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Anyone familiar with dating sims and romance visual novels will recognize the
term "flag" in that context. In these games, when you are presented with
choices which affect how the other characters view you and potentially change
which route you go on, it's called a flag. "Raising a character's flags"
essentially means that you make choices that improve your standing with that
character and which are more likely to put you on his/her route.

This terminology is quite common even outside of visual novels in anime. For
instance, the manga The World God Only Knows (a parody of the dating sim genre
of games) uses the term frequently, and the manga chapters are numbered as
flags (e.g "flag 53"). I've seen it in many other anime and manga as well,
both in Japanese and translated into English. I was not able to find any
reference for the term used in this way in either English or Japanese.

The term "flag" doesn't seem particularly romantic or descriptive in this
context. There are other terms, like "affection points" (a slightly different
system) which are easy to understand, but "flags" is at least as common as any
of those. What is the reasoning behind the terminology "flag" in this context
and where does it originate?


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terminology
Why are romantic events sometimes called "flags"?


The terminology probably comes from
[programming](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_word). With most visual novel
games the terminology "flag" and "counter" go hand-in-hand.

In the background of a game, there are various variables, the most notable
ones are the "global" and "local" variables. These variables usually what
counters and flags consists of.

Local variables are usually a point counter that resets every time you start a
new game. So let's say you have this character, Y. If you give Y a present,
Y's "affection" counter will increase with 2 points. By the end of the game,
if this counter totals 12 points or more point, you will get that character's
"good" end.

Global variable are typically flags created by the game to remember certain
things. So if in a game if you chose to leave your house without checking the
stove, you active the "unchecked stove" flag. Later in the game, the flag is
checked and if has been activated, if will trigger the event where your house
has burns down and you have to move in with a friend.

A global variable flags are persistent, so when you start a new game they are
not reset like local variables. They typically are used as bookmarks to mark
progress and be used as save points, so you don't have to replay though
everything again.

Let's say that there is this other character named Z. If you get one of Y's
good end, you'll active the Y's good end global variable flag. During your
next playthrough at some point dring the game, the game checks for this flag
has been activated and if has, you get a new choice that allows you to access
Z's route. This is typically done to control player progress in the game as
Z's route might spoil story elements in Y's route.


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_This is purely conjecture._

I suspect that flags are effectively the same as _booleans_ in computer
programming which can have values of either _true_ or _false_. In
vexillological terminology, flags would either be _raised_ or _lowered_. This
makes things easier to understand and visualise when used in dating sim
software. Furthermore, the existence of a number of dating sim _software
engines_ which abstract a lot of the code into a more accessible format also
probably helped make such terminology mainstream.

I can imagine that walkthroughs and the like which were created by people in
the business regularly used phrases such as _trigger the flag_ which hastened
matters.

Excellent question.


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In the visual novel/RPG _Megadimension Neptunia VII_ , the in-game codex,
_Nepedia_ has the following entries:

1

> **Flag (Programming Term)**
>
> The term "Flags," from their use as landmarks, is used in programming to
> mean a requirement to process an action. If the requirement's cleared, one
> says "the flag is true" or "the flag's been raised." When it's not met, one
> says "a false flag falls."

2

> **Flag (Derivative) 1**
>
> Originally a programming term, it's come to be used to mean "progress in a
> relationship," "omen of disaster," and other divergent meanings. A famous
> flag is "speaking optimistically and holding onto hope when things are
> dire." Since most die after this, it's known as a "death flag."

3

> **Flag (Derivative) 2**
>
> When a flag doesn't go as expected, or when a person stops the outcome
> themselves or ignores it, it's known as "breaking the flag." Those who do
> this excesivelly are called "Flag Crushers." The usage has diverged from the
> meaning, and programmers in nations outside Japan say using the word
> _breaking_ isn't right.

4

> **Flag Item**
>
> In Gamindustri, once in a great while, the usually intangible concept of
> "flag" materializes into an item. The item is categorized as a "Flag Item",
> and one receives beneficial functions by obtaining one. Previously,
> adventurers and scouts raised and lowered it within dungeons to their
> benefit. However, as it's much more convenient as an item, most people pull
> it out and carry it away now, so you rarely see one in the wild.

I think the last entry refers only to this game specifically, but the first
three entries are more generally. Still, it is a _in-game_ encyclopedia, and
in a game that's overflowing with satire so take it with a grain of salt.


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