Why are romances singled out?

Why not canned narratives, like the main quest?

Really, any quest?

Any kind of relationship?

Friendships? Family?

Perhaps I have trouble with the canned father-son dynamic.

I am not from where you are from, but I suspect AO means "advlts only"?
This game is already "AO"; it's sold in Europe as an 18+ (years old) game, which means advlt.

Personally I would applaud the idea; done right. Preferably say at least one option per gender and karma, and maybe even an option to ruin the relationship by starting it with someone else.

Personal favourites would be Bittercup, Moira, Reilly.

Would really depend on how well it was executed...

I mean, i didnt really like even the family business in Fallout 3. I can only imagine what a relationship would have been written in as in F3. Although, if implemented it in well, i suppose it'd add to depth.

You don't understand the implications of an AO rating in the United States.

Basically, here:

M: 17+
AO: 18+

M-rated games can be sold by major retailers.

AO-rated games cannot, because most retailers refuse to stock them.

Also, neither Microsoft nor Sony will allow AO-rated games on their systems. Nintendo has not commented as far as I know, but you can guess the sentiment is the same.

So, the only AO-rated games are porm games for the PC, not meant for mainstream consumption. Getting AO basically kills your business, and is the ESRB's way of basically controlling top-level mature content without technically banning anything. It's dirty blackmail, but it's the way it is.

Yes I think adding romance in Fallout 3 would have added more realism to the game. Throughout the game you hear about people you meet sleeping with others; Bittercup hits on you, Sydney mentions how she likes to get drunk and laid, Silver is an ex-prosttute, Nova says she'll sleep with you but that's exactly what she means, Dukov's girls are there for one reason only, then there's the woman over in Tenpenny Towers, Amata, etc, etc, etc.

Not saying I need to see cut screens of my PC and these women in bed together; I've got plenty of imagination and don't need the visuals. But, having some dialogue options available for the opportunity would go a long way towards making the world more realistic.

After all, you're a big superhero to these people; you singlehandedly rescue citizens from slavers and supermutants, destroy Enclave squads by yourself, break into (and escape from!) the heaviest guarded areas in the Wasteland, kill the fiercest monsters, and none of these women are grateful enough to want to sleep with you and perhaps have your child???? I find that incredibly hard to believe, especially considering some of the choices of partners other women do have...

And it is illegal for anyone under the age of 18 to purchase and/or play games that are AO-rated.

M-rated games can be bought pretty much anywhere. And it is much easier to get them. In New Jersey, you can bring your parent's ID and say that they allowed you to get an M-rated game, even if you stole it out of your mother's purse.

In fact, in my hometown, the dude at the counter let me buy Oblivion no questions asked! And I haven't grown to the age of 17 yet!

AO-rated games are much more strictly regulated than M-rated games.

EDIT: And considering Nintendo is a family-based operating system (as they have stated that they would like to have more "family friendly" games), they are bound to say "No" to AO-rated games.

Because when you kill a few Super Mutants and Deathclaws, it's like you just put on some body spray in a commercial for body spray.

no i dont think the game needs it. though if it were like fable 2 then maybe. giving you the freedom to pick anyone you want, stay with them or leave, or just kill them. not that i would do any of those things. but the freedom to do what you want is nice. unless it opens up new quest options then yes i want it cause i am willing to try any quest as long as its something new to do. well at least the women in fallout 3 look like women unlike oblivion. bleck.

but like most men, i would trade romance for a good gun anyday.

I've just started playing this game and I'm terribly disappointed after reading this thread. I had totally convinced myself that a good ole [censored] would be the final reward after writing Moira's book, but oh well...

Moira's way hot

Amata seems like an obvious romantic choice for (straight) male characters, as does Clover. Not sure who would be right for the girls - I know Ayleid would say "Butch" but the fact that he's a bully at the start just puts me right off.


Ewwww ... no.

I think that the only thing they could do - and what I'm actually surprised they didn't do - is a total fade to black, i.e. you don't see anything or hear anything.


:slap:


It was one of the main strengths of Mass Effect - the romance angle with Kaiden creates a sort of desperation to save him. Relationships - friendships or otherwise - tie the player to the world and make the place "worth saving".

It was one of the fundamental things that elevates Shivering Isles above Oblivion - they spend a lot of time introducing the characters and making you get to know them, so that you in turn start to care about them. You're so cut off from everyone in Oblivion (aside from Baurus, who almost everyone likes) that you feel rather detached from it all and saving the world just feels like a chore.


Absolutely agreed.


I agree about Bioware, but disagree with your assertion that Bethesda don't do likewise. Sure, there are only a few fully-developed, fully-realised characters - but that's the same as with Bioware's games. Not every NPC has great depth in KOTOR or Mass Effect. It's about the same in Fallout 3 where you have some characters who are mere archetypes and others that have layers that you peel off, onion-style, to get a more subtle and real-feeling character. Moira was particularly well done - at first she seems brittle and a bit silly but as you get talking to her (returning from her quests each time) a more satisfying character emerges with believable strengths and weaknesses and motivations. If you look at Morrowind's companion - a mere meat-shield with virtually no dialogue - and then look at Mazoga in Oblivion, and then look at the companions in Fallout 3 you can see a huge progression there. Sure, Clover et al are mere archetypes, but how much "depth" does that blue alien in the mask really have in Mass Effect? Liara tells you about her six life pretty much by way of introduction, and they didn't really seem to know what they wanted to do with Kaiden until they eventually just gave up and turned him into Carth. Not that I'm complaining! Anyway, certainly within the limitations of a game that is supposed to be "A Boy And His Dog" not "A Hystorie Of The Playere's Romances", it's unfair to say that Fallout 3 fares badly compared to other games.


It's been said a dozen times in a dozen threads, and I think many players would have enjoyed it if, for example, Nova had made some verbal reference to your time together. It took just ten new entries to turn the player's relationship in Morrowind with http://princessstomper.wordpress.com/2009/01/31/caius-romance/ from platonic into romantic. I certainly hope Bethesda will consider likewise in future games.

hai princess
also i would totally go for sara lyons

I get the impression from the way she was featured pre-release that Sarah Lyons was originally supposed to have a larger role in the game than she ended up with - probably related to the cuts that Emil made to the end of the MQ - and she was definitely someone you were supposed to bond with.

I'll be interested to see if she makes more of an appearance in Broken Steel, but I definitely think she's one of the most moddable characters because she could be fleshed out a lot more.

At least one of the followers should possibly be a romantic interest - take them along, complete quests with them, gain influence with them by doing things they agree with (? la Obsidian Entertainment) which leads to new conversation options.

Problem is I do not particularly like any of the followers the game throws at me, save Fawkes.

While I think this is an aspect of the game that is lacking, I also think it was a concious decision by the Beth Devs. I seriously think they just didn't want the kind of publicity that Bioware got for Mass Effect "love scenes" (such as they were) vs the resources involved in developing that type of storyline/quest(s).

There is also the issue of anit / pro homosixual relationships that will eventually be hated / applauded by both sides of that issue. I can certainly understand a gaming company NOT wanting to go anywhere NEAR that road these days.

BTW, if it was possible, I think I'd have to try and snuggle up to Sydney.... (based on Tia Carera's character in Relic Hunter)

Considering how Brotherhood-centric Broken Steel will be, I would assume that Sarah Lyons will play an important role. Or maybe Bethesda will surprise us by making Butch a new Initiate in the Brotherhood.

Obviously, you wouldn't be all that surprised.

Not me, no.

I don't see any reason why the six in FO3 can't be all dialogue driven, without any audible or visual scenes needed. The "fade to black", "time passes", and then your partner has a final comment ("next time you're here, look me up!", etc) would work just fine. Obviously not every woman (or man) you meet would have these options, but for heaven's sake, some of them certainly should. The prosttutes are one obvious choice; other than Nova, there's one in Tenpenny Towers (she sizes you up the first time you speak to her), another in Rivet City. All three should offer you their services for some cold hard caps, and I'm not speaking about "sleeping" as Nova points out either.

Then there's the ones in the mini-quests. You rescue Red, and get Dukov's woman to Rivet City. The woman in Megaton you deliver the letter for; shouldn't she be grateful for your efforts over and above what she asked you to do? How about Sydney? She's like you; an adventurer/scavenger and looking for some fun. Maybe Sierra should offer you more than a schematic for all those Quantums (although she's fairly clueless in that department).

Let's not forget Amata and her companions in the Vault either; she grows up with you, you rescue her from torture and then help her with opening the Vault, and she STILL won't sleep with you?

I mean, come on; a hot shower and some clean clothes and your PC ought to be a pretty good catch for some woman out there, or at least a fun roll in the hay...

Not to mention that Lucy doesn't even seem to care about what happened when you delivered her letter, she only cares if you Haven't.... that just seems..... odd.

A good majority of the scenarios you pointed out sound like they'd be terrible. Do you have no class, man? "Oh, well, you helped me out. Time for six."

Seriously?

I don't know about you, but I don't think most women sleep with someone because they helped out. Even if they helped out a lot. I don't think any culture has the "you saved my life, now I must throw myself at you" morality.

I'm a little incredulous as to the fact that several of you are willing to express in public that you think gratitude for a good turn should involve getting tail.

Considering it's the internet, we can assume a few things:

-porm
-Anonymity
-More porm

I suppose it's no more mindlessly indulgent than wanton murder that can be committed across the wastes...but still.

Yeah, I thought Moira was one of the better NPCs for the extended interaction you have with her. I rather enjoyed that quest, and I think it's a good thing on Bethesda's part that I was left wanting more quests like that. And I agree, it's not like in Bioware's games every character you meet is full of depth. Only that it's one of their priorities in their games. Bioware focuses on characters, and Bethesda focuses on making vital and incredibly details worlds to explore in. (Over on the Bioware forums, my posts are more along the lines of "Yeah, they have great characters in Mass Effect and KOTOR, but the environments look absolutely desolate in comparison to Oblivion or Fallout 3.)

That said, I do think F3 is a major step forward in making lots of interesting characters. In saying that I wish some of them had some more depth of interaction, I do intend that as a compliment in that at least they're characters I want to know more about. I personally couldn't really say that about Morrowind or Oblivion, honestly. (Not so say "all the characters in Oblivion are lame" just that none of them really stuck out with me.)

Also, I'm not saying Bethesda should just rip off Bioware's pattern of gameplay, either. (If I want a game that does that, I can just play a Bioware game - there's certainly no need for Bethesda to follow down the same road.) And I wouldn't want Bethesda to just add this option in just because every other game is doing the same thing. But it would be one tool in the toolbox for adding more interaction with characters.

I wouldn't have minded seeing a love interest in the game, but it's not something I'd take points away from the game for not having, either.

Yeah, that was a major anti-climix, I thought.

I'm thinking of this from a Wastelander's viewpoint. Your PC is not the usual kind of person; those types are the "what's in it for me" or "thanks, I'll take everything you've got, be glad you're still alive" kind they see every single day.

You're different. You take on incredibly dangerous jobs for a little cash, and sometimes nothing at all (delivering Lucy's letter, for example). You rescue people for no reward, stop slavers or raiders from their evil deeds, find the rarest of items, and for what? In most cases, very little material reward at all.

But, not to the people you rescue, or find those rare items for, or stop the invading hordes about to destroy their homes. To them, you are a Hero in every sense of the word. People stop you in the middle of the street and give you things for no good reason other than you're creating a little hope in a world that has hardly any.

So, to these people, what's one of their most valuable possessions they could offer as a reward? How about themselves? You trying to tell me that a heroic figure such as your PC rescuing someone from certain death or unending slavery wouldn't cause some of these women to offer themselves as a reward for your success? Not only is that unrealistic, it also runs counter to many, many heroic/adventure stories that have been written.

Plus, many of these NPC's you rescue or perform a good deed for you continue to interact with. Sure some of them never speak with or see you again. Others, such as Moira, Red, Bittercup and Sydney, you can continue to interact and get to know. What's wrong with a little companionship and comfort being offered by some of these women? Not only would they get the physical interaction, they'd also presumably get to share your wealth and benefit from your protection as well.

In a world full of people "getting it on", having your character apparently be the only virgin still living seems kind of unrealistic, at least to me it does.

if they were to have added some possible optional romantic ties with some of the characters id be cool with that.
however, the kotor and mass effect relationships, for me, is rather boring and useless.

if relationships are part of a video game i want it to mean something tangible to DO within the game. cutscenes and added story depth add up to a big shoulder shrug if thats all there is to it.
it must also remain absolutely optional.