Poll: When a game lets you create your own protagonist...

[Abomination]

Depends on the game type. Usually I'll make a male protagonist first if there's some sort of story that the PC's gender will have an effect on. The character will suit the world but I'll try and make them look like me as much as possible while giving them my name.

Unless it's an MMO then there's one thing I always do:

If I can make a dwarf I make a dwarf, probably a melee combatant type and name him Axebeard Treepuncher and give him the loudest looking hair and most stupid appearance imaginable.

 

[ZtH]

I used to mostly make myself, but now I alternate between male and female characters so the majority of my characters end up being original while the rest are a mix of me's.

 

[Serioli]

I tend to go for an original and try to get a combination of as far removed from me as possible with interesting game effect when applicable.
Thus first play through is usually, in order of priority:

Power that doesn't exist in the real world (magic, psychic, biotic)
If not, tech class that doesn't exist in the real world
Non-human
Interesting racial or geographic background (slave race, oppressed, interesting honour system, losers in a war etc)
Female

EDIT:- ethically however, my first playthrough is always as 'me' as possible; i.e. I try to be as good, understanding and non-confrontational as the game will allow. 'Evil' playthrough is my second playthrough.

 

[StriderShinryu]

I generally make an original character, and I tend to stick with something realistic yet in the tone of the game I'm playing. Even if a game has the sort of system that allows you to make cartoonishly hideous and strange characters, I never go that route. I also tend to skew towards female characters.

 

[ReinWeisserRitter]

Wherever it goes. I see what options there are, pick what I like, and end up stitching all the parts together until I find something I like the look of. My preferred character in the Phantasy Star Online series has always been a red-haired robotic maid of death, my character in Saints Row III was a hot Slavic babe, my character in City of Heroes was a ridiculously tall man wearing an awesome suit of robotic powered armor, so forth. Whatever I liked the most.

Or, in the case of something like Mass Effect, hate the least.

It's the names I have the most trouble with; it can take literally hours for me to decide on one I like. It's kind of sad.

 

[Saidan]

I always try to create an "epic" version of myself, depending of the setting and tools available. A recent example would be Saints Row IV, where the president is pretty much me, cosplaying as Neo. With a beard.

 

[Rinshan Kaihou]

I always create an original character, one that fits the world, and I will always choose the female gender and have red hair. Not sure how that started but it's just something I do in every game!

Couldn't possibly be the Mass Effect femshep influence, could it?



Same as most people though. I always create an original character, and it's always a woman because they are better.

 

[Dragonbums]

I picked approximation of myself over original character because I DON'T want them to be exactly like me.

However I do want them to have many features that resemble my demographic. Of course they do kind of look like me, but not quite.

 

[BathorysGraveland2]

I make an original character that is tailored to suit the game and its setting. If the game allows it, I also write back stories and histories for these characters, and play them according to what their personalities are like. Elder Scrolls is a great series for this sort of thing, even if it isn't the most role-play friendly game anymore.

I never make a character after myself. I like to immerse myself in games, so running around as a long-haired heavy metal fan just isn't really authentic, ya' know?

 

[Silvanus]

I'd just get all mopey if I made the protagonist myself. It wouldn't be good for the self-esteem.


Nawp, I usually make an original character. From time to time, I make someone shamelessly hawt, as I did once on The Sims 2.

 

[Smeatza]

Usually I make a middle aged, bald, black guy (I'm a young, long haired, white guy). And play him with my personality.
I don't know why.

 

[Lord Kloo]

I like to create a character that is both in world canon but also original and not boring.

My first character was a weathered surgeon who preferred a meat cleaver, wore glasses and was medically adept.

My first character in Skyrim was a huge Redguard who wore heavy armor in the field and traditional Hammerfell dress in the cities. He carried a huge sword and simply carved his way through the field.

The idea is that my character's physical look should correspond with how they play in game and what they do. So its like role-playing with role-playing.

 

[Seydaman]

A cross between myself and an original character, if just because the characters I like to play often have similarities to myself. I don't usually play things off as "me but in this setting".

 

[chocolate pickles]

I mostly stick with the original character design, otherwise i end up making something that looks like it has been run over repeatedly with a tractor. Though in games like GW2 and Skyrim, where i always play the beast races, i change the original template quite a bit, though that's due to the fact that they are a lot harder to screw up

 

[FireAza]

It depends. If it's a 3rd person game, and the character maker can give some nice results (i.e Aion or Final Fantasy XIV) I'll normally make a female original character.

However, if we're talking about a first person game, I'll generally make a male character that roughly looks like me. Reasons being:
1) It's first person, I'm not going to see the character so there's no point making a visually-appealing character
2) First person gives the impression that I actually am the character instead of just watching them

 

[Proto325]

Up until very recently I just did an approximation of myself, but I'd still always spend like 2 hours on the character creation. I'm getting bored with that now, so I've starting making originals. Highlights so far include making a [whatever the giant race is called] woman in the FFXIV beta and striding around the starting area twice the height of everyone else, and trying to make as female-looking a man as possible in Skyrim (and having some success) and not wearing anything but robes.

I also made Hugh Laurie in Saint's Row 2 once.