Yeah I had a kind of similar thought there, but then I'm not too terribly partial to the Origin Character concept to begin with I guess hehe. I think it sort of confuses the process to even have them included in the character creator menu. If the aim is to make it just quick, then perhaps we see the Fab 5 on the initial screen (displayed in a similar sort of way) where you click the Avatar of Astarion or Lae'zel etc and the game just instantly picks up there, but if you click Create Custom Character then the Fab 5 disappear and instead we get something more like the above. Cause honestly, for every player who likes to dive right in and doesn't want to bother with that custom stuff, or is just super into the idea of learning more about Gale, I'm sure there's another player out there who will happily spend 100 hours just chilling and making characters.
The reason I like the lineup angle, with some variation on display there and comparative scale, is because then it's sort of unmistakably a Dungeons & Dragons Forgotten Realms game.
I mean when you see that view, you just know right away. Sort of like "Oh yeah, this is definitely D&D, cause it's showing me that classic survey line up, like we find in virtually every PHB that's ever been" haha. A bit like comfort food in that way. I'd imagine someone saying what's the point, or what's the difference? But I think there actually is something to that kind of presentation with a broader overview and first impression, even if it's providing the same imagery you'd get by cycling one at a time. It's just a bit more inviting and intuitive. A little less intimidating and slightly more engaging as a kind of first step or first push out the door.
Another thought to keep it interesting, perhaps rather than displaying the same Avatars every time, the game could randomly generate the 9 figures displayed. So you'd always have one of each Race, but maybe they use a different head say or different hair, or switch around their getups. If the player clicks to change the head (when they get to appearance), then it just reverts to whatever head was number 1 in the normal sequence. Just so the player doesn't have to search around as much, once they're familiar with the sequences. Sort of like now, where after doing it a few times you know when to click left or right to get what you want off the list, provided you recognize the one being displayed currently. But at least that way, every time the player clicks Custom Character they'd get a little presentation that makes it feel more, well, just more custom I suppose lol. Perhaps the Race in the middle changes each time too, so it sort of highlights one Race that way, but on a rotation. Like "hey! ever consider just going Gnome for a change?" And then maybe the player is gently nudged along in that way. These are little things, sure, but I think they could add up and play off one other to make the overall process feel more epic and with a more satisfying sweep.
It's not that I dislike the scenery we have now in the Custom Character menu with the waterfall, or dislike the idea of zooming in to just focus on the one thing only, one avatar, but after you've seen it a few times it gets a bit stale. I'm at the point now where I get annoyed seeing the Elf first up, even though I might like the face, or Barbarians, it just gets old. I'd like to see a different lighting arrangement sometimes with a different scene, like a dozen or so backdrops with a good spread, where the same basic processes could take place, just with some new flare. I feel the same way about the load screen art, and the Fab 5 banner. I was pretty blown away the first 5 times, but now I see them and it's lost a lot of that impact. I'd rather see load screens of random environments or animals or monsters or artifacts, or really anything, even if it's just slide reels of in game art assets there rather than the same digital paintings, because I know they're not dishing out for hella new artwork there probably. At least they could get some more consistent variety going that way and a reason for us to look up instead of just tuning out entirely hehe. Not exactly the same thing as what I mean here with the Custom Char stuff, but it's similar, in that I'd like to just see more going on, more previews, more variety, more quantity basically.
I'm all for the magic mirror in-game approach to Appearance adjustment. That's obviously much cooler than just a game menu, as long as it's relatively convenient and not just griefing the player for making a mistake or discovering 5 minutes later that wait, actually I don't like that voice at all, or the hair looked great but now that I see it 'in action' maybe there's some weird clipping or the color is off or whatever. Just let the player fix that, without having to relaunch or start all over again.
Ps. One final thought, but if it did display that way (with a lineup) you could actually just nixed the term Race entirely I bet, or really any technical type terms that could be kinda confusing. Top line could just say "Custom Character." And below each Avatar is a button that reads Humans, Elves, Dwarves etc. for each. When moused over a quick description line of lore appears. That way the player gets the idea that they are choosing a basic type of Avatar, not 'this specific Avatar.' If these randomly generated as a new visual each time that concept would be further reinforced. For people who are totally new to it, to D&D I mean, they don't have to trip about seeing a bunch of random numbers or wondering what Race or Class or Skills proficiencies and such all mean. Like all at once, just having a ton dropped on them immediately. Instead it's like "hey, Welcome to Dungeons and Dragons! See something that grabs you? Simply cick on it and then we'll start the show." Complete with some novelty barks and a simple animation when selected. I just think it's important not to overwhelm on the first screen, and weirdly this is a case where showing 9 avatars at once I think is actually less overwhelming (despite there being 9 of them rather than just 1) because cycling through a gang of tabs and having to hop around and piece stuff together like that with a bunch of text can be overwhelming. Get some natural pauses in there first, some places for the eye to rest, and some little fun elements that the player can control and visualize, as opposed to making it like Lists and Stats and Systems and Math and Matrices right away.
For stuff that is potentially confusing, put a "Use Recommended" button on every tab (at the top rather than the bottom of the page) but don't make all those choices for us in advance unless we click that button. Instead let the player build by adding and learning that way rather than subtracting or undoing. If that makes sense lol. Use the visuals to lead us into the text and the complexity and systems stuff, rather than the other way round, and definitely try to visualize or soundscape it as much as possible at each step along the way.
Last edited by Black_Elk; 13/09/22 02:06 PM.
