Companion approval
Party members track how much they approve of the player's choices, and approval shifts unlock personal quests, banter, romance, combat perks, or — at the extremes — loyalty or departure. Approval systems make companions feel like people with values rather than stat-sticks: the player weighs their own goals against keeping allies happy, and that tension is the emotional core of party-based RPGs (Dragon Age, Baldur's Gate 3). Designers use approval to reward roleplay consistency, to deepen writing (companions must react), and to make choices resonate through relationships. Key decisions: visibility (numeric meters invite min-maxing; hidden approval keeps it organic), gift mechanics versus choice-driven approval, whether disapproval has teeth (can companions leave or betray you?), and reactivity depth. Pitfall: approval reduced to a gift-vending checklist — players court companions they dislike for the perk, which cheapens the whole system. Choice-driven approval that ties to the story avoids this. The same meter generalizes beyond companions to any NPC or faction reacting with approval or disapproval to player choices, surfacing judgment moment-to-moment rather than only at story branches.
- Dev effort: Large
- Timing: Real-time or turn-based
- Common in: rpg