On Valentine's Day.

Like a lot of folks, I really don't enjoy Valentine's Day although the day itself is never to blame.  The first thing you can think of as to "why that is" is most likely spot on.  I've come to accept the fact that I may never find that particular someone and, more importantly, I realize that I'm not the type to be constantly looking to try to fill some gap.  I just didn't grow up that way.  With that said, Valentine's Days continues to sting; there's a nagging sense of loneliness and sometimes regret.  Much to my mother's chagrin, she has two very similar sons.

While I don't really know how my older brother copes with it.  In times like these, I always think about how odd romance within video games are as a distraction.  Dating Sims, multiple love interests in RPGs, being able to marry characters (Fable and now Skyrim, I've heard), etc.

Dating Sims, I really don't get.  From the ones that I've seen, they essentially play like simultaneous Tamagotchis.  I say "simultaneous" because most games feature multiple girls to courtship (or boys, depending on if the game is tailored for girls or if… you know… whatever…).  Try to interact with a few and then go for the one you like.  I heard that a lot have interesting stories, however, and some aren't even focused strictly on a romantic plot.

The first time I've seen the concept of multiple love interests within RPGs is with Final Fantasy 7 (or was it 8?  Blah!  I can't tell them apart).  Granted, as far as RPGs goes, I'm hardly the expert.  Here, there's a decent amount of NPCs to join your crew and a fairly good portion of them are female.  What I find interesting here is that most of them are infatuated and/or in love with the main character and the player has some freedom to be able to chose one.  Maybe it's the way most Anime and Manga are written, but that kind of scenario annoys me.  Does it ever affect the outcome of the game later on?  Hell, I wouldn't know.  I doubt it, but the choice (or the tease) is there.

It probably works the same way as Mass Effect and Dragon Age does.  Relationships with various characters will unlock side-quests and rewards.  In my Dragon Age: Origins game (which I have yet to finish, by the way), a lot of the choices that I would make throughout the game pleased Morrigan to the point where she started being flirty with me.

"Whoa, lady!  I like when you burn Alistair with your witty remarks, and you're a very useful ma-I mean, apostate but you kind of creep me out when you're flirty."

At least it wasn't that crazy I'm-following-you-because-I-had-a-vision Leliana.  If I remember correctly, Isabela outright suggests to sleep with her when I wanted to be a Duelist.  Damn!  Thanks but no thanks!  You've surely been around!

*Does a quick google search*  Holy crap!  There's a way for a foursome!  You guys are DOGS!

You know, I'm one to care a lot about the characters in my games even when they're not designed to be cared for.  However, the ONLY female character that I've been close to caring for in ANY game has been Tali from Mass Effect 2.  Not that I've played much of it, mind you.  I don't even know if there's a love interest involved with that character but if there was (and given the chance through natural course), I would probably go for it.  That's messed up because she's an alien (and you can't even see her face).  Does that say anything about me?  Maybe it's her soft voice, I don't know.  When she was charged of treason (which is pretty much as far as I got into the game.  Man, I need to play this some more), I genuinely wanted to help her out.

When Peter Molyneux introduced the concept of marriage in his Fable games, I understood where he was going with it but the way he explained it felt like he was going to make us care for something by simply adding a function within the game.  That's not how it works, man!  The dog!  Now, THAT was a good idea.  I don't know if it really worked because I never played any of his games post-Bullfrog.  Whenever someone mentions marriage within a video game, I just roll my eyes.  I mean, it's a cool thing to have; I'm not arguing that.  I just feel like people on the development team could've focused on other elements of a game if they had the time to spend on adding mechanics like these.  In the case of Skyrim, apparently, you can only wear one ring because of it.  Way to go  : \

Some people have wondered if my character in Skyrim will marry.  While I can't say for certain since I'm nowhere near that bridge yet, the chances of that happening are practically non-existant.  As a player, I wouldn't and, as my character, he wouldn't be the kind to settle down.  That could be a nice way to end the LP, though… you know, ten years from now or however how long it takes me to play through the game(s).

Now, why wouldn't I?  Well, simply put: as awesome as The Elder Scrolls games are, none of the characters are written with the depth needed for me to care; at least romantically.  Maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised, though.  Most of the time, though, they're written in such a way that is more akin to comic relief…  like Bosmers…

I feel like they're a joke.  It's kind of like saying "Michael Jackson".  "Bosmers!"  There's my punchline!

"Man, I don't like Valentine's Day… BOSMERS!"  Bah-dum-tssh!

Anyways, I've said plenty on the subject.  Happy Valentine's Day!