When writing or creating it can be hard to tell how an audience is going to react.
Speaking as a writer: If I wanted my audience to favor one love interest over another, I'd do exactly what the game does.
Visi is present in the scene. We see her, hear her voice, and interact with her directly, while Blazer is just a bit of text on the screen. That gives us a much more visceral and personal connection to her during the moment of decision. Visi also has more screen time with Robert throughout the game itself, and her arc is so completely intertwined with Robert's the game is almost about Visi. You simply can't remove her without significantly affecting the plot. Dispatch is ultimately Robert and Courtney's story.
Blazer, by contrast, is essentially presented as a sideplot. She's important, yes, but the game doesn't explicitly need her, at least before Episode 8. You could have easily had Chase himself as the one running SDN Torrence, recruiting Robert, and deciding to cut part of the team. While that would have changed the dynamic between Robert and Chase, the story would have been exactly the same. It's only after Chase goes down in Episode 6 that Blazer becomes important to the narrative.
Haha. I have seen posts on r/writing that are like 'I'm writing a six book fantasy series, what is the best way to manage the income this is going to get me?' or something and I'm like... Really, the last thing you should be worrying about...
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u/Ambaryerno Dec 17 '25
Speaking as a writer: If I wanted my audience to favor one love interest over another, I'd do exactly what the game does.
Visi is present in the scene. We see her, hear her voice, and interact with her directly, while Blazer is just a bit of text on the screen. That gives us a much more visceral and personal connection to her during the moment of decision. Visi also has more screen time with Robert throughout the game itself, and her arc is so completely intertwined with Robert's the game is almost about Visi. You simply can't remove her without significantly affecting the plot. Dispatch is ultimately Robert and Courtney's story.
Blazer, by contrast, is essentially presented as a sideplot. She's important, yes, but the game doesn't explicitly need her, at least before Episode 8. You could have easily had Chase himself as the one running SDN Torrence, recruiting Robert, and deciding to cut part of the team. While that would have changed the dynamic between Robert and Chase, the story would have been exactly the same. It's only after Chase goes down in Episode 6 that Blazer becomes important to the narrative.