line in games with the usual course of narration. But surely there are still many non-invented ways of presenting the plot - maybe it is in your project that you should try to create something new?
And finally - as a saving straw: even in a game with a plot that does not branch in all other cases, nothing prevents you from making the love line unnecessary. For example, giving the player the opportunity to "agree" or "refuse" the relationship in any way appropriate to the gameplay. Of course, this does not mean that you do not need to make a romantic relationship convincing, but simply allow your players to avoid that part of the plot that does not suit them (at least until you have tied the love line with exclusive content or significant advantages).
Such a romantic relationship, of course, cannot play a significant role in your narrative - otherwise they could not be made optional. And we will look at all the features of much more complex branching relationships — for example, what various variations of romantic relationships you need to use, how to manage the player’s expectations, and how to offer content that does not relate to romance as a reward — but at another time.
A few notes:
- The lack of a common terminology in game design is in a way a fact, because where it seemed necessary to me, there are references to the sources of the words. Separately, in terms of terms of narrative design, there is a good translation of the article by Thomas Grip.
- Links to other articles from Fried's blog are kept.
- The choice of pictures is on the conscience of the author of the article; I just put on them links to the games themselves for the curious.
- The article itself is somewhat muddled, but in my opinion, it will be useful for those interested in gaming screenwriting.
Oh, this romance!
Love lines have always been difficult to describe. If we talk about their significance for linear media - just think about how many excellent films and novels in all the rest suffered from an unconvincing, weak or even excessive romantic component? Add to this the difficulty of implementing an interactive narrative - and it is not surprising that the affairs of romance are always bad.
')
But all this is not a reason to abandon the romantic plot lines in general, and it is obvious that the real goldmine is hidden here. So what should we, as game writers, think about when we introduce the element of romance into projects? What pitfalls await us, and what specific problems of games will you have to solve?
I will divide it into at least two parts: first I will analyze games with a non-branching plot, and in the next article I will focus on the love line in the branching narrative (perhaps in the meantime I’ll dwell on some other points). However, before we get to all this, let's clarify the context a little ...
I didn't notice the elephant
All this is a huge layer of material, and we will only touch on its part.
Namely - we are interested in games, the main focus of which is not on romance . Many of the tips below do not apply if you are writing an adventure game with a story about the development of a specific romantic relationship, a party organizer simulator, where the creation of pairs is the basic mechanics, a date simulator, or any other game, where removing a love line will deprive you of a significant part of the plot. almost no gameplay. True, many tips can still be useful, and in such cases - just be sure to consider everything in the right context.I also assume that you want to see a romantic relationship as a significant and thoroughly developed part of the narrative (and if your conceived love line is equivalent to the relationship between Mario and Princess Peach, my advice is unlikely to be useful to you). And you should be able to describe something romantic in more traditional formats. If you still do not know how to solve basic problems - how to set the pace of development of relations, how to endow an object of romantic interest with an attractive and convincing character, how to create a romantic dialogue, how to avoid gender stereotypes and so on - then this article will not help you. We will only consider the romantic relationship between the player’s character and non-player characters. If you are thinking about how to vividly show the romantic relationship between NPCs, then this is a worthy task, but its solution differs from finding ways to make the player empathize with any relationship between two NPCs - because the player looks at all romantic relationships with his own eyes. The main thing is how these relationships relate to the protagonist. Perhaps this is worthy of a separate article.
We will not touch upon the audio, visual or technical aspects of the realization of romantic relationships in a narrative in detail, although we will touch on all of this in several places. This is also an interesting topic for discussion (you can easily write an article or two about character design as objects of romantic interest - both for players and their characters, and so on), but not today.
We will not talk specifically about sex. Since we are not interested in games that focus on lovemaking, and since it is assumed that you can write well and have good taste, then sex scenes should be the easiest part compared to everything else.
We will talk about the romantic storylines of all stripes - not only about "fantasy" love. Delicate, complex, and even detrimental relationships — all are good as a complement to a good narration, and we will highlight a few problems that are characteristic of unhealthy or simply not superpositive love relationships.
The main idea, to which we will come back again and again, is to use romantic relationships as you would use any other important topic inside a more extensive narrative . The difference between embedding elements of romance and embedding elements of horror in your military shooter is not so significant. And yet, players expect a lot from romantic relationships, and they react strongly to them, which raises the stakes - and the likelihood of putting the whole narrative down the drain.
Games with a non-branching plot
Implement a romantic relationship in games with a non-branching plot is easier than in games with a branching plot. But “just” doesn't mean “easy,” and there can be a lot of problems.
Notice that I use the word “non-branched” instead of “linear” to include in this term, for example, open-world games that do not have branching plotlines. It is possible to argue whether Assassin's Creed or Grand Theft Auto are linear plot games, but if they do not have a lot of different plot branches, they are related to games with a non-branching plot.In the world of AAA games, non-branched plots have a very bad reputation in terms of serving romantic relationships. Very often, the whole love line comes down to “you killed my dog” or the beaten “obligatory romantic Hollywood story”, and none of this adds to the realism of what is happening or the depth of the character’s character. These are not the approaches that are easy to get rid of just by making mental efforts, but let's assume that you still have ambitions and you have tried to avoid all this.
But let's get down to business.
Make sure it is definitely a good idea.
First of all, the risk of including romantic relationships in a game with a non-branching plot is as follows: the narrative in the game is strongest when the player’s motivation and his emotions are synchronized with the character’s motivation and emotions ; while love and desire is difficult to adequately reproduce for the players.
It’s one thing to make me (as a player) define, I like a non-player character, or I hate him, but it’s quite another (and much harder) to make me feel attracted to someone (assuming that I am generally attracted to people of the same sex, as this NPC). My ability to empathize with the protagonist relationship and the ability to enjoy feeding relationships from an exciting drama (for example, reading a book or watching a movie) is less important in the game than my ability to move into a character’s head.
You will not be able to adequately include the romantic line in the plot - and you risk that the player will be disappointed and distance himself from his character. “Why is this,” our hypothetical player asks, “does my character spend so much time pursuing this type, which is definitely terrible (or just not my type)?” I do not want to do this. I want to shoot the aliens again. ”
If you think that adding an element of relationship in your story is worth the risk, there are ways to avoid such problems or at least mitigate them. In this case, you do not need to use all the tools listed below. Most likely, you do not want. But each separately is a way to smooth out such situations.
Create a strong personality for player character
Very often, the game narration “captivates” the player, setting certain expectations in the early stages. If you are going to put a player's character in a romantic situation, make sure that the player understands from the very beginning - he will not have the opportunity to project his own personality and motives on the character. That is - that the character of the player’s character is largely predetermined, and that the player does not so much infuse the character as accompanies him. The more control the player has (as he thinks), the more he will be disappointed if the character does something uncharacteristic for the player.
And make sure that the personality of the player’s character looks good not only on paper, try to make the details as unambiguous as possible! That is, players will less resist a love line for a player character like Nathan Drake (a person with a clearly defined character) than for a character like Gordon Freeman (silent and completely projected by the player himself). Nonetheless, we will talk about truly indefinite or passive protagonists in the section “Follow the principle of a one-way road” below.
The more power a player feels over his character (and, if he broadens his notions, his romantic relationships), the more likely he will be unhappy at those moments when romantic relationships develop without his control (“I don’t even like him - why are we kissing? "). Of course, there is a downside to reducing this power. Power is a powerful and valuable tool for enhancing player engagement. Changing something, make sure that the game is worth the candle.Create a strong personality for the object of romantic interest
This item is inextricably linked with the previous one. To achieve this goal, you need to convince the player that his character and object of romantic interest should attract each other - due to the nature of their characters. In this case, the situation makes sense , even if the player does not like it. If a player ever had the question “What did my character find in him / her?”, Then you have serious problems.
You may not be able to create an emotional connection between the player and his character, but at least you can hook the player on an intellectual level (which, in turn, can lead to an audience sympathy for the protagonist - this can be found in traditional art forms). This works well for complex or doomed relationships - if the attraction is obvious and convincing, the player will be more inclined to agree with the plot than to give up on it.
How to arrange all this in practice? Excellent dialogue will help. If good-natured jokes look funny and read easily in the case of a conversation between a player’s character and his romantic interest, and not between someone else, or if the player’s character and his passion share special interests that no one else has, then you can start. Do not rely on appearance, or some vague charismatic "feeling", or mystery - if you can not look at the dialogue and finally say: "Yes, maybe I personally do not like this choice, but it definitely suits the hero!" then you tried not enough.
Make the love line a part of the story background.
The statement that the player's character was already involved in some kind of relationship with the object of his romantic interest before the start of the game can help bribe the player. He may not like what is happening, but he will not ask questions about the choice of character - in contrast to the case where the relationship originated during the game.It is worth noting that this is not a reason not to do the preparatory work. You still need to convince the player that these characters are really perfect for each other. This method just makes the process of conviction a little easier.
Make the love line attractive and enjoyable.
Do you really need to talk? Yes need. The more the love line resembles something that I want to see, the more funny, soul-warming, burning (but be careful here, considering the diversity in the orientation of players and their interests) and the like, all the more romantic relationship, and the sooner I agree to accept them as part of the story. Make me grin when two characters joke with each other. Make me smile when two shy characters flirting uncertainly with each other. Make me laugh nervously - out of horror, looking at the antics of two villains in love. If it amuses me, I will assume that it amuses my character and give him more freedom.
It is here that many games have failed, presenting potential lovers tragically divided, or giving relationships extremely difficult, and even in stressful, tense conditions. This will not make the player have a positive attitude towards the love line as it is - at best, he will only want to ease the pain of the character. If your goal is for me to want romance, make it something worthy of desire .
There is talk about a “bad” romantic relationship, this method has its limitations. When relationships have significant shortcomings, and they are doomed from the very beginning, you cannot make them truly desirable. But it can play an important role in emphasizing the positive side of the situation. Bad relationships with no compensating features are not very likely or interesting.
Make the object of romantic interest so that you can not love
I personally don’t like this trick, but it can work : clean out all the rough edges of the object of romantic interest, make sure that he or she constantly supports the player’s character (but doesn’t suffer from excessive servility and lack of a sense of humor), give this character a sparkling, but harmless sense of humor, and never let seriously argue, lie or put your interests above the interests of me as a player. Make this character attractive and don't give the player the slightest chance of not loving him.The problem with this approach is that you end up with a not very interesting character, and you unwittingly get rid of most of the potential to create a brilliant emotional drama. You give the player a sweet cotton candy, and this seldom has a good effect on the plot, which has some meaning.
I will not lie: people love sweets. But you are above that, aren't you?
Do not make love line an obstacle
On the other hand, you need to be extremely careful, turning your love line into an obstacle - well, an obstacle before anything that a player may want. Little that annoys the player more than the hindrance in his path. Does this hinder the progress of the main storyline (the mission in which I must save my love instead of killing the alien leader)? Does this distract me from the gameplay (long romantic cutscenes that do not directly affect the plot, or is it an object of romantic interest that wants to protect me from danger)? Does this make the elements of gloom in my gaming experience (escort missions!)? When you turn your love line into an obstacle, you run the risk of annoying the player with romance as a whole because of the incompatibility with the narrative.
Worry, no matter how significant it is outside the game, is another obstacle. In addition, it is difficult to file it properly - and it is extremely difficult to make the player and his character dry by the NPC or suffer from the loss of lovers together. And it is not easy to give the player the opportunity to do much in such cases. Games are an active experience, and while the emotionally suffering characters of the player as a whole are in order, you can easily find what to occupy the player, show which direction to move.I do not want to say that you can never file a love line as an obstacle. But it works best when the player is already bribed by the idea. If I am forced to turn off the path in order to save my object of romantic interest, it is worthwhile to make me truly interested in this character. And we are talking not so much about the player’s character as about the player himself.
Integrate the love line into the gameplay
This is closely related to the previous points (see also the section “Remember what your game really is about” below). If your love line does not affect the gameplay, it is by definition an obstacle to the main gaming experience.
However, “integration” and “impact” can mean many things. The object of the player’s romantic interest is a useful helper, whose presence is pleasant and logical during the game? Is character's passion a voice giving advice or instructions? Funny opponent to fight? Various levels of gameplay demonstrate aspects of the soul of an object of romantic interest? The “mechanics of relationships” is built into the gameplay, and the more certain actions a player performs (protects his assistant, who is also an object of romantic interest, collects flowers, and so on), the stronger the relationships become and the more bonuses the player's character gets?
Be very careful when using the romantic plot as a contrasting element to the main plot of the game, and as a result, consider romance as a passive gaming experience to which the player turns between the "real" parts of the game. Try not to make a “speed bump” out of romance. If you want my toughie player to return to his spouse in between missions, don't make passive cutscenes out of this - find a way to captivate the player and make this experience relevant to the rest of the game.
Follow the one-way road principle.
Or ... do things differently. It works well with the relatively undefined player characters — the silent protagonist and his ilk — and the more incredibly awkward the more the character and personality develops. An object of romantic interest that a player’s character adores can be a strong part — players tend to respond well to flattery and admiration, and to feeling welcome , even if they don’t really want it. I will probably sympathize with a well-written and interesting character who is definitely (without the elements of eeriness and without excessive secrecy) in love with me.
Of course, you will need to explain why a player’s character does not respond to these feelings (does not accept or reject them). For taciturn protagonists who are in subtle relations, everything is in order, but in the case of more active characters you may need to put a real barrier to communication (the relationship is literally one-sided, and the object of romantic interest can speak with the player's character, but not vice versa).
As mentioned, you need to be really careful to avoid feeling horrible about what happens when using this method. For this reason, I highly recommend not trying to invert the situation - the adoring character of the player and the passive / silent / dead object of romantic interest will most likely lead to a feeling of painful domination.
Make feel a lack of object of romantic interest.
Love is stress. If you want to convey this tension, make sure that the player feels when the character of the player and the object of his romantic interest are separate.
If we assume that the romantic relationship is served in a positive way, then emphasize the positive moments when the object of romantic interest is present, and the negative - when it is absent. For example, if I have a satellite that is an object of romantic interest, and the relationship is built on excitement and rivalry, make sure that the missions that I go through with this satellite feel incredibly exciting and generally the best, and those without it are something sad, the character feels lonely or forced to act cautiously. Make sure that many of the best moments (no matter how you define the word “best”) go along with the object of romantic interest, so I will always want to return to him or her. You do not need the character of the player to be depressed in solitude - if the rest of the time the joy of an active relationship is strong enough, then the player will figure it out.If the relationship is extremely painful, follow the opposite direction: no matter how good life becomes in the presence of an object of romantic interest, I should feel better when this character is not around.
Relationships are what you show.
If as a relationship you show only disputes, whining, or one of the partners is in trouble and disappointed the other, then these moments will determine the relationship. You cannot express a healthy, vibrant, warm relationship, if most of the time two characters demonstrate completely opposite things. Make sure that whatever the essence of your relationship, it will be the main point in most scenes.
Remember that credibility is not a panacea.
Let us return to what has already been mentioned several times: even if you convinced me that the relationship between the player’s character and the NPC is plausible , this does not mean that I like this relationship or the object of romantic interest itself. You still need to convince me that I can like any character, regardless of its likelihood. Elaboration of character, behavior and ability to like, by itself, do not become less important in relation to the character already in the relationship.
If you are trying to create "bad" relationships, be careful and do not reduce everything to irritation . You probably want the player to suffer, not knowing if he wants to be in this relationship to the end. In this case, you will most likely still need to emphasize the positive aspects of the situation so that they prevail over the negative ones (both in the relationship as a whole and in the object of romantic interest) because, unlike in real life, the relationships in the game will “sour” quickly . The player has not invested so much in their development - why cling to something bad?
Remember what your game really is (not about relationships)
If you make a first-person shooter, your game is most likely about violence. If you are doing an RPG, your game may be about research or the desire for power. Your game is about what the basic mechanic you chose is seasoned and directed — or limited by — your narrative. Most often this means that your game is not about romance.
Therefore, make sure that bringing a romantic relationship into your game fits well - and is an auxiliary element - into the main themes. The idea of "the power of love conquers all" at the end of your shooter is not likely to take off. After all, you have just created 10 hours of gameplay that the power of shooting people defeats everything, and then you add a third-party romantic plot - and expect that as a player this will worry me?
For whatever reason you do not include romantic relationships in your game, you need to put them in the appropriate place in your narrative. Do not invest in this idea more than it can give, and remember that the “exhaust” is determined mainly by the integration of the idea into the gameplay (as was mentioned above).
Use vagueness and archetypes
Looking for a way to ignore almost all of the above and still successfully build a love line into the game? I am sure that there are ways. Perhaps you should play on the power of archetypes - a game like Passage still evokes emotions, despite the lack of crutches like “actually existing” characters. Or you can rely on symbolism. Perhaps your “romantic relationship” is completely hidden in the subtext, and the text itself allows for a completely platonic definition of the relationship between the player’s character and the NPC. Or maybe procedural generation and smart mechanics can create a convincing love line in the context of a roguelike game!The article devoted much time to examining examples of the traditional love line in games with the usual course of narration. But surely there are still many non-invented ways of presenting the plot - maybe it is in your project that you should try to create something new?
In the end, add a choice
And finally - as a saving straw: even in a game with a plot that does not branch in all other cases, nothing prevents you from making the love line unnecessary. For example, giving the player the opportunity to "agree" or "refuse" the relationship in any way appropriate to the gameplay. Of course, this does not mean that you do not need to make a romantic relationship convincing, but simply allow your players to avoid that part of the plot that does not suit them (at least until you have tied the love line with exclusive content or significant advantages).
Such a romantic relationship, of course, cannot play a significant role in your narrative - otherwise they could not be made optional. And we will look at all the features of much more complex branching relationships — for example, what various variations of romantic relationships you need to use, how to manage the player’s expectations, and how to offer content that does not relate to romance as a reward — but at another time.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/308302/
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