When Fable was released a big deal was made of the technology (that Lionhead had previously created for Black & White) that caused your protagonist to change their appearance based on your actions. “Evil” actions cause your character to develop dark skin, glowing red eyes and eventually horns. Whereas “Good” actions lead to a glowing complexion, fair hair, and eventually a halo.
Though this serves to highlight how the game is reacting to the your actions it is a brute force approach to moralising, I’ve recently started to wonder if there is another, subtler, way to use this technology.
If you’ll permit me to digress a little. I’ve noticed that when I’m attracted to somebody, or even simply when I get to know somebody, I start to see them differently. I think I start to see them more as I believe them to be, than maybe they actually are. To me they take on a more idealised form. This might be unique to me but I suspect that is not the case as Shakespeare seemed well aware of this particular phenomenon:
But love is blind and lovers cannot see
The pretty follies that themselves commit;
We are blind to the minor blemishes and mistakes of those we care about.
With this in mind what would a character interaction focused game feel like if, as we got to know characters better, those we associated favourably with gradually changed to become more idealised, less imperfect, and those we disagreed with gradually became more blemished and flawed.
The effect would need to be subtle so as not to become too obvious and distracting. Also care would obviously need to be taken to ensure that there was no implicit message regarding the perceived worth of attractive people. The best way to handle such a system might be in a game that allowed the player to customise their own avatar. The choices made at that stage would be treated as the player’s baseline for what is attractive, or what they are comfortable with. I suspect given the option players would choose to make an idealised version of themselves. Therefore friends, maybe even potential lovers, would gradually grow to look similar to the character much as family members do while enemies would grow to look different.
Over time would there be positive feedback loops where players were more inclined to act favourably towards their friends because they were becoming more attractive in their eyes, and more aggressively towards their enemies because they were becoming more different? What would happen if somebody new was introduced who conformed to the player’s idea of attractive? Would they be welcomed immediately or treated like any other stranger?
If such dynamics did occur what would they say about the player? If the machinations of the game were laid bare after the fact could such a game work to engage the player and make them question their own biases?
3 replies on “A matter of appearance.”
That’s a very good idea if I may say. To represent the world not by how it really is, but by how the player character perceives it.
Just thinking about the possibilities for backstabbing, allucinations and plot twists makes me giddy :)
Really neat idea.
“The best way to handle such a system might be in a game that allowed the player to customise their own avatar. The choices made at that stage would be treated as the player’s baseline for what is attractive, or what they are comfortable with.”
I think there’s even more to this idea than you give yourself credit for. There’s plenty of research on the books already that shows that humans (and other animals) tend to view similar-looking others more favorably. (I think there’s some question as to whether it’s instinctual or due to comfort of whom one grew up around.)
An easy start could just be clothes, as well. Often the fashion choices of social groups tend to converge around one theme or style-setter.
“Beer Goggles” for videogames. Cool idea.