But in serious relationships, it’s not just about “you and me”, it’s about “you and my friends”, “you and my family”, “you and the family we are going to build” and “you and my career”, etc. Talking to some of my friends in college who are in budding relationships they gush all about how romantic, sweet and nice their partner is. But when asked, “Do you think they would make a good mother/father to your children?” It’s like they are shocked and put into a different world. Suddenly, they are put in a different mindset in how to judge a good companion.

A real relationship would be based more on just the simple interactions between the interested parties. It would be more holistic. It’s not just about how you talk to and treat your prospect, but other people. What matters is who you are as a whole person – who you are to everyone around you – not just the facade you put up to win the other person.

In terms of gameplay, there could be multiple solutions to certain obstacles or varying interactions to key characters in the game. Your choice of solution or interaction can determine how the other people, including a possible companion, view you. If you respond angrily or violently to solve a certain solution, that could change how you are viewed by other people in the game – resulting in a different relationship with some. It could be a viable solution to the “sandbox” game morality problem as well – it could make the players behave to get the best relationships.

By the way, you have a great blog and I love your demos!

This is an interesting point, and it helps explain why existing games fail to capture the dynamics of friendship. But I still want to try making a game to capture that experience, of companionship! You don’t necessarily have to give it explicit goals…

I wonder what sort of goals and reward structure you can give without taking away from that companionship experience. It may be seen as passive, in contrast with something highly abstract and goal-oriented, such as Tetris. But the sense of companionship gets its meaning from the interaction – without that, the whole thing becomes fiction.

Interesting post.