If I have to choose, I've found that romances that aren't "playersexual" are generally better written. In the same vein, romances where the player character has more preset traits than the standard amorphous blob you're supposed to project yourself onto are also generally better written.

I'd rather my games don't all try to do the same thing though.

I agree that sexuality can be important to a charachter. But if you wanna do that, seems like the charachter can just not be a romance option.

🙄

i think it gets at the deeper conflict between player gratification and considered storytelling. erotica and wish fulfillment are great, but there are other kinds of stories too.

but then again i don't really play Bioware games or dating sims in general, so it's moot to me.

Playersexual makes more sense, just make it your own headcannon that your character is gay/straight/bi/whatever. In any case it's not like there are any dialogues where the character explicitly proclaims "I AM BISEXUAL" or anything, just make the character whatever you want in your head.

It seems to me that the bottom tweet about having few options for specific sexual encounters is true and what I'd lean into. I didn't play BG3, but the plot appeared to me without an emphasis on romance. Which is to say why would you want a fleshed out discourse on sexuality from game devs and D&D writers? It seems like modding would give you more fidelity to have specific sexual intentions. I imagine the romance subplot is supposed to be cheap and hollow the same way Doom Guy's backstory is cheap and hollow.

Similarly, I have a hang up about main character syndrome and how killing humans doesn't feel good, but if I had to manage my character's mental well being and they would tap out when it became too much in a hack n slash it'd be annoying.

I have a hard time imagining good interpersonal dynamics without doing a VN or an N(ovel) or an animation. Perhaps if you had an AI 5 years in the future you could interact organically with characters who aren't a cheap caricature without sacrificing the focus of the gameplay.

I want a game set in the roman empire with authentic Roman sexuality. Actually I thought about this more, I probably don't. It would just be intresting to see sexuality organized against the western consensus

I think we should lock up Fire Emblem avatars and throw away the key. If they're not practicing eugenics, they're marrying children or their subordinates. Sometimes all three at once. It's time we bring back the glory days of ace Ike.