Character descriptions

[Gran]

I disagree very much with the idea of having a dynamic self description exactly because of what was previously said: genetics. I believe that general physical patterns should be genetic. In a land of black haired people, a young silver haired man would be more than akward. The lack of standardization is something that inhibits greater ethinical identification in game.

The player could define several traits that still are within a spectrum of choice, choosing nose, sub-color of hair and some of other physical idiossincrasies. Outside it, he wouldn't be following the general pattern.

And before someone says that this is limiting the imagination of the player, you cannot choose how someone is but you can alter it. What do you think plastic surgeons, whigs, make-up and body paiting are for? See it like that, we take off the limit plus we add dynamic into game activities. And admit it, would you ever think Michael Jackson was even human?

[*Wiro]

Then... Where does it start?

And... Having it like that basically ruins the image that many people have of their characters/other characters. At least, it does for me.

[SekoETC]

But who's going to define the existing outlook related genetics, the players or the staff? I think everyone will be happier if the players get to choose the appearance of their characters. If they had a chance to define their outlook without limitations for now, we could see if clusters of similar features start forming in certain towns or language groups. Once appearance traits of the current population have been recorded, newspawns may start inheriting their appearance from the town people and eventually the prevailing traits will grow stronger in the population while the less common ones like pink hair will die out. Having a free choice system for now doesn't eliminate the chance of implementing a genetics system in the future.

But if newspawns in the future weren't allowed to define their appearance, they should at least be allowed to pick some preferences. This has been discussed in another topic.

Oh and anybody remember the time when strength became visible and some whiners forced people to hide it from anyone but the character itself? What if people were optionally given a chance not to hide their strength or weakness, but to make it visible like it was? This would increase visual diversity using code that already exists. The only new coding would be needed for registering people's choices. I'm sure most people have either gotten over the initial shock of finding out their characters have a different strength than they imagined.

[Gran]

If the players decide it, it means only new characters would be able to choose anything? Or do the old players get the chance of doing it too? And more, how the diversity created by a such a 'democratic' genetic system can be transformed in standard ethinical patterns? It would be kind of rare by natural means, the way of doing it would be by eugenia and ethinical policies made by chars. However, cantr politics haven't got enough despots willing to do so nor the ruling group would be much homogeneous when it comes to appearance (but this would be solved with proper time).

It is nice, but not quite enough. The initial step could still use some regulation on what can be chosen, so that we won't be seeing people with ludicrious appearances.

It is because of this kind of things that these ideas get relayed to infinity.

EDIT: I talk too much... and forget to comment on other things. Could clothes be used to hide the wearer's force? Because I suppose if you walk naked, someone will notice if you are too much skinny/riped.

[Doug R.]

The only way you could implement and still have genetics would be for the current players to choose their characteristics, then lock it in place. Newspawns would then have their features derived from their spawnparents in a similar manner as their skills (without the random element).

You could just start with eye and hair color. Length would be left to RP.

When the traits are then locked, the neat way to go about it would be to have the database pool all the eye and hair colors. Staff would then decide which were dominant and which recessive, and what colors you get by mixing. Newspawns would then carry two color genes and could get interesting color results.

[Dudel]

The only way you could implement and still have genetics would be for the current players to choose their characteristics, then lock it in place. Newspawns would then have their features derived from their spawnparents in a similar manner as their skills (without the random element).

You could just start with eye and hair color. Length would be left to RP.

When the traits are then locked, the neat way to go about it would be to have the database pool all the eye and hair colors. Staff would then decide which were dominant and which recessive, and what colors you get by mixing. Newspawns would then carry two color genes and could get interesting color results.

BRILLIENT! AWSOME! I LIKE IT!

*cough* Well I think that is a good idea Doug.

[Piscator]

Instead of all the Mendel business, people could just inherit the hair and eye colours of one of their parents. I'm not sure if we have to copy real genetics so closely.

[Doug R.]

Instead of all the Mendel business, people could just inherit the hair and eye colours of one of their parents.

But that's not fun at all

[Piscator]

True

[Tiamo]

Cantr characters have no parents, just a gene pool from their location of spawning. So you would get to choose from a much larger number of possible characteristics.
If there are people with 6 different hair colors in a town, which color would the hair of a newspawn have?

[Piscator]

I always thought two random people would chosen as parents and the newspawn would get his traits only from them.

[joo]

The only way you could implement and still have genetics would be for the current players to choose their characteristics, then lock it in place. Newspawns would then have their features derived from their spawnparents in a similar manner as their skills (without the random element).

You could just start with eye and hair color. Length would be left to RP.

When the traits are then locked, the neat way to go about it would be to have the database pool all the eye and hair colors. Staff would then decide which were dominant and which recessive, and what colors you get by mixing. Newspawns would then carry two color genes and could get interesting color results.

BRILLIENT! AWSOME! I LIKE IT!

*cough* Well I think that is a good idea Doug.

I agree... however, might there be a better way of choosing character's hair and eye colour and other physical traits than letting the player decide. I'd be a bit uneasy about letting players choose what they want their characters too look.

It could be completely random to begin with, then general fluctutations in the initial randomness will translate into areas with different hair colours.

Perhaps they could be based on the types of food that have been eaten by that character - or if that is impossible to determine, there could be a period in which such data is collected.

And I think that eye colour should work the same way it does in RL - this way, it does not limit a new character to the eye colours in their spawning location, and gives them something potentially unique to themselves, just like eye colours are in real life.

[SekoETC]

I have a mental image of what most of my characters look like and I bet many other players do too. There has been at least one topic about it. That's why characters who exists before the implementation of outlook genetics should have unlimited* freedom in defining what they look like. People who spawn after this stage could just give vague guidelines (just dark/blond/red hair as opposed to black/dark brown/brown/light brown/ash blond/blond/strawberry blond/redhead), and their spawn place could be affected by this choice. It would be nice if there were color swatches to ensure variation instead of having strict choices like in Yahoo avatars. If someone wants to spawn a character with dark hair, I don't think it ruins their game if the character has jet black hair or just medium brown. Likewise if someone wants to have blond hair, it could be ash blond or ice blond or something in the middle.

*) Within reason.

[marol]

I always thought two random people would chosen as parents and the newspawn would get his traits only from them.

True.

[joo]

I have a mental image of what most of my characters look like and I bet many other players do too. There has been at least one topic about it. That's why characters who exists before the implementation of outlook genetics should have unlimited* freedom in defining what they look like. People who spawn after this stage could just give vague guidelines (just dark/blond/red hair as opposed to black/dark brown/brown/light brown/ash blond/blond/strawberry blond/redhead), and their spawn place could be affected by this choice.

I don't really agree with inferring things like physical appearance in the game just because "that's how you picture them." Nothing besides age and sex is specified in the game, so I think of two men in their twenties being the same, plus, of course their personalities. But, of course, there might be others who have RPed having a certain hair colour, etc, so making the changes random would mess up their RP. I'd be inclined to make it random anyway and teach them a lesson, but sadly there is also PR to consider.

It might work to keep the character descriptions of existing characters blank so that any existing mental images might be kept intact. I don't really think this would cause an imbalance since as long as people RP maturely, it is simply more information being provided about the new characters, not making them "different" in any way.