MERCH!
Giant Bomb - a website about video games and the people that make them

Create-a-Character: Why Do We Need The Originals, Then?

by drrandle

Does a License Really Matter? One of my favorite features in a video game is the capacity for creation. Be it stages, modes, or (especially) characters, I love to build stuff in my games. Little Big Planet, Spore, Blastworks, Smash Bros. Brawl... and so many more, have creative segments to them that make them a real treat, especially when you can share them with others. But one thing I tend to...

Does a License Really Matter?


   One of my favorite features in a video game is the capacity for creation. Be it stages, modes, or (especially) characters, I love to build stuff in my games. Little Big Planet, Spore, Blastworks, Smash Bros. Brawl... and so many more, have creative segments to them that make them a real treat, especially when you can share them with others. But one thing I tend to notice about games, and this applies to fighting/wrestling games in particular, is that after I create characters, I never turn back to the originals.

   I'm not sure if it's because of what little ego I have, or if I just have a more personal connection, but the create-a-characters/wrestlers are just so much more fun to play. So why aren't there any/more games that have an incredibly robust set of character creation options, and a game mechanic built in already? Maybe THQ could drop WWE's license and just use the character creator to have players make their own characters for essentially the same game. Or Namco could drop the Soul Calibur storyline (*Holds back a laugh* Storyline...) and just stick with perhaps the sexiest character creator ever, and then make a bunch more move sets.

   Short, but a sweet thought, I want to know if anybody out there thinks this is a good idea? Do you really want your licenses to make these games? I think the companies could make more money, and potentially better games, by saving that money they have to pay for said license... but that's just me, and I could be more unusual than even I am aware.

This is where it all begins
On the outside looking in
Looking in, at you.
I'm just an alien through-and-through
Trying to make believe I'm you-ou-ou
Trying to fit
Just a stranger on the outside looking in.
Oingo Boingo - Outside Looking In