Would putting romance in the game draw in more people or push people away? I know that there are people who do like a bit or some romance in the RPG but I also know that there are people who just hate romance in stories and just want the stories to be about killing everything...

Here's my suggestion. Write your story. Don't write what will be popular. If you are writing something just to please others, odds are it won't be nearly as interesting or good as if you had just written it how you wanted it.

Just for an example - The Darkness for Xbox 360 has a 'romance' part - you can stay and sit and watch TV with your girlfriend - hell you even unlock something for doing this...

but on a side note I felt abit weird sitting there with my new video-game created girlfriend... I was waiting for my girlfriend of 5 years to walk in and start asking jealous questions - It made me feel uncomfortable, and it seems still like a hard thing to do...

Just wanted to slide an example on ya' though.

Know your audience. If your target group is young adolescent guys, then you might benefit from a romantic subplot. Perhaps more importantly, it should not feel forced and should not be there for the sake of being there.

Romance is great for implementing as gameplay or optional story branches. My suggestion is make the romance optional and make it fairly obvious what the character should do to pursue it or avoid it.

Quote: Original post by blah900
Romance in Stories. Reommended or Not?

Recommended - depending on the story.

Quote: Would putting romance in the game draw in more people or push people away?

It depends. Does the romantic aspect add to the main point of the story? Is it just tacked on? Is it well written?

I'm no epic story writer, but I should point out that some of the greatest games have a little bit of a romantic subplot(think Chrono Trigger or Final Fantasy). But as NickGravelyn said

Quote: Write your story. Don't write what will be popular. If you are writing something just to please others, odds are it won't be nearly as interesting or good as if you had just written it how you wanted it.

Hmm... that is true... romance would be pleasing to the majority.

Even though I am not that good of a writer, I do enjoy putting romantic aspects to my story. So that really isn't a problem.

However, I have one more question. Why do people like romance in the game?

I personally like it but can't really explain why... Anyone have any ideas?

Quote: Original post by blah900
I do enjoy putting romantic aspects to my story.
Why do people like romance in the game?
I personally like it but can't really explain why.

Well, then keep thinking on that, there, human.
Surely someday you will understand yourself better.
Side topic - have you ever taken any courses in human psychology?
Unrelated project - rent "Romancing The Stone" at the local video rental shop. Analyze.

I like games with a slight romantic side to them. Like the MGS series, for instance.