Romance has become increasingly common in role-playing games in recent years, having had central roles in Baldur’s Gate 3, Dragon Age: The Veilguard, and Cyberpunk 2077, to name a recent few. But it was conspicuously absent from Obsidian’s latest RPG, Avowed, and I am not the only person to wonder why.
I had a chance to ask game director Carrie Patel why this was the case during a post-release interview about Avowed, and it turns out Patel had a lot on the matter to say. “Doing romance and doing romance well are two very different propositions,” she said.
For starters, it’s important that non-player characters don’t lose their sense of self in a game just because you’ve shown romantic interest in them. “Part of doing romance well means not only a compelling romance path but also one that is faithful to the character being romanced,” she said.
“It’s always a bit of a letdown when you see a character who has a clear personality, and goals and interests, and suddenly, in the service of this romance that the player has embarked on with them, they now become the player’s yes-person; they’re happy with whatever you want and lose their sense of personhood.”
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Number two: romance shouldn’t be the only way you can get closer to, and deeper with, someone. A relationship should not only depend on – or be gatekept by – romantic interest. “You need an equally compelling platonic path,” Patel said, “because it’s a shame if romance is the only right way to really get to that full level of depth with a character.”