The ability to create and customize a unique player character is a staple of theRPG genre. When gamers have the chance to personalize their in-game avatar, the level of attachment and immersion they experience in a role-playing game can be greatly increased. As the graphical capabilities of video games increase, character-creation tools also become more powerful, allowing for more realistic visual options.
Character creation often comes early in a game, sometimes even before a game allows a player into the world. In many engines, the possibilities are limitless, and some players elect to create virtual versions of themselves while others will usecharacter creators to make other games' charactersor even celebrities. Whether a gamer wants to create someone familiar or an entirely new character, high-quality character creators can be just as fun as the game they reside in.
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Elden Ring
The newest game from developer FromSoftware and2022 GOTY,Elden Ring, continues a long tradition of FromSoftware games by having an extremely robust character creation engine. Players have 10 races to choose from and can choose young, mature, or aged appearance options. Beyond that, the “Detailed Appearance” menu gives players access to extremely specific alterations, allowing them to push and pull the contours of the face and body, alter height, weight, and body proportions, custom-select skin color, and much more. For players uninterested in detailed character creation, there are also preset options.
Hogwarts Legacy
NewHarry Pottertie-in gameHogwarts Legacyis fulfilling the dreams of millions of fans of the magical franchise worldwide by allowing them to finally attend the iconic school. The dream goes even further when players are able to create their own likenesses in the Hogwarts student they’ll be exploring the wizarding school as. With presets as well as sliders to customize eyes, face, hair, complexion, voice, and more, players can get their avatar just right before sending them on a magical adventure of a lifetime.
Saints Row (2022)
Popular action-adventure gameSaints Rowgot a remake in 2022, and while the game wasn’t a commercial success, the in-game character creator was. Like other games in theSaints Rowseries, players get to create the protagonist with extensive customization options. The most recent entry in the series had by far the most options, allowing for detailed alterations to things like wrinkles, body hair color, physical build, prosthetics, personality, and much more.
Cyberpunk 2077
Unlike CD Projekt Red’s prior game,The Witcher 3, where players always played as Geralt,Cyberpunk 2077puts gamers into a custom protagonist.Players can make choices inCyberpunk 2077, and the spirit of choice is evident from the beginning of the game. In the character creation menu, players have hundreds of choices to customize their avatar, most of which can actually be changed later in-game. Players can even alter their character’s cyberware, fitting for a protagonist living and working in the tech world of Night City.
Black Desert Online
Despite being nearly 10 years old,MMORPGBlack Desert Onlinestill boasts one of the most robust and impressive character-creation tools in gaming today. In this online fantasy game, there are four playable races and more than a dozen classes to choose from. Not only does theBlack Desert Onlinecharacter builder boast beautiful graphics and artwork, but it also has more than 100 sliders available to players, allowing them to edit essentially every part of their character’s body. This character creator is so popular that is actually available for download separately from the actual game.
Luckily for players less interested in tweaking every aspect of a character’s appearance, all of these games feature simpler, preset character options. And while manyRPGs still feature set protagonistswith characters like Geralt or Link, character creation will likely always be important to the genre. As console and PC rendering capabilities increase, fans of creating in-game avatars can likely look forward to even more detailed customization.
