Romance should absolutely exist, but it doesn’t need to be included in every story, and it’s currently included in far too many stories (another example: The Witcher games, what does it add?).
I generally think the writing is better either when the story focuses on romance, or when it avoids it entirely. As the author of my favorite book said (I don’t speak french, but I think this is the right passage):
Il semble que la perfection soit atteinte non quand il n’y a plus rien à ajouter, mais quand il n’y a plus rien à retrancher.
In anything at all, perfection is finally attained not when there is no longer anything to add, but when there is no longer anything to take away, when a body has been stripped down to its nakedness.
I think romance is included in a lot of stories because it is a very common component in life. We have so many experiences around love, and exploring that in a fictional environment at the same time we do battle against demons is fun for many people.
TTRPGs cater to you choosing your own story. To remove the romance from this story is to say that some choices in this story cannot be made.
Also, there’s mods to remove the romance. It would be a loss to have them gone at the onset.
In the example I gave (The Witcher), you really don’t make your own story, you follow the main quest amd your choices are limited to who to have sex with.
It’s included because sex sells. That’s really it.
I haven’t played BG3 (haven’t had time), so I don’t know what it adds to the story. My understanding is that it doesn’t really add anything, and should probably be a mod for those who want it. That’s true for most RPGs, unless the romantic relationships matter in the broader context of the story. I thought it added some real depth to Yakuza 1&2, since it was integral to the plot. Likewise for Nier: Replicant (but in a very different way). If it’s just stapled on like in Skyrim or GTA, it feels cheap and unnecessary.
I’m not against romance and love stories generally, but they need to matter in the context of the plot.
You are making a silly argument that is flawed. The Witcher includes sexual themes because the book it is based on also includes these themes.
BG3 includes optional romantic themes because the game it is based on can include optional romantic themes. The game is about your involvement in the story, about how you navigate the world and its people because it attempts to mimic DnD. You can do a lot of “I seduce the dragon” and BG3 was designed to be fairly accomodating to a variety of tables.
To suggest the game would be better if it contained no romance when you haven’t played it is… bizarre? Especially with it being optional. But, that is perhaps the epitome of my argument. A lot of content in BG3 is optional. To remove any of it would be to make a game about options lesser.
I have read the books, and while there are sexual themes, they’re not a huge part of the story. Basically, we know Geralt is a womanizer, but most of the stories have little, if anything, to do with that, it’s just part of the character development. The books are all about his adventures fighting monsters and resolving disputes.
Basically, Geralt is like James Bond, and James Bond games don’t include sexuality.
I don’t know much about BG3, hence why I kept to The Witcher (haven’t played 3, only 1&2), which I think would be better without the sexuality, since it’s not part of the main plot, or even a particularly interesting sub-plot. There are plenty of other games with bad/uninteresting romance.
I’m not against romance in games, I’m against bad romance.
Romance should absolutely exist, but it doesn’t need to be included in every story, and it’s currently included in far too many stories (another example: The Witcher games, what does it add?).
I generally think the writing is better either when the story focuses on romance, or when it avoids it entirely. As the author of my favorite book said (I don’t speak french, but I think this is the right passage):
I think romance is included in a lot of stories because it is a very common component in life. We have so many experiences around love, and exploring that in a fictional environment at the same time we do battle against demons is fun for many people.
TTRPGs cater to you choosing your own story. To remove the romance from this story is to say that some choices in this story cannot be made.
Also, there’s mods to remove the romance. It would be a loss to have them gone at the onset.
In the example I gave (The Witcher), you really don’t make your own story, you follow the main quest amd your choices are limited to who to have sex with.
It’s included because sex sells. That’s really it.
I haven’t played BG3 (haven’t had time), so I don’t know what it adds to the story. My understanding is that it doesn’t really add anything, and should probably be a mod for those who want it. That’s true for most RPGs, unless the romantic relationships matter in the broader context of the story. I thought it added some real depth to Yakuza 1&2, since it was integral to the plot. Likewise for Nier: Replicant (but in a very different way). If it’s just stapled on like in Skyrim or GTA, it feels cheap and unnecessary.
I’m not against romance and love stories generally, but they need to matter in the context of the plot.
You are making a silly argument that is flawed. The Witcher includes sexual themes because the book it is based on also includes these themes.
BG3 includes optional romantic themes because the game it is based on can include optional romantic themes. The game is about your involvement in the story, about how you navigate the world and its people because it attempts to mimic DnD. You can do a lot of “I seduce the dragon” and BG3 was designed to be fairly accomodating to a variety of tables.
To suggest the game would be better if it contained no romance when you haven’t played it is… bizarre? Especially with it being optional. But, that is perhaps the epitome of my argument. A lot of content in BG3 is optional. To remove any of it would be to make a game about options lesser.
I have read the books, and while there are sexual themes, they’re not a huge part of the story. Basically, we know Geralt is a womanizer, but most of the stories have little, if anything, to do with that, it’s just part of the character development. The books are all about his adventures fighting monsters and resolving disputes.
Basically, Geralt is like James Bond, and James Bond games don’t include sexuality.
I don’t know much about BG3, hence why I kept to The Witcher (haven’t played 3, only 1&2), which I think would be better without the sexuality, since it’s not part of the main plot, or even a particularly interesting sub-plot. There are plenty of other games with bad/uninteresting romance.
I’m not against romance in games, I’m against bad romance.