So, I have to say, compared to CoH, CO, EQ2, and to some degree TSW, I'd prefer a more detailed character generator. I'd like to have more control over each race, so it's not vexing to make a non-cutesy au ra or miqo'te female (or, conversely, a cutesy roegadyn female) or outright impossible to create a muscled miqo'te male or a flabby roegadyn male. Playing virtual dress-up doll is a big part of my MMO experience. 
With that in mind, though, I recognize that the devs in this game have a vision for what they want. In CoH, the vision was, "anything in any superhero comic, you can make." In EQ2, it was, "here are the races, but you've got a fair amount of control in appearance." XIV's vision seems to be, "here are the races, their lore says they're like this, so that's what you can make." Miqo'te are all lithe, so they don't get a muscle slider. Lalafell women aren't shapely. The parameters of the character generator are tied to that dev vision, and I certainly don't want to say, "hey, your vision is wrong." It might not be to my taste -- which is why I don't play lalafell, for instance -- but it's their artistic vision, and they have a right to it.
One wrinkle in all of this is knowing that the au ra female design was heavily informed by gameplay data. I have to say, I'm not a big fan of a dev's vision being "whatever is likely to get a lot of players." I'm a believer in the school of thought that says you should create what you want, not what you think others want to see. That the au ra female design was informed by people wanting to play characters of that body style, as opposed to some strong lore reason or even just Yoshi-P thinking that's cool, irks me. It feels like a cash grab, which really rubs me the wrong way.
With that in mind, though, I recognize that the devs in this game have a vision for what they want. In CoH, the vision was, "anything in any superhero comic, you can make." In EQ2, it was, "here are the races, but you've got a fair amount of control in appearance." XIV's vision seems to be, "here are the races, their lore says they're like this, so that's what you can make." Miqo'te are all lithe, so they don't get a muscle slider. Lalafell women aren't shapely. The parameters of the character generator are tied to that dev vision, and I certainly don't want to say, "hey, your vision is wrong." It might not be to my taste -- which is why I don't play lalafell, for instance -- but it's their artistic vision, and they have a right to it.
One wrinkle in all of this is knowing that the au ra female design was heavily informed by gameplay data. I have to say, I'm not a big fan of a dev's vision being "whatever is likely to get a lot of players." I'm a believer in the school of thought that says you should create what you want, not what you think others want to see. That the au ra female design was informed by people wanting to play characters of that body style, as opposed to some strong lore reason or even just Yoshi-P thinking that's cool, irks me. It feels like a cash grab, which really rubs me the wrong way.
The Freelance Wizard
Quality RP at low, low prices!
((about me | about L'yhta Mahre | L'yhta's desk | about Mysterium, the Ivory Tower: a heavy RP society of mages))
Quality RP at low, low prices!
((about me | about L'yhta Mahre | L'yhta's desk | about Mysterium, the Ivory Tower: a heavy RP society of mages))
