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Game News All you need is love: Relationships in Dragon Age

Vault Dweller

Commissar, Red Star Studio
Developer
Joined
Jan 7, 2003
Messages
28,024
Tags: BioWare; Dragon Age

Some <a href=http://www.bioware.com/games/dragon_age/>Dragon Age</a> stuff for your amusement and general education:
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<blockquote><a href=http://forums.bioware.com/viewtopic.html?topic=440300&forum=84>On romances:</a>
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<b>David Gaider</b>: We've probably also relied too much on having the NPC initiate everything. I remember we went away from that in HotU and went half-half... half the dialogues were initiated, half required the player to initiate them, and that worked better (the problems there were more the above BAM! factor, I think). I think it's likely we'll go further in that direction... at the very least I think it should require the initiation of the player to express their interest or indicate that a romance might be possible to get the ball rolling. People don't put their hearts on their sleeve without knowing that there's at least some chance of reciprocation.
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As well, instead of timing the progress of the romance according to level-ups, we tie it to things that the player can initiate. Asking them questions, giving them gifts, solving their personal quests, performing actions that are compatible with their personality and motivations... these are the things that should warm them up to you and progress the romance (who didn't feel as if they'd earned the love of their party member in BG2 when they saved them from vampirism?) It shouldn't just require time and the patience to listen to them talk; there should be the chance for failure
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<b>Darcy Pajak</b>: Dragon age is not a love story.
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The romances that may, or may not, develop during the course of the story just seem like a natural extension of the party dynamic. The group you’re adventuring with will go through some pretty stressful events, life and death events. After living though such times it seems realistic that people want to get intimate, even if it’s just the result of some really basic instincts.
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Normally the princess would not give the barbarian a second glance, but he just saved her life. Now she thinks there is a spark. And why not take a risk in telling him so as the next time they run into a dragon, one of them could die?</blockquote>Considering how stressful adventurer's life is, an option to get intimiate with party members is long overdue. Innovation!
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Diogo Ribeiro

Erudite
Joined
Jun 23, 2003
Messages
5,706
Location
Lisboa, Portugal
Normally the princess would not give the barbarian a second glance, but he just saved her life. Now she thinks there is a spark. And why not take a risk in telling him so as the next time they run into a dragon, one of them could die

Funny thing, I read the above and remembered when my PC got into Firkraag's room in Baldur's Gate 2, while he was in a romance. We're all armed to the teeth, wasted, broken, battered, running low on potions, and there's not enough morale to keep going and the love interest just engages in romantic dialogue. Romancing is not a good thing to do when one is on the verge of dying by means of superior teeth count.
 

Vault Dweller

Commissar, Red Star Studio
Developer
Joined
Jan 7, 2003
Messages
28,024
Role-Player said:
We're all armed to the teeth, wasted, broken, battered, running low on potions, and there's not enough morale to keep going and the love interest just engages in romantic dialogue. Romancing is not a good thing to do when one is on the verge of dying by means of superior teeth count.
Romancing is like so yesterday, RP. We are talking about getting intimate, basic instincts, and other fun stuff.
 

DemonKing

Arcane
Joined
Dec 5, 2003
Messages
6,009
I wish they'd drop the whole romance thing.

It never appealed to me even back in the Gold Box days.

The only one I ever enjoyed was my LE necromancer in BG2 and Viconia, but that made sense from a character standpoint. The usual Bio romance is an annoying, whiney prat that, as someone mentions, decides to initiate romance dialog just as you're about to get your butt kicked.
 

kris

Arcane
Joined
Oct 27, 2004
Messages
8,844
Location
Lulea, Sweden
While I agree that romancing options can be poorly done and directly unappropriate, I do like them. I think they bring something more to the games. IMO the best done of them all was the Bastila one in KOTOR as that was tied nicely into the story and felt quite appropriate troughout most of it.

In the end everyone wants different parts in games and some like them all. ;) Of course I know you are just your sarcastic best as always.
 

ladylove

Novice
Joined
Jul 2, 2003
Messages
7
Location
UK
I don't think any game has ever really been successful from a romantic standpoint. It may well not be the easiest thing to handle, fair enough, but if you cant do it well, then don't do it badly either.

Save the effort and put it into something that will really progress the story and the game forward.
 

Avin

Liturgist
Joined
May 8, 2004
Messages
377
Location
brasil
i just want nude ladies in temples like in daggerfall. oh yeah baby.
 

kris

Arcane
Joined
Oct 27, 2004
Messages
8,844
Location
Lulea, Sweden
ladylove said:
I don't think any game has ever really been successful from a romantic standpoint. It may well not be the easiest thing to handle, fair enough, but if you cant do it well, then don't do it badly either.

Save the effort and put it into something that will really progress the story and the game forward.

That was what I think it did in KOTOR (as male), in most other games it is just there as a "minigame".

Avin said:
i just want nude ladies in temples like in daggerfall. oh yeah baby.

Buy Barbie and play "miniature games" with them, much more engaging.
 

voodoo1man

Liturgist
Joined
Feb 10, 2003
Messages
568
Location
Icy Highlands of Canada
Vault Dweller said:
Considering how stressful adventurer's life is, an option to get intimiate with party members is long overdue. Innovation!

I think the question on everyone's lips is, will there be minigames like in San Andreas?

Whipporowill said:
How would humping an elf or a dorf [sic] be any different than humping a dragon?

Midget sex? You sir, have gone too far!

David GAY-der said:
the problems there were more the above BAM! factor, I think

I am certainly looking forward to the "BAM!" factor in Dragon Age now!


Now, as to romances in RPGs, I don't think I'm the only one who enjoyed the one between Annah and the Nameless One in Planescape: Torment. Brief enough not to be annoying, suggestive enough to actually be interesting. I'm also a little ashamed to admit that I got a little turned on by her tail. :shock: Think of all the things she could do with that!
 

DarkUnderlord

Professional Throne Sitter
Staff Member
Joined
Jun 18, 2002
Messages
28,357
Going through the shit for girlfriends in GTA was bad enough. I have to put up with that shit in RPGs now?
 

Psilon

Erudite
Joined
Feb 15, 2003
Messages
2,018
Location
Codex retirement
Annah was good, but I actually liked the Deionarra and Fall-from-Grace characters better. For that matter, why don't we ever see romance plots in medias res? Every single PC is a bachelor until he suddenly and inexplicably hooks up with random elf chicks (I'm looking at you, BG2/NWN designers!), at which point they goink and declare undying love. Unless the player does something stupid. NPCs are either permanently single (Korgan, Morte, Deckard Cain), one dowry quest away from marriage (Rurik/Althea, Fenthick/Aribeth, *cough* the entire town of Hommlet), or married for so long that the marriage is an excuse to avoid coming up with another last name (the Friendly Arm innkeepers, Lord Rahul and his wife). You don't even get to see the ends of these things; if you catch someone in flagrante delicto with another man/woman/dwarf/ornk, they realize their mistake and head back to the loving partner! (Though this could be an artifact of 6-8 heavily armed adventurers looking disapprovingly on at the scene. I know I'd have performance anxiety in such a situation.)

So, here's a suggestion based on the "office RPG" plot we developed back in the early days of the Codex. The game begins as your shrieking harpy of a girlfriend goes into one final diatribe. The PC attempts to deflect her wrath through dialogue, but even the most diplomatic approach backfires miserably and you get railroaded to the same point. (This should satisfy certain nameless RPG companies' writing styles, as well as be a nod to realism.) Dialog choices allow for some character/backstory development a la System Shock 2. At the end, she throws your ass out with a pre-packed [suitcase] (traveling pack, bag of holding, zero-G cargo pallet)... but no [valuable artifact] (doctoral thesis, morph ovum, left nut of Petrus)! She's going to [sell that on eBay] (give it to the high priest (and won't Petrus be pleasantly surprised!), get kidnapped by orcs), and we can't have that happening!

At this point the objective for the first half of the game is clear: Find a way to get back in your [dwelling] (tribal hut, space fortress, third-story apartment), either because hey, she's hawt when she's [quiet] (rich, not being mind-controlled by aliens from Zog), or because you want that artifact back, dammit! Combat characters can try to brute-force their way through police guards, bouncers, burly ex-boyfriends, and mosh pits. Stealthy characters can break in, steal the [cellphone] (arcane slate, ansible) and see who's putting her up to this, or just stalk her and reclaim it at an opportune time. Diplomatic characters can perform quests like finding the perfect bouquet and [box of chocolates] (Scintillating Ring of Messalina, prescription for happy pills).

Of course, some completely unforeseeable plot twist kicks in at this point, and undead rise from the [earth] (Tomb of the Sepulcher, ancient derelict spacecraft) and the two of you plus a token [dwarf] (cowardly sidekick, amorous blind man) and a motley assortment of compatriots must save the world and [escape] (marry (yes, all of you), free Hat, buy the sequel).
 

corvax

Augur
Joined
Jul 13, 2004
Messages
731
bg had corny romances, torment was pretty good. and speaking of torment or chris avellone to be exact - didn't he want to design a modern day rpg set in the 80's high school setting. now i would pay to see romances in that game, big time. too bad there's very little chance of that project actually happening.
 

Killzig

Cipher
Patron
Joined
Oct 28, 2002
Messages
997
Location
The Wastes
Hmm.. a John Hughes RPG... that might actually be fun. Not really marketable but fun anyways. :D Looking forward to the John Cusack voice overs.

RE: Romances in Dragon Age or any RPG.

Ugh. Don't you guys watch Behind the Music? Don't get involved with a chick in a travelling band especially if there are other guys in the party.
 

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