Godot Genre Romance

Godot 4.7 Baseline

• Expert patterns in this skill target Godot 4.7+ (stable, 2026-06-18).
• Consult the Godot 4.7 migration guide when upgrading projects from 4.6.
• NEVER assume 4.6 defaults (stretch mode, audio area_mask, RichTextLabel percent flags) without checking 4.7 migration notes.

Genre: Romance & Dating Sim

Romance games are built on the "Affection Economy"—the management of player time and resources to influence NPC attraction, trust, and intimacy.

Core Loop

• Meet: Encounter potential love interests and establish baseline rapport.
• Date: Engage in structured events to learn preferences and test compatibility.
• Deepen: Invest resources (time, gifts, choices) to increase affection/stats.
• Branch: Story diverges into character-specific "Routes" based on major milestones.
• Resolve: Reach a specialized ending (Good/Normal/Bad) based on relationship quality.

NEVER Do (Expert Anti-Patterns)

Romance & NPC Logic

• NEVER create "Vending Machine" romance; strictly incorporate variables like NPC Mood, Timing, and Multi-Stat Thresholds to ensure characters feel autonomous.
• NEVER use binary Affection (Love/Hate); strictly use a Multi-Axial Model (Attraction, Trust, Comfort) for believable psychological depth.
• NEVER focus on 100% opaque stats; strictly provide Visible Indicators (heart UI, blushing text, pulsing hearts) to help players make informed choices.
• NEVER use the "Same Date Order" trap; strictly implement a Repetition Penalty (~30%) for visiting the same location twice in a row.
• NEVER forget "Missable" Milestones; strictly ensure meaningful consequences (e.g., missing events due to poor scheduling) to add weight to the experience.
• NEVER ignore NPC Autonomy; strictly allow NPCs to have their own Schedules and the ability to Reject the player based on low trust or conflicting events.
• NEVER use polling (_process) for NPC schedule checks; strictly use a Signal-Driven TimeManager (Autoload) to broadcast hour/day changes for performant state updates.
• NEVER hardcode character references for jealousy logic; strictly use Groups (add_to_group) to broadcast romantic events across the scene for decoupled, autonomous NPC reactions.

Technical & UI

• NEVER use _process for typewriter text; strictly use Tweens on visible_ratio for frame-independent, smooth reveals.
• NEVER parse massive narrative files on the main thread; strictly use ResourceLoader.load_threaded_request() to prevent transition stutters.
• NEVER use exact float math for affection checks; strictly use is_equal_approx() to avoid jitter-based logic failures.
• NEVER structure complex dialogue purely in code; strictly design dialogue trees as Custom Resource classes to decouple narrative data from logic.
• NEVER rely on the global OS clock for timed choices; strictly use SceneTreeTimer which respects Engine.time_scale and pause states.
• NEVER leave invisible controls with MOUSE_FILTER_STOP; strictly set to IGNORE or PASS on non-opaque layers to avoid blocking dialogue progression.
• NEVER hardcode dialogue strings; strictly map text to Localization Keys and retrieve via tr() for internationalization.
• NEVER use absolute pixel positioning for interfaces; strictly rely on Anchoring & Containers for responsive scaling across devices.

🛠 Expert Components (scripts/)

> MANDATORY reads before implementing the matching system:

> 1. affection_manager.gd — multi-axial Attraction/Trust/Comfort

> 2. date_event_system.gd — dates + repetition penalty

> 3. route_manager.gd — route lock / CG flags

Original Expert Patterns

• affection_manager.gd - Multi-axis Attraction/Trust/Comfort tracking and gift logic.
• date_event_system.gd - Variety-aware dating with repetition penalties.
• route_manager.gd - Flag-based route branching and CG gallery persistence.

Modular Components

• romance_mood_manager.gd - Mood modifiers that gate dialogue options.
• dialogue_expression_parser.gd - Expression / emotion tags for portrait swaps.
• global_affection_tracker.gd - Cross-scene Autoload snapshot of all axes.
• romance_patterns.gd - Typewriter tweens and heart-burst juice helpers.
• ui_feedback.gd - Heart-burst Tween juice at affection milestones.
• npc_schedule.gd - NPCSchedule Resource + hour_changed routing.
• seasonal_dialogue.gd - Season/festival dialogue key overrides.
• player_romance_manager.gd - call_group jealousy broadcast on date start.

Core Loop

• Meet → 2. Schedule / talk → 3. Date / gift → 4. Milestone → 5. Route lock or continue parallel

Decision Trees

Affection & dialogue

| Need | Action |

|------|--------|

| Multi-axis stats | MANDATORY affection_manager.gd |

| Global HUD / jealousy groups | global_affection_tracker.gd + call_group |

| Mood-gated lines | romance_mood_manager.gd |

| Portrait tags | dialogue_expression_parser.gd |

Routes vs parallel dating

| Situation | Choice |

|-----------|--------|

| Early game exploration | Keep routes unlocked; raise Attraction freely; Trust gates deeper personal scenes |

| Mid-game exclusive confession | Lock route via route_manager.gd when Trust ≥ threshold and player accepts — freeze rival romance flags |

| Parallel dating fantasy | Allow multiple Attraction tracks, but jealousy groups cut Trust on discovered overlaps |

| Confession readiness | Attraction opens the prompt; Trust decides success vs soft rejection; Comfort reduces timed-choice panic fail |

Do not re-inline affection/date/route class stubs — load the scripts above.

Skill Chain

| Phase | Skills | Purpose |

|-------|--------|---------|

| 1. Stats | dictionaries, resources | Multi-axis affection |

| 2. Timeline | autoload-architecture, signals | Schedules / days |

| 3. Narrative | godot-dialogue-system, visual-novel | Branching choices |

| 4. Persist | godot-save-load-systems | Routes, CGs, flags |

| 5. Juice | ui-theming, godot-tweening | Hearts / blush |

Common Pitfalls

| Pitfall | Solution |

|---------|----------|

| Vending-machine romance | Multi-axis + repetition penalty on dates |

| Opaque stats | Surface Attraction/Trust/Comfort deltas in UI |

| Garbled script index | Use filenames above (no broken path fragments) |

> MANDATORY for depth beyond decision trees and script catalog: romance-systems-deep.md. Do NOT Load on first-pass wiring — use bundled scripts/ first.

Architecture Overview

1. Affection Manager (The Heart)

Handles complex relationship stats and gift preferences for all characters.

## Godot-Specific Tips

*   **Resources for Characters**: Use `CharacterProfile` resources to store base stats, sprites, and gift preferences.
*   **RichTextLabel Animations**: Use custom BBCode for "blushing" text (pulsing pink) or "nervous" text (shaking).
*   **Dialogic Integration**: While this skill focuses on the *systems*, pairing it with Godot's **Dialogic** plugin is highly recommended for handling the actual dialogue boxes.

## Reference

> Progressive disclosure: open Official Documentation links only when researching a specific API;
> load Related Skills when routing work to a peer domain — do not preload the whole lattice.

### Official Documentation
- [Resources](https://docs.godotengine.org/en/stable/tutorials/scripting/resources.html) — Author `CharacterProfile`, date locations, and seasonal dialogue as data Resources instead of hardcoded trees.
- [Singletons (Autoload)](https://docs.godotengine.org/en/stable/tutorials/scripting/singletons_autoload.html) — Host TimeManager / global affection trackers so schedules and stats survive scene changes.
- [Using signals](https://docs.godotengine.org/en/stable/getting_started/step_by_step/signals.html) — Drive milestones, `stats_changed`, and hour/day clocks without `_process` polling.
- [Groups](https://docs.godotengine.org/en/stable/tutorials/scripting/groups.html) — Broadcast date starts to `romantic_interests` for jealousy without hardcoding NPC refs.
- [BBCode in RichTextLabel](https://docs.godotengine.org/en/stable/tutorials/ui/bbcode_in_richtextlabel.html) — Blush, shake, and custom emotive effects for dating-sim dialogue juice.
- [Evaluating expressions](https://docs.godotengine.org/en/stable/tutorials/scripting/evaluating_expressions.html) — Gate choices with runtime `Expression` checks against affection / route flags.
- [Saving games](https://docs.godotengine.org/en/stable/tutorials/io/saving_games.html) — Persist routes, CG gallery unlocks, and multi-axis relationship dictionaries.
- [Background loading](https://docs.godotengine.org/en/stable/tutorials/io/background_loading.html) — Thread-load large narrative Resources so route transitions do not hitch.
- [Internationalizing games](https://docs.godotengine.org/en/stable/tutorials/i18n/internationalizing_games.html) — Map dialogue and choice text through `tr()` / localization keys.
- [Size and anchors](https://docs.godotengine.org/en/stable/tutorials/ui/size_and_anchors.html) — Keep heart UI and choice panels responsive without absolute pixel layouts.
- [Pausing games](https://docs.godotengine.org/en/stable/tutorials/scripting/pausing_games.html) — Timed choices and romance menus must respect `SceneTree` pause / `time_scale`.
- [Tween](https://docs.godotengine.org/en/stable/classes/class_tween.html) — Typewriter `visible_ratio` and heart-burst pulses without `_process` timers.

### Related Skills

#### Prerequisites
- [godot-resource-data-patterns](https://github.com/thedivergentai/gd-agentic-skills/blob/main/skills/godot-resource-data-patterns/SKILL.md) — Character profiles, gift tables, and `DateLocation` data belong in typed Resources before wiring affection math.
- [godot-autoload-architecture](https://github.com/thedivergentai/gd-agentic-skills/blob/main/skills/godot-autoload-architecture/SKILL.md) — Global affection / TimeManager singletons need correct boot order and ownership so route state is not scene-local.
- [godot-signal-architecture](https://github.com/thedivergentai/gd-agentic-skills/blob/main/skills/godot-signal-architecture/SKILL.md) — Milestone, mood, and schedule buses must stay Signal-Up so UI and NPCs never poll relationship dictionaries.
- [godot-dialogue-system](https://github.com/thedivergentai/gd-agentic-skills/blob/main/skills/godot-dialogue-system/SKILL.md) — Branching conversation trees and choice consequences are the narrative substrate under affection gates.

#### Complements
- [godot-genre-visual-novel](https://github.com/thedivergentai/gd-agentic-skills/blob/main/skills/godot-genre-visual-novel/SKILL.md) — Pair route locks and CG gallery with VN presentation (portraits, backgrounds, advance UX).
- [godot-ui-rich-text](https://github.com/thedivergentai/gd-agentic-skills/blob/main/skills/godot-ui-rich-text/SKILL.md) — Custom BBCode / RichTextEffect patterns for blushing, nervous shake, and meta-linked choices.
- [godot-tweening](https://github.com/thedivergentai/gd-agentic-skills/blob/main/skills/godot-tweening/SKILL.md) — Typewriter reveals, portrait crossfades, and heart-burst juice without frame-tied timers.
- [godot-save-load-systems](https://github.com/thedivergentai/gd-agentic-skills/blob/main/skills/godot-save-load-systems/SKILL.md) — Serialize multi-axis stats, route flags, and gallery unlocks with a real save pipeline.
- [godot-inventory-system](https://github.com/thedivergentai/gd-agentic-skills/blob/main/skills/godot-inventory-system/SKILL.md) — Gift items and diminishing-return histories plug into affection via inventory ownership.
- [godot-ui-theming](https://github.com/thedivergentai/gd-agentic-skills/blob/main/skills/godot-ui-theming/SKILL.md) — Heart meters, blush chrome, and choice panels stay consistent across romance UI scenes.

#### Downstream / consumers
- [godot-monte-carlo-balancer](https://github.com/thedivergentai/gd-agentic-skills/blob/main/skills/godot-monte-carlo-balancer/SKILL.md) — Tune gift values, date thresholds, and repetition penalties so routes stay reachable without grind or soft-locks.
- [godot-quest-system](https://github.com/thedivergentai/gd-agentic-skills/blob/main/skills/godot-quest-system/SKILL.md) — Expose confession deadlines and missable milestones as timed quest gates on the calendar.
- [godot-audio-systems](https://github.com/thedivergentai/gd-agentic-skills/blob/main/skills/godot-audio-systems/SKILL.md) — Mood overlays and route beats usually need BGM / stinger buses coordinated with affection events.

#### Master
- [godot-master](https://github.com/thedivergentai/gd-agentic-skills/blob/main/skills/godot-master/SKILL.md) — Library router and mirrored module entry for discovering romance peers (dialogue, VN, save, UI).