Proper Love Interest Balance in a Dating Game?

[AmericaTheBeautiful]

The game I'm working on is not primarily a dating sim. There will be definite dating sim mechanics but it's more of a way to deliver a plot through different viewpoints. Without bogging you down with an entire plot basically you are in an Elven village, you are driven from the village and forced to live in Country A which is a war with Country B and you are in the slums. Your 'Baelin' (a term used for two non-blood related people bonded together in a sacred Elven ritual) is basically a dark prophet and from there you can accompany him and pick up a BF/GF/comrade along the way. The LI you choose effects what plot points and perspective you see.

So far I've confirmed that the Dark Prophet character will be romanceable (male), the City Guard Captain (male), someone of a lawless faction (female, exact position not determined yet), a Elven prostitute (nonbinary, female presenting), and a foreign ambassador (sex not decided, but I wanted to slip in some POV of Country B).

The player character will be nonbinary/ambiguous/no one ever says it. Of the LIs above the only one I refuse to cut out is the Dark Prophet character. I feel like the lawless faction and prostitute one may be combined.

I have no deadline. I am working alone on this project so I am prepared to be as diligent as I need to really develop these viewpoints and stories. My issue is two things:

1. How many romances is too many? How many bog it down? I wanted to make the Dark Prophet one you have to unlock but if I slip in a few more viewpoints/LIs will it seem confused and muddled to have like 6 people looking ypu in the eye like 'senpai pls choose this kohai this time'.

2. In plots that are more story heavy, would you rather there be less LIs and more story per LI? Or do you like having different perspectives. Would you feel cheated if you played one route and then another route seemed to contradict some of the first route (not lore wise, but just B has a different bias than A)?

[Mad Harlequin]

1. How many romances is too many? How many bog it down? I wanted to make the Dark Prophet one you have to unlock but if I slip in a few more viewpoints/LIs will it seem confused and muddled to have like 6 people looking you in the eye like 'senpai pls choose this kohai this time'.

I'm not an expert or anything (I only speak because I've played/read my share of romance VNs), but I think five or six is a good maximum for VNs with decent characterization. But make no mistake: it still takes some effort and skill to write that many characters and not have some of them come across as cardboard standees.

2. In plots that are more story heavy, would you rather there be less LIs and more story per LI? Or do you like having different perspectives. Would you feel cheated if you played one route and then another route seemed to contradict some of the first route (not lore wise, but just B has a different bias than A)?

I think fewer love interests would probably make your job easier if the plot is complex enough, especially since you're on your own. That said, I enjoy different perspectives, but strong writing is a must for me. I would much rather have a few well developed perspectives than a slew of half-baked ones.

[SinSisters]

1. How many romances is too many? How many bog it down? I wanted to make the Dark Prophet one you have to unlock but if I slip in a few more viewpoints/LIs will it seem confused and muddled to have like 6 people looking you in the eye like 'senpai pls choose this kohai this time'.

I'm not an expert or anything (I only speak because I've played/read my share of romance VNs), but I think five or six is a good maximum for VNs with decent characterization. But make no mistake: it still takes some effort and skill to write that many characters and not have some of them come across as cardboard standees.

2. In plots that are more story heavy, would you rather there be less LIs and more story per LI? Or do you like having different perspectives. Would you feel cheated if you played one route and then another route seemed to contradict some of the first route (not lore wise, but just B has a different bias than A)?

I think fewer love interests would probably make your job easier if the plot is complex enough, especially since you're on your own. That said, I enjoy different perspectives, but strong writing is a must for me. I would much rather have a few well developed perspectives than a slew of half-baked ones.

I agree that 5 or 6 is plenty... I'm often disappointed when I only have 2 or even 3 choices (hah, my golden choice is 4), but I was playing a mobile VN and I got 6/7 male options thrown at me, bam bam bam, I didn't know who was who or whose name or personality went with which sprite and they all looked similar and I don't even know how many there were.
If you have very diverse, unique characters that you introduce at different points (just like with any character), then you're fine. From your description, the fact that you have 2 males, 1 f, 1 non binary and 1 other is enough differentiation (my personal opinion).
The only trouble with having so many characters to choose from is that you need to sketch each of them out in the player's eyes before they decide who to go with, and without adding loads of time.
I would say that having 5 options is not a deterrent at all, it's simply just more challenging for you. If you can handle it, then go for it.

I agree that this all depends on what you can handle. The only thing I have to say is that if your love interest affects the plot points and perspective, rather than events...? I'm not sure if this is what you mean, but personally I would rather play three paths that are completely unique rather than six that contain much of the same dialogue, events, etc.

-Nat

[breadslam]

Four romantic interests is a healthy amount, I think. That's not to say that you shouldn't do more or less, but it might be more appealing to both the player (in that they can choose from a variety of characters) and to you as well (in that you can easily set up dichotomies between the pairs and write their dialogue easier that way).

In my opinion, I'd rather have three very story/lore/character relevant romantic interests than six that are rather shallow when it comes to the overall narrative. To address the final part of your second question, I personally don't mind -- and even prefer -- that some character routes express differing or contradictory opinions to another. It entices me as a player, and it helps me see other sides to issues I might have just not thought about.

[gekiganwing]

1. How many romances is too many? How many bog it down?

In some stories, one is enough. Especially if the conflict involves maintaining the relationship or dealing with other problems. One visual novel with a plot about just one relationship is A Midsummer Day's Resonance. I read it years ago, and not only did I enjoy it, but it helped reshape my idea of what a VN could be.

In some stories, two is enough. A love triangle is an easy way to create conflict. It seems plausible and down to earth. Kana Little Sister (warning: NSFW) is not the best example of a love triangle, but the main character has only two possible relationships with girls.

I had some good things to say about Casual Romance Club (warning: NSFW). It was slice of life with relatively ordinary characters. However, I sometimes had trouble remembering the differences between the twelve heroines. Only a few of them made much of an impression on me.

2. In plots that are more story heavy, would you rather there be less LIs and more story per LI? Or do you like having different perspectives. Would you feel cheated if you played one route and then another route seemed to contradict some of the first route (not lore wise, but just B has a different bias than A)?

As far as a story goes, a writer's main goal should be to avoid the reader saying the eight deadly words "I don't care what happens to these people." Strive to make sure your audience is invested in your characters, world, and plot.

I wasn't entirely sure what you were asking. Perhaps because I don't think I've ever played a video game with lore... I'd say focus on making sure it's clear as to why things turn out differently in routes. How did the main character's actions change the course of the story? One of my few complaints with Hakouki was having trouble understanding how the main character's actions lead to events that she did not have much control over.

[Flowers from Nowhere]

Assuming that this is your first VN I would recommend fewer romantic interests, somewhere in the 1 - 3 range. Like so many projects, visual novels look deceptively simple when you first come up with the concept and then balloon out exponentially when you start writing them. Controlling the number of characters is a good way to prevent your project from growing so large that you either give up on it or can't give all of your characters the time they deserve.