Further, it’s possible that Fallout 4’s polyamory was a natural outgrowth of the diffuse nature of the game’s companions. They are not at the caliber of Bioware’s romantic fare, which is more elegantly written and more deeply woven into the story (imagine the main plots of their signature games without Alistair, Merrill, or Liara). This is in keeping with the fact that its romance system is very pared down compared to most RPGs. But all that takes work and communication it can also mean being in the middle of disputes between partners, as well as managing a tricky balance of time and space (especially when both of your girlfriends are long distance relationships, as mine are).įallout 4’s polyamory betrays none of this whatsoever. There’s an exquisite joy in watching my partner flirt with someone else, or sharing stories with her about our respective sex lives in addition to finding many safe harbors for our love, we share in one another’s joy. You get to share love with many more people, openly, without fear of violating a confidence. Communication, the desiderata of any relationship, becomes an absolute lifeline here clarity, openness, and a willingness to be constantly vulnerable are all necessary to be happily polyamorous, contrary to those who think it's inherently easier than monogamous relationships due to the supposed lack of jealousy (that doesn't quite go away either).
Whole websites and books exist to teach people how to conduct themselves in relationships with multiple partners. When I told my partner and her other girlfriend about this, I described the situation as one where there was “no drama” for carrying on multiple relationships, to which one quipped, “Oh, so it’s definitely a fantasy then.” What her wry joke was hinting at, of course, is that in the real world polyamory is rarely free of theatrics and emotional anguish. But this is also a very preliminary first step, and if developers want to really explore polyamory, there are plenty of interesting routes they can take that will generate realistic conflict and even interesting new game mechanics. Just as we are finally moving away from portraying heterosexual relationships as the default norm in story-based games, so too can we move away from the staid portrayal of monogamy as the only option. Make no mistake: this is a watershed moment in mainstream gaming, and it is very much worth celebrating.
No fuss is made about this neither preachy treacle nor artificial conflict impede the simple presentation of a world where your character can be unproblematically poly. "Make no mistake: this is a watershed moment in mainstream gaming, and it is very much worth celebrating."
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