Romance in Games: What It Is, How It Is, and How Developers Can Improve It

This project extends my first “Romance in Games” survey, seeking to be of assistance to developers who produce romance content in their games, resulting in richer gaming experiences for a wider audience. I have sought information about market readiness for LGBT romance content in games, how the audience defines “romance games,” what people’s definition of “satisfying game romance” is and how well developers are living up to that definition, as well as what developers can do to make game romance more satisfying for players. This survey consisted of four sections: basic demographics, general gaming preferences, the nature of romance in games, and satisfaction with romance in games. The preliminary findings are that straight audiences are ready for—and queer audiences crave—more LGBT romance content in single-player role-playing games (RPGs); that BioWare warrants and deserves a prominent position in any critical discussion of romance in single-player RPGs; and that there are tangible reasons why customers might not find game romances satisfying, although these problems are reparable. The end suggestion, recognizing that there is much more to be gleaned from this data set, is that wider research be conducted about these matters with proper funding and staffing by researchers.