Relationships have undeniably become part of the focus in games over recent years. One could say they've actually been around for a while but now a lot of games are taking on these elements. The Sims has been doing it for over a decade.

Now cheating is a possibility more than it was in the past. I find it odd that it would be something to brag about at the watercooler at work, seems a tad juvenile, but all the same it should be an option within games and it is

Oddly enough, the only game that seems to have any long-term consequence for cheating is, at least within my experience, still The Sims. Bear in mind I've not really played any of The Sims since the original and the first couple of expansions, but all the same, the long-term reparations The Sims puts you through is fairly realistic.



In The Sims, repairing relationships takes time, rather than a couple events or a mission resolving things it tends to take longer. Of course, The Sims doesn't really have a plot and that's where its advantage lies..

ME2 tends to take the hot/cold approach. If you're found out to be a cheat, you're forced to choose, one relationship continues while the other ends. If only it were that easy.

The gameplay consequences of cheating in Mass Effect 2 or Persona 4 are just, by contrast, a slap on the wrist.

Now, let's just get this point out of the way - its not like we're really cheating, but the lack of realistic consequence bothers me. I can piss off a party member in Dragon Age: Origins to the point where they not only leave, but leave with armor I earned and gave to them.

That is a consequence and a fair one. It burns, doesn't it?

Why doesn't ME2 do it that way?

Well, plot has to rear its ugly head and get in the way of realism. While there's certainly something to be said for the intricate relationships between Shepard, the other characters and between the NPCs but a plot point remains the one factor that undermines what would otherwise happen in other Bioware games:

These people are set up for a suicide mission. They have to be there or they can't potentially die or survive that scenario.

They're "Loyal to the cause" and have a loyalty stat that affects things, too.

Miranda: Loyal to the cause because of stats and plot.

And Persona 4, while a bit more straightforward, has the same issue.

Let's profile Chie Satonaka from Persona 4 for a moment, I think this makes for an important example about how plot undermines choices made with relationships. And Persona 4 does emphasize choice and the importance of relationships. It also emphasizes character psychology greatly. Every relationship you build save for three is done so on your own volition.

Now, on to Chie.



Chie is the "ugly girl" or the "prince" in a friendship with the prettier, more desirable Yukiko Amagi. Even though she's a genuine friend to "Princess" Yukiko, she's also very protective of her. Some would say "manipulative," but I think Chie's intentions are good and she's a loyal friend, its just she's overprotective to the point of seeming possessive.

Yukiko is everything Chie is not - gorgeous and refined, at least on the surface. Chie is cute, but outspoken, athletic, sweaty and tomboyish. When she's alone, Chie will compare herself to Yukiko and feels she doesn't rate as a woman. Only when Yukiko's around does Chie seem stronger, because its Yukiko's trust and friendship that put her at ease.

So long as Chie has someone to protect, she's golden. It doesn't have to just be Yukiko and Chie comes to realize that, but initially when you meet her and Yukiko goes missing, its like hanging kryptonite around Supergirl's neck. Chie becomes weak, helpless and panics when she doesn't have Yukiko in her sphere of influence..

If Chie gets the guy during the course of the game, though, that's a major emotional victory, isn't it? She's loved for who she is and concerns about having to be like Yukiko melt away. Chie gets another source of trust and becomes comfortable about who she is. She can carry on protecting those important to her and even begins protecting those who can't protect themselves.

So, shouldn't that emotional victory be destroyed the second I move on to Yukiko?



We are talking about realizing Chie's every fear about herself and other people. Before the relationship became intimate, she saw Yukiko as an upgrade.

And now I've upgraded. I've used Chie as a stepping stone for the prettier girl, the one she'd believe I'd rather be with in a relationship with. And this is nothing to say about Yukiko finding out about the main character and Chie. The effects should be a bit more damning here.

And let me tell ya, I've been there. I had a girlfriend that used me that way. I had a bit of rage, a little anguish and a heaping helping of wanting to HULK SMASH. You opened up, let them in and they weren't loyal. I hated her for it and she had the audacity to say "I hope we can still be friends."

I wouldn't buy that line, why would Chie?



But from start to finish, Chie is driven to be there by plot. She's loyal to the cause even if I don't pursue a relationship with her. Chie, by rights, should be able to leave anytime she wanted to if I entered a relationship with her and then hurt her, but there are scenes she needs to be in so she's there to the end.

It seems really tragic, too, because the characters of Persona 4 are actually portrayed like genuine people with real problems. The way the characters even speak to the protagonist is as if you're actually there, from cutscenes to combat, which helps you feel even more connected to them and the issues they face.

Things like feeling like you're second place, being the outcast, feeling the pressure of family obligations, finding your sexual identity - its real, palpable stuff that people deal with. The only outlandish part is the how they have their adventures, but everything else about them feels real compared to the usual JRPG fantasy fare.

So its sad that Persona 4's characters get stuck with the burden of plot just like Mass Effect's characters do. I understand its for the sake of story and the stories are good, great even, but there's no penalty for doing the wrong thing. I max a character's loyalty in either game and they're bound to be loyal because of a statistic.

Oh sure, there were scenes where I could get caught in Persona 4 as well, but if loyalty was maxed, all I had to do was tell them it was a misunderstanding. Sure, RPGs have stats and things, but when you go so far to probe a character's heart and then bind them to plot and statistics, it kind of spoils the illusion of how real a character like Chie can be

And let's not forget the flipside of cheaters here in the upcoming Persona 3 Portable and the other side of Mass Effect 2 there's the opportunity to be the female protagonist. Its great for women because they don't have to be stuck with the guy, but I've noticed some interesting commentary regarding men that pick up the female Shepard or have imported P3P.

Play the male and they're passing out high-fives at the watercooler over "double-dipping," but put a female in their hands and its a different story. Their girl is a one-man woman.


She might also be a pedo.

What's up with that, guys? Why the sudden change of heart?

Actually, I think I might know.

When I've played MMOs, I've usually had a male and a female character. I need something easier on the eyes every now in then and so I make a female.. And for whatever reason, I seem to treat my female characters a lot better and actually give them priority on things over my male character. Does this come from a man's desire to put a woman on a pedestal, even if its not a real woman? Am I treating the female character akin to how I'd want to treat a female friend, a girlfriend or a daughter?

I think this might actually be the case. A character is sort of like a child you create and nurture through those games. Sometimes I feel like I should have a portrait of my characters on my dresser, that's just how deeply you can connect to a character you create, especially when you have a say about who they are.

So I think that may be the case with other guys playing the female character. It seems like a double standard at first, but perhaps in the minds of some people what they're really setting out to do is match up the female with the male character that is most like them and they want to treat her nice.

At least I hope that's the reason.

But perhaps all this speculation and reaction is actually the point. While plot can undermine choice and consequence in these games, people are also presented with opportunities they don't normally have. Perhaps developers make the choices they do just to see where we go with this stuff so they know what to try next time around that they didn't do this time.

Its an interesting experiment, to say the least, but I hope to see consequence become a greater factor as story becomes more and more intertwined with gameplay.

Maybe next time Shepard will have to worry about intergalactic STDs.