I personally enjoy having the option to choose,not all choices need to have impact on the game and character customisation is something that some will enjoy and others don’t(just give the player the option to skip if they want to), I don’t see why choosing your skin color had to have a effect, but eye color and hair color don’t, I must admit that I’ve played some cgs that kinda gave me the impression of a default “white” mc, I always imagine them with really dark skin so hearing about their red flushed face, kinda breaks immersion, there was one cg where 2 of the npcs had a little darker complexions(one was mixed)and people were prejudiced against them, but my mc(who I also imagined with dark skin) was just fine, people never minded them(which kinda makes me think they’re white.
The games way walkers, tin star and silverworld had you pick you ethnicity and it mattered, and was commented in the game, they are good examples if you’re going to give different ethnicities, in way walkers humans from the Tazu nation normally had dark skin, in tin star playing as a native was commented and you also suffered prejudice same with silverwolrd if you choose one certain option, but in those games you didn’t pick your skin color, you picked your ethnicity and skin color came along because it was a characteristic from that group, you can make a choice of skin separated from ethnicity if you are not going to include that in your game, like I said before I don’t think it always has to make a impact on the game, you also can let the player choose their mc characteristics slowly(eyes on the 1st, hair on the 2nd and skin on the 3rd) rather than everything on the first chapter, sorry if it’s long.
Honestly I like having the choice, even if it doesn’t impact anything, sometimes having the choice at all can help with immersion. Not that I don’t love games where things like skin color, hair color, or other characters customization options have an impact but I’d rather have the choice and the game not use it then not have it and have the game make assumptions about what my MC looks like.
I like customizing in any way, but I’ve yet to see skin color matter beyond one or two trivial variable placements. Don’t do it if it doesn’t matter. If it influences opinions of npcs, yes, or if multiple later descriptions mentions it, fine.
As a Black person the choice helps me visualize my character since in most games I just head canon my character black unless they say otherwise but there will be lines that break my immersion. An example is when someone writes that you put your hand through your hair as a black person that not a thing that’s happening. I personally like when you can choose your skin color and hair texture even if it isn’t important because it gives the mc I make a solidified look in my mind.
I also don’t enjoy when the text says someone notices my face flush, it’s not something people would notice with my dark skinned mc, sure they could notice they are nervous or embarrassed by other means
Glad I’m not the only one that is a little take out when that happens.
Yea there’s a lot of little things that non-black people(or mixed people) will experience that I wont like my natural hair bouncing as I walk or a sunburn
Clothing and wounds are usually the most interesting parts of appearance that I’m interested in.
Lol that is true. Unless you have some REALLY long hair in a giant fro.
While those things may seem covetous, keep in mind that, so long as you stay reasonably hydrated, you’ll always look and feel 10-20 years younger than everyone else your age so there’s that lol
I think depends entirely on the type of game . However if the game has romances I think it should include it due ro scenes (not only romantic) stuff like blushing , looking to the eyes and description should let you choose your race . I am white but even I feel like excluded when my character i role-playing is mixed or from other race and the text is clearly with the image of white.
I don’t think author or people is racist, I think that education and media has trained our minds to write and read with a white man image as player. So let choose and being described and designed by the race one is I think is a great deal for people it helps to feel attached to him her them.
I don’t see any point in appearance customisation if it isn’t gonna be referenced during the game. I can imagine my character looks without pressing the buttons.
This is all really helpful advice, I certainly want to avoid mannerisms that assume certain characteristics about the MC. In a situation where a character might run fingers through their hair, would you prefer a choice that let the player describe their character’s hair, or would you rather have a more universal gesture to avoid potentially bogging down the narrative with a choice? I’m trying to find a good balance between too much and too little character customization.
just like with hair color and length I don’t care if it asks but nine times out of ten it never gets brought up again or at least not after the second chapter. I think it’d be cool to have someone play with my hair or rub my cue ball head in attempt to summon a genie. Gotta tread carefully with skin tone though so… “shrugs”
Good pont on hair options. I almost never chose long hair, but I frequently sweep my bangs off my face and tuck it behind my ears.
Mannerisms seem to be a dangerous immersion-breaker.
But without long hair, I’m afraid most of my OCs will chew their bottom lip off with no other options.
Getting your hair ruffled seems universal to me.
It all depends on why the character is doing what they are doing. From what I have surmised, playing with your hair generally is due to either stress or anxiety (good or bad).
A good way to avoid causing issues, if you don’t want to go through the kakigilian different methods a person could deal with stress or anxiety dealing with their hair, is to have the more neutral “rubbed the back of his/her head”. Hits the same note and is something every race does when frustrated or stressed at something.
Also Twisting and Twirling your hair around your fingers
Well I normally have my hair cut as a Low-Fade that’s essentially a Buzz Cut, so that generally translates to not being able to do that. Pretty much any standard “hair playing” action is not something I have ever been able to do since I was like 3 years old lol
Now I need to run a quick search on the full text of my WIP, to see if I made any references to the texture of the MC’s hair.
You right