In-Depth Look at Character Creation

[doefriend]

I am so relieved to see how incredibly free-form and non-permanent the customisation is this time around. It never bothered me that your character was "randomised" in the earlier games, but as we got to New Leaf and character customisation became more and more important in the game, it really started to feel dated. Especially when it came to changing your hair. So this is such a breath of fresh air; sure, it takes away something that might seem like a neat quirk of the series, but the series' personality is still fully present in so many other ways that don't detract from your fun.

The one thing I'm questioning now is exactly how your gender is determined (considering you can have the title Lass or Lad through the Nook Miles thingy, it must be present still). Is it simply chosen at the start (before or after the appearance menu), or is it determined by your presentation (I hope not—my girlfriend who I'll be playing with has a very masculine presentation and I'm sure it would be misinterpreted)? Also... can you change it with the mirror?? I really doubt that would be possible, but I feel like it'd be a godsend for people who are questioning their gender or who are genderfluid, etc.

It's honestly really throwing me off that the Nook Miles title is gendered when nothing else in the game so far has shown any inclination towards acknowledging your gender. Maybe it's a weird case where you choose the title yourself but the game otherwise doesn't comment on it?

I don't know, I could speculate about this for hours to be honest. I guess we'll have to wait a little longer to know for sure.

 

[moo-kun]

I'm not sure if I like the idea of being able to change your facial features and skin tone on the fly after the initial customization set up screen. I know you don't have to use a feature and I like the idea of unlocking and changing your hair color/eye color/makeup to customize your character. I just feel like New Horizons is starting to take away the idea of any sort of permanance your decisions have.

I think the great thing about it is that you don't have to use it if you wouldn't like that option ♡
Sometimes I'm good and can stay with something for ages but then I develop an itch and want to change.
Like I've said in previous posts, the reason that we'll be allowed to change anytime in the game is because new styles will be unlocked and we'll get new things further along the line from Harriet!
If we didn't have access to change the eyes after unlocking them, what would be the point of gaining new ones? It's a big and different step in AC but I believe it's a great one since character customisation and customisation in general is one of the most biggest drives in the AC community ☆〜（ゝ。∂）

 

[JKDOS]

I'm not sure if I like the idea of being able to change your facial features and skin tone on the fly after the initial customization set up screen. I know you don't have to use a feature and I like the idea of unlocking and changing your hair color/eye color/makeup to customize your character. I just feel like New Horizons is starting to take away the idea of any sort of permanance your decisions have.

Are you kidding? This is amazing. Having it be permanent causes a great amount of depression, as someone may make the wrong decision (regret) or change their mind down the road. And now they are plagued with the nightmare of "Live with this, or reset my entire save file".

This change was an extremely welcome change in Happy Home Designer, so I am glad they brought it here as well. (Pocket camp too)

 

[Luca]

I am so relieved to see how incredibly free-form and non-permanent the customisation is this time around. It never bothered me that your character was "randomised" in the earlier games, but as we got to New Leaf and character customisation became more and more important in the game, it really started to feel dated. Especially when it came to changing your hair. So this is such a breath of fresh air; sure, it takes away something that might seem like a neat quirk of the series, but the series' personality is still fully present in so many other ways that don't detract from your fun.

The one thing I'm questioning now is exactly how your gender is determined (considering you can have the title Lass or Lad through the Nook Miles thingy, it must be present still). Is it simply chosen at the start (before or after the appearance menu), or is it determined by your presentation (I hope not—my girlfriend who I'll be playing with has a very masculine presentation and I'm sure it would be misinterpreted)? Also... can you change it with the mirror?? I really doubt that would be possible, but I feel like it'd be a godsend for people who are questioning their gender or who are genderfluid, etc.

It's honestly really throwing me off that the Nook Miles title is gendered when nothing else in the game so far has shown any inclination towards acknowledging your gender. Maybe it's a weird case where you choose the title yourself but the game otherwise doesn't comment on it?

I don't know, I could speculate about this for hours to be honest. I guess we'll have to wait a little longer to know for sure.

The fact that the screenshot had both “Lad” and “Lass” given as title keywords at the same time gave me the vibe that we’d get to choose between them at will, along with other keywords we might unlock. Still not perfect for NB folks, but I’ll absolutely take it over defined genders that villagers and NPCs can comment on.

 

[jiojiop]

From GamesRadar's preview:

New Horizons is doing it right, and the character customisation is there from the outset. You can pick your gender, hairstyle (although there are only eight to start with), and your eye, nose, and mouth shape. There are also options to change your hair and eye colour, and a few more options. I played as a girl, but the game informs you several times that you can change your appearance and gender whenever you want to.

So you must pick a gender. You can change that gender whenever you want. You can also change your skin color whenever you want.

I'm... not sure how I feel about that.

I do love the eye variety though.

 

[Fey]

I'm not sure if I like the idea of being able to change your facial features and skin tone on the fly after the initial customization set up screen. I know you don't have to use a feature and I like the idea of unlocking and changing your hair color/eye color/makeup to customize your character. I just feel like New Horizons is starting to take away the idea of any sort of permanance your decisions have.

I actually somewhat agree. I?m not for locking those options forever, but I?d prefer if changing your facial features and skin tone was either costly or only possibly, say, once a month at most.

 

[Pate and Ketchup]

This is nice we can select all the haircuts availables but I'm worry about the genre selection ; in some languages (including mine : French) there are differences between male and female forms of an adjective or some nouns (beau/belle, gentil/gentille for example). I'm worry about that ; if we can't choose our genre in the beginning of the game, how will the characters talk to us ? It's impossible to avoid these words about you. If I say "you looks so happy today !", in French, there is a difference between the two "happy" form.

I'm very worry about that.

 

[DJStarstryker]

I actually somewhat agree. I’m not for locking those options forever, but I’d prefer if changing your facial features and skin tone was either costly or only possibly, say, once a month at most.

Serious question: why? Not all video games let you change your appearance after making your character initially, but some do, and they don't necessarily make it restrictive like that. So it's not new. If people really want to change things, I don't know why it would need to be more restrictive than, say, changing your character's shirt whenever you want. It's optional and up to you.

Is it just because it's different? I know some people hate change, especially too much change.

 

[jiojiop]

This is nice we can select all the haircuts availables but I'm worry about the genre selection ; in some languages (including mine : French) there are differences between male and female forms of an adjective or some nouns (beau/belle, gentil/gentille for example). I'm worry about that ; if we can't choose our genre in the beginning of the game, how will the characters talk to us ? It's impossible to avoid these words about you. If I say "you looks so happy today !", in French, there is a difference between the two "happy" form.

I'm very worry about that.

Don't worry. You still pick your gender.

 

[doefriend]

From GamesRadar's preview:



So you must pick a gender. You can change that gender whenever you want. You can also change your skin color whenever you want.

I'm... not sure how I feel about that.

I do love the eye variety though.

Oh wow that's pretty awesome that they let you just... change your gender! It's far from perfect though, I really wish they'd let those NB people who don't want to pick either option play as themselves too. They're really close to full inclusivity with this but... again it's just short.

But I think being able to change your gender at will is a great option. For some genderfluid people, as well as for people who are questioning their gender, or just want to experiment, or people who transition after they start the game, this is really great. I know I would have loved this in NL back when I was questioning my own gender.

As for changing your skin tone I don't think that should be a problem? Sure, people's skin tones don't really change like that aside from by tanning, but as an option just in case you feel like you got it wrong the first time or something, I don't see the harm.

Edit: Given what we know now, I guess the pencil icon that they never go to in the official mirror videos, is where you change your gender. I wonder if you'll be able to change other stuff there too, like maybe your name?

 

[Hanami]

I'm incredibly excited about blush.. no more limitations to one face style having the feature

 

[Romaki]

I'm so glad we can get more hairstyles pretty early on! And that we can change everything at every time.

 

[thegunpowderincident]

I hope we get the classic Animal Crossing ‘bun’. That’s always been my go-to hairstyle, and I’m not keen on the new one we’ve seen. Also, the thing that concerns me about having no gender option is what pronouns NPCs will use when speaking to us. People have preferred pronouns, and don’t always want to go by gender-neutral ones.

 

[Luca]

I hope we get the classic Animal Crossing ‘bun’. That’s always been my go-to hairstyle, and I’m not keen on the new one we’ve seen. Also, the thing that concerns me about having no gender option is what pronouns NPCs will use when speaking to us. People have preferred pronouns, and don’t always want to go by gender-neutral ones.

The thing is, when someone is speaking directly to you, the pronoun they use is "you," not anything gendered. Pronouns would only be a problem if characters speak to each other about you in front of you, which rarely happens in Animal Crossing gameplay. When it happens so little, it's very easy to omit pronouns entirely and just use your character name, which I'm sure is what they'll do.

 

[DJStarstryker]

The thing is, when someone is speaking directly to you, the pronoun they use is "you," not anything gendered. Pronouns would only be a problem if characters speak to each other about you in front of you, which rarely happens in Animal Crossing gameplay. When it happens so little, it's very easy to omit pronouns entirely and just use your character name, which I'm sure is what they'll do.

If you have multiple characters in your town, the other ones have been referenced with pronouns in the past. I don't remember the exact phrasing, but you could have conversations with animals like "Do you know Jake? I haven't seen him around very much."

It's definitely possible to try to omit pronouns, at least in English. It's harder to do in other languages where nouns and verbs can be gendered. French and Spanish are examples of that.

 

[meo]

:3 I'm really glad they gave us more customization. It'll be really nice to see people running around with more unique-ness (ie: the nose options, added eye designs, etc).

 

[debinoresu]

I hope we get the classic Animal Crossing ?bun?. That?s always been my go-to hairstyle, and I?m not keen on the new one we?ve seen. Also, the thing that concerns me about having no gender option is what pronouns NPCs will use when speaking to us. People have preferred pronouns, and don?t always want to go by gender-neutral ones.

well, idk, i feel like this is the best compromise for everyone. i think encouraging games to remove players from gender boxes is ideal, theres no need to be discomforted by gender neutral pronouns... i mean i prefer when people call me she because yea, im a girl, but im also just a person at the end of the day, which they/them portrays just fine. i see the benefit in bracket gender neutrality and i dont think a little preference should ruin that possibility for everyone?

at the end of the day, even if you give a player as many options as currently socially considered, theres always going to be someone who identifies differently and feels isolated somehow by the presented options. the best most all encompassing way is to have a neutral way for which to refer to everyone. i dont think its good to encourage re-boxing people in, just with more boxes this time.

also, you may be able to pick "titles" because we have seen a nook miles award which used a non gender neutral pronoun (it was either lad or lass).

 

[JKDOS]

Maybe they changed it because the starting NPCs, like Kapp'n and Rover kept assuming the player's gender, LOL.

Rover: "You seem like a pretty cool guy to me"
Player: "I'm a girl"
Rover: :O
Player: :O

 

[thegunpowderincident]

well, idk, i feel like this is the best compromise for everyone. i think encouraging games to remove players from gender boxes is ideal, theres no need to be discomforted by gender neutral pronouns... i mean i prefer when people call me she because yea, im a girl, but im also just a person at the end of the day, which they/them portrays just fine. i see the benefit in bracket gender neutrality and i dont think a little preference should ruin that possibility for everyone?

at the end of the day, even if you give a player as many options as currently socially considered, theres always going to be someone who identifies differently and feels isolated somehow by the presented options. the best most all encompassing way is to have a neutral way for which to refer to everyone. i dont think its good to encourage re-boxing people in, just with more boxes this time.

also, you may be able to pick "titles" because we have seen a nook miles award which used a non gender neutral pronoun (it was either lad or lass).

I get what you’re saying, but IMO the best compromise would be having more options, rather than less. Our perspectives are different, so I don’t think arguing over this will be worthwhile. (Not trying to sound rude, just genuinely don’t want this to turn into an argument, haha)

- - - Post Merge - - -

If you have multiple characters in your town, the other ones have been referenced with pronouns in the past. I don't remember the exact phrasing, but you could have conversations with animals like "Do you know Jake? I haven't seen him around very much."

Yeah, that’s the kind of thing I meant.

 

[moo-kun]

I'm incredibly excited about blush.. no more limitations to one face style having the feature

I'm so happy!!! I kept asking them to put it in the game! I'm sure we'll also get makeup from Harriet too! (•́ ॣ?̫ ॣ•̀,)՞