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[Humanoid_Taifun]

RPGs offer a lot of customization. (This is not to be contested. It seems logical enough.)
In older games like Baldur's Gate or KotOR there were some premade faces you had to choose from, while in newer ones (like Mass Effect) you could sculpt the face almost completely to your wishes. And then you suddenly had a scar (if you chose to).
I personally usually avoided these scarred faces in the older games and in ME I went with an unflashy one, that wouldn't spoil the character's appearance too much and I imagine that a lot of people did likewise.
The reason for that is these scars were no real scars, they were only another cosmetic feature, and a disfiguring one at that. Real scars come with a history. That's why Guts (Berserk) and Jet (Cowboy Bebop) lose nothing of their charm inspite of their many injuries*. You know how it happened and now this is how they should look and everything else would be wrong.
So why not have the same in RPGs?
I don't want any staying scars from regular every-day combat. But certain quests might get you some. Let's say a bad guy aims his weapon at an innocent little girl and you get the option to jump in to take the damage in her stead. Now that's a scar you wouldn't feel bad about, right?
Of course, this quest must also have other possible paths. Another character might be proud of his survival instincts. He would not try to get in between the villain and the victim, but attempt to push her out of the way or kill the attacker in time. He might save (nearly) as many people as the Righteous Bastion of Justice above, but he won't have any scars to show for it. (and then there is of course the self-serving PC, who will probably blackmail the killer after his deed is done to take the blame for the PCs murders as well)
Or you faced a dragon and have three long, diagonal lines on your chest to show for it. This might even trigger some reactions from townspeople or other NPCs.
Heck, I imagine a lot of heroes would finish the adventure looking like Vash the Stampede and be proud of it.
Any thoughts?

*Now I feel like an inconsiderate and sexist jerk for not being able to come up with a proper female example...

Modifié par Humanoid_Taifun, 01 janvier 2010 - 02:07 .

[SardaukarElite]

It's a good idea. The only problem of course is that if the scar is a compulsory outcome for that quest/action, many players will get upset if their beautiful baby gets slashed across the face in their heroic efforts without their consent. While providing a menu option with "Would you like a scar, Y/N?" or an option to cure it without consequence would undermine your efforts with artifical gameness.



Not that I'm arguing developers should do what customers think they want.

[Default137]

Humanoid_Taifun wrote...

RPGs offer a lot of customization. (This is not to be contested. It seems logical enough.)
In older games like Baldur's Gate or KotOR there were some premade faces you had to choose from, while in newer ones (like Mass Effect) you could sculpt the face almost completely to your wishes. And then you suddenly had a scar (if you chose to).
I personally usually avoided these scarred faces in the older games and in ME I went with an unflashy one, that wouldn't spoil the character's appearance too much and I imagine that a lot of people did likewise.
The reason for that is these scars were no real scars, they were only another cosmetic feature, and a disfiguring one at that. Real scars come with a history. That's why Guts (Berserk) and Jet (Cowboy Bebop) lose nothing of their charm inspite of their many injuries*. You know how it happened and now this is how they should look and everything else would be wrong.
So why not have the same in RPGs?
I don't want any staying scars from regular every-day combat. But certain quests might get you some. Let's say a bad guy aims his weapon at an innocent little girl and you get the option to jump in to take the damage in her stead. Now that's a scar you wouldn't feel bad about, right?
Of course, this quest must also have other possible paths. Another character might be proud of his survival instincts. He would not try to get in between the villain and the victim, but attempt to push her out of the way or kill the attacker in time. He might save (nearly) as many people as the Righteous Bastion of Justice above, but he won't have any scars to show for it. (and then there is of course the self-serving PC, who will probably blackmail the killer after his deed is done to take the blame for the PCs murders as well)
Or you faced a dragon and have three long, diagonal lines on your chest to show for it. This might even trigger some reactions from townspeople or other NPCs.
Heck, I imagine a lot of heroes would finish the adventure looking like Vash the Stampede and be proud of it.
Any thoughts?

*Now I feel like an inconsiderate and sexist jerk for not being able to come up with a proper female example...

You just gave two >_>

Girls have chests to you know

[squidyj]

SardaukarElite wrote...

It's a good idea. The only problem of course is that if the scar is a compulsory outcome for that quest/action, many players will get upset if their beautiful baby gets slashed across the face in their heroic efforts without their consent. While providing a menu option with "Would you like a scar, Y/N?" or an option to cure it without consequence would undermine your efforts with artifical gameness.

Not that I'm arguing developers should do what customers think they want.

Not true, players could undertake to have scars removed just as we in our world have plastic surgery and facial peels and whatnot. even In a fantasy setting one could apply a magic poultice or salve to a scar to mend the flesh. This is actually good because it allows people to become more deeply involved in their characters.
 
You could have the deceptively babyfaced human lord, vainglorious and deadly, the veteran of many battles who chooses to have his scars removed through magic for reasons twofold. First to make the courtesans swoon, and second as a feint against any opponent who might judge him at, pardon the pun, face value.

Whereas a berserker of a tribal village might wear his scars with pride as they mark the many dangerous foes he's slain. Each slice into his skin is woven together into a tapestry and even venerated with accompanying tattoo work in flaming crimson colors. His identity, his rank, his very life is on his skin, to remove it would be to deny what he is.

[Humanoid_Taifun]

Default137 wrote...

Humanoid_Taifun wrote...
That's why Guts (Berserk) and Jet (Cowboy Bebop) lose nothing of their charm inspite of their many injuries*.
[...]
*Now I feel like an inconsiderate and sexist jerk for not being able to come up with a proper female example...

You just gave two >_>

Girls have chests to you know

I meant an example for a female hero who was popular because people knew where she got her scars from.
This way I appear to just silently assume that girls should stay pretty and with pure skin, which is worse than speaking it out since it makes it more difficult to disagree.

And I originally meant for each scar to be halfway voluntary. I wouldn't ask the players if they wanted scars, I'd ask them if they wanted to perform risky maneuvers (to save somebody or for personal gain or whatever) and these would net them their scars.

[Xiphias]

From the title I assumed this would be a thread about horribly bad endings.



I can see where you're coming from with the scars. For me they'd be a waste of time as I don't care about the details of my characters appearance (body shape and movement are far more important, but not many RPGs have options for that due to the difficulty of doing it). I couldn't even name what colour hair most of my protagonists had let alone describe any of their faces. I can see that it'd be a nice thing to have in general, but it'd be a long way down the list of desirable features.



Oh, and bonus points for the Irenicus quote.

[Denicalis Mk II]

You can't come up with examples because in anime all girls are pretty and fair-skinned. You need to expand your media there sport.



Secrets & Lies, A Woman's Face, X-23... there's a handful out there, although certainly men are often portrayed as more rugged and attractive with scarring than women are.

[Panderfringe]

Default137 wrote...


Girls have chests to you know

Look, I've seen girls enough to know this is a lie. There is a gap between their bellies and necks. You can see right through them. It's why they wear shirts.

Modifié par Panderfringe, 01 janvier 2010 - 11:39 .