Do You Have The Hots For Your Character?

[Mitchfynde]

When there's an option to create your character, and you can make them anything you want, do you go for what most looks like you or do you go for what you think is hot and sexy?

As said elsewhere, I like to make a tall black woman with blonde hair and name her Loovee. Long story. What about you?

We are the same person???

[Pantsu Hunter]

Praise the 2D master race.

[wariodude128]

Generally speaking, most of the time, in a first playthrough of an RPG I try to make my character an Idealised version of myself, so OBVIOUSLY, I MEAN LOOK AT ME

But nah, given my characters are controlled by me, that robs them of any individual agency outside of my control and choices, which makes being attracted to the character kind of impossible beyond a physical level.

Now RPGs with predetermined characters, such as JRPGs, The Witcher or Kingdom Come Deliverance, they provide ample opportunity for you to get to know the character you control.
Best example from last year: Kassandra/Alexios, I MEAN LOOK AT THOSE MUSCLES.

A lot of my friends will play as a woman in an RPG because of the whole "I don't want to be looking at a man the whole time" argument, and I don't really get it, because I can't see my character as a sexual being any more than I can look at myself as something through those lenses, I can't see the point.

Side characters in RPGs however... absolutely, Liara, Triss, Theresa, Morrigan, Peebee.
But once again that is because those characters are people outside of your input, they exist in the world and have their own personalities, however predefined in the context of the work in which they appear.

I have been thinking about a way to write about this concept for AGD, something that strikes me about the value of side characters in a game is how they are defined in terms of their relationship to the player, we all felt the loss of Dom, Sgt Johnson and Cortana, but when games try to force emotion by showing a cutscene of the protagonist's tragic backstory(tm) there is no real connection there. I am thinking about something like Wolfenstein II, where yeah, BJ's dad is a dick who does awful things, but we don't feel that loss or connection the same way as when Dom sacrificed himself, I think it comes down to their utility to the player, each of those characters were people who helped significantly in combat, Dom was your brother in arms through 3 games, broken by a loss that we felt for him when he had to euthanise his wife.
BJ's dad was a dick, but it just felt like he was a cartoon villain in comparison, so when he made us kill the dog, sure it was a bit squeamish, but it didn't evoke the same pit in the stomach as when Guilty spark blasted Johnson in the chest.

I'll have to think about this some more

I think I get it. It's kind of like a companion cube situation. In Portal, there's a cube with a heart on it which you use to solve puzzles. When GLaDOS tells you to shove it in the incinerator to progress, you might have second thoughts because of all the things you and the cube have gone through together. In games where that cube is an actual walking and talking NPC who helps you out a bunch, it becomes the same kind of thing. They went through so much with you and somehow came out of it alive. So you don't want anything to happen to them, despite only being made of ones and zeros.

Or... you could be a bastard like I guess I am and throw the companion cube into the incinerator the second I'm told to to progress.

[Pominator]

Generally speaking, most of the time, in a first playthrough of an RPG I try to make my character an Idealised version of myself, so OBVIOUSLY, I MEAN LOOK AT ME

But nah, given my characters are controlled by me, that robs them of any individual agency outside of my control and choices, which makes being attracted to the character kind of impossible beyond a physical level.

Now RPGs with predetermined characters, such as JRPGs, The Witcher or Kingdom Come Deliverance, they provide ample opportunity for you to get to know the character you control.
Best example from last year: Kassandra/Alexios, I MEAN LOOK AT THOSE MUSCLES.

A lot of my friends will play as a woman in an RPG because of the whole "I don't want to be looking at a man the whole time" argument, and I don't really get it, because I can't see my character as a sexual being any more than I can look at myself as something through those lenses, I can't see the point.

Side characters in RPGs however... absolutely, Liara, Triss, Theresa, Morrigan, Peebee.
But once again that is because those characters are people outside of your input, they exist in the world and have their own personalities, however predefined in the context of the work in which they appear.

I have been thinking about a way to write about this concept for AGD, something that strikes me about the value of side characters in a game is how they are defined in terms of their relationship to the player, we all felt the loss of Dom, Sgt Johnson and Cortana, but when games try to force emotion by showing a cutscene of the protagonist's tragic backstory(tm) there is no real connection there. I am thinking about something like Wolfenstein II, where yeah, BJ's dad is a dick who does awful things, but we don't feel that loss or connection the same way as when Dom sacrificed himself, I think it comes down to their utility to the player, each of those characters were people who helped significantly in combat, Dom was your brother in arms through 3 games, broken by a loss that we felt for him when he had to euthanise his wife.
BJ's dad was a dick, but it just felt like he was a cartoon villain in comparison, so when he made us kill the dog, sure it was a bit squeamish, but it didn't evoke the same pit in the stomach as when Guilty spark blasted Johnson in the chest.

I'll have to think about this some more

[gbullock32]

I always made a 'manly man' with a rockin' beard when I was young, and kind of fell into that; now that I am old enough to grow a beard I'd say I end up looking more like the characters I used to create more than making them look like me.

[Jokerthefoolio]

If I go for a female character I'd like to make her attractive

[Jokerthefoolio]

Is Geralt dating material?

[Thomas_JCG]

I always try to recreate myself, but I'm not narcissist enough to have the hots for myself.

[wariodude128]

As an aside, when I have a character that is predetermined, as in how they look is based on class, I've decided to name them a short version of said class. For instance, in Diablo 2 I decided to name my Barbarian class character Barbie. When I get to them, I hope to name the others Maze the Amazon, Source the Sorceress, Nick the Necromancer, Pal the Paladin, Drew the Druid and Sass the Assassin. If you thought any of those were funny, you owe me a like.

[Sirgeorge]

you should see my modded skyrim character mate

TO whom are you referring to specifically?

[JackofTears]

I don't know how old you are but, when I was a teen, pretty much the only way you could play a female on a console was in fighting games, so I became quite fond of them throughout my teens for that reason, first and foremost.

[Nic]

you should see my modded skyrim character mate

[Sirgeorge]

When there's an option to create your character, and you can make them anything you want, do you go for what most looks like you or do you go for what you think is hot and sexy?

As said elsewhere, I like to make a tall black woman with blonde hair and name her Loovee. Long story. What about you?

I remember having this one browser based turn-based game that I played during my early childhood. I made a character with very specific specs and have mostly modeled most of my subsequent characters to look after that one. No I'm not attracted to it in any other way then as a pleasant memory.

[LadyDeadpool]

If they have a female choice and i can make her look somewhat like myself, i do it. Otherwise i just go for something that looks either beastly or dating material, depending on my mood at the time.

[Erebus]

I usually make a character based on my self so no.