After looking at all the topics covered in contextual studies I have decided that for my presentation I would like to look in more depth at character and how changes in how the protagonist is portrayed effect immersion into the game world.

Something I would like to think about is how character customisation can effect immersion. Is it the case that the more of ourselves and our preferences we inflict on a character the more immersed into the game world we are?

Why is character customisation becoming a bigger part of a lot more games?

There are different types of character customisation in video games, first is the kind where the player designs the character they will play as in the game. Second is where the player designs characters to be played with like in god games such as The Sims. A newer form of character customisation is the creation of an avatar to represent the player on things like Xbox Live. This is more about representing the player in real life than creating a character.

The first type of character customisation is what is becoming more and more common in games. I think this sort of character creation idea comes from table top RPGs such as Dungeons and Dragons. Players of TTRPGs make their own story so creating their own character with it's own unique statistics and abilities makes sense. The player can also have a lot of freedom when creating a history for their character and their motivation, their true character can be decided entirely by the player.

There are games like Saints Row and Elder Scrolls which allow a lot of customisation down to the shape of the face and size and positioning of features etc and games such as Skate or Gods Eater Burst where the player can choose from a number of preset options.

Character creation in video games comes with a little less freedom. Although the player can usually choose how the characterisation of their character they cannot usually choose the true character. The changes made to the character are usually just aesthetic changes to appearance and equipment or changes to the way the player uses the character. For example choosing the fighting stance or whether the character uses magic or weapons. Because the plot is already decided, the true character is already predetermined, how the character reacts to situation is already decided by the game not the player. However I do feel that making these aesthetic changes can help with the player feeling more attached to the character.

When a character is not customised by the player the game has to try a lot harder to get the player to identify with them. This will include portraying their personality in a way that is very obvious from the beginning of the game in order to immerse the player straight away, in a similar way to the game world as a whole drawing the player in straight away. Because everything about the character is predetermined I think it's much easier for the character to have a lot more personality.

My problem with a lot of games where the player creates their own character is that the character becomes very two dimensional, this is probably due to the player then being able to project themselves onto the character but I find that in a video game scenario where the true character of the protagonist is already determined by the game world that this is hard to do. In a lot of games where the player creates their character they sort of become a voiceless and personality free canvas which can leave the player caring about them less than a character created for the player by the developer who has a rich and inviting personality and history.

Having said that I feel that character creation works when the player has some say over the choices the character makes in the game. This enables the player to have more say in the true character and therefore makes the player feel more invested in the character. 

I think there are pros and cons to each approach. If a player has a say in how their character looks or how the player can play with the character I think it allows the player to put part of themselves into the character and this can help the player become immersed in the game world. However this can result in the character becoming two dimensional.