Poll: Which would you prefer to play as?

[angryfish]

Hi all,

Here are 2 characters (designed by Keith Thompson and Dave Mckean respectively). I was wondering, if they were each the player character in their own indie puzzle/platform game, which would you prefer to play as / which game would you prefer to play?

I'm currently writing a dissertation on character design in games, and I was wondering how you, the gaming community, feel about things. How interested in the visual design of your character are you? Have there been any games you've quit playing because you hated the look of your character? Would you rather play as a similar character to the ones you usually play, or something completely new and unusual?

Any general comments on the topic would be interesting and helpful.

 

[SoreWristed]

The one on the left, because only after a good minute-long stare i noticed she's carrying a straight razor. I'd love a puzzle platformer about slicing throats...

 

[Frission]

Strange, the one on the left is far more detailed, while the one on the right is much more shadowy and 'indistinct' for the lack of a better word. They give off different vibes. Psychotic Fairy Tail MC vs Gritty Temporary MC.

No preferences.

 

[DementedSheep]

Oh hey, I have an art book from Keith Thompson with that picture in it.
The one on the left looks more interesting...plus she's a little girl possessed by her murderous father and working as an assassin. The other one isn't bad though, in dark game with a minimalistic approach it could be really cool.

For how important character design is to me...relatively? If I don't like the main character design chances are I don't like the aesthetic of the game in general. It usually doesn't mean I won't play it. I don't like War's design or the art style in Darksiders very much (apart from The Watcher, I like him) but I still played that. It means they have to work harder to get me to really look at the game. Having a main character design I like makes me more likely to look at the game and I might overlook minor flaws. It's not the most important thing by any means but it dose make some difference.

I know this is going to get me declared a "feminazi" or something but I have only so much tolerance for sexualization (I don't like that on the guys either).
I tried to play Tera. I played a warrior and the game is actually really solid with the combat mechanics but I just can't get over the character design in it and since it's an on-line game that character is kinda representing me which makes it even more frustrating. That is about the only type of character design that will make me not play the game.

 

[The Rogue Wolf]

Girl on left looks ready to cut some foos if they laugh at her shoes. Guy on right looks like he's pining over his ex-girlfriend who moved to Winnipeg.

Gimme Little Mary Mayhem over there.

 

[Ryallen]

I don't really have a preference for either, as while setting and character are important for a game, gameplay is even more important, and I don't know what either game is offering.

 

[CrystalShadow]

I wouldn't say I refuse to play something based on what the characters are. What keeps me playing is gameplay, not style.

having said that, all other things being equal, style has a pretty big influence on what I would choose to play in the first place...

 

[Redryhno]

Considering I don't really buy games based purely on MC design, I'm going with neither.

That being said, the one on the right looks like it has more potential to be interesting than the left. Creepy looking kid? Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease, I got sick of that fifteen years ago.

 

[Signa]

As a platformer? The guy on the right. He looks like he's ready to do some parkour. The little girl looks like she'd only be able to jump knee high.

If it was a RPG, or shooter, or some other non-platformer, I would want to play the girl. She looks dangerous.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

The one on the left looks more visually interesting, but I'm sick of indie puzzle platformers about children and the loss of innocence, which is what the girl on the left seems to be indicating to me.

The character on the right looks pretty bland, but he looks like he belongs in a stealth platformer game. The way he's perched, the way the shadows are positioned, the fact that he lacks shoes (meaning he moves quietly), it looks very Mirror's Edge crossed with Mark of the Ninja. I'd play that.

In answer to some of your other questions, yes, there are games that I've refused to play because I didn't like the designs of the characters, specifically Viewtiful Joe and Wonderful 101. I love character action games, but I just can't stand the big head tiny body design of the characters in those games. To me that kind of character design has no business in character action games because those kinds of games are less based on facial expressions and more on body language and animation. As such having a huge head with a tiny body adds nothing to the games because you can't see your character's face most of the time, but it makes the animations of the body more difficult to see, and therefore ultimately takes away from the game.

 

[Blow_Pop]

Personally I'd play both. Especially if they both have their own stories because that'd make them both interesting in their own right.

As to your question about games I won't play for character design, there's plenty of games I won't play because of poor character design (read: white male with brown hair I am so sick of that for a default).

I like the visual design of a character to not look like just about every other character. Also, I don't like characters that are disproportionate. Like really small head and big body (for human characters especially) or vice versa. If it's a non human character like that I can deal more with it but human characters like that seriously bother me. I don't like scantily clad female characters that are expected to run around and shit in 6in (or higher) heels and not very well clothed. Immersion for me goes out the window (coincidentally I'm the same way with books especially if the main character just talks about clothing every few sentences regardless of gender looking at you American Psycho).

I want to play as a character that DOESN'T look like every other character ever. Hell if I could play a game as a portal turret that could walk I would just because it's something different. Even if the game was shit. Give me a character that came out of a child's imagination. Give it purple skin (or green or orange or blue or some non normal flesh colour). Give it one eye. And six arms. Make it look completely ridiculous. Just give me an interesting fleshed out character that actually has a story to it and I'd be happy. And stop giving me games with multiplayer achievements that aren't optional for 100%ing the achievements. Also, more lego games because it's fun destroying other characters and hearing lego building and destroying noises. Also, I want a game with a main character of a dragon.

 

[Asita]

Think I'd go with the one on the right, myself. If only because the character shows a more appealing concept to me. The one on the left promises a descent to darkness, and between her razor and the look on her face she's not exactly unfamiliar with it, so perhaps it's more accurate to say that she's already embraced the darkness rather than is descending into it. The one on the right suggests regret, that the character is about to start clawing his way out of the hole he finds himself in. Whereas the left suggests a fairly stagnant character arc, the right reads to me like the character arc will actually go somewhere, and that appeals to me.

This is assuming that the two are cover or otherwise promotional images, of course.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Guy on the right.
Can't stand the little girl's clothing.

How interested in the visual design of your character are you?

Not THAT interested but since you asked...

Have there been any games you've quit playing because you hated the look of your character?

No.

Would you rather play as a similar character to the ones you usually play, or something completely new and unusual?

I've played white, black, hispanic and n/a; men and women, kids and adults, gods and mortals, anthros and robots... I wouldn't know what's usual and what's new anymore.

 

[SmallHatLogan]

If we're purely going by the character design I like the girl, but if we're trying to gauge the type of game based on the character then I'd go with the guy because as someone else said he seems like the parkour type.

How interested in the visual design of your character are you?

Meh, somewhat interested.

Have there been any games you've quit playing because you hated the look of your character?

No, but I have decided not to play games because visually the protagonist seem boring (well, that's never been the only reason but it's a contributing factor). Also in games where you create your own character I have restarted my game because I didn't like the character I'd made.

Would you rather play as a similar character to the ones you usually play, or something completely new and unusual?

I'm always a fan of new and original character concepts.

 

[Fox12]

Damn, I just made it even. I guess the data is "meh" now.

I like the one on the left, but I would like it even more if she were a little taller. She's just a little too puffy for someone that short. I love the color, detail, and face though. She's like a psychotic steam punk fairy, or something. I'm a nut for that stuff. The dude on the left is about to parcor, or something. Both are really cool designs.

 

[Chaos Isaac]

The person on the left looks. Well. Boring.

I am entirely unimpressed, and the character leaves no impression on me. I would prefer the one on the right. Not particularly interesting either, but geez, isn't dressed as stupid.

 

[BathorysGraveland2]

I'd take the one on the right. He looks like a thief/beggar. Someone who's lived a hard life on the streets and is trying to survive in a hard setting. Or perhaps he is a boy assassin or vampire stalking a victim from the shadows, looking down upon them.

The girl on the left is.. well, I can't come up with any interesting back story from her just looking at it. Very strange fashion choice I guess. Odd how she's carrying a razor. Maybe she's about to kill her father with it? Perhaps her father abused her and she's out for vengeance, or maybe she's simply psychotic or possessed by dark spirits.

Hmm, I guess if you think hard enough you can come up with interesting back stories for anything. Still, the dude on the right looks more immediately interesting to me.

 

[Dandark]

I'd take the one on the right. He gives me a more athletic/city free runner vibe which seems fun. He also seems to have more mystery about him, he is crouched down and covered in shadows with little to no distinct features visible. He also reminds me a bit of L from Death note.

 

[CannibalCorpses]

They both look interesting but for me the character i play as in a game adds very little to the experience other than context for why i'm beating the procession of challenges to reach the end of the game. In that respect i can choose either character or neither because how i (the player) looks is irrelevant. I tend to skip story and graphics in favour of gameplay which is the only thing that matters to me.