Character Creator

Okay, I wanted to take some time to go over the character creation system in Aion, as I rushed through it before.

The first step (obviously) is choosing your faction. In Aion there are two factions: The Elyos and the Asmodians.

Not to delve too deeply into the lore of Aion, but when the Tower of Eternity broke apart, the world of Atreia split in half. The upper half of the planet became known as Asmodae, home of the Asmodians. Bereft of much sunlight, they adapted to their cold, harsh environment; growing claws on their hands and feet, as well as manes on their back. The bottom half of the planet, renamed Elysea, was on the other hand bathed in the light of a nearby star. This lead to the lands of Elysea being much more lush and vibrant. The Elyos, in turn, took on a more angelic appearance.





Upon choosing your faction you'll be greeted with the class selection screen. As I mentioned last entry, there are four base classes that expand to eight advanced classes. Upon hitting level 10 you're given the choice (after an ingame event) of which of your base class's two advanced classes you wish to become. From then on you are that advanced class.





Each race has a distinctly different look to them in both character models and weapons/armor.



Once you choose your base class you'll find yourself looking at the Character Creation screen. Here's where the fun starts.

As you can see, the game isn't limited to fair faced prettyboys. You can make characters with a significant amount of grit to them if you desire.

On the left side of the screen are the preset creations for both body type and head. Mostly you'll be using them as a base, but they also give an easy option for people who do not want to delve into the full customization features. Even still, there are a couple dozen hairstyles and face shapes per sex; as well as a number of decorations and tattoos to help further customize the basic look of your character.

You also have free reign over your character's hair, lip, and skin color if you want.

These are just the basic tools.



Here's where the fun starts. By clicking on the "Customize Face" you'll find yourself faced with twenty-five different sliders allowing you to change the size and shape of nearly every aspect of your character's face.

Remember what Bethesda tried to do with Oblivion? Or EA with Skate? Or Activision with Guitar Hero World Tour?

Aion succeeds where those guys failed.

Simply put this is the most comprehensive face modeler I've seen to date. While playing the game during both weekend events I've yet to find any player made character in the game that looks like another character. The variety that is possible is simply astounding.

Here's a quick sample of some of the other character faces other players have designed:



And that's not even a fraction of what's possible.



You also have the ability to completely change the size of any part of your character's body as well as your character's height. As you can see, there are twelve sliders just for these adjustments.


Ultimately there's very little you can't do with the system.


You can make your character as large as an Orc...


...or as small as a Dwarf.


You can make something frighteningly familiar:







Or...something just frightening.



Next up, I'll start going over Beta2 with showcases of each faction's starting lands.