UCI Research Question: How did you decide on your race, gender, and appearance in FF?

[Breakbeat]

What were the main factors that contributed to how you chose your race, gender, and appearance?

I went into character creation with no pre-conceived notions about what I wanted, or what I 'should' end up with, so I literally cycled through all of the options until I saw something I liked. In this case, a male Au'ra for gender and race. The prompt for that? The dopamine release in my brain when I laid eyes on the one I liked the most.

I don't mean to be flippant, or insinuate that what I said should be obvious to most. In fact, I only state it because many people don't think about 'liking something' in this way, but IMHO a collegiate-level paper should probably take it into consideration, or at least speak of it. There's simple science behind why we 'like' things, and quite interestingly, we as individuals we have zero control over that science. You either like something or you don't. You cannot choose what you do and don't like. I find that fascinating.

Think of your favorite food. Now, why do you like it? Say you give the response 'it's nice and savory,' or 'it's creamy and sweet.' Well, why do you like 'savory' or 'sweet'? You don't really know. You just like it, because when that particular taste touches your tongue, your brain releases a whole bunch of dopamine. Ditto why you like shows, books, movies, music, why you fall in love, etc., etc.

But, I do get what you're after. So, to put it in common terms, the fact that I found these choices to be aesthetically pleasing is why I chose them. I've created a couple different characters of varying races and genders and appearances, and I also chose those races, genders and appearances on what I thought looked good.

Is there any other reason for choosing a particular race, gender, etc? Every response in this thread so far can be attributed to dopamine release, from the people that like cats, to the people that chose based on Anime, to the people that used pertinent dates to choose.

Do some people choose races and genders and appearances which they don't like, or which they find aesthetically displeasing? Perhaps for some niche RP, but it would be a small percentage. I think it would be incredibly interesting to add a chapter to your paper on people who play characters they don't like, because of some external pressure.

I know I got way deeper than you wanted. My apologies; I'm a junkie for science, knowledge and conjecture surrounding both. Good luck on your paper.

[Iscah]

This was the first time I've played an MMO so I didn't really know what to expect. I wanted to make a character that wasn't necessarily "like me" but that I would feel comfortable playing as and representing myself to other people. Definitely a female character (as I am myself) and I wanted her to look nice but not "attractive" and not revealingly dressed. (I think at the time I was selecting my character, I was expecting less choice in outfits throughout the game but with variants tailored to each race in a similar way to their starting gear.)

My first pick on these criteria was actually a Lalafell, but I quickly felt like she looked out of place in serious cutscenes and I didn't like the low viewpoint, and so I settled on my current Hyur. She's like me in being short, pale and female but that's about it.

For her exact appearance I just tried different options together until I found something I liked. I think I'd been put off by the default face for the character on the race selection screen, but the one I'm using now has quite different proportions.

As I got used to the game and familiar with the world and lore, I started making a lot of alt characters that were more about playing with concepts and character designs that fit into the setting. My overall collection is created in the mindset of building "a cast of characters" that could work well as a complete RPG party together. I don't roleplay with other people but I do have strong concepts of who each character is and how they respond to events in the story.

Perhaps because of the enforced use of characters as forum avatars, or perhaps just because I did make her to be representative of me, Aurelie feels like "my character" in a way the others don't so much – though I still do see her as separate to myself when I'm watching her in story cutscenes. I guess I separate "Aurelie the character" and "Aurelie the player avatar" as different things depending on the situation?

My other characters feel more like playing a pre-made character in an RPG, though I get emotionally attached to those too.

[SturmChurro]

Typically, I like playing elves in games - regular RPGs, mmorpgs, whatever. Unfortunately, this game lacks what I prefer in terms of aesthetics for an elf. Elezen aren't really for me, with their exaggerated proportions, and wide (sideways) ears. I would prefer a classic, western depiction of an elf, like how Hilda is portrayed (elezen/hyur). It's not like I necessarily prefer the more close to human depictions of elves either, as I routinely play the more exotic sorts. Like from DnD or Elder Scrolls. High elves: moon elf, sun elf, a wood elf (DnD), or Drow. My main in ESO is an altmer, and I have several alts in that game that are either altmer, dunmer, or bosmer. In ES games I tend to play altmer, and dunmer the most, but that doesn't mean I don't play humans. I will play a nordic warrior quite often as well, or human sorcerers, etc..

Anyway, back to this game, my first character was a female Hyur highlander, as I didn't like the midlander animations, and I thought they looked quite generic. Yes, I would prefer to play an 'elf' race in this game, like Hilda, but I imagine it being a bit more unique than midlander if it was ever to be made playable (unlikely). Due to a lack of options, as I didn't own HW, a human was the next best thing. After I purchased HW, I immediately switched to a female Xaela Au Ra, however I ended up not liking the darker scales, so I switched to a female Raen Au Ra. A slightly different version than what I am using currently, but very similar nonetheless. One of my retainers is actually the original preset I made for my very first Xaela Au Ra!

Why did I choose female? Simple, I don't like how males look in this game, for the most part. I think their hair options are lacking (I'd prefer more masculine western hair styles), they didn't have stubble at the time, and I think most outfits in this game don't look as good on males as the female variants look on them. I don't think there are many 'cool' options for a male in this game. Otherwise, I am not opposed to playing a male or female in any game, if they both can look good, and have a decent variety of outfit options that I like. Along with that, I also have purchased and unlocked quite a large amount of female only outfit pieces, and have made several glamours for my female character.

Yes, I have switched many times to other races like viera or miqo'te, but au ra is ultimately my preference for this game. They are not a limited race.. I can wear headgear, I have every single hair option I have either unlocked in-game or purchased via the mogstation, and I think the racial lore is sound. Otherwise, my next choice would be a female viera. I don't particularly like miqo'te as a race, I only ever liked that it was fairly easy to make outfits for them. I don't want to spend any more money on fantasias, as I have already spent enough, so it is best that I stick to the race that isn't limited, and that I have used for the majority of my playtime.

[Destati]

Race: I started this game as a male Miqo'te since I generally tend to gravitate towards more "demihuman" races in games. When I got to Heavensward I made a male Au Ra alt that would wind up becoming my main because I grew more attached to the design and lore of the race.

Gender: I always roll male characters since it mitigates my dysphoria (I am a transman). I do have a few female alts though.

Appearance: My first and main Au Ra's design was based off of an OC I was making at the time so I decided to import elements of it into FFXIV, but eventually he became his own thing. I went with options that I found the most aesthetically interesting, while taking into consideration how I would go about drawing them myself. (As an aside I like making alts and challenging myself to use options that are my least favorite and making them work. Much of the time said options wind up growing on me.) When it comes to glamour and outfits it's based off of a mix of what I think the character would wear and what looks good to me

[Bacent]

I wanted to be taller than everyone else. Also taller = more chocobo suit

[elizeugba]

Female Hyur (will be female bunny girl in EW)
I like skinny humanoid characters, and also prefer the female versions of sets. It is just a preference of appearance. The only reason I'm a hyur right now instead of a viera is the lack of new hairstyles for viera (especially 2b's).

[Vahlnir]

My race: I just like Highlanders (pretty straight forward, honestly), but it took a long, LONG time for me to make one I actually like. More detailed explanation below. I'd play Hrothgar if they could actually wear more hats, but I digress.

Gender: That one was pretty easy. I'm a guy, so my character's a guy. I used to play a female character way back when but I guess I grew out of it.

Appearance: I like how they're built. I also like the rugged, weathered veteran looks they can be given. Also, they get one of the only full beard options in the game, so...I need my beard.

[ChazNatlo]

So first I need to explain that Mirasa originated as an alt in a game that has the whole one class per character, specifically my Pet class Alt. I used her as my main in FF XIV because I wanted to play Summoner and chose to use her. My first character in that game was based on myself, a tall fair haired male, so to differentiate the aesthetic I made her a short dark haired Female. This is the impetus for both Mirasa's Gender and general appearance.

For Race, since the game didn't have the same race selection, I chose the race that had the shortest female characters that weren't Lalafel (which have a specific aesthetic that wasn't what I was going for).

So Gender: Female as an opposite to myself.

Race: Short, opposite to myself.

Appearance: generally opposite to myself.

[AlyaNimfa]

Race: I hate tails and animal ears, That ruled out 80% of the selection. I dislike the incredible hulk look, and the butch look. I didn't like the super long necks, or the lack of customisation with lalas. That left me with hyur.

Gender: I am female, so I play a female. Pretty simple.

Appearance: I'm a goth, I like dark things. My character simply reflects my tastes.

[Kozh]

Race
Hyur (midlander), because: 1) face 5 midlander is the closest I can get for older WoL without being ugly, 2) miqote is too bishonen

Gender
Male, because as a woman I like men. And generally I find male characters to be cooler I guess.

Appearance
Uhh I guess you can say my WoL is very similar to Canon WoL (derplander/meteor), but more weathered. Not exactly unique or stand out. I like to change hairstyles, but my favorite is thancred's haircut. As for glam, the only constant thing is the color scheme, which is black or white. I dress my WoL according to the environment and situation. So, for example if I went to ishgard I could wear coat. I also have casual and battle outfits.