Single Unisex masked hero or Character Selection?

[Anomaly]

Hello, I've got a little project going on behind the scenes involving rising through the ranks of heroes and I'm curious as to what people think of this mechanic-ish idea.

*This game doesn't have a big story to it.
*It's a basic -> new hero -> rise through ranks -> become the ultimate hero.

Option 1: A unisex hero. There's no character selection screen... They are hidden at all times behind a suit of armor, you'll never see their face but as you rank up you'll see their outfits change different metals based on their rank but the small story the game has can be tailored to you more as you can reflect yourself onto them and how they would react.

Option 2: I include a small character selection system. This would allow character personality and emote expressions based on conversation. However, you'll be able to see the story through their perspective more.

Keep in mind the second option really doesn't have an impact on the story really. It just boils down too would you want to just have a masked hero or a predefined personality trait.

Any choice won't make or break anything it's just getting a general idea on what people would prefer.

 

[TheoAllen]

The appeal of having to select the sex/gender is when you can see the portrait. So, if it has a portrait or something I could stare at it while playing the game, option 2 is superior for me (especially in 3D games). But if the whole game is just sprite and minimal portrait, either of the options doesn't matter.

 

[Anomaly]

Ah good point, yes a portrait will be displayed during dialog, menus and battles. So, in short it does have something you would see on screen.

 

[Aesica]

Definitely the character selection approach. I tried playing a game once where the hero wore a mask the whole time and...I found it a bit off-putting. I guess it just feels like it's harder to get to know the protagonist if they're all anonymized behind masks or helmets.

 

[Anomaly]

Excellent, @Aesica. Thank you for your feedback!

 

[Wavelength]

Character selection for sure - the player needs to empathize with their character and hiding the character behind a suit of armor forever is one of the worst ways to do that.

Even being locked into a single gender (and single personality) by having a well-defined character with no select system would be preferable in most cases to a character that intentionally has no defined gender and very little personality. The only time the "masked hero" is worthwhile is when the mask/armor/whatever ties into a really interesting plot point. Or if you're on FOX's The Masked Singer.

 

[Engr. Adiktuzmiko]

Not really into character selection, but at least let us see the face of the character at some point..

 

[Kes]

@Noct Actually, this isn't a mechanic as such.

[move]General Discussion[/move]
Also, please bear in mind that neither the original location nor here is for feedback on individual specific projects. If that is what you want, then this will need to move again to Ideas and Prototypes. What we can have here is a discussion of the general point which means that there may well be answers which are on-topic, but totally irrelevant for your particular game. And that is fine.

If you want to keep this to discussing only your own game, please post to that effect and I'll move the thread.

 

[Anomaly]

@Kes noted!

Thank you both for your feedback.
I’ll probably keep it to just choosing a gender. But the hero is pretty much the same person. As it develops more and people have a chance to play it I’ll bring up the idea of choosing different heroes.

 

[Kes]

[mod]Closed at the request of the OP. If you want it reopened please Report this post and leave the reason why.[/mod]