Customising your character

Personally, I quite like it when the MC’s appearance factors into a story. Namely if it’s in a fictional setting, details like that can make the world feel more alive and reactive to who the MC is. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea of course, but if that’s the kind of thing you want to write, I’m sure there’ll be plenty of readers who’d like that.

The main thing I’d suggest is making it somewhat subtle. For instance, if the MCs talking to someone who likes redheads or something, they’re probably not going to walk up and say, “Hello, I like your red hair.” Sometimes authors feel the need (I’ve done it before myself) to make it really obvious that X is a special interaction unlocked by doing Y. But working in the reminder can result in the interaction feeling a bit awkward.

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Thanks, everyone. Really appreciate the input.

In summary:

  • Some people really like to customise
  • Some people really don’t
  • Some people like it before the story
  • Some people like it in the story
  • You can’t please everyone

Joking aside, it has helped a lot.

I kind of like Jacic’s approach and I may go with something like that.

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That point summary of yours now has this song stuck in my head even though I haven’t heard if for years :laughing:

But yeah, I think a summary is probably it’s nice to have as a lot of people do use it to help make the game more enjoyable, but how you choose to implement it is going to be up to you :slight_smile:

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I think you’ve pretty much summed it up, but in case you ever want to read 100s more opinions, this is a topic that’s been debated pretty extensively:

While you can’t please everyone, it is possible to offer a middle ground where customization is optional. People who want it get it, and people who don’t can skip it. For example,

  • I don’t stop to look in the mirror. (leave appearance undefined)
  • I take a moment to look in the mirror. (set appearance; affects small amounts of flavor text)

If you only have 3-4 appearance variables, you can also reduce friction by putting all the choices on one page.

The coding for that isn’t fun, but I think simple appearance questions are a great use for that particular CS feature.

ETA: I remembered there’s actually a template for that exact thing

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If you don’t want to include customization because it’s “pointless”, just don’t include it. It’s your game. Make it what you want it to be.

There’s really no consensus whatsoever about what customization “should” or “shouldn’t” exist. For every person who wants to be able to set their MC’s height, weight, and individual birthmarks, there is at least one person who quits out of any game that has a long chargen section.

“Who the hell cares?” Not you, obviously. Just write what you want, for crying out loud.

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Well, sure, but I’m hoping someone other than me will want to read it :slight_smile:

And I am genuinely interested in why people write the way they do. If something seems pointless to me, I like to know why other people don’t agree.

I take your main point, though.

Ha, yes there are a lot of opinions aren’t there. I should have looked harder before posting this. But thanks for the links.

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I think this is the point where you should decide based on your own tastes. If certain people like x and others y, which do you prefer?
I separated the character creator from the game and added premade characters before I did anything else. I play a lot of crpgs so it feels the most natural to me.
But it does feel like an unpopular solution for IF games.

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I guarantee no one will want to read something that you hated writing.

And, honestly, if you were “just curious”, your choice of language made you come across much more judgmental than you seem to have intended.

There’s pretty much no answer, so I just set out my image of my MCs all by myself. When heading into IFs, I start off with a vague idea of how I want my MC to act and try to think of an appearance based on a personality or vice versa, or if I have zero idea of a MC I would make a self-insert and answer based on my own appearances, but at times I’d see my self-inserts flesh out into a new character. There’s really no right or wrong answer, but what makes me feel a bit grounded as opposed to clueless is thinking IFs as novels I’m “co-writing” with.

My bad then. I had no such intention. All feedback has been appreciated.

That’s a really interesting perspective, thank you.