Empire of Sin - Relationship System

@Gamasutra Brenda Romero talks about the relationship system in Empire of Sin.

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Units can become alcoholics, fall in love with someone else, go insane from continuous violence, and even get a sexually transmitted disease. Each effect has different impacts on characters, if a unit falls in love and unit they fall in love with dies, they may go on a senseless rampage. It could affect their accuracy, their health, and their obedience in combat sequences. All these things, which Romero says are both superpowers and super weaknesses, can vary dramatically from playthrough to playthrough.

"It works the same way it does in the real world. So prolonged exposure to something, right?" Romero said. "People talk about love at first sight but odds are it's not going to work out. Prolonged exposure to a thing can either provoke a trait or cause a trait."

Romero has every character and effect laid out in multiple spreadsheets, including one that lists every character and every trait they have and others that list every trait, the things that affect those traits, and the things that those traits effect. 

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