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Player uniqueness and it's importance.
TheRealBanango
Member UncommonPosts: 89
I have been taking a break from MMOs recently mainly because none of them are capturing my attention. So now I have been playing a lot of mount and blade (for the pvp combat) , grand theft auto V (open world), and generic shooters (call of duty, etc) for fun.
These games have got me thinking on player uniqueness and why so many people want it so badly. In mount and blade you are part of an army, the gear choice is very limited and so everyone looks the same. Not once did I ever question this aspect of the game (until now of course). Call of Duty is the same thing, it has limited customization, and no one pays attention to how you look anyways. Regardless of this, I still have a blast playing these games because other things are distracting me from even thinking about how my avatar looks. The combat mechanics in mount and blade are challenging and engaging, call of duty is fast paced and entertaining, and the open world in gta is immersive, all keeping my mind occupied with so much fun i have no time to think about player uniqueness.
for the people that want an open immersive sandbox styled world; isn't the fact that everyone goes into battle with the same gear their allies are wearing more immersive than a bunch of unique looking heroes? I mean that is how it has happened all throughout human history...armies have uniforms.
For the themepark crowd...wait, people on these forums want themeparks 
Jokes aside, I am in no way endorsing NO player uniqueness, after all, we all spend a good chunk of time perfecting the facial features of our avatars. But for me, this is where the uniqueness comes from, not from gear. So I ask you, why is player uniqueness of such importance to you, and how do you think it impacts the game world?
Comments
I only really care about being able to make my avatar look like a reasonable representation of the 'character' I'm trying to create. It's a hang-over from my role playing days, I suppose. It's not something that has any meaningful impact in the game world, but it's important to me as it's often the only way that players can be creative and I appreciate that. The appearance of armor, clothing and weapons would only really be of interest to me if the player had the ability to design or significantly alter their appearance.
Count me in for player uniqueness.
I really dislike when everyone looks the same. And to make it worst, everyone must have the exact same specs in order to be effective and accepted in groups.
I hope those awful trends and single viable cookie cutter build die one day.
I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been -Wayne Gretzky
depends.
the more elaborate the character customization process, the less i'm inclined to make my person look like a person. more often than not, ill make some disgusting mess of a face w/ the dumbest looking hair and paint everything like im a party clown. why? well, why not? you've given me the power to change all aspects of my persons face, why wouldn't i abuse it.
what you never see tho in a game, is full body customization. maybe i want clown feet, 1 incredibly long leg and a hunch back. maybe i want to be gnome size but have outrageously huge arms. maybe i want to squish myself flat and pretend im paper mario.
as outlandish as those idea's area, all thats left in a normal customization is the normal things that end up making you look generic.
I don't really care in the slightest for looking unique. I just want to have options to choose a look that I like and can relate to.
The uniqueness issue that really irritates me about modern games is customizability of how I play my character. Path of Exile is pretty much the high-water-mark right now -- it's got a FF7-style skill choice system and you can tailor playstyle how you like. And yes, you absolutely can gimp your character, boo hoo, too bad for you, reroll and do some research next time.
I hate people who think that all builds/classes have to be equal or balanced in a primarily PvE game. This has resulted in the end of asymmetric skill trees, and the end of widespread choice, all to prevent someone from feeling underpowered or feeling like OMG derwids are OP! NURF NURF NURF.
A game does suffer when every player is made to feel a hero that is solely responsible for saving the civilization, even though every other person has done the same. This sort of experience can only be in place if it is the case that the game is attempting to be a single player game to too much of an extent: it forgets that it is a multiplayer world, and is carrying over elements from its predecessor genre.
Although many people believe MMOs are advancing, this single player element is a symbol of this genre's archaicism: MMOs are still young, and have not yet come into their own. The reason why MMOs are failing is because they are at war with single player games, and the single player games are actually designed in the superior way: the entire world does revolve around the player and what he or she does. In an MMO, every player needs to be, needs to feel part of a greater society, whereas MMOs are merely taking single player games and allowing many people to be present in the world at once.
Cause the given MMO world to lose its single player elements, and create a dynamic world in which all the players are uniquely worthless until they find their own way to give themselves meaning (game existentialism), and the genre will be viable.
I don't either, I usually don't mess around with a lot of sliders in character creation and I virtually never use social clothing or anything of the like. I'm here to play a game, not play dress-up.
Played: UO, EQ, WoW, DDO, SWG, AO, CoH, EvE, TR, AoC, GW, GA, Aion, Allods, lots more
Relatively Recently (Re)Played: HL2 (all), Halo (PC, all), Batman:AA; AC, ME, BS, DA, FO3, DS, Doom (all), LFD1&2, KOTOR, Portal 1&2, Blink, Elder Scrolls (all), lots more
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Ah but you are playing dress-up by playing a game.
For me, the more options gear wise and appearance wise i have to differentiate myself from every other player the same level and class as me, the better.
I like to take time create my character through customization. The more option the merrier. The more I put the thought to how the character look, behave, choice of cloths, and what skills such character uses allow me to relate to them.
I usually don't touch the game with limit or no character customization unless the gameplay itself is top-notch, and the character actually feel interesting and have a larger than life story of it own, like in a good films and comics. The game with character customization allow player to create their own character, and role-playing the journey of their own. That's why I'm also roll eyes to the MMORPG where NPC keep telling my character she's the one who will save the world, just like the other players who in the queue to talk to the same NPC who waiting to kill the same boss in the same dungeon.
OP did mention that when we all wearing the same uniform, we all look the same, true, but just like IRL, we do take those uniform off outside of duty. The character become unique again, even though when the character put on their uniform, the choice of faces and hairstyle and colour allow the player feel that uniqueness under that thick helm. Then again, I like to use the option to hide that helm to who the face.
All in all, the character uniqueness is make the world feel alive, not like a clone town. MMORPG is a social platform, a virtual world, as well as a game. There's a reason why we choose out Avatar picture for the forum or Facebook, not just use the same pics as the other guys. It's the identity in the virtual world and the ownership of player's avatar that count.
In the majority of cases, neither do I. Especially considering most the customization will be covered up by armor.
The only exception are the super hero games. I've always been a big comic book fan so creating a super hero / villian is a lot of fun for me.
There are certain queer times and occasions in this strange mixed affair we call life when a man takes this whole universe for a vast practical joke, though the wit thereof he but dimly discerns, and more than suspects that the joke is at nobody's expense but his own.
-- Herman Melville
For me visual customization is very important as it has become virtually the only way to make my toon stand out from the masses.
I believe most people in real life have the need to feel unique and special (in a good way). It is only natural for players to try to fulfill that need even in a virtual world.
---
Insanity: Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
You really had trouble figuring this out?
There isn't a "right" or "wrong" way to play, if you want to use a screwdriver to put nails into wood, have at it, simply don't complain when the guy next to you with the hammer is doing it much better and easier. - Allein
"Graphics are often supplied by Engines that (some) MMORPG's are built in" - Spuffyre
It is a hold of from my Tabletop RPG days (Wait, those days are not really over now. Lol)
But anyway, I just like to have a character that has their own style and look. I hate seeing someone that looks like my character. I will change something if I do. That is why I appreciate a MMO with good character creating options.
Plus, I am weird. I always make an Asian-looking woman character named Dahlia in almost every game I play. So I love games that let me make the character as close to what she is in my head.
What difference does it make? I'm not saying that you can't do whatever you want, but seriously, what difference does it really make if you look different than everyone else, with the possible exception of being able to pick yourself out in a crowd? There has to be a reason beyond "I like it".
Played: UO, EQ, WoW, DDO, SWG, AO, CoH, EvE, TR, AoC, GW, GA, Aion, Allods, lots more
Relatively Recently (Re)Played: HL2 (all), Halo (PC, all), Batman:AA; AC, ME, BS, DA, FO3, DS, Doom (all), LFD1&2, KOTOR, Portal 1&2, Blink, Elder Scrolls (all), lots more
Now Playing: None
Hope: None
I guess that is what I was trying to get down to. The why of it, and the reason for liking it.
This is interesting because It is suggested that natural human emotions play an integral role on how we play our games. This might be a little off topic but it would be impressive to see how a game plays out that was made to cater to these emotions and responses such as self-centeredness, competitiveness, fear...etc. The feeling of being unique in the (virtual) world could lead to interesting gameplay.I just hit the random button, same for my name.
Could be for Role Playing purposes.
I've not seen many people actually roleplaying in most games, for the most part, it's just playing the game with silly voices and bizarre mannerisms. I don't think you can really roleplay in an MMO and still play the MMO at the same time.
Played: UO, EQ, WoW, DDO, SWG, AO, CoH, EvE, TR, AoC, GW, GA, Aion, Allods, lots more
Relatively Recently (Re)Played: HL2 (all), Halo (PC, all), Batman:AA; AC, ME, BS, DA, FO3, DS, Doom (all), LFD1&2, KOTOR, Portal 1&2, Blink, Elder Scrolls (all), lots more
Now Playing: None
Hope: None
I role toons on RP servers only now as the world is filled with people acting out scenes in the world and makes it a hell of a lot more immersive than NPC's.
I don't RP myself but it does add a lot to the experience when you see it.