Do character models and customization influence your MMO choices?

TheScavenger

As title says...do character models influence your MMO choices?

For me, they definitely do. When its 100% of something I am going to look at the entire time I play, I want to look like a male of my choice (or a female of my choice). However since I mostly play males...most MMOs very much lack male customization and make males look like steroid Jack himself, and look very ugly. Very rarely do you get a good looking male in an MMO, no skinny or fat dudes in a lot of games sadly.

Luckily, in BDO you can make all kinds of males (I made a super fat male for laughs in beta dunno if you can still do that). My current BDO male character is a wizard who looks VERY frail, old and sickly. In WoW, by far the best males were Forsaken (skin and bone and sickly looking), Tauren (kinda "beefy" heh heh, but didn't look jacked up on steroids) and I liked the Draenei, Dwarf and Gnome males as well. WoW had pretty good choices as far as characters go, WoW very much lacks customization that BDO has, but its not bad at all with all the choices you get.

GW2 also has really good character models, they did a good job on all of them (except the humans look pretty ugly (look like ken dolls), but Charr/Norn/Sylvari/Asura all look great)

But the characters also have to look good. In Everquest 2, the character models look sooooo ugly...no matter what male or female I make, the art style and graphics are so outdated and ugly (even though WoW is the same age and looks way better) that it makes it impossible for me to enjoy EQ2. 

2d games are fine though. I can play Ultima Online and the characters look fine despite the age of the game, I don't really look at them close due to top down view. And, the 2d art style makes the game still look good and not outdated decades later. WoW has the advantage of not looking outdated either due to the art style and the graphics always being updated (which is extremely rare in an MMO to always be updating the graphics of the game).

So what about you, do character models influence (even if slightly) your MMO choices? I mean, it is what you look at 100% of the time lol

Nebless

Some what.  I won't play any of the Asian or Anime games as I just don't like that look. 

For all other games it's rare I can play on the highest graphic's so looks and customization don't play big into my picks.  I base more of my choices on game content & setting.

Octagon7711

1. How PvP and PvE are implimented
2. character models
3. combat feel
4. leveling experience
5. death penalties
6. theme
7. voiced quests and quality of quests
8. inventory space, bank space, shared inventory with alts
9. travel times, waypoints, mounts, ports

The list is a lot longer and if something low on the list is done really really bad then it can supersede the others based on how bad it feels. :-)

laxie

Very much so.

More often than not, I pick a character based on the theme/look and then learn to love the gameplay. I rarely pick a character based on the skills - that's something I pick up as I go.

There are people who are the exact opposite to me. I think there is a good amount of variation between how people play games. Some of my friends don't care about their character at all, only playing based on numbers and combat performance.

For me, games are more about living out a specific story. The feel of a character is often core to that.

Sovrath

Yes.

If I don't like or can't tolerate what is offered I won't play the game. Or, it will be a slog.

DeadStep

Yes, every single time. For me an MMO isn't that without character customization of some sort.

Kyleran

Nebless said:

Some what.  I won't play any of the Asian or Anime games as I just don't like that look. 

For all other games it's rare I can play on the highest graphic's so looks and customization don't play big into my picks.  I base more of my choices on game content & setting.

Yeah, pretty much the same, no goofy looking anime games but otherwise I pretty much hit the random slider until I get a look I mostly  like, then do a couple of minor tweaks and off I go.

Heck in many games I'm looking at the back side of a fully geared avatar most of the time, not much customization needed, except maybe a good looking cloak.

Beezerbeez

laxie said:

Very much so.

More often than not, I pick a character based on the theme/look and then learn to love the gameplay. I rarely pick a character based on the skills - that's something I pick up as I go.

This holds true for me too; At least, it does when I first dive into a game. Mechanics preferences come later for me. Immersion, theme, and style play a huge part in my initial character design or choice.

Loke666

Character customization is a huge bonus in my book and nice character models doesn't hurt but those are just 2 factors, a really fun combat system, a well designed world and a good story all vcount higher in my book (but that good story should not include thousands of cutscenes, thanks).

Jemcrystal

Yep.  Not playing a game with limited character creation.  Even if it is a good game.  Even if the character models are fair to okay with some customization (cough LOTRO cough).  Even if it is the best gameplay ever (cough EVE cough)!  If I cannot make that character be a me character screw it. 

mysticmouse

Yes it does. It's not the main thing I look for in a game, gamplay and a good UI come first and then character looks and customization are next.

Renoaku

Yes absolutely good character models and realism is what brings me to games these days, I do remember the older days of games like "T4C" and "Face OF Mankind" when graphics didn't matter so much.

But take "Path OF Exile" for examplle the character models are awful, not as good as they could be, even the Cash Shop sucks because it doesn't' allow you to preview items you purchase it instead uses a cheap method of previewing as in a video played through YouTube, this immediately turns me away from Path OF Exile for example, however "Diablo 3" for example allows players to preview armors and cosmetics right in the game its developed better.

APB before it was taken over by Gamers First for example had decent character models & Customization, I would like to see another game like GTA5, or Saints Row online with more realstic models and such, but GTA 5 for that matter is full of cheaters / modders unplayable but a real game without that similar to SR, or APB rather would be great.

World OF Warcraft for example needs a complete re-make of character models before I will ever go back it was okay back in the day but it was ruined although "Ashes OF Creation" could possibly be the new World OF Warcraft and second actual MMO developed in the U.S to my knowledge, along with Crow Fall.

Azaron_Nightblade

Sovrath said:

Yes.

If I don't like or can't tolerate what is offered I won't play the game. Or, it will be a slog.

^Very much that. It's the main reason I can never fully commit to ESO. The gameplay is nice, but dear god, did those character models take one hell of a beating from the ugly stick :c

Aelious

I like being able to customize the look of my avatar, even if the look breaks the traditional tropes for the game. Example, I understand that in EQ an Enchanter is bound by mechanic balance to wear cloth and by D&D tropes only use a Dagger, 1hb or 2hb like a staff... but I like the ability to look like I have plate and mix up my weapon as a Battlemage of sorts. As the years of playing MMOs has gone on, I find myself preferring this because seeing the same tropes over, and over, and over has become passe. I like creativity and imagination.

Wizardry

I couldn't care less about the look of my model in the creation screen,i will within minutes afterwards be covering it up with gear.i have never used the tattoo setting in games and it has been out there for 30 years or so.

I find it funny how many people will say they care about the looks of their character,then play a game where the camera is locked or the characters look puny on screen,so small you can barely make out any detail.

ConstantineMerus

Kyleran said:

Nebless said:

Some what.  I won't play any of the Asian or Anime games as I just don't like that look. 

For all other games it's rare I can play on the highest graphic's so looks and customization don't play big into my picks.  I base more of my choices on game content & setting.

Yeah, pretty much the same, no goofy looking anime games but otherwise I pretty much hit the random slider until I get a look I mostly  like, then do a couple of minor tweaks and off I go.

Heck in many games I'm looking at the back side of a fully geared avatar most of the time, not much customization needed, except maybe a good looking cloak.

Ass.. the word is ass, mate. 

kitarad

Most definitely but poor choices won't stop me if the game is very good.

Kyleran

ConstantineMerus said:

Kyleran said:

Nebless said:

Some what.  I won't play any of the Asian or Anime games as I just don't like that look. 

For all other games it's rare I can play on the highest graphic's so looks and customization don't play big into my picks.  I base more of my choices on game content & setting.

Yeah, pretty much the same, no goofy looking anime games but otherwise I pretty much hit the random slider until I get a look I mostly  like, then do a couple of minor tweaks and off I go.

Heck in many games I'm looking at the back side of a fully geared avatar most of the time, not much customization needed, except maybe a good looking cloak.

Ass.. the word is ass, mate. 

Well I did say i adjust a few sliders.

kitarad

As a woman I have not made male avatars to look at ass ever. 

kjempff

Good game mechanics can save poor character models, but good character models can not save a bad game.
Considering present mmo game design and mechanics, quality of character models have become somewhat insignificant to me.. So many other more important changes I need to see happening before character models move up the list of importance.

Cryomatrix

I look at character customization as a marker for thoroughness and depth. I really don't care all that much, but i hate every char looking the same. I hate all anime style characters. 

To the poster who spoke about Path of Exile, you are correct in your assessment, however, diablo 3 >>>>>>> path of exile in terms of monetary funds. I think PoE has a better game with limited funds than diablo 3. Then again, i don't play diablo 3 ever and i'm a PoE junkie. 

Cryomatrix 

sunandshadow

I really prefer character customization to be earned within the game, but there are pretty much no MMOs that will do that.    But yes, I'm very reluctant to play a race that doesn't fit my mental image of a character I want to roleplay.  I'm somewhat flexible with different art styles; anime is my favorite but western cartoony like wow or wildstar are fine too.  But I don't like minecraft or lego style figures, which is one reason I didn't play Puzzle Pirates very long, and I was never interested in customizing my character in Maplestory because I don't like bobblehead chibis.

SEANMCAD

OP Answer:
never

Octagon7711

I'll spend no longer than about 30 mins. at the most making a character, usually ten or fifteen.  I was surprise to read some people can take over an hour to design a character and everything has to be perfect or they will delete it and start over.

Siris23

Character creation is a huge plus for me, even in single player games. it's the main reason I liked Saints Row (2 more than 3) over any of the GTAs.

Sovrath

Wizardry said:

I find it funny how many people will say they care about the looks of their character,then play a game where the camera is locked or the characters look puny on screen,so small you can barely make out any detail.

You will have to give examples as all the games I know of that have significant characterization have "zoom".

Additionally, for those who are "aesthetically inclined" and require it for immersion, it's knowing what our character is about, what it looks like, that helps.

Sort of like players' back stories that some games allow them to write. They don't do anything, they might not be seen by other players but it helps focus the player on their character and their place in the world or what they are "about".