Avoiding bad love cliches like "I love you".

ginanubismon · Fri 10/02/2006 15:31:32

Currently there is a sub plot in my series of games where the two main characters (Isuka and Karasu) are attracted to each other but I do not want to use bad harliquin/fanfiction-esque romance of making them instantly fall in love and all is well and right in the world and this is where I need help in, avoiding making it cliche and bad. Well, I'll taking avoiding making it bad.

Here's some information if it helps:

Setting: A bit dark but in a more "noir" kind of way, if you want to know. Picture the elements of many dystopia Tokyo films mixed with real life Tokyo and now add creatures that people are unaware of then you have the setting.

The (main) characters:

Isuka: A slacker, speaks with a tone that nearly boarders on sarcasim(sp?), laid back a bit and never really wants to fit in, does his hardest to keep his solial standards low as possible from a subconcious cue that "he does not want to be bound to something". Speaks with a Kansai accent (does not accually appears in the game but just wanted to point it out.)

Karasu: Lazy, an outcast from being mix haritage (being African-Japanese), never quite serious, a bit energentic and tries to be "different", afraid to admite his crush on his friend for fear of what will happen.

General Notes: both characters are naturally social outcasts, one by choice other by fate. Isuka's parents are traditionalist (sp?) and barely tolirate his actions now but Karasu's are more open minded. And most importantly both characters are male.

The goal: to bring these two together, just without saying "I love you, blah, blah, blah and something with the moonlight" and I am trying to develop it slowly over the game.

If you have advice for keeping it a horrible mess that would be apprated.

Thank you for your time.

Mr.Crow · Fri 10/02/2006 15:36:35

This is going to sound weird, but use psychology.

Im sure youve walked down the street, and you can tell who loves who by the way they act around the person they love.

So try adding some minor animations such as one of the characters touching the shoulder of the other, and using subtle speech, which has double innuendos.

Also perhaps a quick 'daydream' for one of them or a thought text whilst s/he is talking.

Sam. · Fri 10/02/2006 18:13:12

"What big.....GLASSES you have my dear"

"I'd like to have.....SEX with you"

Tuomas · Fri 10/02/2006 20:19:47

geez, Zooty, I waited for so long before you agreed to tell us those. Now there'll be no problems to any of us.

How about, another cliche, they run into each other several times and start to dislike each other. Then by time they realize their hatered is love... There was a movie like this with George Cloney and Michelle Pfeiffer iirc.

Mordalles · Fri 10/02/2006 21:59:06

"i love you" is definitely not a cliche in my life. :'(

lo_res_man · Sat 11/02/2006 00:33:22

maybe have them argue over some trivial point. have an outside cgaractor, like one of the nicer monsters, ask if "are you attracted to this female?" make it slow lingering not to mushey but beutiful. have an old flame that you like but sees that you need to let go. think manny and eva and meche. ohh i dont know, as a first rate dweeb i've never had a girlfriend. however i have seen more than my fair share of romantic comidies.no soaps though, kill me if i ever do

Kinoko · Sat 11/02/2006 04:13:09

I think the first idea was spot on. You do't need to come up with some particular situation where the feelings all come to a head.

I'll let you know about this show I'm hooked to pieces on right now. It's called Touch and I'll murder people just to get home every day by 5:30 to watch it. The setting is a high school, and a couple of characters connected with the local baseball club. The story, however, is all centred on two characters. Childhood friends who both love each other, to be blunt.

I must have seen like 100 episodes so far and they haven't so much have had a proper kiss yet (there was one right at the start of the series but that was never followed through). They've never said, "I love you", but the tension is unbelievable. Every day I wath just hoping to see a scene where they touch each others' hands accidentally. It's that good.

They're gentle with each other, but still of course comfortable because they're good friends. For the most part, they don't talk about the mutual attraction but occasionally one will say something almostly bluntly subtle about it... it's a strange phrase to use, but that's the way it is. Something like, when there was another guy who liked said girl, she told original guy something to the effect of, "Please try hard. I want you to win", basically saying she wanted him to beat the other guy in the battle for her heart, but it was forgivable because they were both sporting rivals too.

In one scene, they were sitting in a room together and she leaped at him and threw her arms at him, a few seconds later, an earthquake started (the reason she did so, she was scared to death of them), but after it stopped, they both just stayed there. The phone rang eventually, but the tension was amazing.

The best thing recently was when they were alone together, and the girl burnt her hand. The guy rushed over to get a look at it, and then they just stood there for awhile with him holding her hand, both terribly aware of the situation they were in. He started to pull her towards him and... well, something interrupted.

My point is, you can use little tension builders like this, coupled with having the characters act in a way that shows that they both know very well the way each other feels, but are hesitant to openly say so or act accordingly. But it's obvious.

Kweepa · Sat 11/02/2006 05:04:01

Sounds like the Mulder-Scully relationship in the X-Files.

Kinoko · Sat 11/02/2006 07:10:54

Meh, those two were amateurs ^_^

edmundito · Sat 11/02/2006 07:54:21

I think they should get sick of each other after they start saying "I love you" to each other: "Gawd, woman, aren't you confident that I love you so now I have to say it? jeez."

But seriously, I think the best way to avoid cliches is to avoid talking about love. Just show the romantic attraction between the two by the way they act around each other and such and creating situations where they're close (like kinoko said), and don't talk about "Oh, from the moment i saw you I knew that I couldn't look at another man ever again!" and other things.

For the best example of how talking about love sucks, see Star Wars II (like the fifth movie that is actually the second movie? or is itthe other way around? right...)

Kinoko · Sat 11/02/2006 08:44:08

Very true. If I had been writing that scene, I would have given Vader the nail-biting, hot, steamy "romance" that would have been the driving force for all the evil he does later. (Wouldn't have cast a pussy to play him, either)

Azaron · Sat 11/02/2006 09:16:31

And on the other hand, amusingly enough, if you want to see good "love tension"

, watch The Empire Strikes Back. Excellent, excellent interaction there. For a Star Wars flick. It's more the arguing, head smacking kind of love though.

skyfire2 · Sun 12/02/2006 00:26:45

avoid lines like "your breaking my heart!" and "all that i want is your love",

fred · Sun 12/02/2006 08:39:34

Another cliche that keeps the tension up, is when there's never time for the characters to go mushy and kiss, whenever they try, they're interrupted - enemies arrive, something explodes, the walls cave in - these romance-breaking metaphors can actually be quite funny.

Ali · Sun 12/02/2006 16:52:43

The reason this is tricky is that lovers by and large do talk in cliches, but I think I might be able to help you avoid this problem:

Quote from: ginanubismon on Fri 10/02/2006 15:31:32
I do not want to use bad harliquin/fanfiction-esque romance of making them instantly fall in love and all is well and right in the world

It's thanks to folktales that we use marriage at the end of a narrative as an indication that order has returned to the world. If you feel the need to break away from the folk narrative model then try bringing your characters together without them successfully righting all wrongs. Though that could make your game's ending somewhat melancholy.

Tuomas · Sun 12/02/2006 17:56:52

I was made for loving you babe. Well, that's a lot to live for."You're my life".ugh. like the only thing you were supposed to do with your puny life was to please some guy... I never get those lyrics. Though it would be nice if someone's meaning of life was pleasing me... if that someone was a "she". Hehe, she'd do all I want and no-one would complain

\o/