Happy Pride Month, everyone!
This time we want to hear your thoughts on romantic choices in Assassin's Creed.
MAKING SURE THE FANS ARE HEARD
As part of a set of new Community Initiatives, we'd like to give opportunities to the community to give more direct feedback, and will now host weekly discussion on specific topics that relate the Assassin's Creed Franchise. These community discussions will take place on the AC subreddit, the Official Ubisoft Forums, and on the Mentors Guild Twitter. These discussions will be open for 1 week. The threads and responses will be shared directly with the Assassin's Creed Community Development team, who will then pass that info on to concerned parties within Ubisoft itself.
While the Mentors get opportunities to speak directly with the creators of Assassin’s Creed and frequently communicate with the Community Development Team, this is not the case for every fan. We want to change that. We want fans to have their voices heard directly, in the same ways the Mentors do. These activities are a step towards meeting this goal. If you want Ubisoft to see what you have to say, this is the place to do it.
THIS WEEK'S TOPIC
Topic: Romanceable Characters in AC
Info: Previous Assassin's Creed games had linear stories which often showed the protagonist eventually coupled off with a person with whom they would continue their bloodline. AC Odyssey introduced the concept of choice into the series, including the choice to romance any of several potential love interests, male or female. The Legacy of the First Blade DLC courted some controversy due to some players feeling this choice was taken away from them, as the story saw Kassandra or Alexios paired off with a specific heterosexual partner.
QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER:
-What are your thoughts on being able to choose your romantic partner(s) in an AC game?
-Which character(s), if any, did you romance in Odyssey?
-Were you satisfied with the way romance was handled in Odyssey? If yes, what pleased you especially? If not, what would you have changed?
-Would you like to see romantic options to return in future games?
-What are your thoughts on the LotF DLC downplaying player choice in favor of a pre-determined relationship?
-In your opinion, how does choice of romance fit into a series about a continued bloodline throughout history?
As always, please feel free to add any thoughts you might have that are not covered by these example questions!
REMEMBER:
While these discussions are meant to allow for honest and raw feedback directly from the community, the best way to ensure your voice is heard is to be constructive - be critical of the process, not the people. Be specific with your criticisms and suggest tangible solutions and improvements.
We hope to see active participation and that this will be a successful way of getting the fans' voices truly heard.
My initial feeling on romance is that for me it was just an amusing, but slightly shallow, distraction. It was entertaining to play my Kassandra as a total Casanova, sleeping with anything and anyone that was willing.
However, there were definitely some times that I thought the system tended to work better. For instance, the Silver Islands were brilliant, probably my favorite part of the game. The experience had weight to it- it was a relationship, or web of relationships you were forming, not just a single encounter or punchline. How things happened could cause people to love or hate you, life or death to happen. It was so good, and even if the web of choices wasn't quite as complex as it initially seemed, it felt like it in the moment, and I think that's still an accomplishment.
Of course, I also enjoyed some of the more humorous encounters too, like Age is Just a Number.
One thing that I've noticed on these forums over the past few months is that while for me the romance features were just kind of superfluous, they actually did mean something to a ton of other players- particularly, players who usually don't feel represented in games. I'm really happy that Odyssey could offer these players the chance to be a character that uniquely allowed them to really be themselves.
Which, of course, brings me to the problems with LotFB. While, again, I personally enjoyed the story with Natakas, I can understand how someone who had previously enjoyed the game's sense of freedom might ultimately feel like that was ripped from them with this story. That topic has been discussed here quite a bit, and I realize it can be a divisive one, but I'd absolutely encourage empathy for those who found this to infringe on their personal Odyssey.
There's an interesting Dan Harmon bit where he talks about a kind of weird way that Fallout 4 handled characters flirting with him, and how alienated his real world self from his character.
Going forward, I think that's an important thing to keep in mind-romances resonated with people when it allowed them to make choices that made their character, and this affected their enjoyment of the game as a whole. If Assassin's Creed is to be an RPG ( though that's a whole other discussion) then I think player freedom is almost always a good thing.
Potentially? It's potentially good. The current reality? Terrible.Originally Posted by SixKeys Go to original post
With such brevity and no continuity, every 'romance' becomes a silly little capsule, like a sketch in a 1970s TV comedy that might have made my grandma say, "Ooh, that was a bit blue!".
Many, but I can barely remember any of them because they don't matter. The ones that stick out were Old Woman For Whom I Had To Make Herbal Viagra Or Something and Archer Woman With A Dying Father Who Actually Turned Up For More Than One Mission. If those aren't their real names, I'm sorry but that's as close as I can get for remembering the name of any of these utterly pointless characters.-Which character(s), if any, did you romance in Odyssey?
I remember that I did know the real name of Puppy-Eyes von Dipstick at one point, but I've forgotten it again now, which is strange, given how much I hate him.
The original team managed to eke more meaning and pathos out of Cristina (WHOSE NAME I CAN STILL REMEMBER, BTW) in ACII and Brotherhood, during an allegedly less sophisticated era for videogame storytelling, than this game could manage with dozens of shots. And, to be fair, the new teams were still doing really well with Aya in Origins. The introduction of Élise in Unity was incredible, one of the best romantic introductions in a video game. It went off the rails after the start and the voice actor was distractingly bad at speaking in an English accent, but what a start! I liked the romance between Evie and Henry, but it was already too dilute and too far sidelined by the size of the game to feel like it really mattered.
1) No-Were you satisfied with the way romance was handled in Odyssey? If yes, what pleased you especially? If not, what would you have changed?
2) I would have set up ongoing romantic stories for a good number of characters rather than dead-ends for hundreds. I would have tried to find ways that the romances could feed into main missions at times without it looking janky.
I'm really not sure. I don't know if you can get it right later.-Would you like to see romantic options to return in future games?
What would be really interesting would be if you can make and break friendships, not just romances. That's what I want to see: a world in which you can build relationships of all kinds, and they matter because they affect the story. I'd love to be dropped into a city where I'm powerless at first, but I turn some early acquiantance into a friendship, and I start to target people who would be of use to me, and eventually I make a chain from a baker to a politician, a restrateur to a businessperson, a tax accountant to an importer/exporter. I want to be able to uncover a web of relationships and tug the threads to make interesting things happen. I want to feel Machiavellian (pun intended). I want to conquer power at least partly by social means, to see political mechanics.
As far as relationships go, if you want to make them good then I think you need a lot more women writers (I'm not saying male writers can't write romance or women's perspectives, but too many of them are bad at it) and you need to give the writers more control over game design. It can't just be that the few script lines at the start, middle and end of a mission are the 'pocket' into which the writers must fit something meaningful. To be a matter of importance in the character's life, it needs more prominence in the game.
It was garbage, but not because pre-determined relationships are garbage. On the whole, you've got a remarkably successful record on crafting relationships already in this series.-What are your thoughts on the LotF DLC downplaying player choice in favor of a pre-determined relationship?
The problem with the Kassandra/von Dipstick relationship is that he was a turd. That's almost entirely it. But the attitude of von Dipstick Senior was ugly as all hell. It was already bad, but him mashing Kassandra and his large adult son together and commanding them to kiss was revolting. Don't do that.
The one with Aya was brilliant. That team understood how to make a relationship feel real, how to make it hurt, and most of all how not to turn it into a grotesque prize. The worst thing about romance in life is "nice" people who think that if they put in enough Nice Coins then they should get a sex jackpot, and videogames walk on thin ice whenever they introduce a relationship as a gameplay target. While the Bayak/Aya relationship is not a story that can be played many times, the sensitivity and cleverness that guided it is essential.
It doesn't!-In your opinion, how does choice of romance fit into a series about a continued bloodline throughout history?
Ubisoft: bLoOdLiNeS
SHUT UP
It's so boring, and it's such a total misunderstanding of generational relationships, anyway. There are no 'bloodlines'. This is an incredibly unsophisticated way to understand familial relationships. There is not a 'bloodline' leading from even my great-grandfather to me. There is a blood-cloud, at best, and he was part of a blood-cloud. I share only 12% of his DNA. Go forward 100 years from me and there will be almost nothing of him left. My great-grandchildren could meet someone from a different country with as much of my great-grandfather's DNA in them as they'll have.
I also don't like the game's insistence on showing me how my DNA was passed on. Perversely, in Odyssey it felt like you did it because a player could make their character gay, like you felt pressured to make them fit the canon. RELAX. You can make a game where the assassin is gay, and the player has no choice about it, and we never see them produce a child. You know why? Because we can take it as read. Maybe they had a kid in their teens when they were trying to live a heterosexual life. Maybe they decided to have a child long after the game credits rolled. It doesn't actually matter.
Also, you established that you could get Animus-ready DNA from a poorly preserved corpse from circa 20 BCE when you had Aya playable in Origins. So why is it ever necessary again to make this kind of scene?
1. I think it is an amazing idea. With people being able to shape how their odyssey with the Eagle Bearer goes, including their personality and what makes them them, it was a wise choice to allow the player to determine their sexual orientation. While not as rare as it once was, it is still a rare thing in games where people can do that so having another series do it as well is good to see.Originally Posted by SixKeys Go to original post
2. I romanced none of the characters. As a Demisexual, none of the romances appealed to me because all required sex and all were done as very casual flings.
3. As said before, I personally wasn't satisfied with the way the romances were handled. I would have done three things differently.
First, I would have made the romances mean more. For example have some of the romancable characters show up multiple times throughout the game and have the relationship develop each time.
Second, I would have made there be different routes for the romances.So for example when the culmination scenes occurred, instead of just having the options of have sex or break up instead have options to continue the romance but without that step yet. For some characters they'd accept that and others wouldn't, but even that would benefit the romances.
Third, I'd have the game respect your choices. Even when you avoid the flirt options, the game still has the Eagle Bearer clearly interested in some people. This goes from autodialogue having you still flirt to even trying to kiss them.
4. I would like to see the romance options return in future games. While they still need a lot of work, the ones in Odyssey were good baby steps and I think if they work on them the romances could compete with some other games that do them.
5. I absolutely hated what the LotFB DLC did. Many people, myself included, bought the game in part because Ubisoft promoted the game as respecting player choice on this matter and even explicitly stating they would never force you into the exact situation the DLC did. Every issue I had towards the romances in the base game were increased exponentially in that DLC. It completely butchered how I set my character up in terms of those kinds of things, not just with sexual orientation but also feelings towards family. And the 'fix' they released did absolutely nothing. It made you seem like a jerk, Natakas/Neema seem like a stalker, and most of the DLC still had the romance dialogue so even not choosing the options you were clearly lovey dovey towards them.
I hope Ubisoft never does what they did in the Legacy of the Forced Baby DLC again.
6. Having a direct bloodline isn't even important for the series anymore, both because in this game's case our character is immortal and in general because the Animus doesn't need bloodlines and descendants now but just the DNA of the person. With that change, descendants became pointless so as the games continue with romances the devs need to keep that in mind to allow their players to play the characters and romances the way they want to.
I usually don't participate in these topics myself because I believe the focus should be on other fans' thoughts. But after recently finishing up some last remaining quests in Odyssey, I have to bring up something related to this topic that I feel strongly about.
One of the quests I found myself involved in concerned a female athlete who was training for the Battle of One Hundred Hands. Now, my Kassandra has mostly been asexual (I think I romanced one person for the achievement) and I'll happily ignore all the heart dialogue options whenever the game presents them. The problem with this quest was that the game seemed really adamant about pushing this romance on me. THREE TIMES I turned down the athelete's advantages, explicitly. Three times I chose some variant of "I'm just here to do a job" or "I don't feel that way about you". The final scene between the two even pushed me into a "romantic" stargazing moment where they were sitting a little too close for comfort, and the athlete practically begs me to kiss her. For a moment I was afraid she would, and that the game would try to frame an instance of sexual assault as a cutesy moment. Thankfully, she finally backed off when I told her (AGAIN) that I wasn't interested. It was clearly a mission that was designed from a linear perspective whereas most of the game tells you you always have a choice. The writers desperately wanted me to hook up with this woman and set up special circumstances designed to make me say 'yes' despite my initial rejection. To flat out ignore my rejection. It's a real-world phenomenon that hits a little too close to home.
For a game that is supposedly all about the freedom to roleplay a character any way you like, Odyssey seems to fall into the same trap as many other games that include romance and really push players towards coupling up. This isn't a problem in dialogue trees where romance is an option you can easily ignore, but having to turn a character down three times before they take the hint really made me feel unpleasant. In a linear game with a pre-established character this stuff doesn't bother me because I'm not creating the character based on my own choices, I'm just along for the ride. But being told I am in control and then being forced into situations that wrest that control away from me really does not feel right.
-What are your thoughts on being able to choose your romantic partner(s) in an AC game?
This was one of the things I was most excited for next to the RPG element and the ancient greece setting. I had high hopes for this since I played a lot of the Bioware games that include romance options.
-Which character(s), if any, did you romance in Odyssey?
Mostly women although Alkibiades managed to swap my Kass off her feet pretty quickly.
I totally fell for Kyra and wished that romance had a happy ending. T-T
-Were you satisfied with the way romance was handled in Odyssey? If yes, what pleased you especially? If not, what would you have changed?
No.
As mentioned before I played the Mass Effect and Dragon Age series and expected more than just flings and one night stands.
The romance options felt like "Yo Babe you look fine, Wanna bang?"
There was no real build up, getting to know each other, bonding time and the chance to always come back and snag a kiss from the one you would/could decide to stay true too.
The Silver Island questline was on the right way with that but missed the chance.
I don't know how often I replayed the Silverislands quest on my first playthrough to try and get a better/different outcome where I had not to fight Thaletas (finding the helmet of his father was a missed chance to implement that idea). Decision and concequences fell short on that aspect. And it was also unfair that when you romanced Thaletas, Kyra was not mad at you but the other way around Thaletas wanted you dead.
Also what LDS_Darth_Revan, SixKeys and Swailing says about romances I totally agree with that.
-Would you like to see romantic options to return in future games?
Yes, if Ubi makes them more meaningful.
-What are your thoughts on the LotF DLC downplaying player choice in favor of a pre-determined relationship?
I played this DLC as a bisexual Kass.
I think people here know how I feel about the Legacy of the forced baby-romance by the one that shall not be named.
I hate it.
I despise it.
And even more so after Ubi had the chance to fix it with all the suggestions that were given by the players and discussion that were held on this and the Reddit forums. And what did we get, a pile of lukewarm dogpoo and then silence.
Even if you did choose the non romance route kasslexios acted like they were in love, giving loveydovey eyes at Darius child. Which was one of the aspects why it felt like a forced romance. The explanation why they suddenly wanna settle down and have a baby was not even discussed.
I understood why Myrrine and math-dad made a baby, they both had ISU blood but Darius child did not so why make them the other parent. If we had given the chance to pick one of the romancable NPC's from the main game THAT would had been players choice.
And to this day I still don't understand how Ubi thought this was a brilliant romance idea in an RPG that was promoted as.. yeah I'm not gonna repeat myself the 1237832875 time.
-In your opinion, how does choice of romance fit into a series about a continued bloodline throughout history?
As I mentioned before it could work if the player has the freedom of choice by choosing between several partners and have the player experience a discussion about it but then again the bloodline gets thinner over every generation.
I don't think Aya has any blood from Kasslexios left afer several hundred years. A DLC palying in egypt and having Kasslexios be the father/mother of Aya THAT would had made sense.
With Laylas animus the blood/DNA doesn't matter anyway and imo the whole modern day isn't necessary to have us play the ancestors past. Make the modern day a standalone game leave the past alone
@ Ubi you still have the chance to fix your Baby DLC by letting us choose between Neema and Natakas
greetings from a customer that hasn't spent money on the helix store since the DLC disaster.
QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER:
-What are your thoughts on being able to choose your romantic partner(s) in an AC game?
This is extremely important!
But I don't want a romance if the game decides it for me. And I don't like one night stands. Where's the fun in that?
I want to discover the most attractive and nice person in the game and find out if there's any chance to romance this person. Just like in real life. But the alpha and omega is that I have to be the one to gets interested. I'm not looking for prostitutes or one night stands like the smithy or Diona. It's NOT about sex but friendship and understanding, a feeling of confidentiality and mutual respect. Why should it be different from real life?
And another thing: The romance should be eternal during the game - if nothing bad happens to ruin it of course.
-Which character(s), if any, did you romance in Odyssey?
I romanced Daphnae. There wasn't any other really. She was the only real crush for me in the game. A real crush even. A strong and wild woman, tough and determined. "A beast to be slain" and conquered. A real prize. But as I said the choice between killing her or live without the Daughters of Artemis was a source to a huge frustration in this game. There should have been a third option in the middle.
Aikaterine was nice and sensual. I allowed my self the fling with her in every play through. There was something about her personality I liked - even though I knew her profession.
Xenia was also an attractive woman but I didn't romance her more than once.
Odessa was actually nicely build up. A good start on the acquaintance (random and sudden meeting). She had personality. Stubborn and eager, but strong and determined. I just lost interest because she was not available later on in the game except from the presence on the Adrestia. I flirted with Odessa on every play through. She was a character you respected.
Dioana was a disgusting creature, so I never did this more than once, just to see how it was made.
Auxesia was... I don't know... uninteresting. Not her physical appearance but the quest.
Roxana was the second best romance option in the game. Sensual and beautiful in her way. The romance scene was chosen well.
Alkibiades was fun.
Kyra was way to complicated to fight for with the presence of Thetalas. I would never go for a woman if I knew she was already in a relationship like that.
Well, there were pretty women everywhere. But the most interesting was not 'accessible'. Like Aspasia or Persephone.
-Were you satisfied with the way romance was handled in Odyssey? If yes, what pleased you especially? If not, what would you have changed?
No, I had to kill Daphnae. I was frustrated about how a cheap tragedy ruined my romance. It literally destroyed it all. There was no option for saving her in any way.
And the fact that romances was only flings made it all very uninteresting.
-Would you like to see romantic options to return in future games?
Yes, that's one of the main reason I play RPG video games. It the prize on top of them all.
-What are your thoughts on the LotF DLC downplaying player choice in favor of a pre-determined relationship?
Don't make me answer that...
-In your opinion, how does choice of romance fit into a series about a continued bloodline throughout history?
I think I've stated elsewhere that I think it's the WAY the target romance is presented which is important. The 'freedom of choice' in this matter has been discussed endlessly in other threads. The outcome was in general that is was the promise of freedom that collided with the pre-determined. Thus it ended up in Nataks being downgraded as a wimp or worse by many.
If you chose to make a pre-determined romance you have to ensure the target is a character everyone would be HONORED to romance. A character surrounded by respect. This is maybe the hardest task for the developers team at all.
Natakas shouldn't just have 'popped up' in a DLC. He should have been a character who stepped in and out of the story continuously, and by doing so his behavior and role should have been extremely supportive to create sympathy. The looks of a character is not the most important but the way they behave - the impression they leave behind (and build up along the way). We all know this from both books, movies and other games. Don't 'smash' a character into the game to continue the bloodline because the story needs it. This is such an important and vital part of the franchise and can not be done with your left hand.
If Brasidas was the one I'd approve I think. After all he was positive towards Kassandra. He asked her about her life, supported her against the Monger's men, told her he was on her side, and also had a larger role to play later on. I could FEEL Brasidas. I was positive about him. He was a nice bloke, polite, loyal, strong and determined. Loyalty is very important.
I can not speak for Alexios as I never played him.
As always, please feel free to add any thoughts you might have that are not covered by these example questions!
If you arrange the option of romances they have to be made well. Romances become uninteresting if they're only based on lower instincts.
Take an example like Liara T'Soni in Mass Effect. This romance was build up over several games. She was very special because she was a main character all the way through and you got to know her well. She was a real prize and it felt realistic somehow.
Romances has to be build up. These characters needs a lot of time end effort in to be a success. I know... but nothing in this life comes easy, does it?
I played The Witcher 3: Wild Heart. In this game I chose to follow up on Trish again because I am loyal to my romances - just as in real life. It was nice. On my third play through I chose to follow up on Jennifer instead just to see what it was like - and IT WAS BANG! All the fireworks filled the sky in that particular moment when she and Geralt sit on the ship's rain and talk about how they feel after the curse was lifted. CD Project Red hit the nail on the head with this. You felt the excitement because you had the power to chose yes or no. This meant you actually had to look into your own heart to see if you felt something for her. This was smashing well arranged. It was the best romance in this game. And somehow I think it almost beat the one with Liara T'Soni. Even in this moment when I think of this I feel something emerging from deep under. The silent period after the djinn disappeared was... well, LIFE IT SELF! This was soooooo beautiful and romantic!
In Fallout 4 I was surprised to experience that Cait's romance actually was the best. Bethesda did a good job in creating her background story. But sadly they didn't let us be closer than sleeping in a bed during a dark screen. Not that I would like sex scenes, but a little hug and so would have been nice.
Dragon Age: Inquisition didn't really provide any good romance options for me. The second best and only option was Josephine. But the romance wasn't really that well arranged.
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-What are your thoughts on being able to choose your romantic partner(s) in an AC game?
It is a very good idea. Freedom of choice means more gamers will enjoy the narrative. I can't find an argument against choices! It serves everyone and as Markos said, everybody benefits.
-Which character(s), if any, did you romance in Odyssey?
As Alexios, I romanced almost everyone I could, for fun. That includes both males and females.
-Were you satisfied with the way romance was handled in Odyssey? If yes, what pleased you especially? If not, what would you have changed?
I would prefer to see a deeper connection, which only occurred with Thaletas and Kyra in Mykonos. Romance should be more than just sex, which is what we saw in most "romantic" relationships.
One night stands do happen, of course, but relationships do too! I would like to see more choices regarding long-term romances with the same person that we choose, in heterosexual or in homosexual relationships.
-Would you like to see romantic options to return in future games?
Definitely yes. But in long term relationships too, on top of one night stands.
-What are your thoughts on the LotF DLC downplaying player choice in favor of a pre-determined relationship?
Pre-determined relationship makes sense if it is an integral part of the story. Without the relationship and marriage of Alexios/Kassandra, we would not see the descendants and finally Aya's ancestors. I have no problem with pre-determined relationships, as long as they are necessary for the storyline.
-In your opinion, how does choice of romance fit into a series about a continued bloodline throughout history?
So, the idea is that bloodline continues throughout history via marriage and heterosexual relationships. There is no other way. At least that was the case in the past. A franchise like Assassin's Creed is based upon history and a continued bloodline, of course. There is nothing wrong with that. The choice of romance should not be a problem as long as the player's character is either heterosexual or bisexual. Only in the case of strict homosexuality, it is impossible to continue the bloodline in the Assassin's Creed universe. There is no way to be strictly homosexual in the game and still manage to continue the bloodline, since marriage and procreation are part of the Odyssey. That necessity may be uncomfortable to some gamers but there is no other way. With that sole exception in mind, players can always choose their sexual partners in the rest of the game. Odyssey serves the LGBT community as well as the non-LGTB community in the best possible way.
-What are your thoughts on being able to choose your romantic partner(s) in an AC game?
For me it is a funny option but not more not even a reason why I would buy an AC Game or not.
-Which character(s), if any, did you romance in Odyssey?
Nearly everyone. I liked the funny dialogues and know that it have no consequences so I decide to made Kassandra very romantic. I would say I use the options for fun and not take it serious.
-Were you satisfied with the way romance was handled in Odyssey? If yes, what pleased you especially? If not, what would you have changed?
I think they where funny but very poorly implemented. The Problem of them is that the have no time to develop and be rememberable. If I think back to the Ezio and Cristina Questline, Arno and Elise or Bayek and Aya that where good romance, the lot romantic options of Kassandra where not. Quality before Quantity I would make more less love interests or only one and give them a linear Storyline. That would give the developer more chance to create characters with them we could feel.
-Would you like to see romantic options to return in future games?
No. For me the harm the Series and their storyline and instead of them the develop focus should go to the gameplay.
-What are your thoughts on the LotF DLC downplaying player choice in favor of a pre-determined relationship?
As I said before I liked the linear relationship in previous games but the relationship in LotF was so bad written. It feel like the developers just want to continue the bloodline and want to give us a reason why Odyssey ist connect with the other Assassins Creeds. I must say I was very happy as...
Spoiler: Show
That was the real problem of the DLC the writing not that we where forced in a relationship. I think because of that big debate people need to understand when you relive the past via the animus you can not change the life of an character, Kassandra was never meant to be to represent yourself she is like the other protagonists who already lived and we see her memories trough the animus. I am ok with that but please make the writing better. I like a memorable, emotional and linear one story much better than thousands of options if my character can be hetero, gay or whatever.
-In your opinion, how does choice of romance fit into a series about a continued bloodline throughout history?
Not good, Bloodlines where very important in the Series if you look back to Desmond or the Movie. For me the entire concept of relive your Past Bloodlines was very exiting and one point why I love the Assassins Creed Series. With romantic choices this will never work and broke the lore a lot. I know that at this moment it isn't necessary because Layla have an animus with that she only need some DNA and bloodlines are useless. But I hope the developers return to the Bloodline Stories about a person.
My Concerns
For the end I think the Series should work much more about the storytelling that could improve the romances a lot too. And for the Developers Ubisoft Quebec I watched a lot of the creation of AC Odyssey and some Devs explain the want to made this game with the Romantic Options for everyone. For me it feels more like it tried to be political correctly and had a lot of influences of Devs with a other sexuality. Even the Start Screen at the Beginning change because of that.
New
Old
Please remember the Series is about History and the Story between the Assassins and Templars not to be Political Correctly. People with different sexual orientations should accept by our society and politicians should employ and represent them not a Game.
-What are your thoughts on being able to choose your romantic partner(s) in an AC game?
It's an important feature in a long, slow-burning RPG-style game, including an AC game of that genre. It humanizes the characters on screen and provides comic relief / emotional value when otherwise the games are a lot about violence.
-Were you satisfied with the way romance was handled in Odyssey? If yes, what pleased you especially? If not, what would you have changed?
I prefer having the feature to not having it, but there's a lot to improve.
The "fling" vs. "romance" split in the game is pretty bad. There should be no such split IMHO. Only romances (even if that means there are fewer overall).
There shouldn't be these flings where you select a few dialogue options and get one unsatisfying cutscene - they are exactly that, unsatisfying, they feel like a waste of the mechanics and frankly trivializes the characters' feelings.
There were probably too many romance options overall considering we ended up with this fling system.
The romances that were in the game didn't have enough lasting impact. The game suffers from not having a home base where you can cultivate the romance and have it deliver more dialogue and cutscenes as the game goes on. (Compare to BioWare games)
The best success the game had with this is Roxana, as she joins you on the Adrestia and appears later in the game in a random side quest cutscene. That's a nice payoff but there should be way more of it.
-Would you like to see romantic options to return in future games?
Yes, but there should be more depth and thought put into it.
-What are your thoughts on the LotF DLC downplaying player choice in favor of a pre-determined relationship?
It is completely unacceptable and I'm still boycotting the DLC for that reason.
Narrative should never overrule the mechanical design of a game, and for 100+ hours I was playing a game with choice based romance mechanics for me to roleplay with.
To have that ripped away in a DLC for narrative reasons is bad design and unacceptable.
-In your opinion, how does choice of romance fit into a series about a continued bloodline throughout history?
The general concepts of the franchise are far fetched enough that there can easily be narrative workarounds to allow for choice based romance. Or alternatively, stuff can be left ambiguous, so that you can have your mechanics and not spoonfeed narrative in a way that dictates mechanics.