Poll: Custom character vs Character with defined personality?

[FirstNameLastName]

Why is there no "it depends" option? Because ... it depends. If we're talking about an open world RPG then it'll have to be custom, but if it's a liner story then I see no purpose in customising the character, and would rather properly defined traits.

 

[DoPo]

Games such as KOTOR, Fallout series, Elder Scrolls Series, and Dragon Age: Origins all have silent protagonist.

No, that is incorrect. Well, probably sort of correct for ES, but not for the others. A "silent protagonist" does not mean "not voiced" - it means the protagonist literally says nothing throughout the game. A shining example is Gordon Freeman. In, say, KOTOR, your character does talk and talking establishes the character as well.

Although Mass Effect series, Dragon Age 2 and Inquisition, and SWTOR all have voices for the protagonists, they should still be considered as silent ones since those dialogues were made by your choice.

Your definition of "silent" is really odd.

 

[Tsun Tzu]

I like both.

But I love me some character creation. Customization, in general, is something I happen to value.

With that said? Combinations seem to work the best. Like, say, Bioware's approach.

 

[EyeReaper]

I think it's a little dependent on the genre of game.
Sport games, Animal Crossing/Harvest Moon-alikes, Dynasty Warriors, Fighting games and other such games, ones that rely more on gameplay than story, can only benefit from character creators. For example, I absolutely love wrestling games for the creations specifically. I can go and watch actual wrestlers wrestler. But only in games can I see a four hundred pound four foot tall luchador with robot claws do a somersault lariat on Hulk Hogan.

The only genre that's a complete mixed bag when coming to this is RPGs. On one hand, There's the Fallout games, Pillars of Eternity and Dragonball Xenoverse. Great games made greater by letting the player be whatever they want. But then there's Final Fantasy 7, Hyperdimension Neptunia, and Paper Mario, which are completely great despite not being your own OC donut steel. ANd let's not even get into the middle grounders like the SMT series. Games with fully establiished main characters that you get to name and have a few options here and there.

 

[Something Amyss]

With the way this is phrased? Custom all the way. Most "defined" characters lack character. If I'm going to imprint of the vague idea of a character, I'd rather it be one I made.

I love a custom character. (though I often find character creators frustrating in not allowing what I actually feel like doing, which undermines it somewhat as an idea)

Though there is that. I often end up spending like an hour trying to create something specific, and then just slap together some lazy choices in frustration.

 

[Odbarc]

Games like Final Fantasy allow for defined personalities because you can choose your party based on your preferences.
But with games like Fallout, you're mostly alone. Combined with the sandbox layout of the world, I decide what and if I do something as well as how.

Both types of games are good in their own right but I generally like to customize my own dude based around the game play and choices available to me.

 

[Grouchy Imp_v1legacy]

Defined characters are better. Having an actual established personality is better than being custom made Mary Sue. To elaborate, a custom character can't have "faults", especially since they represent the player (and enforcing a fault will make the fanbase go apeshit). So they are just a traveling perfect person who solves every trouble in the world and can get every chick/guy. Looking at it from storytelling prespective, mary sues destroy stories.

I think you're confusing 'power-gamer' with 'role-player' with your view of custom characters. There is a type of player that simply power-levels their character to have no flaws and be perfect in every way (known in role-playing circles as min-maxers) but the majority of role-players - surely the target audience of role-playing games - do create characters with flaws and affectations so as to make each character individual. Saying that all custom characters are simply maxed out avatars is like saying all defined characters are the Master Chief.

 

[SmallHatLogan]

Well in recent years I've kind of gone off games where I don't have any input into the story/character so I gravitate towards custom characters a lot more. A predefined character means the writers can make a much more tight and focused story but I'm not interested in playing games where I'm just railroaded from one cutscene to the next and my actions in between have no consequences.

I do like the happy medium though, like Commander Shepard. You create the appearance and have limited control over dialogue choices but it's still more or less a predefined character.

 

[Lightspeaker]

Defined characters pretty consistently result in better stories on the whole in my experience. There are a few exceptions but its very few and far between.

 

[Fox12]

I can't remember any of the characters I've ever created, if that tells you anything.

But both certainly have their place.

 

[kasperbbs]

I like both and if i had to tell you which one i like more i really couldn't since both game types have their own strenghts and weaknesses. I'm glad that i can enjoy a healthy balance between both of them.

 

[thewatergamer]

I put down custom because I love roleplaying in games, but with that said it comes down to what type of game it is, an RPG custom characters (obviously) make alot of sense but in something like say...tell-tales games a custom character doesn't make any sense

 

[someguy1231]

Single-player games: defined personality

Multiplayer games: custom

For this poll, though, I'm going to assume you're only referring to single-player games, so I vote built. I actually made a topic here arguing against character creators in single-player games, so I guess my choice should be obvious

I'd rather play as Geralt of Rivia or Batman or Big Boss anyday over some generic Shepard/Dragonborn/etc.

 

[CaitSeith]

Defined characters are better. Having an actual established personality is better than being custom made Mary Sue. To elaborate, a custom character can't have "faults", especially since they represent the player (and enforcing a fault will make the fanbase go apeshit). So they are just a traveling perfect person who solves every trouble in the world and can get every chick/guy. Looking at it from storytelling prespective, mary sues destroy stories.

It seems that somebody talked about it on the Escapist.

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/video-games/columns/extra-punctuation/14036-A-Mary-Sue-in-Video-Games-is-Only-As-Skilled-As-the-Player

OK, not really. It's about defined Mary Sue characters, and how they make sense it video games.

OT:

Short answer: it depends.

Long answer: genre, plot and several other factors make one kind of character to have more sense than other (or even have something in between like Commander Sheppard). Making a great story is easier for the writer if the main character has a defined personality. So kudos for those who can make great plots out of custom main characters.

But seriously, in power fantasies it doesn't matter...

Spoiler

...as long as it makes you feel like this:
Throwing people down the stairs, and still being loved anyway? Yep, it reminds me of videogame logic.

 

[Lunar Templar]

Both, so long as the writing is there to support it and make it memorable.

It's why I'm more attached to my 'Warrior of Light' in FF14, then I am to my 'Dragonborn' in Skyrim.

 

[Grouchy Imp_v1legacy]

Defined characters are better. Having an actual established personality is better than being custom made Mary Sue. To elaborate, a custom character can't have "faults", especially since they represent the player (and enforcing a fault will make the fanbase go apeshit). So they are just a traveling perfect person who solves every trouble in the world and can get every chick/guy. Looking at it from storytelling prespective, mary sues destroy stories.

I think you're confusing 'power-gamer' with 'role-player' with your view of custom characters. There is a type of player that simply power-levels their character to have no flaws and be perfect in every way (known in role-playing circles as min-maxers) but the majority of role-players - surely the target audience of role-playing games - do create characters with flaws and affectations so as to make each character individual. Saying that all custom characters are simply maxed out avatars is like saying all defined characters are the Master Chief.

Maybe in role playing it's possible to create a custom character with flaws, but in a game? No, there are no ways to do it, your character can't be made to be egoistic, overconfident, unable to talk to others and so forth, the closest you can get to a flawed character without burning orphans is having 1 in intelligence in Fallout.

Of course there are ways to do it. You just decide which triggers you want your character to respond to and roleplay them. You don't have to make characters that wind up with 100 in every skill, you know. If you decide you would like to make a clumsy character then don't put any skill points into lockpick or stealth, and decide that they'll try to force locks open rather than pick them. If you decide it'd be interesting to play a blunt-talking character whose out-spoken opinions always land them in trouble refuse to increase the Speech skill and yet at the same time always knowingly take the [10/60] speech option in conversations. Maybe you want to create a character that eschews personal wealth, or refuses to use magical items, or is a loner who refuses to travel with in-game companions. All of the above, and more, are readily available to every player in every roleplaying game, they just need to be enforced through choice by the player. If you like creating limitless characters without any forms of boundaries then that's your choice, but please don't mistake your choice as being the main fault in the entire concept of custom characters.

 

[Evonisia]

Generally I prefer a pre-determined character. Of course going the Saint's Row route of having both is always nice but rarely done =/

It's also nice in some multiplayer games like Team Fortress 2 and the Gears of War games where the characters are clearly defined. Adds a bit of flavour to be able to play as the people I like, I guess.