**ROMANCE**

If the tradeoff is better stories or at least choice reactivity within the story, then yes. I enjoy shaping the character I'm playing as more than I enjoy choosing my romance option.

For that to happen, wouldn't the story actually have to be good? 

Every decent master plan has a fatal flaw somewhere.

The Romances are a natural evolution of the character driven narratives and friendships with your team mates. Without character development and interaction Bioware games would suffer greatly. So the answer is yes, I would stop playing because without the powerful characters they develop they wouldn't be bioware games.

I voted no... though I'm not sure if I wouldn't play them anymore so much as... I'd wait for the GOTY version to go on sale, or play them free on Origin Access instead. I certainly wouldn't get all hyped over the games pre-release and pre-order them full price and buy up every DLC... nor would I do multiple playthroughs.

Now, I don't play Bioware games just for the romances. But a large part of why I love Bioware's games specifically, what makes them my favorite game developer, is the unique experience of being able to build relationships with the other characters. Whether I'm friends with this one, or tolerate that one out of necessity, or make an enemy of another... and yes, I get to have my custom female character fall in love and get the boy I ship her with. I don't get to do that in other games. Bethesda's newer ones, a bit, but that's mostly (with the exception of FO4) only with companions added by mods. Even in the rare case I do get to play a female character in a game made by anyone else, she never gets to have a love interest. If Bioware goes that same route, why should I play their games over someone else's? The plots are interesting, but hardly the strongest story lines out there. Graphics are nice, but, again... others do it better. Same with combat.

Hell, it was romances that got me as into gaming as I am. The first game I ever played was Morrowind. My first playthrough was fun enough, but then I discovered mods. Julan Ashlander Companion was among them. Playing the game again alongside a companion character I could have react to the game's events and eventually fall in love with was amazing. I then learned Bioware made games that had that stuff built right in! I found DAO, where my female character could romance Alistair or Zevran, and have a whole party of people my character could build relationships with and it was such an awesome experience. I was immediately hooked! I eventually branched out and started playing different kinds of games... but I remember early on being really disappointed that no one else made games like this. So yeah, if Bioware wants to keep taking my money, they better keep making games like this. Especially since few other developers seem willing to.

Without the romances how would Bioware torture you? Most of your romance choices in ME1 and ME2 end up possibly dying or sitting out the next game. There are many other examples such as female warden romancing Alistair and then having to have Morrigan sleep with him to let both of you live.
Yeah,you don't realize it but Bioware does not really believe in happy endings.
Even Hawke in DAI isn't the LI off somewhere else?

There are 3 things where BW was for a long time ahead of any other company (and still is): custom protagonist in 3D games world - a very rare feature in singleplyer game with a story, coherent plot tailored for a custom protagonist, and romances. Together, in the same game. Take away one - the others can be as brilliant as it possible to make, but you can find it somewhere else? so, why bother? I do not really like Witchers games exactly for that reason - it's not my story (as good as it is), it's about Geralt. His romances are not my (as good as they are). And Bethesda's games, while I can create a custom protagonist has an excuse for a story (there are Asian MMO's (that normally all about action) with more plot than Skyrim, for example) and what they have for romances can not be called even an "excuse".

The only place where you can get it all in a 3D game - Bioware. And this IS the reason people play their games.

Absolutely. I've never used the romance feature anyway.


^^^holy earplugs, wtf is that
I bet this poor Sheploo leapt eagerly into the beam at the end.

Was that personal attack really necessary?

As for your plight, I have no sympathy. Waaah, the game sucks cause I didn't get my gay romance. Plenty of other gay men on here have manned up and got over it.

Yes but I'd need far far more different friendship/rival tracks than they have now. Thankfully they'd probably be able to do improved NPC and PC reactivity with the saved resources.

Hey hey, there were some great Cait vs Piper vs Curie threads going on the Bethesda forum a while after release. Had my fair share of battles in the trenches over there, defending my Synth Wife. 

I would still play the games, but I would miss them terribly: not only are a way to have a deeper connection to certain characters, a roleplay chance, and offer replay value (I would never play a male character without romances as input), but are the only way to have a female protagonist that is straight and not asexual or lesbian (with all due respect, I simply have a hard time finding a non-indie game where the female protagonist is cleary straight and can find love with a male character. At least if she isn't just a skimply dressed bimbo there just to give the male players B&A to look at-than sometime she is interested in males-otherwise, sexuality is at best kept nebulous and only hinted if the character is lesbian "because lesbian are sexy" to many guys. Plus, it just expand the mith "if a woman love a man, she can't be strong enought")

I'm finishing Horizon in these days, and I'm finding that I miss my romances, as much as I love the story and world. So, I can play a BioWare game without romances: but are already so few the ones where I can find what I like, that I would not probably be a fan anymore.