How far away from humanoid would you stray?

sunandshadow

Originally posted by BeansnBread
I like the obscure stuff. I almost never pick human. I'd play a gelatinous cube if a game offered the option. I assume we don't see some of the more creative stuff because it's really expensive to show armor models for non-humanoid forms.

It wouldn't be expensive to have a single weird playable body type _instead_ of a humanoid body type, but it would be expensive to have both.  The reason we don't see odd playable races instead of humanoid ones is simple popularity.

sunandshadow

Originally posted by DMKano

Why can't we have a fantasy race that is NOT relatable, something truly bizzare and unique.

 

Well, if you can't relate to your avatar at all, that hinders roleplaying and players' motivation to play the game.  It's like the phrase "high concept" used when talking about movies - it doesn't mean high quality or high complexity, it means instantly relatable and easy to cultivate enthusiasm for in potential customers.  As humans, we have a lot of biological programming to pay attention to facial expressions - it would be particularly difficult to convince players they wanted to hang out with other players' avatars in a game's virtual world if those avatars were faceless.

Cor4x

I'd play anything. The difference in opinion is where a character is referred to as that person.

Some people (like me) don't identify therewith.

I pick characters based on how they strike me. Usually not cutesy creatures but sometimes.

I don't believe there is any form I wouldn't play.

 

BeansnBread

Originally posted by sunandshadow

Originally posted by BeansnBread
I like the obscure stuff. I almost never pick human. I'd play a gelatinous cube if a game offered the option. I assume we don't see some of the more creative stuff because it's really expensive to show armor models for non-humanoid forms.

It wouldn't be expensive to have a single weird playable body type _instead_ of a humanoid body type, but it would be expensive to have both.  The reason we don't see odd playable races instead of humanoid ones is simple popularity.

Yeah, I was assuming that the game would have humanoid forms alongside the non-humanoid forms. I don't think in that case it is as simple as just popularity. In that case I think there are also economic factors when considering what playable races/forms/whatever should be put in game. Even if people are screaming that they want two-headed ogres, most developers of major titles would consider the implication of having to change every helmet and torso armor fundamentally in order to accommodate a single playable race. And that is a mostly humanoid form.

Loktofeit

I really enjoyed the Aracoix and Centaur races of Shadowbane. How far would I go, though? I'd really like to play a non-humanoid, non-anthropomorphic beast of some kind.

After playing Tokyo Jungle, I have been hoping that someone would make an animal-based post-apoc MMO of some sort. 

Baitness

I would not be able to feel attached to my character unless it had four limbs and a head.  At least I do not think I would.  I do just fine getting temporarily attached to spacecrafts in Eve, though.

VengeSunsoar

Love shifting as a druid and love my Dragon in istaria.

Foomerang

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Originally posted by Quizzical
The reason why MMORPGs usually make all playable races roughly the same shape is that it makes art much simpler, not that they think that's all that players would want to play.  If all races have two arms, two legs, and a head roughly in the same relative places, then they can all share the same armor graphics.  If you want such a character to wear a shirt and a pair of pants and make the textures once, it's pretty obvious how to stretch them over the various races and not unduly hard to do.But what happens if you want a horse to wear that shirt and pair of pants?  How about an eagle?  A spider?  A fish?  If you want to have a bunch of different looking armors available to every character and have to make completely independent armors for every single race, that greatly bloats the art budget.  You can get around this by letting every race wear the same armors with common artwork used for all of them.  You can also get around it by having one armor available to each race so that everyone of a particular race wears the same clothing.  Given the choice, which would you prefer?

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There are some creative ways around that but it would require a further stray from the tried and true. Instead of gear representing visual progress, various auras could be a substitute. Can also have abilities tha physically change appearance based on content completed. Pair those with more customization at chracter creation and I think it could work.

Vynt

I usually prefer humanoids, but rarely humans. As long as it looks good to me I will play it.

I don't like playing as animals though. I could never get into the Druid in WoW because I didn't like spending most of my time changed. I remember in EQ, my ranger could turn into a wolf for some extra atk power, and I just couldn't do it. Hated it, lol. Thankfully later on they had alternative buffs so people didn't need to shapeshift.

If the race was humanoid and animal, no problem with it. I loved my Ratonga in EQ2 ( humanoid rat), and played quite a few animal humanoids in various games before.

 

Quizzical

Originally posted by sunandshadow

Originally posted by BeansnBread
I like the obscure stuff. I almost never pick human. I'd play a gelatinous cube if a game offered the option. I assume we don't see some of the more creative stuff because it's really expensive to show armor models for non-humanoid forms.

It wouldn't be expensive to have a single weird playable body type _instead_ of a humanoid body type, but it would be expensive to have both.  The reason we don't see odd playable races instead of humanoid ones is simple popularity.

That is a good point.  A game could readily have all characters use some particular body type instead of humanoid with the same amount of racial diversity and at the same cost of creating the artwork.

Making some non-humanoid body shapes look good could be problematic, though.  One advantage of bipeds with two feet very near each other when both are on the ground is that this usually doesn't look all that wrong.  If you had a spider with eight legs spread out on high-curvature terrain, then when standing still by traditional methods, some legs would be poking far into the ground or not even come close to touching the ground.  You can sometimes handle two distant points touching the ground by tilting the entire body, though for some shapes, this would look like the character should fall over.

Mivi

ameba

Cephus404

I play based on my particular playstyle.  If the race gives me benefits playing the way I want to play, I'll use it.  I couldn't care less what the race looks like, any more than I care what my armor looks like.  It's there for effect, not for looks.

SetEssential

I wouldn't mind a playable race in the form of a snakeperson like The Sisters of the Edurneum (The Snake Women) from Arx Fatalis. I think it would be fun.

 

SnakeWomen

 

Playing as a giant spider would be interesting too because of how many times I have been jumped on by them and killed. I would like to see how it feels and looks from the other side.

Kranoc

I have always wanted to play a bird-like race. I think it would be the coolest to just take off and see the vast landscape beneath you. Combined with the Oculus Rift, it would be breath taking.

ElRenmazuo

I want to be a Nano Tech android race that can shape shift parts of their body like T1000 or Terminatrix

kitarad

You can play a spider right now. One of the enemy races in PvP LotRO is a spider.

iixviiiix

Let see , there are game with class that allow you to turn in  beasts form , i mostly in wolf form (not werewolf) when i play the game.

There are bird and ape form too but deal less damage than wolf so i don't always use lol .

But it fun to be difference than other avatar .

Mr.Kujo

I can't relate with anything that is non-humanoid. I couldn't even play Tauren, Charr, or any of the small dwarf like creatures. It's already hard enough for me to play all the stylized humans in new games, although I tend to pick them now, because they are becoming more and more rare, since everyone wants to be the cool horned guys or black eyed guys or whatever and I like to stand out from the crowd. People say that humans are still picked by majority, but servers I played on seemed to say different.

 

The main reason developers are affraid of putting non humanoid races into their game is because it would be something that is cool and fun for the first few hours, but after the entertainment tones down, most people wouldn't be able to relate with a spider, or a blob. It's more like a gimmick, fun minigame or whatever. Not many people would have the need to max out a spider to do dungeon runs with it for the next year. More like "look, I'm a spider!", "look how he fights, cool",  and after few hours, or days switch to humanoid. Not all people of course, the are lots of nuts out here, that won't fit basic concepts in psychology.

Shilar

The only way I could be pulled into a fantasy MMO is IF a playable non-human race was done. I don't mean were/furry races, but centaurs, naga/lamia, driders, mermaids... even succubi or such. To me if these aren't even a choice, it's not high enough fantasy for me.

PioneerStew

Originally posted by Shilar
The only way I could be pulled into a fantasy MMO is IF a playable non-human race was done. I don't mean were/furry races, but centaurs, naga/lamia, driders, mermaids... even succubi or such. To me if these aren't even a choice, it's not high enough fantasy for me.

I agree with this, but the centaurs would have to have the arms and head of a horse and the legs and arse of a human before I would even consider playing. 

eindinbloch

Originally posted by Deleted User

The majority of MMOs have us choose a bipedal humanoid type avatar and we usually get the choice of male or female. Im sure the reasoning is that the majority of people out there want a character they create to be someone they can identify with more easily.

That said, who is to say appearance is the only factor to identifying with ones avatar? What about people who identify as queer or non gendered? Would you play a character that had multiple limbs or no discernible facial features? Would you play a blob or slug like creature? Would you play an asexual entity?

If there were more robust RP mechanics like a complex emote system and improved social animations would that help to make you identify with your character more than just looks?

Does backstory matter when making your character?

I know thats a lot of questions to mull over heh.

Basically, what types of no humanoid characters would you want to play, or along side in an mmo?

I would love to see some completely alien entities with perhaps no limbs at all, asexual, maybe floating, I dont know. I like the idea of having a non sexualized character because it frees me of any expectations other players may about my character.

When given the option, I almost never play a humanoid character in games if  I can help it.  Although that said, almost every game only gives you the option of bi-ped/humanoid.  I'd love to see a game where you could play something vastly different.

And yes, backstory matters.  I don't care much if I identify with the character I'm playing, but for roleplaying purposes, backstory definitely matters.

EDIT: Also, I like the idea of playing multiple characters at once, whether that is controlled or uncontrolled (for the multiple parts).  It would be really cool to play a 1st/3rd person game where you had to switch between a bunch of different characters that all fought together.  Maybe an ooze that split into many parts or something?

Basically, what I really want is to be as unique as possible both in terms of my appearance and my skill set.  I really like the character customization of games like champions online, if it had better actual gameplay, I might actually stick with it.  Give me the skill diversity of a MOBA, the character customization of Champions Online, and the story/environment of, say, Saga of Ryzom, and I'll play that game forever.

Joeyjojoshabadu

A Hooloovoo - a hyper-intelligent shade of the colour blue.

Azaron_Nightblade

Originally posted by nariusseldon

nah .. i will just play a human .. or something close enough.

 

^Pretty much.

The novelty of those more exotic races wears off quickly for me and then I get all "meh" about playing them.

PioneerStew

Originally posted by eindinbloch

Originally posted by Deleted User

The majority of MMOs have us choose a bipedal humanoid type avatar and we usually get the choice of male or female. Im sure the reasoning is that the majority of people out there want a character they create to be someone they can identify with more easily.

That said, who is to say appearance is the only factor to identifying with ones avatar? What about people who identify as queer or non gendered? Would you play a character that had multiple limbs or no discernible facial features? Would you play a blob or slug like creature? Would you play an asexual entity?

If there were more robust RP mechanics like a complex emote system and improved social animations would that help to make you identify with your character more than just looks?

Does backstory matter when making your character?

I know thats a lot of questions to mull over heh.

Basically, what types of no humanoid characters would you want to play, or along side in an mmo?

I would love to see some completely alien entities with perhaps no limbs at all, asexual, maybe floating, I dont know. I like the idea of having a non sexualized character because it frees me of any expectations other players may about my character.

When given the option, I almost never play a humanoid character in games if  I can help it.  Although that said, almost every game only gives you the option of bi-ped/humanoid.  I'd love to see a game where you could play something vastly different.

And yes, backstory matters.  I don't care much if I identify with the character I'm playing, but for roleplaying purposes, backstory definitely matters.

EDIT: Also, I like the idea of playing multiple characters at once, whether that is controlled or uncontrolled (for the multiple parts).  It would be really cool to play a 1st/3rd person game where you had to switch between a bunch of different characters that all fought together.  Maybe an ooze that split into many parts or something?

Basically, what I really want is to be as unique as possible both in terms of my appearance and my skill set.  I really like the character customization of games like champions online, if it had better actual gameplay, I might actually stick with it.  Give me the skill diversity of a MOBA, the character customization of Champions Online, and the story/environment of, say, Saga of Ryzom, and I'll play that game forever.

I genuinely think many mmo's hugely underestimate the importance of character customization (and I mean aesthetics).  

Having a wide range of options at character creation, collecting aesthetic items (and making them available on the CS etc) will keep a lot of people playing for a long time.  Look at SWTOR since they started releasing more and more cosmetic items on the CS- it basically turned the game around.  

Shilar

Originally posted by PioneerStew

Originally posted by eindinbloch

Originally posted by Deleted User

The majority of MMOs have us choose a bipedal humanoid type avatar and we usually get the choice of male or female. Im sure the reasoning is that the majority of people out there want a character they create to be someone they can identify with more easily.

That said, who is to say appearance is the only factor to identifying with ones avatar? What about people who identify as queer or non gendered? Would you play a character that had multiple limbs or no discernible facial features? Would you play a blob or slug like creature? Would you play an asexual entity?

If there were more robust RP mechanics like a complex emote system and improved social animations would that help to make you identify with your character more than just looks?

Does backstory matter when making your character?

I know thats a lot of questions to mull over heh.

Basically, what types of no humanoid characters would you want to play, or along side in an mmo?

I would love to see some completely alien entities with perhaps no limbs at all, asexual, maybe floating, I dont know. I like the idea of having a non sexualized character because it frees me of any expectations other players may about my character.

When given the option, I almost never play a humanoid character in games if  I can help it.  Although that said, almost every game only gives you the option of bi-ped/humanoid.  I'd love to see a game where you could play something vastly different.

And yes, backstory matters.  I don't care much if I identify with the character I'm playing, but for roleplaying purposes, backstory definitely matters.

EDIT: Also, I like the idea of playing multiple characters at once, whether that is controlled or uncontrolled (for the multiple parts).  It would be really cool to play a 1st/3rd person game where you had to switch between a bunch of different characters that all fought together.  Maybe an ooze that split into many parts or something?

Basically, what I really want is to be as unique as possible both in terms of my appearance and my skill set.  I really like the character customization of games like champions online, if it had better actual gameplay, I might actually stick with it.  Give me the skill diversity of a MOBA, the character customization of Champions Online, and the story/environment of, say, Saga of Ryzom, and I'll play that game forever.

I genuinely think many mmo's hugely underestimate the importance of character customization (and I mean aesthetics).  

Having a wide range of options at character creation, collecting aesthetic items (and making them available on the CS etc) will keep a lot of people playing for a long time.  Look at SWTOR since they started releasing more and more cosmetic items on the CS- it basically turned the game around.  

I think MMOs hugely underestimate the racial classes as well as character customization. As noted, not a lot of people are simply content with human, human w/ ears, short human, shortER human, ugly human, and furry. One of the biggest pieces of art I saw from a fantasy MMO was a centaur, and upon research... found they're just an NPC race you fight... I don't wanna fight centaurs, I wanna PLAY them.