Poll of the Day > Only 16% of people make characters look like themselves

(+) Yeah! (+)

I am one of the 16%.

My question to everyone else is: Why don't you make your character look anything like you when you create one?
---

Because I'd rather look at something with tits.
---

Because I don't care enough so I just pick the default... maybe different hair colour
---

Because I see myself every day.
---

Sims i will make my character look similar, everything else nope
---

BTB posted...

Because I'd rather look at something with tits.

LOVE IT!

Do you prefer games like Tomb Raider over Uncharted? Curious, since you play as a girl vs boy.
---

I already play myself in real life. Why would I want to play myself in a game too? Also it's pretty impossible to get the characters actually looking like yourself in a lot of games.
---

I always make my character look like myself, but the female version of myself.

I think that means my ideal sex partner is myself.
---

I used to when I was younger, or rather i'd make the character look like what I thought i'd look like as an adult. now days I just rarely self insert myself in a game, i'd rather create something original, make up a back story for them etc. as I rarely make choices in a video game the same way I would in real life. example being in elder scrolls i'd never choose to join a group of assassins even if I had the skill to do so. but I always do in those games. so making the character based around me, just feels wrong to me. elder scrolls is a bit of a more extreme case though as I rarely actually play a human race. usually one of the elven races. in fallout I tend to start with a female. then the male I usually end up making idk why but I have a habit of trying to make him look like a real life version of the vault boy character.
---

I have this "anime" version of myself I see in my head that I base my character off of.
---

I'd rather play as someone who looks more interesting than a tall, skinny black guy with a shaved head. Would be a waste of the customization features available if I were to just pick the same thing every time, anyway.
---

BTB posted...

Because I'd rather look at something with tits.

So just make yourself with tits in the game
---

---

AngryBlueOrange posted...

BTB posted...

Because I'd rather look at something with tits.

LOVE IT!

Do you prefer games like Tomb Raider over Uncharted? Curious, since you play as a girl vs boy.

I prefer games old enough where it really doesn't matter.
---

BTB posted...

Because I'd rather look at something with tits.

This. ^^^
---

I feel like people that make characters look like themselves are often the same people that, when presented a sci-fi or fantasy setting with multiple races to choose from, choose human. Boring. But, to each their own. Some just like the idea of making things look like themselves to achieve immersion, which I can understand.
---

DarkKirby2500 posted...

yes, this

avatarmight posted...

I feel like people that make characters look like themselves are often the same people that, when presented a sci-fi or fantasy setting with multiple races to choose from, choose human. Boring. But, to each their own. Some just like the idea of making things look like themselves to achieve immersion, which I can understand.

Nah see I just decided to irl cosplay as my orc every day

I've never had enough customization options in game to make humans look cool enough (or even like me)
---

I make my Miis and Xbox Avatars look like me, if that counts, but other than that I don't really care. I also haven't played a game with a detailed character designer in a long time though

avatarmight posted...

I feel like people that make characters look like themselves are often the same people that, when presented a sci-fi or fantasy setting with multiple races to choose from, choose human. Boring. But, to each their own. Some just like the idea of making things look like themselves to achieve immersion, which I can understand.

I pick the race that gives me the best bonuses for the class I want to play as, then customize them to look the most like me while still retaining what makes them their race. Best bang for the buck as far as gameplay is concerned, but probably boring as far as actual role playing.
---

Dikitain posted...

avatarmight posted...

I feel like people that make characters look like themselves are often the same people that, when presented a sci-fi or fantasy setting with multiple races to choose from, choose human. Boring. But, to each their own. Some just like the idea of making things look like themselves to achieve immersion, which I can understand.

I pick the race that gives me the best bonuses for the class I want to play as, then customize them to look the most like me while still retaining what makes them their race. Best bang for the buck as far as gameplay is concerned, but probably boring as far as actual role playing.

I personally like making the races look drastically different than what they are supposed to. I made a buff wood elf that had the face that made me think of a evil person of nobility. he just had this regal look to him. I also made a female orc that was as close to good looking as physically possible. I did that one though just because it seemed like a challenge to do and I was bored. think I spent like 45 minutes or better working on that face. i've actually created a lot of characters and actually ended up not playing them. was just having fun with the customization of the characters.
---

avatarmight posted...

I feel like people that make characters look like themselves are often the same people that, when presented a sci-fi or fantasy setting with multiple races to choose from, choose human. Boring. But, to each their own. Some just like the idea of making things look like themselves to achieve immersion, which I can understand.

It's the opposite for me. I immerse myself better when it's a character that isn't me.
---

Mash the A button until the freakin' game starts. Long live Default Guy!

Because I already look like that in real life - why wouldn't I try something new for a digital character?
---

The same kind of people who refuse to play as a character of another gender/race because they "can't relate to them".

Because I can't. I give up halfway through. And when I don't give up, it still doesn't look like me. Even Sims and Miis are only a slight resemblance.
---

Snuggletoof posted...

The same kind of people who refuse to play as a character of another gender/race because they "can't relate to them".

I don't mind playing as other characters especially when it relates to the story. Tomb Raider, Gears, Mario are all different than me.

When I play a sports game or something like Skyrim, I try to make them look like me to the best of my ability because it makes me feel like I'm the one killing that dragon or hitting the homerun and I enjoy it a little more.

It is interesting to hear from other people why they choose something else.
---

AngryBlueOrange posted...

It is interesting to hear from other people why they choose something else.

Because, the player-character is just a pile of pixels you steer around, from murder to murder and cutscene to cutscene.

If you want to make a "me", go right ahead. Others just don't care, or want a nice ass to look at over several hours of murder and cutscenes.

I make them look decent enough only to put a helmet on.
---

Yopster posted...

I make them look decent enough only to put a helmet on.

see I never put helmets on. I can't help it. after all that time making my character im not covering their face. i'll lower the difficulty before putting a close face helm on lol. or wear a ugly helmet period. now if the helmet looks bad ass and I don't see any reason the character I made wouldn't wear it then i'll wear it.
---

I'm playing a fantasy. I'll make a character to roleplay as. They look different depending on the type of character I wanna make. I enforce rules, I play a certain way depending on the character.

Anything else is boring.
---

BTB posted...

Because I'd rather look at something with tits.

Lol totally. If I cant make a proximity of myself, I always make a pretty lady.
---

Abyssion posted...

I'm playing a fantasy. I'll make a character to roleplay as. They look different depending on the type of character I wanna make. I enforce rules, I play a certain way depending on the character.

Anything else is boring.

pretty much this. but I always do make one flexible character just for the sake of getting the best results in each quest or whatever. at that point I pretty much roleplay that they are very good at reading people and know exactly what to say or do to get the best results in their favor. basically I role play a manipulative person on those files lol.
---

I like making Miis that look like other characters

If I want to play as the Happy Mask Salesman in SSB, I can!
---

I always make a character that looks like me so if I see any female characters I can throw down a monster condom and theyll know I have a MAGNUM DONG
---

The only game that I made a real effort to make the character look like me was the one it was hardest to do: GTA 5. What I ended up with was someone that looks like a Russian mobster, with the outfit I have him in.

With the female character I made (because the option exists), I tried (and failed) to make one that looked attractive. I generally do that with most games. Male characters I don't put too much effort into, unless there's a particular style I'm going for. In ME I just went with the default, Fallout I use basic features. But in Skyrim my orc character was designed to look as ugly and vicious looking as possible, because orc.
---

Assuming I'm playing as a human I'll spend up to an hour trying to get as close as possible to myself.

I was able to make pretty good characters in Saints Row 2 and Dragons Dogma
---

AngryBlueOrange posted...

Why don't you make your character look anything like you when you create one?

Because I am literally never playing as "me".

Whether it's a game like Mass Effect where I'm explicitly someone else, or a game like Fallout or Skyrim where I don't have a specific identity in-game but still have a background that makes them very much not me, or even a game where there is literally no identity of any kind, never once in nearly 30 years worth of gaming (both video games AND tabletop RPGing) have I ever seen or played as a character in-game who I see as being ME.

But whether or not a character is "me" doesn't mean shit to me in terms of immersion, because even if I somehow visualized my character as me, it doesn't change the fact that -I- can't shoot fireballs, call down lightning, gun down aliens with machine guns, or any of the other thousand things you can do in video games. Any video game I ever play (and nearly every video game ever made) is by definition going to be about things I cannot or will never do, so that sort of immersion is out the door from second one anyway.

But I don't really need that level of immersion to care about characters or their story, either. I've played as tons of fictional characters who are absolutely distinct from me, and yet whose lives mean far more to me than actual living, breathing humans (who I rarely give much of a shit about at all).

Maybe if I was playing a photorealistic VR game with perfect tactile input on every level with intricately scripted AI dialogue that is like being inside the Matrix, I could play myself as a character and get something out of it, but as is, I really don't.



As a related aside, I'm currently playing South Park: Fractured But Whole as a redhead girl, when I am neither a redhead nor a girl. But then again, neither am I a fourth grader who lives in Colorado, nor a child who can power construction equipment or fly by the power of my own farts, so, you know, realism died a long, long time ago.


---

Because when I play a game I want to play as somebody who's not me, If I'm playing Elder Scrolls I wanna play as a cat person or a lizard man, not some boring human character. Why would you want to make yourself when you can roleplay as someone who's completely different from you? There's also nothing interesting about playing as me, a generic white dude.

Also I generally can't be assed to fiddle with the finer points of Character Creation, wasted time especially if it's Fallout/Elder Scrolls where even in third person you''l never really see your face.
---

BTB posted...

Because I'd rather look at something with tits.

---

If I'm playing a game with a defined character, I enjoy that just fine. I'll experience that character's story and love it, although I won't truly roleplay. It doesn't matter if the character is female, black, asian, whatever (I'm a white guy). If I can create my own character though, I will make it me and I'll roleplay as me in that new environment.

AngryBlueOrange posted...

My question to everyone else is: Why don't you make your character look anything like you when you create one?

A better question is why would you make your character look like yourself? That's some Mary Sue-level shit. When it comes to games, if there's a non-human option, that's usually what I take (I mained an Argonian in Oblivion and a Khajiit in Skyrim). I'm me all the fucking time, so when I game I usually go for a different design.

avatarmight posted...

I feel like people that make characters look like themselves are often the same people that, when presented a sci-fi or fantasy setting with multiple races to choose from, choose human. Boring. But, to each their own. Some just like the idea of making things look like themselves to achieve immersion, which I can understand.

Yeah, who the fuck picks human? Even if it has a good racial benefit (or technically species benefit), I'm *still* going to go with something else for at least a few playthroughs.

Cruddy_horse posted...

Because when I play a game I want to play as somebody who's not me, If I'm playing Elder Scrolls I wanna play as a cat person or a lizard man, not some boring human character.

Plus the non-humans in a lot of games have cooler racial benefits. Sure, there are spells and enchantments which can replicate the same effects later on, but I liked the Argonian's ability to breathe underwater which was a perk in Oblivion (kinda marginal in Skyrim) and the Khajiit's night-vision (which worked great for a stealth character, which is one of my preferred play-types)
---

I play as a Bosmer in Morrowind for the magic specialization without penalty, a Dunmer in Oblivion for the fire resistance and a Khajiit in Skyrim for the Night Eye.
---

You know, it's a real shame that the races in Skyrim aren't well-balanced. Would be nice if someone fixed that. *coughs*

https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/12922

It depends on the game. I don't like to play as a girl so I usually make my character male but not overly bulky. In KHux my character is a girl and has my eye and hair color.

SushiSquid posted...

You know, it's a real shame that the races in Skyrim aren't well-balanced. Would be nice if someone fixed that. *coughs*

https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/12922

tbh, I liked the Khajiit as is, but added stealth benefits sound awesome
---

Having a bonus in unarmed damage makes the Khajiit even more unique. It's not the most efficient fighting style, but there aren't a whole lot of in game features that optimize it ,either if you do choose to use it. Especially in Skyrim.

Snuggletoof posted...

Having a bonus in unarmed damage makes the Khajiit even more unique. It's not the most efficient fighting style, but there aren't a whole lot of in game features that optimize it ,either if you do choose to use it. Especially in Skyrim.

that was one thing that pissed me off with skyrim. they took away unarmed as a skill you could build up. so khajhits where clearly the best on that, which I do call BS on. sure they have their claws but something tells me getting punched in the face by a massive orc is going to leave one hell of a mark. if anything i'd just give khajits a racial ability where unarmed attacks add some bleeding damage to whoever they hit.
---

Because, I like to play as a completely different character each time. So I make them all different.

mooreandrew58 posted...

Snuggletoof posted...

Having a bonus in unarmed damage makes the Khajiit even more unique. It's not the most efficient fighting style, but there aren't a whole lot of in game features that optimize it ,either if you do choose to use it. Especially in Skyrim.

that was one thing that pissed me off with skyrim. they took away unarmed as a skill you could build up. so khajhits where clearly the best on that, which I do call BS on. sure they have their claws but something tells me getting punched in the face by a massive orc is going to leave one hell of a mark. if anything i'd just give khajits a racial ability where unarmed attacks add some bleeding damage to whoever they hit.

I just wish they could balance unarmed fighting so that it was a viable play style with unique effects and with more complexity than just throwing a right hook over and over and over....

Give us disarming and paralyzing effects. Increased mobility. Maybe some exclusive non-lethal techniques that synergize with a pacifist (pass a fist, hehe...) run.