Creating my character

It took me a very long time to decide with every choice that arose, and for some I asked my girlfriend to choose for me. I took the most time in two categories, picking a race and picking a class (and by that, I mean the assigned outfit). I eventually landed on the Charr and the Warrior. I found that I wanted a female avatar that looked cool, and had a fairly androgynous style, like me. The Charr seemed to fit that requirement better than most other races, especially when it came to the outfits assigned to the classes. Because I chose a female character, I found myself very conflicted with the overall styles associated to the races.I switched back and fourth about 20 times between different races and their different classes. The Charr were the least sexualized out of the characters I looked at and I believe this was a major influence on my decision. Most of the other races had the female avatars wearing armor that revealed legs and midriffs, as well as the bodies appearing hyper-sexualized in comparison to most of the male avatars. This didn’t really come as a surprise as that it upholds the reputation of MMORPGs that I am familiar with. Male avatars look bulky, with functional clothes, hyper-masculine, and generally edgy, while female avatars are much daintier, with what could be considered swimsuits. Often, you need to resort to the least human-looking option if you want a female character that has more variation. I identify with my character in that I present my own self as relatively androgynous and often it is difficult to uphold that style without feeling like I am no longer a woman.

I have a bit of experience when it comes to video games, and I usually play a warrior type character as my preferred fighting style is close range melee combat. I felt that it was very important for me to keep to this trend so that I might have an easier time adjusting to the game. I believe that this is a part of my identity when it comes to gaming. It’s where I feel most comfortable and at home.

I felt that the name was one of the least important choices for me to make. I am also terrible with names, so I asked my girlfriend what she thought I should name it. She said “Bruce Willis, from Die Hard” but when I put that in it was too many characters. So I suggested that we change it so it is shorter and also sounds more like a name. I think the name isn’t as important to me as the appearance because I generally play on my own. I view myself as the avatar and therefore I never really use the name, I just refer to it as me. This is interesting to me and I look forward to exploring this idea of self concept in the future.