Now, this doesn't affect players who don't create actual characters - who either just focus on the mechanics of the game, race and class etc., and don't think of their character as a person - the kind of player who names all of their MMO characters BoBTanks, BoBHeals, BoBPews, BoBSneaks etc., and refers to them all as 'toons' (No slight on that - different people have different focuses). It also doesn't affect players who don't ever engage creatively with their character and just adopt a 'take what's given' mentality, and wait for the game to define the character they're playing for them (again, no slight on that - it's just a different way of playing). However, in a D&D-based game, players who create and play characters are the extreme, overwhelming majority group in this sense, because creating your own character is what playing a game like dungeons and dragons is all about.
This is why I think a recording suite DLC for custom sounds (e.g voice barks) as a follow on would be cool. It was the first thing I checked for (after custom portraits, which also aren't here) in the hopes that BG3 would keep up the tradition of custom assets that BG1 inaugurated way back when.
I think they are focusing on many of the wrong things sadly, and the fact that there are still only 2 voice sets after a year indicates a big problem to me. Put another way, I don't think its the kind of player necessarily, but more the way the game is set up, that encourages players to think of their PCs as 'Toons' rather than Characters.
Like is this going to be the kind of game where I can even create a character in the first place, one that wouldn't get you laughed under the table immediately in PnP? or is it going to be the kind of game that promotes stat pushing with like +20 attributes or triple 18s as monstrous races for bonuses, because we know the characterization is just going to be meh regardless, even if you really get into it. I have D&D characters that I've been playing for years, but which probably won't be making an appearance in BG3, cause it just doesn't seem to be that kind of game. Not right now at least. Maybe it will launch with more bells than we're getting now, which would be cool, but I totally judge it based on the character creator and the limitations there.
If there is only 1 voice or 1 head that you actually like, and then only 1 outfit or class progression that fits, its kinda hard to get all into the idea of making a unique character. Just aesthetically, if everyone looks and sounds the same, then that sort of restricts where one can go with it, more than a bounded point buy scheme ever could hehe. Then on top of that you get a world where all the characters are railroaded into the first act, party size is restricted to 4, and there are only a couple paths to navigate the available world/plot, its kind of no wonder we see the video game characters treated more like throw-away cartoons than the real deal.
I wish they'd do something for character sheets/avatars, more like what they've been doing with dungeon mapping, like putting out editors via 3rd party design suites. A standalone character creator, that can then work either in a PnP setting or within the computer/videogame setting. They've done stuff like this a few different times in the past, but its never integrated with a flagship game, such that the same application might work for both. The last time it was tried 3d modelling was still pretty wonky too, compared to the unreal level its achieved now.
I mean how cool would it be if you could "Create and Dress" a character in a 3d modeler similar to what we have here in BG3, just with way more options, but then also stage a portrait with lighting and facial expressions! A pose-able mannequin that could do 'gesture' the way it works in animation on the most basic level? Then either hit "print" to create a physical copy of a legit character sheet, or export the same into the digital game with equal ease!
You know, a Character sheet portrait/avatar with official looking D&D letterhead, and FR themed fonts for the Mini bio, stats, skills, feats, all the good stuff, but which could also be used in the digital game.
Like having your own Frazetta card basically, with your very own character. One that you actually built, which you could then use either at the table or on your PC. Not some dumb MMO exclusive, but designed to be functional and look rad in both contexts, Analog or Digital.
Like that would just be the best. I don't understand why they can never pull it off to my satisfaction. Clearly we've reached a point in 3d modelling where its possible to do something like that, it just hasn't been done yet. Let alone as like the base starter set for whole centralized analog to digital inter-play. I think its what they wanted to do before 4e got sort of derailed by tragedy and missteps, but the basic concept or ideal still seems like one worth pursuing. If they really want to capture the heart and soul of what makes D&D D&D, which is the 'custom' player character.
If they got such a thing working for the PHB, then the next progression would be to do the same with the DMG and MM. Like where the gamemaster could do similar things with non player characters and monsters, defining their looks and such and then exporting either onto pamphlet printouts or directly into a digital framework for the game. The main idea would be to indulge people's creative side and delight when given tools like that to play with. Recording a custom bark, and then playing it back for yourself, maybe with some kind of Fantasy themed voice modulation?
That would be particularly cool. Like say you launch the app, and it has you read the barks to create a character voice set! That's still a little ways off, but not too far off. Voice deep fakes are fast pulling ahead of the curve, and everyone has mics and cameras on their phones now too, so one imagines that an opt-in thing might be possible in the near future. Like using the player's own voice to create barks, and the player's own face to create a 3d "headscan" that can then be modified or embellished in the design suite. Build out a whole library that way that can be shared. I think that's the next iteration, as it moves into a more VR/AR type space. I'd like to see a more simplified or abstract version of that done as a dry run for a game like BG3. I feel certain a D&D product like that would be pretty popular and profitable, if done tactfully, with some real spirit and artistry in the presentation.
