Avowed game director says romance is more romantic when it isn’t a system

Carrie Patel, the game director of Avowed, recently spoke to Eurogamer about the absence of romance in the game. She highlighted that romance does exist in the game if players pay attention, emphasizing that relationships should not be treated as a game mechanic like min-maxing a character. Instead, she suggested that relationships should feel natural and not be reduced to a system.

She explained, “The more you introduce romance as a mechanic, and the more that you build systems around it, and metrics, and ways for players to bolster and measure their affinity and affection level with other characters, the more it becomes something people engage with as a system rather than as a relationship.” Avowed does offer the possibility of a soulmate, but it is not presented as a structured system; rather, it depends on the player’s interactions and decisions.

Patel further elaborated, “There’s nothing that says ‘hey this is a thing that can happen’ – there’s no system that’s going to track your status with them. But if you’re doing the kinds of things that you would do if you were interested in this character, you’ll probably come across the option by the end of the game. And it should feel natural, organic, and surprising.”

While playing Avowed, I have yet to discover this aspect, but players can explore it on their own. Personally, I tend to avoid romantic relationships in RPGs due to various reasons. If you’re intrigued by romance in games, you may also want to check out David Gaider’s insights on writing romanceable characters in RPGs, including his thoughts on a cancelled Planescape sequel project.