It's So Beautiful! - The Custom Character Thread

[psychospacecow]

Spoiler

So, there are quite a few games now a days that allow you to customize your main character. This has been the case for a while actually. So, what do you think of this as a feature, do you find that it adds to your experience or takes away from it, and if you happen to have a character you've made that you're particularly proud of, would you mind sharing it?

[puggsoy]

As with many other kinds of aspects, it depends on the game. Story is a big factor. Sometimes a game only works if the character is pre-determined, for example in the Professor Layton games the story is so focused and significant that it hinges upon the main character.
A fixed character also allows you to experience the game as an observer, rather than the character yourself. You're controlling them, but you aren't them. This can subtly affect the experience of the game. If you think about the possibility of custom characters in something like Luigi's Mansion or a LoZ, I mean it would work and the story could still go in a similar way, but it wouldn't be the same. It has to be Luigi that gets scared but saves the day anyway, it has to be Link who goes through dungeons and slays the bosses. To be perfectly honest, I actually dislike the fact that you can change Link's name in most of the games, and feel that the name you choose should only be used for save files, not the character himself.

In other games the gameplay is based off the character's uniqueness, and as such custom characters don't work. Blocks That Matter features Tetrobot, and he does stuff that only he can do. Similarly, sometimes the character's stance in the game just doesn't justify customisation. In Portal there'd be no point in customising Chell, even though you could and the story, gameplay, and everything else would work pretty much exactly the same.

One thing I do enjoy in these kinds of games are alternate characters, if it works. That is, unlockable characters that just give aesthetic differences (or in some cases, slightly influence gameplay). Games like Bit.Trip Runner 2, Super Meat Boy, BattleBlock Theater, The Binding of Isaac. In these cases the character doesn't have a heavy impact on the game, but still doesn't justify full customisation. The aesthetic items in TF2 are also nice, they don't change your character but still make them unique.

Personally, I've only seen full character customisation happen in first or third-person RPGs, and only where the story is flexible enough to support it. Elder Scrolls, Fallout, that sort of thing. I don't play these often but the diversity of the world allows you to make your own character and create a journey unique to them. This also increases replayability.
And of course there is the array of MMOs like Runescape and WoW. Here it's obviously necessary, due to the potential of there being virtually infinite players.

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Basically, as a summary, it just depends. It's not something I specifically look for in a game, and usually it's just used where it fits. There are some cases where I feel it could have improved a game though (e.g. Torchlight).

[psychospacecow]

The image I linked comes from Dragon Ball Xenoverse. It has this weird quirk when going through the story with audio (though that's not too surprising since the localization was kinda mediocre). Characters will always respond to your character in a masculine fashion. As in, they'll call your female character a man.

Apart from that, it works pretty well though. The whole point is to have your original character as a self-insert through out the DBZ story, fixing the canon, and Xenoverse is by all account a pseudo-mmo if ever I've seen one.

[NICKtendo DS]

The problem for me is oversaturating the custom character roster. I do throw out those that don't really stick.
As hard as I try to create a character as close to the original as possible, it will never, ever compare to the original. Never. Ever. Never.
In Smash Bros. I have created:
Fake Mario
Fake Luigi
Waluigi (the Fake part didn't fit)
Fake Link (face based on 8-bit sprites)
Dunban, X, Proto Man (obviously)
Reggie (Fils-Aimes)
Filsamech
Iwata
Miyamoto (with Link outfit)
Princess (OC from Princess Fantasy Catventure)
Shin Chan (wears Monkey Suit)
Krillin (kid version from original Dragon Ball)
Dracula (Castlevania)
Alucard (Hellsing manga/anime)
Jeff (Earthbound)
Porky (Earthbound)
Nikki (Swapnote (obligatory))

I probably missed some, but I have Inkling Boy and Inkling Girl ready for when the Splatoon costumes come out, and no, they're not as horrid looking as the ones Nintendo had shown.

[psychospacecow]

Majins are just too fun to mess around with. You can find a fun result with them, guaranteed.