EMMA AS A LOVE INTEREST
When creating the four love interests, my goal was to have distinct relationship dynamics, ensuring each one offered a different emotional experience. Emma’s relationship with the MC follows a combination of the 'Forbidden Love' and 'Opposites Attract' tropes. The contrast between them is stark. He is nearly twice her age and size, with a lifetime of hard-earned experience, much of it traumatic, whereas Emma clings to the innocence of her sheltered upbringing.
With Emma in particular, I liked the idea of trying to subvert expectations. Given the setup, one might expect the MC to take advantage of her naivety, abusing his power to corrupt or seduce her. Instead, I chose to turn that dynamic on its head. The MC shows no romantic interest in her, and Emma is the one who eventually tries to "seduce" him in her own innocent way.
At the same time, I wanted players to feel uneasy about a romance with Emma because, by most societal norms, it is deeply inappropriate. Beyond their clear differences in age and life experience, there is also an ethical boundary. The MC was hired by Charlotte to protect Emma, so any romantic involvement with her would be a profound betrayal of trust. Additionally, Emma is far too innocent and inexperienced to fully grasp the depth of the MC’s past traumas or the burdens he continues to carry.
This imbalance is what makes their relationship so compelling to me. Can they overcome the vast divide between them, or is their love doomed from the start?
To make this dynamic work, I felt it was necessary to exaggerate Emma’s immaturity. First, it helps endear her to the player, making her seem vulnerable and in need of protection, which deepens immersion in the story.
(As an aside, this instinct to protect Emma may also offer insight into Charlotte’s greatest flaw, which is her overprotectiveness toward Emma.)
Additionally, I wanted to elicit a paternal instinct in the player, a familial love that could later evolve into something more romantic and complex. Emma and the MC’s relationship is deliberately framed with father-daughter overtones, building the foundation for the moral struggle to come while also adding emotional depth to the main Charlotte path. Since the MC is a man of strong principles and conscience, he would naturally wrestle with the idea of seeing Emma as a romantic partner. If players choose to pursue Emma, I want them to feel that inner conflict as well.
Up until this point in the story (V0.15.1), Emma has not been positioned as a love interest. She is only just beginning to recognize her changing feelings for the MC, which leave her confused and even slightly horrified. Having just graduated from college, she has chosen to work for Valentini, and we will soon see her celebrate her nineteenth birthday. She is maturing, and this process will continue before any sexual contact occurs.
