You already know that past-tense triggers require the past subjunctive in a following que clause. The same sequence of tenses rule applies when the main verb is in the conditional.
Hypothetical wishes and the conditional
When expressing a hypothetical wish, preference, or polite request with phrases like me gustaría (I would like) or sería mejor (it would be better), use the past subjunctive in the subordinate clause.
| I would like the team to develop a faster gameplay. | Me gustaría que el equipo desarrollara una jugabilidad más rápida. |
| It would be better if they developed the video game with a multiplayer mode. | Sería mejor que desarrollaran el videojuego con un modo multijugador. |
Designing the ideal game
Just like gustaría, conditional forms of verbs like preferir (to prefer), encantar (to love), or recomendar (to recommend) take the past subjunctive.
| I would prefer for the player to customize the avatar with different clothes. | Preferiría que el jugador personalizara el avatar con ropa diferente. |
| We would love for the multiplayer menu to be very interactive. | Nos encantaría que el menú multijugador fuera muy interactivo. |
| I would recommend that the designer improve the avatar's animations. | Recomendaría a la diseñadora que mejorara las animaciones del avatar. |
Sequence of tenses
Remember the core rule for tense agreement: while past and conditional triggers take the past subjunctive, present and future triggers take the present subjunctive.
For example, when using a conjunction like de modo que (so that), the subjunctive tense depends entirely on the main verb.
| We need to design the multiplayer mode so that the gameplay is fun. | Necesitamos diseñar el modo multijugador de modo que la jugabilidad sea divertida. |
| We will customize the stages so that the animation looks better. | Personalizaremos los escenarios de modo que la animación parezca mejor. |
