What makes Dragonroll’s new visual novel Pivot of Hearts stand out isn’t just its setting or its characters, but also its spotlight on an underrepresented community that rarely gets meaningfully acknowledged.
Dragonroll lead developer Wilson Kazuo Mizutani, art director Lívia Amaral Santos, and music director Livia Maki Yoshikawa recently spoke with The Best War Games ahead of Pivot of Hearts’ release and discussed how the game represents non-monogamous/polyamorous relationship dynamics.
Pivot of Hearts’ Fulcrum is Polyamory
Polyamory in video games is usually the result of mechanical design and less of narrative significance. In games like Fallout 4, players can complete multiple romance routes with them all occurring insulated from the others. In Mass Effect 2, a romance with the character Kelly Chambers doesn’t count as infidelity because it doesn’t reward the Paramour achievement. These representations of non-monogamy are more mechanical loopholes in the assumed monogamy of the characters. Mizutani wanted more meaningful representation, saying:
“We do have lots of representation nowadays in media, including games, but non-monogamy specifically is one that almost never shows up. There are a few games, but there's a good thing happening over the many years before us that now we have different characters of different ethnicities. We have LGBT characters in many games, but non-monogamy is still very rare, in great part because it contradicts a lot with how society expects us to work.”
Pivot of Hearts is a serious, realistic view of non-monogamous experiences, dealing with everything from the acceptance of others to the ups and downs of a relationship as real and human as any other visual novel might depict. Life isn’t perfect. Sometimes partners hurt one another, sometimes they aren’t the best of themselves, and sometimes they have issues to work through. Like any relationship, there are struggles. There are struggles unique to polyamorous life that Pivot doesn’t shy away from.
Balancing life with multiple partners is a struggle that monogamous people may not relate to or that may add to the stigma and prejudice that Pivot seeks to dismantle through its deeply human portrayal. More than just a loophole in assumed monogamy, Pivot of Hearts provides a laser-focused narrative highlighting it. Dragonroll purposefully chose its anime aesthetics to contrast with a visual novel trend that bothers them as much as ‘monogamy loophole’ representation: the classic harem anime, manga, and visual novels that portray non-monogamy as everyone loving a bland, blank protagonist. As they said,
“We wanted to show something that is more real, like what real people have to do when they are faced with a non-monogamous situation, and what are the struggles? Because it's not necessarily easy, not ‘okay, I can like a new one, so there are no problems.’ No, there are problems we have. People have to talk about them instead of just going straight to the happy harem ending.”
Communication is key in any relationship, but especially in a non-monogamous relationship, it's critical to have transparency, honesty, and directness. But humans have foibles. Sometimes people will fall short of those ideals, and when that happens, there is bound to be pain. Pivot of Hearts focuses on these realities that can undermine any relationship, but are felt so much more acutely in polyamory.
That isn’t to say non-monogamy is a life of struggle, and the game presents the high points as well. It just makes a point to be as realistic as possible and show the full reality of polyamory. There are positive choices that make for a great, happy, and fulfilling set of relationships. It can blend love and found family in ways that have deep meaning to everyone involved. It can be rewarding in ways totally unique and distinct–like any relationship. Santos explained, at its heart, that’s Pivot of Hearts’ meaning.
“Monogamy is a system that exists in this very specific context, doesn't necessarily take into consideration how people truly feel about each other, and is about all the kinds of emotions and relationships that can exist. I guess we wanted to go against this idea that, ‘Oh, if we fit into this mold, then I guess we'll be accepted by society’ or something more like we wanted to rethink: why are these relationship structures the norm? Why are they considered the standard? Are they even good for us on an emotional level? Are they causing more damage than good in the long run? Why don't you try to discuss other possibilities and maybe invite the players to think a little bit outside the box of this kind of relationship paradigm that dictates our lives.”
This plays out in Pivot of Hearts through the lives of three characters. Wén is a Tiwanese-Brazilian game developer who develops a connection with his outgoing coworker Cauã, and the third main character is Etsuko, who is part of the large Okinawan population in Brazil. These characters were all designed with flaws and foibles, but also with the ability to overcome them and atone for the mistakes of the past if they communicate their feelings.
The lives of Wén, Cauã, and Etsuko aren’t overly sexual or glamorous. Another important thing to Dragonroll, as explained by Santos, was that polyamorous people are first and foremost people. In the case of Pivot of Hearts, they’re just nerds. In broad strokes, they are both relatable to the player and the developers. That, too, was important to Santos.
Pivot of Hearts is a different kind of passion project than most indie games. It was more than getting a story told or putting something entertaining into the world–though certainly both those things are true–but instead, it was a project to let people hear the stories of non-monogamous people, many of whom may be hearing those stories for the first time. Mizutani hopes Pivot is the beginning of more stories like theirs being told.