Character Creation / Customization

[Svrhero]

I can't understand people who try to make their characters look identical to themselves. I play games so I can have fun playing someone different and more interesting than myself. I typically just think up what I want my character to be like and give them an appearance that fits that. Although my last character in Mass Effect did have an eerie resemblance to Picard...

Helps the gamer identify, roleplay, and maybe have an investment in the character beyond that of another face and name! It does for me anyways.

 

[Xenetethrae]

Always spend at least an hour making a very close version of me. Or, failing that, aggressively abuse the character creation to make someone as demonic as possible.

Ie: on TES IV I had a male Dunmer who literally looked like he had 3rd degree burns all over his body. YEAH!

 

[Athol]

Quite a while,I like to make my guy look as awesome(IMO) as possible. ^_^

Im quite the same...awesome avatar by the way!

 

[Canadamus Prime]

Time invested is directly proportional to the level of customization. I usually don't have a clear idea of what I want the character to look like, so I just throw together features randomly and go with the result. They end looking pretty good actually.

Pretty much this. I never go into it with a clear idea in mind, I just play around with the controls until I get something I like. Naturally the more intricate the level of customization available, the more time I spend on it.

 

[Kae]

If there is a character creator chances are that I am going to spend much more time on it than playing the actual game, since I always just play the first two missions and then proceed to crate a lot more characters forgetting that there actually is a game, and yes I do this even if the creator is crap, and yes I like SPORE because of the creation tools, just got to space stage once though...

 

[Vault101]

In any game first thing before I get into the story line is an epic quest to find the perfect outfit...somtimes thats the whole quest of the game (in the case of oblivion)

i spend ageis in charachter customization, first time playing mass effect I tried five times to get a shepard that looked right (I then worked out how to rotate the camera in the creation), though she dosnt look bad default and I just change the hair

though if I fiddle around too much they dont look that good, my saints row 2 charchter looks kinda weird from some angles

In dragon age origins its incredibly easy to have a really really pretty charachter (except I forgot to change the colour of her eyebrows so they are darker than her hair)

 

[Geeky Anomaly]

I usually spend around 30~40 minutes customizing. Time spent depends heavily on the amount of option that the game provides of course. I try to make my character look a bit like me with a combination of what I wish I looked like.

 

[Fidelias]

I usually take a very long time with character creation. I like to create a character that looks and acts how they would in the game world. For instance: in Rainbow Six Vegas 2, my character was middle-aged with a 5-o-clock shadow, wearing medium armor colored black.

Sometimes, though, I have to do a quick creation or else my friend might punch me for taking too long.

 

[Vault101]

My process usually goes like this:

Step 1: Spend hours and hours trying to make the character look right.

Step 2: Realize that what you've created is an abomination.

Step 3: See step 1.

Step 4: Enter a rift in the space-time continuum and avert step 2, create a character that actually looks good.

Step 5: Realize that your character looks retarded from a certain angle, promise to not let it bother you.

Step 6: It will bother you.

Step 7: (dejectedly) See step 1.

[sub]EDIT: To be a little more on-topic, I usually start with trying to make my character look like someone from something else, then let it go from there. Sometimes this leads to inspiration. Other times, ruin.[/sub]

hahaha yes thats exactally right

the only game where I havnt had this is dragon age, its not hard to make them look like a super model

though generally I can get them looking pretty good

 

[Monkfish Acc.]

I will put hours into making them look just so.
And then I get into the game and have to start again because something is the slightest bit off.

How I make them look depends on the type of character I want to play. Mostly they will be pretty, but sometimes I want a grizzled, unattractive badass who isn't, you know, a melt-faced freak.

And sometimes I just want what looks like a cross between an ape and a clown gone horribly wrong. Whatever, you know?

 

[ultrachicken]

I usually try to make my character look handsome/pretty but not default, but I won't put extensive amounts of time into it. 10 minutes max.

 

[Vault101]

I try to just make something I can put up with, and somewhat project into. I at least took effort in Mass Effect 2 to make my guy somewhat different, without looking as screwed up as Irridium's.

I used to go for female characters simply because they're hot, but I found it's kind of hard to identify with any of the game's occurences that way, and she always inevitably starts looking as bitchy as Lara Croft.

I guess it depends on the game but gender isnt the only thing that affects how much one can "relate" to a charachter or in other words having emotional attatchment to a charachter,

Mabye I couldnt "relate" to them but I was sympathetic to Issac Clarke or etzio (cant spell his name) from assisns creed 2, probably more than...well I dont know some bitchy charachter put there for the purpose of fanservice

that said I supose it does help, particually if theres not much charachterisation there to begin with, but I mean I dont think gender is the single thing between "not caring" and "being deeply emtionally invested"

 

[PlasmaFrog]

Attempting to be original by finding a decent name for your online character since every other name imaginable has already been taking.

After many hours later of looking for references on wiki sites and fan bases, I finally submit to the realization that finding a decent name that doesn't include "XxpwnzorzxX" or any other hideous abomination is unlikely. I then begin to ventilate my unending frustration by shouting vulgar language at my computer screen and crying myself to sleep on my desk.

 

[Baneling Aspect]

Generally, I just go for whatever looks nice/cool, I don't usually spend more than 5 minutes on it, maybe 10-15 if it's a new game and I don't know all of the options yet.

My first Mass Effect 1 character looked exactly like Walter Kovacs from Watchmen. It was uncanny, but the effect was spoiled somewhat by his voice not being a throaty growl and him being nice and everything.

 

[WolfThomas]

A lot of time, I remember I made three characters for Dragon origins, the first I created and then I couldn't stand the way his cheeks looked, then I recreated him but his neck was way too big. So eventually I spent a gruelling time checking how my character looked from different angles before I made someone I was most happy with.

 

[FalloutJack]

Really, it all depends. If I'm playing men, I try to make it reasonable or roughly cool. Sometimes I get lucky like in New Vegas where the Courier looks like David Hasselhoff.

 

[Najos]

Back in the day, on one of the wrestling games for N64 I probably spent days making different characters with a friend of mine. Now I spend about 10 minutes goofing around with the settings and such. I tend to try to do something different everytime, but I rarely play females.

My wife spent way too much time making Miis for just about everyone she knows and a bunch of random celebrities. It is kind of frightening, but I really enjoy bowling as Jesus.

 

[Thaa'ir]

I make it look as good as I can within a few minutes, at least enough so I don't cringe whenever I have to look at my character. My roommate however spends absolutely ridiculous amounts of time on character customization; I swear I saw him sit in front of the TV for an hour and a half getting every slightest detail of his fighter in Soul Cal IV down to perfection.

 

[SangRahl]

I inevitably get caught in a massive time-sink where it comes to trying to make an acceptable face by using several dozen sliders that have no tick marks or numerical indicators for where anything is set, thus making the chore of replicating a past success an astronomical impossibility. (Fallout3 and ME1, I glaring at YOU)

Where I REALLY get caught up is costume customization... City of Heroes was a dual heaven/hell with the nigh-infinite possibilities for creation. My favorite ended up being a recreation of Matt Wagner's Mage who looked a little too much like a young, pre-Southwest Airlines, Kevin Smith. (Imagine my chagrin when I pulled out my old Comico editions, and found that the character's name was indeed 'Kevin Smith'. ::smacks forehead:: )