Romance? In roleplay?

[Ezra]

So something has kind of been on my mind for a while.

Do you think there will be romance role play stories?

Do you guys even want that? I know I have seen apps that do that kind of thing, and I know they were somewhat popular in Japan.

I think those attract a certain kind of hopeless romantic. But so far, it seems most of submissions will be adventure types and most TTRPGs and even MMORPGs focus more on the epic world building, quests, save the cheerleader save the world etc.

[Alexander Salkin]

@Ezra I kind of like it, but there's a place and execution for it.

As far as my table top experience has gone, it's been about as undesirable as possible from my players. I think it's just too sensitive and intimate an issue for many and it's not necessarily fun for people outside the romance to watch, while they wait for something else to happen.

Back in my EverQuest days, I knew of two players in my guild who had a marriage ceremony with the entire guild attending and it was cute, but that's more something between those players and not specifically something the MMO's mechanics could meaningfully handle without 'game-ifying' it.

Then there's Bethesda games. A little clunky, not terrible, but ultimately kind of empty. In Fallout, your approval with companions can rise with your deeds to the point they'll consider sleeping with you. But most just go that route more agnostically for the perks companions provide. Their dialogue barely changes and there's no relationship growth or depth once you get to that summit.

In Skyrim, you can marry someone when their invisible favoritism rating with your character is high enough and you provide them a Symbol of Mara. But what then? They just live in your house and take on the role of merchants to pass time. They'll address you fondly and comment on the kids briefly if you've adopted any, but again, the dialogue is repetitive and robotic. There's no focus on programming them to have anything interesting and meaningful to say when they're there. They won't go on regular walks with you, hold hands, go out to dinner, etc. It's just too much work for developers to bother with in games centered around combat and adventure.

So while I like the idea of this, I find many don't and online games can't simulate it very far without an active human factor. Maybe AI development will take further but even that is pretty limited these days.

[Ezra]

@Alexander-Salkin I was thinking more like single player, or two player romance stories, like I know the idea of a table top is to have a party of at least a few people. But Unplay is essentially allowing you to build narratives and use decks you choose, or let an AI randomize it. I just wondered if there's a player base that would appeal to in North America.

I pretty much see LiveTale as a build your own adventure book at this point in development lol.

[Alexander Salkin]

@Ezra Oh, I see what you mean

I think that market of interest does exist. There's a whole underground on DevArt alone for that stuff. And if a potential AI is good enough, almost certainly. Mm, I'd think the next elephant in the room comes down to content standards allowed in a private game.

[Ezra]

@Alexander-Salkin Yea I feel like it could get hairy... pretty sure it is not the vision of the creators to make a waifu sex simulator lol.

[DungeonMistress]

@Ezra

Hey Ezra! Just wanted to chime in. I run a game where my players (not all) are courtesans and they sex their way through the internal politics of the city. Each of my players has their own romance style. One of my courtesans is creating a harem, but even those players who don't participate in the Velvet Boudoir have some type of romance. I have a runaway high lady turned servant PC, who has a very sweet slow burn romance with one of my NPCs. We are an all female cast and good friends, so it's a very safe space and I think that's why it works so well. But it allows us to explore sexuality/gender/romance and it's many forms. And I've personally found that it translates into stronger, more exciting, real world relationships. Overall, probably the best game I have ever run/played in. So if you have people interested in the topic TTRPG can definitely be a platform to explore with.

[Ezra]

@DungeonMistress That sounds awesome! Ideally I would love to see things like this in roleplay/game play as I think games that are only about adventure don't represent the full spectrum of human emotion and that's what I'm here for!

When I play any kind of RPG, my aim is to not feel like myself. This is especially true if I want a distraction. Like, when I'm sad, I might want to watch comedy to feel better, or I might watch something tragic if I am too sad but want to be sad for something outside of myself. Or I might say eff it and watch horror lol.

[SwampCreature]

I think there’s definitely a market for it, though it’s not for everybody. Obviously there’s romance in RPG video games (you and I share an affinity for FFIX which has one of my favorite canon romances ever) but in TTRPGs it will ultimately come down to what players are comfortable with. I reckon as long as everyone is communicative about their comfort levels and boundaries, it can absolutely be done and be fun! I know it’s been done on real-play TTRPG podcasts too - I’m only personally familiar with The Adventure Zone where it was executed very well, but I think there were romances on Critical Role as well.