# Character-based games: do you play as yourself or as a character you've constructed?



## ChrisFilter (Nov 15, 2011)

An offshoot from the Skyrim thread. I'm not talking physically, I mean when you're playing a game, do you see the character you're playing as an extension of yourself, or do you create a character then play it as them?

For example, I always play as myself. I make the character look roughly like me (skinhead, tall, bulky) and I behave in-game as I would if I lived in that world. But I know that a lot of people play as a baddie, or create quite detailed characters and play as them.

What do you do?


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## QueenOfGoths (Nov 15, 2011)

I tend to play as me in terms of the choices I make within the game however I do usually, such as in "Fallout 3", chose to play as a bloke so physically very different to how I look.

I always think of the character I am playing as being different to me rather than an extension of me, despite the fact that I make the choices that I would make if it was real life iyswim. Or as real as it can get when being chased by a load of ghouls!


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## Cid (Nov 15, 2011)

Moral choices tend to be largely me, but I'm pretty sure I've never shot a child in the back before.


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## ruffneck23 (Nov 15, 2011)

apart from playing as a different sex ( as said in skyrim thread, but it think this mostly comes from lezza action with blue skinned aliens in mass effect  ), I tend to be much the same in real life when it comes to moral choices ( so not evil  ) however every now and then i think fuck it and go on a rampage which is something I am not hard enough to do in the real world.. ( not that id want to of course.. )


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## QueenOfGoths (Nov 15, 2011)

ruffneck23 said:


> apart from playing as a different sex ( as said in skyrim thread, but it think this mostly comes from lezza action with blue skinned aliens in mass effect  ), I tend to be much the same in real life when it comes to moral choices ( so not evil  ) however every now and then i think fuck it and go on a rampage which is something I am not hard enough to do in the real world.. ( not that id want to of course.. )


I - or should I say Ezio - have been known to beat up the ministrels that pop up in "Assassins Creed II" and "Brotherhood" ...but you get told off for it


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## Vintage Paw (Nov 15, 2011)

As I said in the Skyrim thread, I create characters and play as them. It's reasonably evenly split between men and women characters, none ever look like me, although I do end up usually making them variations of what I consider to be attractive rather than battle-worn, haggard beasts. I'll start out with at the very least a vague attitude toward the world: caring, interested in world politics, righteous, a dick, selfish, snarky, aggressive, cold, heroic, loner, leader, recluse, apathetic, religious, secular, power-hungry, etc., and various combinations of those. Then I might think about a bit of a backstory, so I can square the decisions and actions I make in my head against something more concrete, to make it make sense, give it meaning.

Some characters evolve in my head as I'm playing, some are quite detailed before I begin (for those games and worlds that I'm familiar with), some are more "empty", and simply react with less thought. Some of them necessarily end up acting in the way I might act if I were plopped down in that situation, but there are always divergences, of some sort or another. Some I metagame the hell out of, and make choices based on what I know I want to achieve in the game, for achievements, for unlocking new things I haven't seen in previous playthroughs, to get a different ending, or whatever.

If I'm not familar with a game world though, it can be more difficult, but that's when I tend to let them evolve more naturally. Or, in the case of Skyrim, I put in 40 hours then restarted with a new character, and I have a far better idea of what I'm doing now, and of who she is. She feels a lot more cohesive than the one I originally started out with. And even though that game is massive, I can see myself playing it through a second, or even third time, creating different types of characters (with different combat styles and skills sets), because while there may not be as much reactive change in the game as concerns your actions, I think you can probably create a few reasonably distinctive experiences in it. Which is what I love about rpgs.


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## FridgeMagnet (Nov 15, 2011)

It depends on the game to a large extent. A lot of them, even if they are technically "RPGs", have choices beyond "which weapon do I use now" either making no difference or causing you to lose. In that case I pick an interesting-looking character and do what seems like fun. I don't behave any different if I'm the Wizard in Gauntlet vs playing the Valkyrie.

With games that have more possibility for interaction I'll certainly role-play more. Usually, the first time playing, you don't have enough knowledge of the game background to really create an interesting character, but I give it a shot. I tend to feel that if you wander through just being yourself you're missing out on a lot of the point of that style of game at all.

It has to be said that even in this sort of game where you ostensibly have choices - I'm thinking Fallout 3, Dragon Age, that sort of thing - it's often fairly proscribed what the "best" choices are. It is normally the best tactic if you want to explore the whole thing to be nice to people rather than insult them and rob their houses; lots of the content only becomes accessible that way. This is a general issue with games and narrative structure of course. It's extremely time-consuming to write big heavy-content games where there's a significant difference in what the rest of the game might look like depending on the player's choices; each branch needs to have the rest of it all designed and scripted. This is one area where pencil-and-paper RPGs really beat computer ones, assuming your GM is any good.


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## Shippou-Sensei (Nov 15, 2011)

tend to go for female character  but  play it by ear  the first time round as far as moral choice stuff.  tend to be a bit good guy but pragmatic generally.  if i ever get a chance i might  replay  differently  but  i tend not to be able to put that many hours  in


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## ChrisFilter (Nov 15, 2011)

Same. I never finish games, let alone play through again.

So it seems I'm a massive narcissist


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## dylanredefined (Nov 15, 2011)

Well apart from occasionally shooting innocents normally play as the good guy I think I am.


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## ChrisFilter (Nov 15, 2011)

I must confess to pondering killing Lydia and taking off her clothes, in Skyrim. In real life I only occasionally do that.


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## tommers (Nov 15, 2011)

I always start evil and then feel guilty and don't follow it through.

Well, selfish cos I don't think people are 'evil' as such, they just don't care about others.


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## Kid_Eternity (Nov 15, 2011)

As someone else really...it's a nice way to act without having to be on stage and be shit.


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## fen_boy (Nov 15, 2011)

I almost always play as a large-breasted woman.


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## Maurice Picarda (Nov 15, 2011)

I'm usually the iron. Sometimes I'm the battleship, though. Either way I'm unscrupulous and try to get the oranges and the light blues.


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## TruXta (Nov 15, 2011)

FridgeMagnet said:


> It depends on the game to a large extent. A lot of them, even if they are technically "RPGs", have choices beyond "which weapon do I use now" either making no difference or causing you to lose. In that case I pick an interesting-looking character and do what seems like fun. I don't behave any different if I'm the Wizard in Gauntlet vs playing the Valkyrie.
> 
> With games that have more possibility for interaction I'll certainly role-play more. Usually, the first time playing, you don't have enough knowledge of the game background to really create an interesting character, but I give it a shot. I tend to feel that if you wander through just being yourself you're missing out on a lot of the point of that style of game at all.
> 
> It has to be said that even in this sort of game where you ostensibly have choices - I'm thinking Fallout 3, Dragon Age, that sort of thing - it's often fairly proscribed what the "best" choices are. It is normally the best tactic if you want to explore the whole thing to be nice to people rather than insult them and rob their houses; lots of the content only becomes accessible that way. This is a general issue with games and narrative structure of course. It's extremely time-consuming to write big heavy-content games where there's a significant difference in what the rest of the game might look like depending on the player's choices; each branch needs to have the rest of it all designed and scripted. This is one area where pencil-and-paper RPGs really beat computer ones, assuming your GM is any good.



Great summary of the basic problem with computer RPGs writ large. The solution could be part MMO-based, but there has to be changes in the way games generate playable situations too. Some kind of procedural, dynamic socio-cultural, narrative algorithm. Waffle waffle.


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## Shippou-Sensei (Nov 15, 2011)

if it's tabletop i might  go a bit more nuts  with  character creation


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## fen_boy (Nov 15, 2011)

fen_boy said:


> I almost always play as a large-breasted woman.



A large-breasted kleptomaniac. I spend an inordinate amount of time in RPGs nicking stuff.


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## Monkeygrinder's Organ (Nov 15, 2011)

If I'm honest until I saw people talking about it in the Skyrim thread I'd never really thought about it. I don't really get 'into character' in that sense if I'm playing a game. It's more about progressing through the game and exploring all the options for me.


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## FridgeMagnet (Nov 15, 2011)

Monkeygrinder's Organ said:


> If I'm honest until I saw people talking about it in the Skyrim thread I'd never really thought about it. I don't really get 'into character' in that sense if I'm playing a game. It's more about progressing through the game and exploring all the options for me.


Most people don't, because it's rarely an issue in games. They don't encourage it. Either you are forced into a specific role - even in lots of RPGs, particularly JPRGs, though if they are actually trying to be narratives with a limited amount of interactivity and sub games that's arguably the best thing to so - or you have some character customisation, which usually amounts to (a) tactical skill selection options, really not much difference to building up forces in an RTS, and (b) what colour your hair is and how big your tits are.

I played tabletop RPGs before I played computer ones, and I became used to the idea that you create a character that is actually a proper character, with relationships to other aspects of the world. Character creation was always a significant play session before even starting, where you'd talk about the ideas you had for the sort of person you wanted to play with the GM, and they'd tell you about the setup and the world and you'd end up producing someone who was a proper part of it but also somebody you would like to act as. (I also mostly used to GM anyway.) The scenario that you eventually played would then be altered to fit the characters that were in it, either beforehand or as the game went on.

Computer RPGs have far less ability to alter themselves based on your character and actions, and so they frequently don't encourage this at all - when they do, I'm afraid that, even if they have the best intentions, they often end up being disappointing. Given somebody the option to play any character from a shanty-town thief to an noble dilettante mage, and then giving them all the same options with the same results, starts to destroy any identification that you had with your character.


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## Pickman's model (Nov 15, 2011)

ChrisFilter said:


> An offshoot from the Skyrim thread. I'm not talking physically, I mean when you're playing a game, do you see the character you're playing as an extension of yourself, or do you create a character then play it as them?
> 
> For example, I always play as myself. I make the character look roughly like me (skinhead, tall, bulky) and I behave in-game as I would if I lived in that world. But I know that a lot of people play as a baddie, or create quite detailed characters and play as them.
> 
> What do you do?


do you incorporate your unparalleled knowledge of cheese into your character?


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## revol68 (Nov 15, 2011)

I play as a character, albeit essentially one that holds my world view but just happens to be a cool as fuck girl.

My character in Skyrim is awesome looking!


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## Stigmata (Nov 16, 2011)

I tend to play fairly righteous by-the-book female characters of indeterminate ethnicity. I hadn't really thought about that until this thread, but it's pretty consistent. Neverwinter Nights 1 and 2, Dragon Age, Mass Effect... maybe i'm projecting some sort of ideal 

The exception is the Elder Scrolls games, where I invariably play scholarly Orcs. Cultured berserkers.


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## DotCommunist (Nov 16, 2011)

you know in games like Jedi Knight where you can go either path but to stay good you have to think before cutting down innocent peopl. Yeah. I nevr manage to complete it as a goodie.


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## revol68 (Nov 16, 2011)

There's my bad ass Skyrim character.

The worst thing is that I find myself picking less powerful armour simply because it looks better alot of the time.


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## Picadilly Commando (Nov 16, 2011)

This thread is over my head. I just can't get into RPGs the way people are describing in this thread. I really get into games, Deus Ex 3 and Mass Effect being the last two that sucked me in entirely but not in the way that is being described in this thread. I did once read someone's phd paper on something a bit like this though and female gamers and men who exhibit feminine traits were more likely to do so.

In Fallout 3 I did choose to be the woman though and fashioned her to sort of look like my then gf


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## FridgeMagnet (Nov 16, 2011)

Well, as long as it's just girls and poofs you don't need to worry I suppose.

:sarcasm:


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## Picadilly Commando (Nov 16, 2011)

First rule of gaming. There are no girl gamers.


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## Kid_Eternity (Nov 16, 2011)

The rule is a lie. There are more female gamers than male in the world now...


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## captainmission (Nov 16, 2011)

I'll generally play good character in games with morality system on the first play through. The second time its usually as an evil woman (i hope i'm not being unintentional conditioned). But i think its mostly due morality system in games being awful. The good choice is generally being a normal function human (being considerate, helping others when its eaily with in you power to do so), whilst evil is generally just being a dick (shooting beggars and telling grieving mothers their son deserved to die then electrocuting them).

I can only play evil characters if its over the top pantomime evil. I tried DC universe online recently - as a villian the first mission involves trying biological weapons on students that then run arround scream that their skin is burning. It seemed a bit much so had to reroll as a hero.

Can anyone recomend a game that has a good morality system in it?


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## Termite Man (Nov 16, 2011)

I normally just play as myself as the games don't change that much if you act differently. The only game I can think of where being evil actually changed it was Knights of the Old Republic as it opened up dark jedi powers to use so gameplay was different.


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## Blackandyellow (Nov 17, 2011)

I tend to go with the default character (Like Shepard for mass effect) and the options he make are what I would do if I were in his place. But for other games that don't have a main character set (Dragon Age : Origins) I make the character appear like me as much as possible.


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## mwgdrwg (Nov 17, 2011)

I always play as a woman. Not sure what that says about me really, but if you're going to have to look at a character on screen for days on end, then make it a nice looking one.

In Final Fantasy XI I would play the role of a lone female thief but would be helpful as possible, assisting parties and healing everyone.

Saying that, in Fable I end up as a murderous rampaging psycho, because it's much more fun to be bad in that game.


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