Character creation has been a mainstay of RPGs for years now, with players loving the chance to create their own hero in a story. Sometimes players choose to create characters that are vastly different than themselves, allowing them to live a sort of fantasy through them, while other players opt to create characters that are very similar to themselves. In these cases, players are able to project themselves onto the protagonist to make it feel like they're really in the game world. While all of this is great, there are many groups that were unable to accomplish this with most character creation systems, something that games like Demon's Souls are aiming to fix.
Demon's Souls isn't the only game to revamp the character creation system in a more inclusive and progressive way, as other titles like Cyberpunk 2077 have also accomplished similar things, albeit in different ways. The ultimate result of this is that character creation as a whole is becoming more inclusive, allowing players of all genders, shapes, and sizes to create characters that represent them.
Gender in Character Creation
More often than not, the first decision players will make when creating their character is gender. In most games, this means picking either male or female, but that has always been at the exclusion of someone. In August of 2020, a Nielsen study found that around 10% of gamers over the age of 18 identify as LGBTQ, and among those gamers, 10% of them identify as transgender or non-binary. While this may seem like a small number at first, it's an entire subset of the gaming community that is left out by the choices they are typically provided by video games.
To make matters worse, gender often determines a number of other characteristics about a player's character as well. For example, in some games, a character's gender affects their stats or capabilities. A character's walking animations may also be restricted by the gender chosen. While many may view these types of things as either male or female traits, there's a whole gamut of people that don't fall into one specific category or another. Most have probably met men with walks that would be considered feminine, and there are plenty of women that don't strut about as though they're on a runway.
Gender in Demon's Souls
The first choice players make in Demon's Souls is similar, but instead of gender, it's called body type. Here players can choose whether they want to have a feminine or masculine body type and then continue on with character creation as normal. Most notably, there are not options that are restricted to a certain body type, so players could choose the feminine option but still opt to have a full beard. Likewise, a character with the male option might wear makeup and have feminine hair instead of what players have come to expect from character creation systems.
This expands beyond just appearance, though, as Demon's Souls even lets players choose their character's walking animation and voice independently of body type. There are three voice options that are traditionally feminine and three that are traditionally masculine, but players can combine them with whatever body type they please. Likewise, the walking animations offer a standard gait and one that's a bit more sultry, but players aren't restricted on which they choose based on their character's body type. This type of freedom in character creation is a godsend for those players that often are left out in most games' character creation systems and represents a step forward in that department.
Other Games With Progressive Character Creation
Again, Demon's Souls isn't necessarily the first to pioneer this type of freedom in character creation, as other games have also made similar strides. Another high profile example of this is Cyberpunk 2077. Instead of choosing gender, Cyberpunk 2077 players simply choose what type of genitals they want to have. Players can also choose different body types completely separate from that and apply V's male or female voice to their character regardless of these choices. Cyberpunk 2077's system isn't without its flaws, but it's definitely a step in the right direction. This actually goes back well before 2020, though.
Even back in 2016, The Sims allowed players to create non-binary characters. Even better, the most recent installment of the franchise, The Sims 4, recently added its first non-binary stock character. This character, named Lia by default, features what is usually considered a masculine body type but prefers to dress in feminine clothing. Players can encounter them as a neighbor if they have the Island Living expansion pack. There are other examples of games becoming more open about gender too, with titles like Animal Crossing: New Horizons removing gender restrictions on clothing. Even during character creation in that game, players are prompted to pick a style rather than a gender. This choice can even be changed later on in the game.
Problematic Character Creation Systems
Of course, for every step forward there seems to be at least one step backwards. While the games mentioned above make great strides to have inclusive character creation systems, there are still many that are very restrictive. This is to say that real progress is being made, but there's still a long way to go. Players should keep fighting for representative character creation in video games, and enjoy the titles that already offer such options.
Demon's Souls is available now on PS5.
Source: Nielsen Study
