I would say its important. Character creation is your first step into any mmo. Can't stand when they can't be bothered with giving you a option to create your own character. To me games that make you pick a generic character are cheap. I really hated in the new game Kritika where they give you some options to create a character but when you go talk to an npc it looks nothing like what you made.
Absolutely. There is at least one game I can think of (Ryzom) where the character customization was so incredibly bad that I could not bring myself to enjoy anything else because I was so disgusted with how my character looked after spending over an hour trying to find something I didn't utterly loathe.
Conversely in ArcheAge I was so pleased with the appearance of my character that it made me enjoy the game considerably more than I might have otherwise.
I usually first find something that looks aesthetically pleasing and only then put in a few hours of a theorycraft to make it work.
I can't stand characters that light up the screen with needless fireworks or seem to have a seizure when using their abilities.
Originally posted by nethaniah
Seriously Farmville? Yeah I think it's great. In a World where half our population is dying of hunger the more fortunate half is spending their time harvesting food that doesn't exist.
Customization is by far my biggest influence in games that i choose to play. I have zero desire to put in work and look just like someone else.
Depending on how good the customization system is, you don't have to. One of the reasons I love my ArcheAge character so much is while he may not be spot on image of me he does recognizably look like me.
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
Yes and so does the general art style. I absolutely detest little cutesy kid-like races in MMOs as well as those where they all look like teen supermodels.
Even in cartoonish games like WOW, I found the gnomes annoying.
I like grit and a good cross section of ages as well as butt-ugly beast races.
"Social media gives legions of idiots the right to speak when they once only spoke at a bar after a glass of wine, without harming the community ... but now they have the same right to speak as a Nobel Prize winner. It's the invasion of the idiots”
― Umberto Eco
“Microtransactions? In a single player role-playing game? Are you nuts?” ― CD PROJEKT RED
Yes, absolutely. Not necessarily realistic, but nice looking models with good art design and direction, something that blends well with the world. And yes, I want good customization options and looks for male characters as well, tired of 90% of the effort going to female characters, even if they are more popular.
Absolutely yes. I can't play a game if I think it looks shit. Like all these 8 bit games we're seeing now, can't stand em. Can't play Minecraft, for example. I couldn't get into TSW because the models were a: FUGLY and b: the animations were terrible.
But... I can go back to an old game quite happily, if it's something I used to play, even if it looks a bit dated now. As long as it looked acceptable when it came out I'm fine with it looking old. I can easily go back and play Aion or EQ and not be bothered. Weird.
100% yes. Character models limit time I can play a game like Warframe. One interesting thing I've heard is that Western players are on a whole more interested in playing games as their own unique character than Asian players, who prefer to fill the role of an established character.
yes, i can't play any RPG where i look like a cute anime character. i'm a RP'er at heart and i need my character to be menacing and i would prefer the world to be a darker setting as well.
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.
Very true for me too. I play an Astrologian in FF14 purely because of the theme. I mostly play healers and it was a no brainer. After that I learned the skills etc.
/Cheers, Lahnmir
'the only way he could nail it any better is if he used a cross.'
Kyleran on yours sincerely
'But there are many. You can play them entirely solo, and even offline. Also, you are wrong by default.'
Ikcin in response to yours sincerely debating whether or not single-player offline MMOs exist...
'This does not apply just to ED but SC or any other game. What they will get is Rebirth/X4, likely prettier but equally underwhelming and pointless.
It is incredibly difficult to design some meaningfull leg content that would fit a space ship game - simply because it is not a leg game.
It is just huge resource waste....'
Gdemami absolutely not being an armchair developer
As a woman I have not made male avatars to look at ass ever.
That's because male ass is the ugliest thing in the universe.
Constantine, The Console Poster
"One of the most difficult tasks men can perform, however much others may despise it, is the invention of good games and it cannot be done by men out of touch with their instinctive selves." - Carl Jung
To answer your specific question: yes, absolutely. However, I would go a step further and say that the entire Character Creation experience influences my enjoyment of any RPG, including but not exclusively MMORPGs.
To answer your specific question: yes, absolutely. However, I would go a step further and say that the entire Character Creation experience influences my enjoyment of any RPG, including but not exclusively MMORPGs.
100% yes. Character models limit time I can play a game like Warframe. One interesting thing I've heard is that Western players are on a whole more interested in playing games as their own unique character than Asian players, who prefer to fill the role of an established character.
Not true at all. Most Asian MMOs tend to be miles ahead of their Western counterparts in terms of character customization, when it comes to visual stuff of course. There's cheap ones too that don't give you much options, but most of the big titles have crazy amounts of customization. Aion, BDO, the upcoming Bless Online, AA to a lesser degree...
Hell, some players practically live to play with BDO's character creator, and the value pack (subscription option) let's you customize all your characters however much you want. While other games put this feature behind paywalls. Heaven forbid you want to make some adjustments because the way the character looked in the creator winds up being different from the finished product in game. Then you get to reroll, see if you can get back what you made the first time, or shell out $10-20 for a one time change.
My SWTOR referral link for those wanting to give the game a try. (Newbies get a welcome package while returning players get a few account upgrades to help with their preferred status.)
Good graphics of which good avatars are a part does matter. But our obsession with the visual has made graphics where all the money goes. Gameplay, multiplayer, crafting etc is all secondary; so it often really lags behind.
The answers here reflect the current state of the genre. Give the masses pretty pictures and loot boxes with a chance of big rewards and they come running. Even if there's barely a game underneath.
There are certain queer times and occasions in this strange mixed affair we call life when a man takes this whole universe for a vast practical joke, though the wit thereof he but dimly discerns, and more than suspects that the joke is at nobody's expense but his own. -- Herman Melville
The actual customization doesn't matter as much as how the armor looks on my character. It's one of the reasons I loved Lineage 2, you had small customization in terms of how your character looks, but the armors all looked so damn good for every single class on every race. If the game has good customization but bad armor skins, then I think I have more of a problem than the reverse.
I want to look sexy when I play, so yes: the look of my character is very important. There are many games I won't even try because of how the characters appear.
This forum is broken. It is time to move to proboards, because they're broken.
Comments
Conversely in ArcheAge I was so pleased with the appearance of my character that it made me enjoy the game considerably more than I might have otherwise.
I can't stand characters that light up the screen with needless fireworks or seem to have a seizure when using their abilities.
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
Even arpgs would be better for me if I could customize my character more.
Even in cartoonish games like WOW, I found the gnomes annoying.
I like grit and a good cross section of ages as well as butt-ugly beast races.
“Microtransactions? In a single player role-playing game? Are you nuts?”
― CD PROJEKT RED
I wouldn't touch Witcher 3, but would play Horizon Zero Dawn. (not mmos, but still a good indication)
I stopped playing my warden in Lotro, because whenever he put on a helmet he would get a neckbeard, while he's bald as a cue ball.
But... I can go back to an old game quite happily, if it's something I used to play, even if it looks a bit dated now. As long as it looked acceptable when it came out I'm fine with it looking old. I can easily go back and play Aion or EQ and not be bothered. Weird.
Character models limit time I can play a game like Warframe.
One interesting thing I've heard is that Western players are on a whole more interested in playing games as their own unique character than Asian players, who prefer to fill the role of an established character.
Being a pessimist is a win-win pattern of thinking. If you're a pessimist (I'll admit that I am!) you're either:
A. Proven right (if something bad happens)
or
B. Pleasantly surprised (if something good happens)
Either way, you can't lose! Try it out sometime!
/Cheers,
Lahnmir
Kyleran on yours sincerely
'But there are many. You can play them entirely solo, and even offline. Also, you are wrong by default.'
Ikcin in response to yours sincerely debating whether or not single-player offline MMOs exist...
'This does not apply just to ED but SC or any other game. What they will get is Rebirth/X4, likely prettier but equally underwhelming and pointless.
It is incredibly difficult to design some meaningfull leg content that would fit a space ship game - simply because it is not a leg game.
It is just huge resource waste....'
Gdemami absolutely not being an armchair developer
Very well said, and true for me as well.
Hell, some players practically live to play with BDO's character creator, and the value pack (subscription option) let's you customize all your characters however much you want. While other games put this feature behind paywalls. Heaven forbid you want to make some adjustments because the way the character looked in the creator winds up being different from the finished product in game. Then you get to reroll, see if you can get back what you made the first time, or shell out $10-20 for a one time change.
My SWTOR referral link for those wanting to give the game a try. (Newbies get a welcome package while returning players get a few account upgrades to help with their preferred status.)
https://www.ashesofcreation.com/ref/Callaron/
2. Game play mechanics
3. Character models
My top 3. Number one limits my choices since I won't play f2p games.
I'm not an IT Specialist, Game Developer, or Clairvoyant in real life, but like others on here, I play one on the internet.
There are certain queer times and occasions in this strange mixed affair we call life when a man takes this whole universe for a vast practical joke, though the wit thereof he but dimly discerns, and more than suspects that the joke is at nobody's expense but his own.
-- Herman Melville