Character Customisation - What's Ideal?

[ZenMonkey47]

It's not that important in single player where you're playing as a specific character, but it's super important in multiplayer where you want to differentiate yourself from everyone else.

 

[nightmare_gorilla]

character custimazation will keep me playing a game long past the point of dead gameplay, it has even gotten me to play some pretty shitty games over the years, i like the idea of branching storylines and the like but character customization is something you can do that's simple and extends the lifespan of a game by years if you put enough in. i play wrestling games and honestly nothing is more important in those games than adding as many clothing and move choices as possible. hell i still go back and play soul calibur 3 just because of the custimisation aspect. so i will go with "the more the better" personally.

as for saints row it was the custimisation that makes me think it's a better game than gta, personalizing cars, clothes, body, all for just cash with no stupid work outs and skill levels and saving all your choices at every house. man that was nice, being able to recover cars after they were blown up has to be my favorite feature though means i don't have to fear driving the cars that i really like.

 

[H0ncho]

I can't be bothered with customization that does not affect gameplay.

I appreciate being given a choice between a couple of premade characters, but do you suggest that I shall care about the color of their hair (I couldn't tell you the colour of my brother's hair, much less the haircolor of my best friend), the wrinkles in their faces or the exact colour of their skin?

In torment, the characters face was premade and I think the game was better for it: It let the game designers design the NPC reactions to you much better than they could have otherwise.

 

[EnzoHonda]

If there's customization I want to be able to look better than I do in real life. I literally look ten times better than anyone in Oblivion. And I'm pretty ugly (at least, that's what my barber said).

I don't like freedom and customization in a game with a controlled story though. In GTA III I was the lone-wolf badass. In San Andreas I was a lone-wolf badass with 50 houses all over the state, helicopters on my landing pad, bitchin' cars, and $20,000 suits. Yet, I still cared about my shitty neighborhood under the bridge.

 

[qbert4ever]

Ehh, being able to customize in a game just depends on the game in question. In a third person game, I would like to make my own guy. But if I never see him, or he will be covered in armor in the first 5 minutes of gameplay, then what's the point of spending all that time on somthing you never see?

Also, for the best customization in a game I've ever seen, the award goes to the Smackdown Vs. Raw series. Being able to change everything from nose to ass size and then superplexing some S.O.B off of a twelve foot ladder? Yes please!

 

[Frosk]

I like the creation area of FIFA 08.

You can do everything to your general appearance: height, weight, hair style & color, eyes, nose, mouth.

It also allows to to choose how the created player celebrates goals, what shoes they wear, whether or not they have bands on the wrists, and other game specific type of stuff.

Sure you don't play with them through a single player story, but getting them on to your favorite team and using them is fun because you made them.

 

[Seldon2639]

I'm often dissatisfied with the option of customization, and only really like to have a lot of options in multi-player games like MMOGs or Tony Hawk or what not. I remember hating all the voices in Neverwinter Nights and, more or less, making the same damn character both times I played Def Jam: Fight for New York. But I find it hard to believe an RPG is a game where you fully take on a pre-determined Role. How is that different from any other game if you can't customize and make your own damn choices? I like Vampire: the Masquerade: Bloodlines. The type of vamp you were, you stats and your actions, even gender, affected how NPCs reacted to you. If you played a girl with high charisma you could convince anyone to let you suck their blood. If you were a Malkavian (I think) your dialog options were nutty and penetrating. If you were another type you could make deals with the enemy. It was great, real-time, even if you only had one look.

The concept, though, remains the same. While there's a greater variety of paths to take, you still end up taking a predetermined path. If you are a Malkavian, your dialogue options are predetermined based on that fact. The only way to avoid that is to play the actual tabletop game and succumb to the nerd instinct.

 

[Anarchemitis]

I say have about as much character customization as you did in Tony Hawk 4, except you can create your own clothes, including animated something or others. Everything has to be able to have external resources or plugins or something. [In a tangent, could you visualize someone in PS3 Home walking around in a striped T Shirt with an animated Heavy from TF2 laughing and shooting? I know I could.]
Regarding the Customization of the head:
hair colour-yes
hair style-yes
Custom make-it-yourself hair styles, procedurally generated-Hmm, now that's taking it a bit far.
Facial features positions ediatble-yes, but keep it simple and primitve.
Facial details-Why would I want to add my own blemishes?
Eye stlye-sure, why not.
Eye colour-now this is another that basically no one will ever notice ever. Ever.
Facial hair-oh, yes.
Custom facial hair (Do it yourself again.)-That would be interesting...