'I was nice to you three times in a row, so can I have one sex please?': Why Nivalis Nights intentionally avoided transactional romances

Nivalis Nights is mostly a story-heavy shop simulation but it does also have a sprinkle of relationship building. Conversations with characters can affect four different attitudes towards you: friendly, combative, romantic, and savvy. Dialogue options aren't clearly marked though, so you don't always know if you're about to piss someone off or say something they'll perceive as flirtatious.

Some characters you can tell you're obviously heading towards a relationship with but others are less clear about whether you took a wrong turn or love just isn't on the table. It's a very opaque system compared with other RPGs or life sims that have big red heart icons and dialogue flags making sure you never have to guess. I asked lead writer Thomas Welsh to weigh in:

Did you ever test a more obvious romance system or was it a very intentional choice to make it an opaque experience?

But honestly, I'm into these mixed signals