A better character creation system?

Game Design and Theory Game Design

Started by cronocr October 09, 2013 02:13 PM

20 comments, last by apatriarca 10 years, 6 months ago

cronocr

756

Author

October 09, 2013 02:13 PM

I'm looking for ideas to create a better character customization system. Here is my current list of features:

NEW: Name generator - Free to choose or automatically generated based on different algorithms.

Gender agnostic - There won't be a gender selector, just a menu of species, and the user is free to modify the character to look as preferred.

EDIT: Gender is required due to language (incognito/male/female), but the shape of the character is free to define.

NEW: Attributes - Define the perks of the character.

NEW: Free viewer - Move the camera around the character to check every detail.

Profiles - The user could save different configurations of a character. It might be possible to switch between them while playing.

Comparator - Taking advantage of profiles the user can place several customizations side by side to compare them.

Test drive - The user could assign some weapons/tools to the character and check how it looks and feels. There could even be a test level.

Shane C

1,369

October 09, 2013 02:19 PM

Going mostly on a level of intellect and choices:
Jobs/classes - the user can assign a job/class the character is skilled at.
Morality - the user can assign the character a morality on a scale from good to evil.
Introvert/extrovert - the user can make the character shy or talkative.

cronocr

756

Author

October 09, 2013 02:38 PM

Oh attributes! Good idea. I'll also add:

Name generator - Could be based on sounds that resemble the species, or combination of words that resemble the attributes of the current configuration.

Shane C

1,369

October 09, 2013 04:16 PM

Oh attributes! Good idea. I'll also add:

Name generator - Could be based on sounds that resemble the species, or combination of words that resemble the attributes of the current configuration.

Use that but also give the players the option of naming the characters, for a personalized feel :).

haegarr

7,408

October 09, 2013 06:05 PM

Gender agnostic - There won't be a gender selector, just a menu of species, and the user is free to modify the character to look as preferred.

Depending on the mechanics of the game wherein the character is used, you may get into trouble when doing so. Thinking of text (descriptions, dialog, thoughts, ...) in e.g. RPGs, you typically have the need for personal pronouns which are, in many languages, gender specific. Just repeating the proper name again and again isn't nice to read. I personally would not drop this property in general (assuming that the biology of the supported species isn't genderless, of course ;) ).

cronocr

756

Author

October 09, 2013 06:39 PM

you typically have the need for personal pronouns which are, in many languages, gender specific

Very good point. A gender preference should be available for conversations only.

Shane C

1,369

October 09, 2013 06:47 PM

Gender agnostic - There won't be a gender selector, just a menu of species, and the user is free to modify the character to look as preferred.
Depending on the mechanics of the game wherein the character is used, you may get into trouble when doing so. Thinking of text (descriptions, dialog, thoughts, ...) in e.g. RPGs, you typically have the need for personal pronouns which are, in many languages, gender specific. Just repeating the proper name again and again isn't nice to read. I personally would not drop this property in general (assuming that the biology of the supported species isn't genderless, of course ;) ).

Are you saying you can't refer to them as an "it"?

sunandshadow

7,435

October 09, 2013 06:54 PM

Gender agnostic - There won't be a gender selector, just a menu of species, and the user is free to modify the character to look as preferred.

Depending on the mechanics of the game wherein the character is used, you may get into trouble when doing so. Thinking of text (descriptions, dialog, thoughts, ...) in e.g. RPGs, you typically have the need for personal pronouns which are, in many languages, gender specific. Just repeating the proper name again and again isn't nice to read. I personally would not drop this property in general (assuming that the biology of the supported species isn't genderless, of course ;) ).

Are you saying you can't refer to them as an "it"?

Not for a person, no. That would be awkward at best, dehumanizing and insulting at worst. You could have a gender-neutral pronoun as an option though (sie/hir and ey/em are two of the more widely used ones).

I want to help design a "sandpark" MMO. Optional interactive story with quests and deeply characterized NPCs, plus sandbox elements like player-craftable housing and lots of other crafting. If you are starting a design of this type, please PM me. I also love pet-breeding games.

Shane C

1,369

October 09, 2013 06:59 PM

Gender agnostic - There won't be a gender selector, just a menu of species, and the user is free to modify the character to look as preferred.
Depending on the mechanics of the game wherein the character is used, you may get into trouble when doing so. Thinking of text (descriptions, dialog, thoughts, ...) in e.g. RPGs, you typically have the need for personal pronouns which are, in many languages, gender specific. Just repeating the proper name again and again isn't nice to read. I personally would not drop this property in general (assuming that the biology of the supported species isn't genderless, of course ;) ).

Are you saying you can't refer to them as an "it"?
Not for a person, no. That would be awkward at best, dehumanizing and insulting at worst. You could have a gender-neutral pronoun as an option though (sie/hir and ey/em are two of the more widely used ones).

I didn't know that. To weigh in, I've heard of people on the internet not wanting to disclose their genders and when asked whether to refer to them as "he" or "she", they just say, refer to me as "it".

cronocr

756

Author

October 09, 2013 07:34 PM

That brings an off-topic question to my mind, how do you determine the gender of a word in English? In other languages, i.e. Spanish, the last vowel of a word defines its gender, with only a few exceptions. In English would you say that a "ship" is a she or he? English is not my native language as you might realize so I'm curious

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