Character Creation and Customization

[Sand]

How much of character creation and customization will be under the control of the player and how much of it will be dictated by the designers?

[BoxerSC]

The Game Informer article states that you can choose different appearances for Michael Thorton. I don't think voicesets have been mentioned... and I wouldn't bet on changing name or gender.

 

There's also a classless skill system, if that's what you meant.

[Sand]

Physical appearance, voice set, and the like. Still bums me out that we are forced to play a male character.

[SteveThaiBinh]

I like to be able to customise as much as possible, and it will be a shame not to be able to choose gender, certainly. If you're going to close off the choice of playing as a female character, in order to give greater depth to the male character's story, then the story really has to deliver in order to compensate. I'm hopeful that it will deliver.

 

Some of the unofficial info leaked in the Game Informer article suggested that you'd be choosing your 'manner' in dialogue trees (aggressive, cautious etc.) rather than reading and selecting actual lines of dialogue in a Kotor2 style. If that's the case, then good ol' Mike's every word will be recorded by a voice actor and there can't really be any choice of voice set, I guess.

[Sand]

AP then better have a better and deeper story than Mass Effect then since that game gave us a good range of character creation options and the female gender. I doubt that it will.

[BoxerSC]

Physical appearance, voice set, and the like. Still bums me out that we are forced to play a male character.

 

In that case, you can change physical appearance. The magazine only showed two options - both caucasian - so I don't know how extensive the choices will be.

Edited March 14, 2008 by BoxerSC

[Rostere]

I like to be able to customise as much as possible, and it will be a shame not to be able to choose gender, certainly. If you're going to close off the choice of playing as a female character, in order to give greater depth to the male character's story, then the story really has to deliver in order to compensate. I'm hopeful that it will deliver.

 

Some of the unofficial info leaked in the Game Informer article suggested that you'd be choosing your 'manner' in dialogue trees (aggressive, cautious etc.) rather than reading and selecting actual lines of dialogue in a Kotor2 style. If that's the case, then good ol' Mike's every word will be recorded by a voice actor and there can't really be any choice of voice set, I guess.

 

Torment did not have the option to choose gender or appearance, so for me any game that can compensate with story does not need to have a that intricate character creation process. I would also prefer to "create" my character in- game, through choices and actions, not pre- game.

 

The dialogue mechanics remind me awfully much of a game called Fahrenheit... Though some of you might remember it as Indigo Prophecy.

[Pop]

The dialogue system was described as ME meets Indigo Prophecy, yes.

 

And STB, ME was fully VO'd and they had two voice actors, one for each gender. So it's not impossible that they get more than one VA, but it's probably expensive. If we were to have a choice we'd probably get three, tops.

[Humodour]

AP then better have a better and deeper story than Mass Effect then since that game gave us a good range of character creation options and the female gender. I doubt that it will.

 

Seriously man, can you just give it a rest for once?

[Tigranes]

While I play both female and male genders, and customise quite heavily when I can to try all sorts of different appearances and types, I'm equally happy to play a preset character, if that character is well defined and well written. (I wouldn't want to play, say, whatever Bioware might have thought of for a NWN1 OC hero.)

 

At the end of the day, I believe extensive dialogue and world interaction options by which you define your character, and a varied character development system, is really what is important in roelplaying and defining your own, not whether you can choosem ale or female, Twi'lek or Human, white hair or blonde hair. Because of the times we live in, anyway, male/female changes basically *nothing* in the RPGs, except for often shallow romance options. While I agree that more choice is often better, this is not always possible (e.g. PS:T) and I really don't think it's a game-breaker at all; it's really semantic. As long as you have lots of dialogue options to choose from, different ways of influencing the world, and different skills to define your character with.. I think that's what's really important about making your own character. If you could choose your hair colour, male/female and whatnot in a Final Fantasy game, would that really expand the role-playing options? Not really.

 

Edit: You know, it's interesting that these threads always seem to go down the route of "But Sand!". It's not his fault really, he's entitled to his opinion. I just wish the rest of us don't have to be driven to polemics by his personal opinion.

[Humodour]

I don't dislike Visceris, and it's not his opinions that grind my bones; it's his proclamations after his opinion.

 

I'm as worried about pre-set characters as any of you. But I think we've all played enough awesome games that use pre-set characters to know that it won't make or break the game. Heck, as far as I'm concerned one of the strengths of PS:T and Deus Ex was their ability to weave a detailed and intricate story with a believable atmosphere due to the amount of knowledge they could pre-determine about the character.

 

A good story almost necessitates some level of restriction over who/what the character is. It's arguably one of the reasons stories in novels tend to be better than stories in games. By the same token, an RPG isn't defined by character creation, as Deus Ex and PST certainly showed (and heck they still had facets of character creation; it's not like everybody plays the same type of character).

 

What's more realistically a problem to me is this dialogue system they are using. It sounds like it will either work brilliantly, or be a major flop. I happen to like selecting between dialogue options; even if it is as limited as in Deus Ex.

[Jae Onasi]

Assuming that the character is male-only....

 

If Obsidian could make male and female PCs in TSL and NWN2, why take the step backwards to male-only?

 

I can't speak for other female gamers, but I _much_ prefer to play a female character when given the chance. If I want to play a male-only game, I can pull out older games like Fable or PS:T. I think having a female spy could open up some very different gaming experiences and create greater replayability for what I anticipate will be a terrific game. Yes, it means extra voiceovers and dialog. Yes, it means some more coding. That may be a small price to pay for increasing the appeal to a lot of females, and I suspect not too small a percentage of males, too.

[Tigranes]

I wonder if it's because there are any male-specific events in the main plot itself... for example, a recurring seductress.

 

Speaking of main plots, off topic, but I wonder if we'll have lots of side quests. Taking contracts, stumbling on small leads, things like that.

[Morgoth]

Well, I never really cared much for a character creation process. Character progression through gameplay is what Obsidian should opt for.

Edited March 15, 2008 by Morgoth

[Xard]

Gee, could it be due to plot limits?

 

 

*cough cough* bagging every chick *cough cough*

[Sand]

And you couldn't do that with a female character?

[Musopticon?]

Oh, that was the crux of the issue...geez.

[Xard]

at least now we know to whom steamy alien lesbian sex was aimed to

[Sand]

[DuncanOToole]

I hope we can choose the style of clothing he wears.

[Humodour]

I hope we can choose the style of clothing he wears.

 

Yeah, that's definitely the biggest issue on my mind right now.

[Sand]

I am not worried about the other aspects of the game because... well, its Obsidian. You don't have to worry too much about the important aspects of a CRPG when they are at the helm.

Edited March 16, 2008 by Sand

[Nick_i_am]

As much as I might take the mickey, I do sympathise with the notion that the player should be able to chose their own gender when playing an RPG.

 

Given the subject matter though, and how gender-specific a lot of the options the player will have are likely to be, I can understand why the option of a female PC has been cut and will just hope it's for the best.

[mkreku]

My favourite game series of all time (Gothic..) had a pre-determined character. In all three games.

 

Colour me couldn't-care-less. A good game doesn't depend on which character you get/have to play, as long as you're given the tools and abilities to shape this character after your own will during the game.

[DuncanOToole]

As much as I might take the mickey, I do sympathise with the notion that the player should be able to chose their own gender when playing an RPG.

 

Given the subject matter though, and how gender-specific a lot of the options the player will have are likely to be, I can understand why the option of a female PC has been cut and will just hope it's for the best.

 

 

I don't mind much, as I NEVER play female characters anyway, I don't know why, I just don't.