Joshua Eric "Josh" Sawyer, best known for his work on RPG gems like Fallout: New Vegas and Pillars of Eternity, explains why Obsidian Entertainment doesn't always favour including romance in its games.
Put simply, as Sawyer says in a new interview with SIFTER on YouTube (below), "the time involved" is a major factor. "It's a lot of work," admits the legendary developer. "Even asking the studios where that is sort of their focus – I think they would say it's an enormous amount of work on top of all the other stuff that the companions do."
I can certainly see how that'd be the case, as a player myself, especially when looking at big RPGs like Baldur's Gate 3. Sure, there's a lot of good dialogue and romance options with the Baldur's Gate 3 companions and all, but how much work did that take? A lot, I'm guessing.
Sawyer continues, describing how, with Obsidian in particular, "sometimes we budget out how much time it's going to take, and we don't think we can do a good job at it… Also, depending on the tone and the style of game, sometimes I personally will feel like I don't think we can make good romances."
