Only if I can have multiple wives! :thumbsup:

No. I don't want romance in this game. A flirtatious encounter perhaps, but not romance... in any form.

Soo...a [censored]-buddy is what you're looking for? =)

No, thank you. I wouldn't mind a bit of flirting, but full-fledged romances tend to be extremely expensive content, causing folks to get cranky if the available options don't suit them. And with reason, since in games that include romances with developed characters, you lose out on a substantial part of the game if those available don't appeal.

Only if the characters available to romance are deep enough. I'd rather not something like Fable or the Sims, or a generic NPC.
Generally speaking though, I consider romance as pretty unimportant in this game.

I just don't see it working, not in this setting.

I'm much more excited about the adventure, the battle, the struggle, the challenge. Romance is something to be done at home IMHO.

I wouldn't mind something akin to the short Ahnassi questline in Morrowind. If you wanted to follow it, you could. If not, then don't. But again, something like this can be modded in.

Yes, I'd rather have no romance whatsoever than to have romance forced upon the player.

If done well, then sure it would be a good addition. It would make you feel like your character was actually living in the game and not just visiting. It would give you stock in the story about why you actually want to save this place...not just because "its what you do." :wub:

I'd like to see a deeper level of relationship building in Skyrim, so that you may develop emotional bonds, and possibly romances, with characters. I think this is one area the Elder Scrolls games have a lot of room for improvement. They have made many fascinating characters, but your interactions have been somewhat artificial and limited with them. I am not expecting great leaps forward in the level of interactions we have, so would be pleasantly surprised if it did happen.

And those who do not like the love interest for whatever reason? That wouldn't work for them. Ideally, in my opinion, the player has ample reason to want to save Skyrim outside of any romance subplot.

Romance seems to be one of those elements that creators of fiction like to add into stories that don't strictly require it, probably because it can attract a demographic that might not be interested in the material that the main focus of the story is on. Sometimes, this can be done well, and sometimes, not so much. When done well, it can add a new dimension to the story and add a way to give the protagonist a more personal stake in it, when done poorly, they can feel forced and annoying and make you just wish that the romantic part would end so the story can get back to the part you're interested in. I don't mind having romance in my stories, as long as it's done well and doesn't end up taking over a story where it shouldn't be the main focus, myself. Now if you're romantic scenes involve dialog about sand, on the other hand, I can do without, thank you.

Now should Skyrim have romance? I wouldn't actually object to the presence of well done romances in the game, but they would have to be optional. I don't want to be forced to have a romantic relationship with someone while I'm killing dragons whether I want to or not, I'd also say that any romantic questlines need to be well written, with the available love interests being memorable characters, not just generic NPCs I have no reason to care about. Finally, if romances were added, I'd prefer to have a number of different potential love interests and with options for both sixes. Because if I can choose to have a romantic relationship, I want to be able to choose to have it with a character I like, romance probably isn't going to do anything for me if I don't like the character I'm with at all.

In any case, it's not too important to me. Well done, optional romances wouldn't stop me from enjoying the game, certainly, but I also don't feel like they're one of those things that the game strictly needs.

Well said. I find myself agreeing completely.

I don't have confidence in BGS to do romances correctly. Looking at Nova from Fallout 3 as an example. I'm not against it I just don't have confidence in this studio to either, do it period, or to do it correctly. I think gameplay is always more important but it would add a little bit of realism but then again I just don't see it happening especially with this studios past history on this type of stuff.

Ah yes, the sprightly prosttute with a heart of gold and a pocket full of dreams. I think it would be nice if they did it right but I doubt it will be in at all. Romance in RPGs only works on linear ones like FF games where it is an important part of the overall plot.

Not really fond of the idea - feels kind of weird. Not adamantly against, though, provided it's optional. I reckon also it should be very, very subtle and leaving everything to the imagination. Too many PC characters, too many playing styles, too many tastes : a detailed romance option would have to be extremely generic, and would end up not feeling any bit realistic.

If there is romance, I want nothing to do with it, and to be able to completely ignore it as if it's not there.

As in have to do some SERIOUS romance prompting instead of just walk into a house and have a quest pop up. That would bug me to no end if just talking to someone triggered a romantic anything.

What have romances in epic adventure stories got to do with reality ? They're as much about escapist fantasy as the rest of the story. In computer games, as in Hollywood action adventures, romances are about banter, witty dialogue, desperately intense emotion and back-stabbing betrayal.

They most certainly are not about relationships !


I can just hear my Khajiit companion muttering in the depth of a dungeon "You are too loud. This one would not have set off so many traps. Tsabhira thinks she should go on ahead... or leave you to your nonsense. Clumsy, clumsy, clumsy..."


I suspect the way Bioware did it (sorry, but they do seem to have found a good recipe ) is the most workable. Just create a collection of varied, interesting characters. Most of the romance content would be indistinguishable from friendship (or questing companion) content - dialogue with the character, backstory, their reaction to player actions etc. That would be content that would be worth having even if the character is an amused and indulgent mentor or a bitter and disdainful mercenary. So long as the later romance portion of that character's dialogue/quests isn't too short I think that could add value to the game without involving a lot of development effort in content players don't value.

Having said that, Bethesda are going to develop a ton of content that particular players will never like. Players who only play stealth characters will find the heavy melee combat a completely wasted effort. Battlemage characters might never sneak once in the whole game - so much for stealth! And what does a Nord berserker want with magic? Wasted content, cut it out!

I think if they do it something like in KOTOR, but still like elder scrolls, it would be alright. The women were on your team through the majority of the game and If you want to listen to their stories and give them guidance then they start to slowly grow attached to you if your nice to them. of course you can just tell them to shut up and never deal with the romance again.

This way it wont feel as shallow, because they could be travel companions and your relationship will grow over time. and then when your hoe gets killed you might actually feel bad.

I hear dragon age had a similar system but i never played that.

Only if done in a realistic manner, which no game has managed todate. So best leave it out as otherwise it tends to feel tacked on and superficial.