Gaider says he didn’t consider himself particularly romantic and initially tried to avoid writing companion romances. Still, he ended up responsible for Anomen’s romance and began work on other companion love stories — some of which were later removed after complications with Jaheira’s storyline.
From a design standpoint, romanceable companions introduced tough challenges. Managing triggers and critical turning points between personal quests and romance arcs proved tricky. So much so that, according to Baldur’s Gate III writer Lukas Kristjanson — who contributed to Jaheira’s quest — James eventually put a sign on his door that read, “If it’s about Jaheira, don’t knock.”
Earlier this year I asked Gaider about how romance has evolved in RPGs, and he had sharp observations about the rise of broadly “player-sexual” casts — characters who are written to be available to any player regardless of choices.
Games like Baldur’s Gate III illustrate the trend: I personally found myself romancing multiple characters simply by choosing kinder or neutral options rather than antagonizing them. Gaider recognises why players enjoy that freedom, but he also values characters who may not return the player’s interest.
Gaider argues that when every companion is written to be attracted to the player, it reduces character agency. While many players legitimately prefer player-sexual options, he believes that always making romance available constrains the kinds of stories you can tell — characters must be written so romance is plausible, which narrows narrative variety.
He adds that he prefers giving characters independent motivations and the possibility of romance as one of many outcomes, rather than guaranteeing romantic availability.
Source: gamesradar.com
