Art Director Blogs About Character Customization [DC Universe Online]

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Jared Carr, art director of DC Universe, posted a blog on the DCUO MySpace page today focusing on character creation and appearance. Also, while he cannot comment on which characters will appear in the game, he assured fans that they've created concept art for a lot of characters, noting that, "if you can think of a character, we've thought of it, too."

Here's some of Jared's own words on character customization. For the full post, check here or keep reading after the jump.

When you create your hero or villain, you can choose from a variety of body sizes, silhouettes and hairstyles ... Next, costume options will be influenced by your character's origin. In other words, if you are a tech-based character (like Cyborg) you will have different costume options than a magic-based character (like Dr. Fate) ... Once you roll a character, you are not locked into that specific costume - it can change over time if you so choose.

And here's the full post. Jared mentions that they love feedback, so be sure to let them know what you'd like to see in DCUO.

Hey there. Jared Carr, Art Director for DCUO here.

Well, we're back at work now after attending the Austin Game Developer's Conference. Jim Lee took some time out of his busy schedule to join us on our DCUO panel where we answered questions about the game. One of the big topics brought up at our panel discussions and demos is character customization, and from reading the posts it's clear that a lot of people have questions about character creation and customization in DCUO. We aren't quite ready to show this aspect of the game yet, and I don't want to give too much away right now, but I would like to mention a few quick key points about the system with regards to your character's appearance.

When you create your hero or villain, you can choose from a variety of body sizes, silhouettes and hairstyles. We spent a LOT of time iterating on these designs with Jim to get a nice range of choices. Next, costume options will be influenced by your character's origin. In other words, if you are a tech-based character (like Cyborg) you will have different costume options than a magic based character (like Dr. Fate). We want a more contemporary look to our characters overall, but I think it's important to note that we will have costume choices influenced by all eras ? Golden Age, Silver Age, Bronze Age & the Modern Age of DC Comics ? so you can create a character that looks like he or she belongs in the DCU. Once you roll a character, you are not locked into that specific costume ? it can change over time if you so choose.

And yes, I think logos are important too. J

There have also been a lot of questions about which DC characters will appear in our game. Well, I can't publish a list of characters we intend to include when we launch the game, for obvious reasons. But, I can tell you that we've created concept art for A LOT of DC characters at this point, and we're well on our way with the 3d models. So if you can think of a character, we've thought of it too ? and chances are good that we've asked Jim to draw it for us. Ultimately our characters are there to support the stories and the missions, driven by the work Geoff Johns is doing on the project.

That's it for now, I'll post again soon with more info on other topics. BTW it was great to hear firsthand feedback from everyone who played our demo at Comic-Con, and great to read your comments & questions ? keep 'em coming. It really is motivating to see so much excitement about this game.

Thanks for your time,

-j

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