Putting On Your Game Face

Thanks to GameSpot for their editorial discussing the ability to alter in-game characters to look like yourself in videogames, specifically citing EA's Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2004. The author admits to having "a definite penchant for games that allow me to play as a character resembling myself", and muses: "I've already spent an unhealthy amount of time putting myself into Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2004 - imagine how cool it would be if that same character could be transported to FIFA Soccer 2004, Madden NFL 2004, or even SSX 3." With other forthcoming titles such as Tony Hawk's Underground highlighting this type of feature, is playing as yourself a much-desired extra for everyone, or would you prefer controlling someone more... handsome?

Comments

Yeah, but everyone always plays as Tiger Woods

[wrexsoul]

Penny Arcade already covered this one... Or I guess you'd have to read the news post. But that's also been made fun of recently.

Depends on the game, really

[lightspawn]

Standard Avatars - cool, not always practical.

Sports games (football, hockey, skating, golf, etc) are about people doing stuff - they can be anybody without affecting the gameplay.

Games like platformers or Japanese RPGs benefit from very detailed characters fitting the plot and gameplay. You wouldn't want your ugly mug instead of, say, Crash Bandicoot, now would you? It may be fun in a multiplayer environment (where you actually know the other guys) but that's about it.

I'm sure FPS players would get a kick out of fragging a face they know.

Games like racers, puzzles, and shooters don't really have or need avatars for the most part, so the question is moot.

I'd be more interested in games that let me customize other aspects - like Jet Grind Radio/Jet Set Radio let you import graffiti. Or how about a racer that lets you customize your car so much I can create a virtual replica of the candle truck?

Handsome is as handsome... ah, whatever

[jtheory]

...is playing as yourself a much-desired extra for everyone, or would you prefer controlling someone more... handsome?

Speak for yourself, buddy.

Are all geeks really hideously ugly? Longing to be spending all our time with large groups of "regular" people drinking beer and talking about sports and TV... if only we had more social skills and fewer hair-sprouting warts?

Hey, maybe some of them. But there are plenty who are perfectly capable of mingling with masses... they just don't want to most of the time (interesting book on this subject: Party of One, by Anneli Rufus).

Anyway, even the visual trolls out there should be able to "fix" their faces with a few minor Photoshop edits. So yes, seeing some version of our own faces in games can be fun (as long as it's well-integrated).

Moving on... can you put a face on the opposing players (or soldiers, etc.) in any of these games?

Fine, so long as one condition is met....

[wowbagger]

This is fine, so long as one condition is met:

That for any multiplayer online game, the user SHALL BE ABLE TO PREVENT REMOTE USERS FROM DEFINING THEIR OWN FACES.

Why?

One word:

Goatse