City of Heroes did it very well, Guild Wars 2 did it better, but Black Desert Online did it best!
What we are looking for is the best of all worlds.
THE TOOL
Star Citizen has been doing some amazing things with Cryengine but Character Creator 3 by Reallusion is the pinnacle of the technology. Watch the example video below.
LAYERING
The layering of skin-to-skin texture-to-tatoo-to-hair-to-cloth-to-armor is tailor-made for the superhero genre. What superheroes have on top of these layers is the addition of “auras”, or visual representations of power. Auras can be either a radiant glow, wispy smoke, or even buzzing flies, auras should have the flexibility of being emitted from either skin (think: elemental), skin texture (think: cracked magma), tattoos (think: mystic sigils), hair (think: flaming hair), cloth (think: Green Lantern movie), and armor (think: too many to think of). The option of auras in combination with customizable powers gives the player even more options than even City of Heroes ever had.
SCALING
The proportions of a character, in many games, limit the options in the types of layers for hair, cloth, and armor. It’s understood that a character with hooved feet cannot wear shoes, but giving the player an option of types of hooves makes up for the limit of not having shoes. In contrast, a fat character should have access to all the above-skin texture options as a thin or muscular character has. Body sliders should address not only the size of a character, but the bulk and muscle tone of a character. This will allow for not only obese characters, but also muscular females.
OFFICIAL HANDBOOK OF THE MARVEL UNIVERSE ONLINE GAME EDITION
- The character creation tool comes up in the form of a blank entry in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Online.
- Your entry evolves over the span of you career and the stats are used by NPCs in game to interact with your character.
Hover over the Icons below for more information on each section
Tell the world who you are! This is where you added some basic background information about your character. Each category is selected from a drop-down of options.
Origin! This is where you tell the dramatic story of your hero or villain. Once you input your initial 2 to 3 boxes of text, the narrator feature will add additional snippets of information about your various adventures. These snippets can be added or deleted at will through out your career.
The Customizer Interface! Create you hero or villain here! Gender, body type, hair and clothing can be added and adjusted from a vast selection of options. Sliders and position wheels allow you to see your design from any angle.
Once selected from the interface, your characters basic stats will be recorded here.
Once selected from the interface, your characters power sets will be recorded here. A calculation of what origin-types your character is slightly stronger or slightly weaker against will also be displayed here.
Powers! This window allows you to give a creative description of your abilities. Use this narrative opportunity to tell the world how your superpowers are unique.
The Temporary Power Window. Throughout your career, you will be able to craft items to aid you in your endeavors. This window will display any temp powers and their individual stats.
THE CUSTOMIZATION CONSERVATORY
Haven’t seen it in game? Suggest it here. City of Heroes was touted as revolution in character creation, many critics claimed this was the only thing that the reason the game lasted as long as it did. I want a game that gives the player the ability to truly create a superhero unique to their imagination. A place where ideas for new clothing types, tattoos, auras, or even body types can be suggested, voted on by players, and fast-tracked to development.
