I've never been enamored with character creators...Usually I only saw them from teh back so it didn't matter to me. I felt no connection to the character.
Don't believe me? If you were my friend, I'd prove it to you.
Don't worries. Now that you have publicly announced that you have big boobs irl, you will probably have an in box full of new friends. But not me! Old and married. Could you tell?
Haha, like 90% of the active mmorpg.com forum users? From the sound of it, you're not alone. Many people here remember playing Ultima if that doesn't give away your age.
"I have found a desire within myself that no experience in this world can satisfy; the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world." ~ C. S. Lewis
So how about you? Is your character a projection of you? Or you expressing yourself as something different?
All of my characters have a "slice of Al" in them. I can't play an "evil minded" character because I'm not that way, generally speaking. Other than that, I'm quite separated from the characters I play in games.
I see myself more as a "puppet master" rather than "me in the game world" kind of player. It's not me swinging that sword or casting that spell or picking that lock. The dialogue choices and game decisions are basically me, though. I'm not going to launch a nuke "just because I can"
I hope that makes sense
- Al
Personally the only modern MMORPG trend that annoys me is the idea that MMOs need to be designed in a way to attract people who don't actually like MMOs. Which to me makes about as much sense as someone trying to figure out a way to get vegetarians to eat at their steakhouse. - FARGIN_WAR
99% of the people in Second Life are likely dudes any ways. Everyone is irregular shapes like massive shoulders, 7 feet tall, or the chunkiest of pears. With as "unique" as that place is, not sure i'd call that a great metric for anything.
And in this case I was referencing games in general in regards to myself, but it would be CoH and Champs in relation to my friend.
Woah, sorry I offended you! You're quite wrong about that, but according to Slapshot, we're all men anyways. You obviously haven't played SL in a looooong time. But hey, you're offended, clearly. It's clear that I have the ability to judge characters/avatars and you don't. Git Gud!
"I have found a desire within myself that no experience in this world can satisfy; the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world." ~ C. S. Lewis
Well... By the time EQ rolled around, I was a heavy guy that worked all day out in the sun busting my ass doing construction,.. so obviously when I opted to pick a character, race and combat style, I opted to go with a lithe high elf cleric who sat on their ass most of the time.. it was like I was getting double the sit down time playing games.
... then.. I saw a half elf female run past me.. and as I watched that ass wiggle back and forth, I said "Ya know.. if I have to stare at an ass when I play anyway.. I might as well stare at a mans ass so my wife won't think I am just trying to watch porn"
I to use to tell the boss that I was OOM when caught sitting on my ass at work.
Yes and no. Some characters are a caricature or exaggeration of a specific trait or flaw I've identified (or had identified by someone else) about myself.
Some characters are merely aesthetically pleasing creation choices to try out a certain class/skill/whatever.
If I'm playing a singleplayer RPG, I will make the character resemble myself in some way, but I don't generally consider that character outside the game world's existence, so it's not really the same as, say, the heroes I create in CoH.
99% of the people in Second Life are likely dudes any ways. Everyone is irregular shapes like massive shoulders, 7 feet tall, or the chunkiest of pears. With as "unique" as that place is, not sure i'd call that a great metric for anything.
And in this case I was referencing games in general in regards to myself, but it would be CoH and Champs in relation to my friend.
Woah, sorry I offended you! You're quite wrong about that, but according to Slapshot, we're all men anyways. You obviously haven't played SL in a looooong time. But hey, you're offended, clearly. It's clear that I have the ability to judge characters/avatars and you don't. Git Gud!
Wait, what am I supposed to be offended by?
I was just saying that you seemed to be making an assumptive claim based on anecdote that, from my own anecdotal experience, doesn't really seem to apply well. This is just you arguing your opinion as if it is fact at this point.
My characters don't represent me. I enjoy making aesthetically pleasing characters and characters I feel "inspire" (as much as the character creation allows) but they are never "me."
I do enjoy making up some backstory that helps inform the character's actions. Not something I write down but more something I am aware of.
Like Skyrim? Need more content? Try my Skyrim mod "Godfred's Tomb."
Well... By the time EQ rolled around, I was a heavy guy that worked all day out in the sun busting my ass doing construction,.. so obviously when I opted to pick a character, race and combat style, I opted to go with a lithe high elf cleric who sat on their ass most of the time.. it was like I was getting double the sit down time playing games.
... then.. I saw a half elf female run past me.. and as I watched that ass wiggle back and forth, I said "Ya know.. if I have to stare at an ass when I play anyway.. I might as well stare at a mans ass so my wife won't think I am just trying to watch porn"
I to use to tell the boss that I was OOM when caught sitting on my ass at work.
Ok.. to be honest.. as a foreman.. I would have laughed at that line, and given you 10 more min to sit down. But there is a good chance we would need to talk about games later.
Egotism is the anesthetic that dullens the pain of stupidity, this is why when I try to beat my head against the stupidity of other people, I only hurt myself.
99% of the people in Second Life are likely dudes any ways. Everyone is irregular shapes like massive shoulders, 7 feet tall, or the chunkiest of pears. With as "unique" as that place is, not sure i'd call that a great metric for anything.
And in this case I was referencing games in general in regards to myself, but it would be CoH and Champs in relation to my friend.
Woah, sorry I offended you! You're quite wrong about that, but according to Slapshot, we're all men anyways. You obviously haven't played SL in a looooong time. But hey, you're offended, clearly. It's clear that I have the ability to judge characters/avatars and you don't. Git Gud!
Wait, what am I supposed to be offended by?
I was just saying that you seemed to be making an assumptive claim based on anecdote that, from my own anecdotal experience, doesn't really seem to apply well. This is just you arguing your opinion as if it is fact at this point.
And what was wrong? SL is a weird place.
But 99% of SL? Come on, you can't be that stupid! If you are, you are working against yourself as a supposed girl gamer. Let me see your toon; I will tell you if you are. Saying 99% of men play any game, could be said about the games that you mentioned. So what's your point?
P.S. You really like using the word "anecdotal". Are you trying to sound more intelligent than you are? HMM? My own observation...
"I have found a desire within myself that no experience in this world can satisfy; the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world." ~ C. S. Lewis
I almost never roll humans since I'm allowed to play something that doesn't exist irl and I never roll elves. I tend to play shorter bulkier races like dwarves or orcs especially if its a melee class. If I roll a healer wearing cloth its always female.
The closest I came to roll myself in a game was probably aion since I rolled a tall blond bloke.
Iselin: And the next person who says "but it's a business, they need to make money" can just go fuck yourself.
1) Exaggeration of statement to make a point. I this case that when a majority of a userbase is x, then it's easy to make an assumption that a random sampling is going to be x with relative accuracy. That you can say that about other games only would reaffirm that point. It undermines the idea that unique ability to identify based on random external variables is actually the cause.
2) Sure, I can go find my login for SL and post a pic. I can guarantee that my biological state of being will not physically change regardless of any statements you wish to make about it however. I ain't going to magically grow a penis.
And the point remains the same one already stated, your claim, which is that your statement that came off as if it were objective, seemed to be squarely rooted in a subjective claim that I do not find to reflect the reality of my own experience. I'm sorry if the revelation that your perspective is not universal isn't easy to take, but that's all that's going on here.
PS: Anecdotal is simply shorthand for "based on personal accounts rather than factual/verifiable constants". I use it because it's meaning is pretty obvious as it doesn't really have alternative use cases, and is faster than typing some permutation of the above out every time. If you think that is sounding intelligent, then I feel bad for your junior high English professor.
1) Exaggeration of statement to make a point. I this case that when a majority of a userbase is x, then it's easy to make an assumption that a random sampling is going to be x with relative accuracy. That you can say that about other games only would reaffirm that point. It undermines the idea that unique ability to identify based on random external variables is actually the cause.
2) Sure, I can go find my login for SL and post a pic. I can guarantee that my biological state of being will not physically change regardless of any statements you wish to make about it however. I ain't going to magically grow a penis.
And the point remains the same one already stated, your claim, which is that your statement that came off as if it were objective, seemed to be squarely rooted in a subjective claim that I do not find to reflect the reality of my own experience. I'm sorry if the revelation that your perspective is not universal isn't easy to take, but that's all that's going on here.
You have an SL account? Highly doubtful! If you did, you played it YEARS ago. Do you want to know how I know this? By your own words and negative opinion. If you played it recently, you wouldn't make the outlandish claim that 99% of people who play SL are men. You wouldn't have said, "Everyone is irregular shapes like massive shoulders, 7 feet tall, or the chunkiest of pears".
Okay, without looking it up, are you familiar with the words mesh or bento? If you're not, you're probably still on a system avatar; this invalidates the point that you are trying to make. From what you said, it's possible that you played SL years ago, stopped playing it for some reason, and started playing the games that you mentioned. Which is fine, but don't act like you know something you don't.
My ability to tell whether a man (or whatever) is behind the character is limited to the games that I have played, and according to my personal experience. If you want to make this a big issue because I offended you or your friend's aesthetics, so be it. Do you want me to write an essay about it? I didn't think this would become a debate, so find it strange... People get so easily offended by everything these days.
"I have found a desire within myself that no experience in this world can satisfy; the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world." ~ C. S. Lewis
I am aware of mesh, animesh, and bento. I've even played about with making bento rigged models. For someone trying to play the "don't act like you know something you don't." argument, you're making a awful lot of false assumptions.
Your "ability" is a matter of your perspective, and I simply do not see it as a constant under any scenario I've seen. It's your own backpedal into using SL as your crutch example and making the "only games you've played" statement, which is a far cry different than your original generic
If I knew you were going to become this aggressive and defensive about your opinions being challenged. I'd like to say I wouldn't have bothered, but honestly when you try to make a sweeping remark and something as simple as "I don't see that to be accurate" sets you off this much, I'm likely to poke at it more.
Should I zone into the Horizon's hub to see what the shape and appearances of the players that tend to end up there look like? Or maybe one of the other safe hubs?
If you only interact within a finite community focused on the use of specific styles and content, that's going to massively skew your perspective.
The vanity inside me makes character creation important to me. I want to look good and if I can, I do try to make my characters similiar to my perception of how I would be in a given role. Its very hard for me make a female character if she is not aesthically pleasing to me in appearance. If I get immersed in a game, the daylight becomes less and less. If I am not immersed I rarely continue playing the game, but there are exceptions, and those games there is a decent amount of daylight.
nowhere close to me. I like ultra dis-proportioned and off-color characters. Like 6foot tall worth of legs with a 1 inch torso and giant head kind of thing. If not, I'll try and make a feminine trap on a male character. Personality wise, I go neutral. Treat good people bad and treat evil people in a good way they hate.
I could see my real self willing to use animated walls of earth. Don't see myself participating war crimes of poisoning weapons, wounding for injuries (rather than kills), using drugs to hulk out, and choosing to set off poison gas to fight in... like a dagger whirling embodiment of WWI.
Video games are brutal...
Practice doesn't make perfect, practice makes permanent.
"At one point technology meant making tech that could get to the moon, now it means making tech that could get you a taxi."
Personally the only modern MMORPG trend that annoys me is the idea that MMOs need to be designed in a way to attract people who don't actually like MMOs. Which to me makes about as much sense as someone trying to figure out a way to get vegetarians to eat at their steakhouse. - FARGIN_WAR
Oh please. Like any character creation can even slightly capture the magic that is me. I also like to look at butts so as a male my toons need to be female.
Constantine, The Console Poster
"One of the most difficult tasks men can perform, however much others may despise it, is the invention of good games and it cannot be done by men out of touch with their instinctive selves." - Carl Jung
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
Comments
I see myself more as a "puppet master" rather than "me in the game world" kind of player. It's not me swinging that sword or casting that spell or picking that lock. The dialogue choices and game decisions are basically me, though. I'm not going to launch a nuke "just because I can"
I hope that makes sense
- Al
Personally the only modern MMORPG trend that annoys me is the idea that MMOs need to be designed in a way to attract people who don't actually like MMOs. Which to me makes about as much sense as someone trying to figure out a way to get vegetarians to eat at their steakhouse.- FARGIN_WAR
Some characters are merely aesthetically pleasing creation choices to try out a certain class/skill/whatever.
If I'm playing a singleplayer RPG, I will make the character resemble myself in some way, but I don't generally consider that character outside the game world's existence, so it's not really the same as, say, the heroes I create in CoH.
I was just saying that you seemed to be making an assumptive claim based on anecdote that, from my own anecdotal experience, doesn't really seem to apply well. This is just you arguing your opinion as if it is fact at this point.
And what was wrong? SL is a weird place.
I do enjoy making up some backstory that helps inform the character's actions. Not something I write down but more something I am aware of.
Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo
P.S. You really like using the word "anecdotal". Are you trying to sound more intelligent than you are? HMM? My own observation...
The closest I came to roll myself in a game was probably aion since I rolled a tall blond bloke.
2) Sure, I can go find my login for SL and post a pic. I can guarantee that my biological state of being will not physically change regardless of any statements you wish to make about it however. I ain't going to magically grow a penis.
And the point remains the same one already stated, your claim, which is that your statement that came off as if it were objective, seemed to be squarely rooted in a subjective claim that I do not find to reflect the reality of my own experience. I'm sorry if the revelation that your perspective is not universal isn't easy to take, but that's all that's going on here.
PS: Anecdotal is simply shorthand for "based on personal accounts rather than factual/verifiable constants". I use it because it's meaning is pretty obvious as it doesn't really have alternative use cases, and is faster than typing some permutation of the above out every time. If you think that is sounding intelligent, then I feel bad for your junior high English professor.
I am aware of mesh, animesh, and bento. I've even played about with making bento rigged models. For someone trying to play the "don't act like you know something you don't." argument, you're making a awful lot of false assumptions.
Your "ability" is a matter of your perspective, and I simply do not see it as a constant under any scenario I've seen. It's your own backpedal into using SL as your crutch example and making the "only games you've played" statement, which is a far cry different than your original generic
"If the game allows for customization when it comes to the body, I can tell."
Read more at https://forums.mmorpg.com/discussion/481964/how-much-daylight-is-there-between-you-and-the-characters-you-play#dLHbIR5m8RfIlElo.99
If I knew you were going to become this aggressive and defensive about your opinions being challenged. I'd like to say I wouldn't have bothered, but honestly when you try to make a sweeping remark and something as simple as "I don't see that to be accurate" sets you off this much, I'm likely to poke at it more.
Should I zone into the Horizon's hub to see what the shape and appearances of the players that tend to end up there look like? Or maybe one of the other safe hubs?
If you only interact within a finite community focused on the use of specific styles and content, that's going to massively skew your perspective.
Video games are brutal...
Practice doesn't make perfect, practice makes permanent.
"At one point technology meant making tech that could get to the moon, now it means making tech that could get you a taxi."
EQ1, EQ2, SWG, SWTOR, GW, GW2 CoH, CoV, FFXI, WoW, CO, War,TSW and a slew of free trials and beta tests
- Al
Personally the only modern MMORPG trend that annoys me is the idea that MMOs need to be designed in a way to attract people who don't actually like MMOs. Which to me makes about as much sense as someone trying to figure out a way to get vegetarians to eat at their steakhouse.- FARGIN_WAR
Or is that in real life, hmm, never quite sure these days
Certainly I can't really just be an aging cubicle warrior who spends his evenings half asleep in a recliner slaying imaginary dragons, right?
Should have taken the blue pill offer.
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon