RPG videogame character appearance creation

[invisible]

when you play an RPG videogame where you get to design your character appearance, what kind of design strategy do you use? do you try to make your character look like you, or someone else? someone real, or someone archetypal, hypothetical? someone you admire, or someone you find beautiful or handsome?

i started out making characters look the way i wanted to see myself, like a big strong idealised hero version of myself, but that got boring, and i started to try to make them look as much like me as possible. i look a lot of unflattering documentary type pictures of myself and i became really familiar with the irregularities in my features. eventually i became more comfortable with my face and it was fun to try to get the character looking as close to me as possible. its really fun to have a little "me" running around in those worlds doing heroic type things, it makes it a more involved fantasy to put myself in the game that way.

 

[Barnabas]

generally an older male character with balding or gray hair, scars and tattoos to go with if t fits the setting. I like to think I'm either going for battle hobo or retired vet that keep getting pulled back in(sometimes there's overlap. Retired hobos and what not.)

 

[invisible]

generally an older male character with balding or gray hair, scars and tattoos to go with if t fits the setting. I like to think I'm either going for battle hobo or retired vet that keep getting pulled back in(sometimes there's overlap. Retired hobos and what not.)

Barnabas, do you have tattoos and scars IRL?

 

[Barnabas]

Barnabas, do you have tattoos and scars IRL?

I stabbed myself with a pen once and now have a blue dot on my belly, sooo.... yes.

 

[invisible]

I stabbed myself with a pen once and now have a blue dot on my belly, sooo.... yes.

badass

 

[say what]

I don't know how I do it. I don't make them look like me...I guess I make them look like ideas of me - like the badass heroine, or the cute innocent mage. I also like races that are humanoid. I don't like playing ones with tails or fur - unless they're pandas or cats!

 

[TastyShaman]

when you play an RPG videogame where you get to design your character appearance, what kind of design strategy do you use? do you try to make your character look like you, or someone else? someone real, or someone archetypal, hypothetical? someone you admire, or someone you find beautiful or handsome?

i started out making characters look the way i wanted to see myself, like a big strong idealised hero version of myself, but that got boring, and i started to try to make them look as much like me as possible. i look a lot of unflattering documentary type pictures of myself and i became really familiar with the irregularities in my features. eventually i became more comfortable with my face and it was fun to try to get the character looking as close to me as possible. its really fun to have a little "me" running around in those worlds doing heroic type things, it makes it a more involved fantasy to put myself in the game that way.

This! I'll make my character look as much like me as possible and then vary it up in some way. Maybe my character will look like me but will have a ridiculous hairstyle that doesn't suit me at all. My favorite part of the character design is being able to create a jarringly unfit hero that doesn't look like he fits in the world at all. Muahahaha