Dragon Age writer calls romance a 'natural outgrowth' for BioWare

[Dohc-WP]

A BioWare fan recently asked David Gaider, lead writer for the Dragon Age series, if the company had considered making a game without romance subplots. Gaider responded that it's been a temptation, but he believes it's something BioWare not only does well, but is also something few other developers tackle.

"To me, the thing that BioWare does best is not story but characters," Gaider wrote on his Tumblr. "I think our characters are done to a level that few other games even attempt, with an element of agency that strikes a chord in our players ... and romances have been a natural outgrowth of that. Sure we could stop, but that would be turning our backs on something we do which almost no-one else does."

While Gaider's defense of romance in BioWare games is certainly passionate, he noted that it's not outside the realm of possibility that they could be left behind in the future. "Perhaps, if we made a new IP, we might decide it's best not to open that particular Pandora's Box (which, yes, romances have always been) and go with something else ... but that 'something else' better be something damned good, as there are a lot of people who enjoy that part of our games immensely and who might not be willing to buy into a new series which didn't have it."

"Some folks might be eager to write those fans off, but I'm not really sure that BioWare feels the same."


Sources : Polygon Tumblr

[XbatousaiX]

I wish they would drop that such a waste of time I just never saw the point in them doing it.

[MetalSoup]

I wish they would drop that such a waste of time I just never saw the point in them doing it.

Some people like it. Do you want them to remove it just because you don't like it, and ignore the people that do? That's seems a bit selfish.

[Duke Dude]

I lol at every clothed sex scene in a BioWare game.
That being said though, I don't mind romances.

What I would love to see in a game is a non-sexual relationship though, like forming a brotherly bond or something in that vein, I think it would be incredibly refreshing if done right (Like A Tale of Two Sons).

[Stunt]

I lol at every clothed sex scene in a BioWare game.
That being said though, I don't mind romances.

What I would love to see in a game is a non-sexual relationship though, like forming a brotherly bond or something in that vein, I think it would be incredibly refreshing if done right (Like A Tale of Two Sons).

Yeah, the bond between Shepard and Garrus is real but feels a little lacking in foundation - we know what they've been through together, but it doesn't feel like they shared in it as much as they should have.

I do think that the relationships between many of the ME casts characters are well crafted - often rushed - and true enough to be believable. Bioware does this well and will only do it better in the future.

[Snare]

I honestly believe that the romances are pretty much an embodiment of Bioware's current model. As mentioned their forte is character writing; and what else is there to make great characters interactive but the option of romance.

Yeah, the bond between Shepard and Garrus is real but feels a little lacking in foundation - we know what they've been through together, but it doesn't feel like they shared in it as much as they should have.

I do think that the relationships between many of the ME casts characters are well crafted - often rushed - and true enough to be believable. Bioware does this well and will only do it better in the future.

Very Very true; I doubt that many of us would have played ME in it's entirety if not for the exemplary characters.