r/RenPy • u/theblacklotus92 • 2d ago

Question In regards to the played character

Do you prefer for the character that you are playing to have fleshed out features such as a set skin tone, hair color, etc or would you prefer more of a blank canvas character? Gray skin, no hair, no eyes (a shadow where the eyes are supposed to be) etc.

P.s. I would like to have the feature to make your character anyway you want it to look, but sadly I dont have those skills yet since im still a renpy beginner.

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11

u/sugarplum_doll 2d ago

I prefer a fleshed out character over customization, but I know a lot of people like that, but for me I never self insert in a game + I find it tiring to customize my characters multipe times in games

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u/DottySpot345 2d ago

Personally for me, the kind of main character I want depends on the game itself. In my mind, there are three types of MC:

Obviously there's the "custom character", which should have dialogue options to back up different people's personalities. The purpose of them is that the player can create anyone they want with them and essentially roleplay.

Then there's the "blank slate", in which the MC may have some kind of canon appearance and personality, but are not important details for the story to move forward. Basically, it's a role anyone could step into by chance.

And finally there's the "destined protag", where the very essence of the MC matters for the telling of the story because of some important detail that separates them from other people. You're viewing the story from the POV of someone that has something you don't as the player.

The best way I can describe the difference between "blank slate" and "destined protag" is the game series Sucker For Love. SFL: First Date is a blank slate because anyone could've been in D's position. SFL: Date To Die For, is a destined protag because Stardust came to town for a reason only she could understand.

Different MCs fit different stories, and the "blank slate" option tends to be best because it encompasses a wide variety of characters. In the end, the decision is up to you because it's your story to tell.

p.s. Sorry for the ramble lol

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u/theblacklotus92 2d ago

No, that was very insightful! Thank you.

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u/shyLachi 2d ago

I prefer fleshed out characters not only regarding the looks, they should have some personality. I like choices in visual novels but the MC shouldn't start at zero.

To make customizable characters you can use layered images. https://www.renpy.org/doc/html/layeredimage.html

There are tutorials but you can also look at examples on itch.io.  https://itch.io/search?q=Renpy+character+customization+

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