With all the discussion lately about the need for more "innovative" or "unconventional" character designs (particularly regarding female characters), I wanted to ask if you would play a game where the main character is ugly. No, I don't mean "unconventionally attractive", "attractive in a different way", or any of those other euphemisms. I mean flat-out repulsive, unattractive, borderline-deformed UGLY.
Nor am I talking about a game where said ugliness is played for comedic purposes. I'm sure many of us have played around with character creators in games in an attempt to create the most hideous character possible, and had a good laugh at the results. But that's not what I'm talking about here.
For me, the answer is an unambiguous "no". Whether male or female, if the main character doesn't look good, I can't bring myself to care about them. Even if their ugliness is a plot point, that won't get me to care. I've watched or read plenty of stories about ugly people in other media already.
Simply put, people like to look at characters they find attractive. In World of Warcraft, the most popular races for female characters are Humans, Blood Elves, Night Elves, and Draenei. All of those are widely considered the sexiest races in WoW. By contrast, the least popular female races are Orcs, Goblins, Tauren, and Dwarves, who are generally considered the ugliest. You think that's just a coincidence?
My point is, whenever games have given players the option to create an "ugly" character, most of them won't use it. In addition, most of those that do use it generally do so ironically or for laughs, rather than to make any kind of serious statement about beauty standards or body image or anything like that.
Nor am I talking about a game where said ugliness is played for comedic purposes. I'm sure many of us have played around with character creators in games in an attempt to create the most hideous character possible, and had a good laugh at the results. But that's not what I'm talking about here.
For me, the answer is an unambiguous "no". Whether male or female, if the main character doesn't look good, I can't bring myself to care about them. Even if their ugliness is a plot point, that won't get me to care. I've watched or read plenty of stories about ugly people in other media already.
Simply put, people like to look at characters they find attractive. In World of Warcraft, the most popular races for female characters are Humans, Blood Elves, Night Elves, and Draenei. All of those are widely considered the sexiest races in WoW. By contrast, the least popular female races are Orcs, Goblins, Tauren, and Dwarves, who are generally considered the ugliest. You think that's just a coincidence?
My point is, whenever games have given players the option to create an "ugly" character, most of them won't use it. In addition, most of those that do use it generally do so ironically or for laughs, rather than to make any kind of serious statement about beauty standards or body image or anything like that.