We’ve got a guiding principle when it comes to sexuality and Arcade Spirits: actions, not words. We don’t want to assume motive for anything, we want the player to simply DO what they want in regards to romance, dating, and relationships.
Female character dating Naomi? Sure! We aren’t assuming you’re pansexual or bisexual or lesbian, just that you want to date Naomi. And in the spirit of freedom, we aren’t locking any romances; you can date Naomi regardless of your preferred pronoun. She’ll be into you, because you spent time with her, supported her dreams, and she grew fond of you over time. Period. That heart-to-heart connection matters more than anything else in the world of Arcade Spirits. (We’ll have more on this in next week’s blog post.)
…so what about asexuality? If we’re going to support any orientation by virtue of assuming nothing and allowing players to take the actions they prefer, what about players who want to take the action of inaction?
At first I was figuring “Uh, it’s a romance game, why play aromantic?” then I figured “How hard could it be, given we already have a ‘no romance’ option in chapter 05?” then I realized “Hang on, there are many flavors of ace, from romantic to aromantic and more…” and things started getting complex…
Then I came back around to our guiding principle: Assume nothing. Actions speak louder than words.
So, if you want to play an asexual character, you can. Sex is entirely implied in this game, anyway; it’s not M-rated. Maybe you have a cuddly romance which doesn’t result in sex. Or maybe you’re aromantic and just want to spend a fun evening with your friend Juniper watching movies! We support that, too. All without explicitly stating your motives… you simply do what you feel you want to do with your life, and the game rolls with it.
In fact, we’ve coded this right to the metal, as it were. In chapter 01, Iris asks you if you want to start looking for romance right away. Before, we had two options: Yes! (unlocking day one flirting and romance), Maybe (no day one flirting but romance is available). And now we’ve added a No (no flirting or romance) for people who just don’t want that. Aromantic asexual, aromantic in general, or just a career-driven person who wants a tale of friendship through hardship… regardless, your actions dictate your path. We assume nothing.
And if you’re a $5+ Patreon backer who’s played through the story so far and you don’t see yourself represented… let us know! We’re always looking for ways to expand player expression. If anything doesn’t ring true, let us know. The caveat, of course, being some things are too hard to code… but some things are surprisingly easy to code. And we want to do our best for you, regardless of your sexuality. Inclusion is a virtue.
See you in the game! Hope we can provide a path you’ll enjoy.
So, ah, asexual grey-aro here who just played through the demo and encountered this blog post and wanted to say that I really really appreciate everything you’re doing here!! I’m so used to everyone just totally ignoring aspecs in their fiction, or assuming that romance will be irrelevant to us, so seeing how concerned you are with us being included really means a lot to me! :) Especially the option to be aro – honestly I like to go for romance in games (one of those things I like a lot more in fiction than real life, heh) but ahh it really is nice to see it acknowledged that you can develop a really close relationship with someone without it having to be romantic! And having it treated as just as legitimate as a romance would! So, thanks a lot! :)
And, I’m really looking forward to the game coming out, of course! :P So far Ashley and Percy are my favourites – can’t wait to find out more about them! :D