Will the game have romance?

[oblivion]

Wondering if the game will have the typical mechanic where you can romance and maybe start a family with an NPC. Thanks

[Eastshade Studios]

I'm afraid that is not planned at this time!

[mermaniac]

How about friendships with NPCs that you can spend time with more than other NPCs, like a best friend? If just so we can feel like they are actual friends and not typical NPCs you happen to chat with. Or maybe even extra/different dialogue as friendships progress?

[Eastshade Studios]

Originally posted by Wed:

How about friendships with NPCs that you can spend time with more than other NPCs, like a best friend? If just so we can feel like they are actual friends and not typical NPCs you happen to chat with. Or maybe even extra/different dialogue as friendships progress?

Totally! There will definitely be friendships and you will spend time with characters. I would say even more so than most farming sim style games. It will feel closer to an RPG with regards to characters, with many characters having what we call quest arcs. The character quest arcs are an area of focus for us, and we're putting serious production value into them. Not stuff like "find me 5 flowers" but more like "meet me at the lake at midnight. Bring X, Y, and your boat. We're gonna summon the lake creature" sort of thing. So actual story beats and character development.

As far as a more systemic approach to friendships (ie a "friendship" bar), we're not sure of that at this time, but are leaning toward the more RPG style narrative quests at the moment.

[mermaniac]

Awesome! Thanks for the info! Even though I tend to prefer romance, I can still be satisfied with some kind of deep friendship system that, unfortunately, is still lacking in most farming sims. Oddly enough, romances also tend to be weak in these games, but still stronger than friendships because that's how near-nonexistent friendships are. The Sims does both friendship and romances better, but only because it's an actual life sim, so it kind of has to. But since farming sims are also life sims, I feel like they should have (at the very least) a solid friendship system if there's no romance. I'm very character-focused with these games. and I love social interactions with different flavors/tones, forming deep bonds, fetching stuff for townsfolk, and what have you. (It's the writer in me, lol.)

[löyly]

I'm looking forward to this approach! I usually find romance in games annoying anyway.

[Cimorene]

Originally posted by Wed:

The Sims does both friendship and romances better, but only because it's an actual life sim, so it kind of has to.

Unfortunately also, most recently, almost unplayable now that it's been taken over by greedy micro-transactions. I'm really hoping Life By You (its first big competitor) will be different.

Originally posted by löyly:

I'm looking forward to this approach! I usually find romance in games annoying anyway.

I'm on the opposite end, I guess. I like when they're optional so there's something for everyone. When done well, no one misses out because friendship routes and romance routes are equally fulfilling and fleshed out. Ultimately, I think that choice is always better than forcing romance or killing the option for anyone.

Originally posted by Eastshade Studios:

I'm afraid that is not planned at this time!

I guess I'll stay subscribed to this topic to see if any plans change.

[Eastshade Studios]

Originally posted by Cimorene:

I'm on the opposite end, I guess. I like when they're optional so there's something for everyone. When done well, no one misses out because friendship routes and romance routes are equally fulfilling and fleshed out. Ultimately, I think that choice is always better than forcing romance or killing the option for anyone.

My experience is that in most matters regarding two design directions, the gamer will always say "Give me everything please. Fully develop both directions to an extremely high standard and give me the option". It makes sense. Content and features are free to the gamer, why not simply ask for everything? But as developers we've got to be intentional and discerning about the battles we pick if we want to execute at a high level. And most importantly we have to stay focused on what is closest to our hearts. If we try to make a game for "everyone" is will end up a game for no one!