How do you come up with a custom character in a game?

[TheoAllen]

It's no news anymore that games nowdays are featuring a custom character, which basically you create your own avatar (or customize party member. xcom anyone?). But yeah, some spend an hour or so creating a character because it never feels right lol, even deciding the name is hard for some people.

How about you? Do you have some "preset" character in your mind? Also does the generated character affect how you play in game? Or do you just click "randomize" and let the RNG decides your character appearance?

For starter, me. I have some "preset" characters I'd make in almost every game with custom character generation, and if possible, I'd roleplay with my own rules.

Spoiler

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First :
A female that would get nuke ability, or at least who would focus the role on nuking enemy / dps, I'd name her "Cecilia". Her face would feature a ponitail, and if possible I'd color the hair a bit reddish. In fantasy setting, I'd take any magic ability, especially fire or thunder, less (or not at all) healing skill. Close combat ability is good too, that would make her battle mage, but I'd focus on her magic more. In modern/scifi setting, I'd take any bombard type of weapons such as grenade launcher, or bazooka as the main weapon.

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Second :
A male close and personal specialist in combat (sword in mid-era setting, or semi-auto guns main hand weapon in modern/scifi setting), I'd name him "Soleil" (if you know it, yeah it's based on my project). His appearance would be like a naughty boy with a rather spiky hair. Hair color doesn't matter as long as it natural. He's a counterpart of Cecilia. His skill distribution mostly would be on melee/physical strength, but would have some skill on magic too. The focus is reversed compared Cecilia.

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Third :
A female (full) support (heal, medic, buff, etc), I'd name it "Nella". Her main feature would be a blonde short-hair (it's a must or else I'd rather not create this char lol). Her main attack would be a ranged one. But when I play this name, I'd focus on restoration skill. Or alchemy / crafting in modern/scifi setting. Some games might be hard to use this build for main character, so she as companion is also alright (if you can create your own companion)

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Fourth :
An agile male character that would focus solely on spend skill point on dexterity/stealth/speed/agility, I'd name it either "Andy" or "Alfred". Their hair would be a short brown, and the main feature would be a goggle (or equivalent, if Andy) or bandana somewhere in his body (if Alfred). In mid-era / fantasy setting, their main weapon would be either dagger or dual blades (they could wield a bow too). In modern/scifi setting, their main hand weapon would be small guns like pistol or revolver.

Of course, I sometimes use some other names with different self-rules to play or appearance. But those are usually my most used "preset" characters. However in general, I don't feel comfortable building a female character that would spend most if not all into physical skill point. Or building a male support type of character.

How about you?

 

[l8rose]

Mage with a tragic backstory... or Tank-type with a hero complex.

Spoiler

Generally, it's a mage type character (Vanguard/Biotic/Force Magic User/etc) with a backstory that usually gets progessively more sappy and terrible as I go. I always try to choose the most generic and least fleshed out backstory so I can make my own. IE if they let me have an orphan, then the characters gets a tragic story as to why they are an orphan and so on. The character almost always turns out to be on the good side of the moral spectrum as well as I don't like making bad decisions (generally being mean in a game makes me feel terrible). That being said, I did enjoy playing a bad guy in SWTOR (force lightning!) but her choices still aligned with being a bit of a tragic outcast.

The other side of the coin is mostly because of my time playing WoW. I have pretty much just played the same Blood Elf meatshield since the second expansion of the game. This has translated into my character's backstory that she was one of the first Paladins and wanted to prove everyone just how awesomely heroic her people can be (despite the fact that they had stolen the abilities to be Paladins when they first started, good times). Most of her choices end up based on a "I can do that!" mentality which is really hilarious for choosing quest rewards. I've occasionally remade her in other games or at least based somewhat on her.

Names wise, it really all depends on the genre. Modern or futuristic I generally go with some combination of Natasha Stryker or Tela Ward. Fantasy wise it varies but my current ones are Arakash (Ara) or Aria.

 

[Milennin]

Yeah, I also have some preset characters I like to play, though I have different version for them so I can choose whichever, depending on what the game has to offer.

Spoiler

Roth
Typical battle mage, specialising in both swordsmanship and elemental magic (mainly air/lightning) with stats mainly geared towards attack and agility. Excels in close- and mid-range combat.
His looks similar to the picture as my avatar. His gear features a cape or cloak, and he wears light armour, sporting that adventurer look.
Personality-wise is kind of like does whatever he likes, but leans towards being the good guy if given the choice. Like to show off from time to time, lol.

Milennin
Holy mage/knight/cleric. Basically can go either the more tanky route with heavy plate armour, like a Paladin, fighting on the frontlines. Or more along the lines of a spellcaster, healing his allies from the back. His weapon is either a two-handed sword or a staff, depending on what he's going for.
His long blue hair is probably his most distinctive feature, lol. The colour of his outfit is primarily white, secondarily white (optionally gold).
He has a nice and polite personality, and always fights with honour.

Mayra
Generally goes for something more stealthy, going for that unfair advantage over her enemies, and can wield either daggers or magic (either for trickery or for assassination). Wears light armour to allow for a mobile fighting style.
Her looks are that of a young woman with long, slightly curly black hair. She likes to wear a stylish dress, giving her the look of an innocent lady before she stealthily deceives or assassinates her enemies from the shadows.
She has a bit of a mean and sadistic personality, and generally walks the path of evil (but mainly for her own amusement, not for power).

 

[iVale]

In X-Com specifically, I use all the names of friends and relatives so when they die, I can tell them about it.

 

[Frogboy]

I would always spend hours creating my 6 character party in the old gold box D&D games. I guess I never really had a preset in mind.

 

[KayZaman]

I played WWE, and these are my characters.

Spoiler

First things first in my mind....ninjas.

 

[Tai_MT]

I just have the one "preset" and it's only if the game allows me to use it. Otherwise, I just try to create myself.

My preset?

Darkest black skin complexion you can get. Tousled Hair. All hair is Bright Blue. Character is lean, but slightly muscular. Eyes are Blue. Full beard and moustache. Black Aviator Sunglasses if possible. I max out his "luck" or equivalent stat if one is available.

His name? "Lucky Duke". He's the biggest badass any game world has ever seen.

 

[Astel]

Human male, who looks as close as possibly to an idealized version of myself
Usually named Astel, or goes by my other secret nickname over the internet which is...

Spoiler

secret

 

[iVale]

Is secret the secret name? or is it secret?

 

[Matseb2611]

Usually I have somewhere around 3 main presets:

- A regular male character who vaguely looks like me (short black/brown hair, no facial hair or just a light stubble, etc)
- A badass-looking female character
- A non-human character

If a lot of narrative role-playing is involved, I usually start off with the first preset so I can feel like I am playing from my own POV with my own moral compass. If the game is more about action and just looking cool or badass, then I usually like to create a hot female character and have her cleaning up the hordes. A lot of the time I also like to roleplay as non-human characters. If robots, or aliens, or some exotic species exist (e.g. Argonians or Khajiit in Elder Scrolls), then I usually like to try them out at some point too. It feels interesting and kind of relatable to play as someone who is different to the norm.

As for XCOM, I don't have any presets there. I usually try to make my characters look as funny or ridiculous as possible, with weirdly-chosen hair colours, armour colours, and facial hair style. This makes the creation of so many soldiers quite a fun activity, and also makes it easier to remember who is who when I have a whole roster. Sadly, it doesn't stop me getting attached to them, no matter how crazy they look.

 

[BlackRoseMii]

For me it's kinda both.
I usually just spend a while looking at all possible customizations and pick whichever looks best. I think about the personality as I go. In the end, it tends to be a sassy, sometimes tomboyish girl that doesn't need to be protected XD. The finer details change once in a while, depending on how I'm playing the game.

 

[TheoAllen]

Bump this topic because I think it's interesting

 

[Engr. Adiktuzmiko]

Usually I'd go with a female build, slightly tall with just the right body size. Usually I'd go with either black/white hair or if there's some really crazy color combination possible, I go that way. Clothes depend on the game itself, but if there's a good outfit in black, I'd definitely choose that.. If there's skill/build selection I usually go for the more offensive style of gameplay.

Its been quite a while though since I last played a game with custom character as most games I play these last months all have predefined characters.

 

[wonderjosh3000]

So for single player games with character creation, I tend to try to make myself as close as I can, not even embellished to be more chiseled or whatever, haha. And usually if there's a good guy/bad guy route, I'll go full good guy the first play through.

The second time through, however, I make a real weird looking guy, usually middle aged or older and gross-ish looking. Typically goes by the name of Spanky, Salty, or Stinky Pete. And he's straight up chaotic neutral/chaotic evil, haha.

I guess I'm thinking of the Fallout games or Mass Effect games in this case. But other games, like the Souls series or Bloodborne, which I play a lot of, I do a similar thing for the first and second+ times, but since there's no alignment, I try to play them as differently as I can.

 

[Gallimed]

Depends entirely on you and what you want honestly. My artstyle is terrible but i can make my characters express themselves so i go for easy to draw cartoon animals with human features.

 

[TheoAllen]

Depends entirely on you and what you want honestly. My artstyle is terrible but i can make my characters express themselves so i go for easy to draw cartoon animals with human features.

This is not about "Artstyle", rather "when a game has custom character creation"

 

[Gallimed]

This is not about "Artstyle", rather "when a game has custom character creation"

Whoops, I've misread the thread and just wanted to vent about how terrible I am. If i can make custom characters, i usually check for fun abilities first, and then decide the look of my character. I usually settle down with a cute girl as my main character

 

[mazzy-elf]

I either will think of putting myself in that world or learn a bit about the lore of the game and make up a character and personality to fit which works well for RPGs that are more free with their story like Skyrim but it doesn't work as well for things like GW2 (even though I try) because your char is gonna end up saying and doing things you wouldn't want them to.

Edit: All my characters on the Sims are hilarious monstrosities or themed though because it makes me laugh.

 

[AmieLK]

Once upon a time, I was a young humanoid child who managed to get her hands on some comic books. X-Men, to start with. And upon seeing Ororo Munroe, I had several revelations that never left me:

1. Oh wow I'm super gay.
2. No pupils??? No irises??? WHAT
3. There has never been a cooler design EVER

Tldr: my go-to is to make a character that looks as much like Storm as humanly possible. Usually a rogue or DPS class--or whatever lets me and my (horrifyingly bad) reflexes get away with the "frantic button mashing and prayer to every deity imagined" playstyle.

 

[realice]

For the physical look:
- female character who have white hair
- mysterius cool looking face
- small body size

clothe depends on the game, but i will choose black or white outfit.
Me too..its always spend many hour for creating a character and deciding the name haha