Sunset Overdrive’s dev team talks about their custom characters
For anyone who has paid attention to my time here on EGM—and to all eight of you, my humble thanks—you’ll know that I’m a big proponent of character customization in games. Sure, there are times when the story calls for a set protagonist, and in those moments when the writing quality and world-building are top notch, you get examples such as Nathan Drake, Clementine, James Sunderland, and Bayonetta.
Far too often, however, I’ll play games and not be able to get over how little connection I have to their main characters. When Short-Haired White Guy #47 literally could have been anyone else, and the narrative and overall story arc would have been exactly the same, it makes you wonder why you couldn’t be given the choice in who that character was. It used to be that we assumed games with custom characters had to provide nothing but blank slates upon which the player had to dream up who they were, but more and more, games are proving that rich stories can be combined with customizable heroes and heroines.
That’s how I feel about Sunset Overdrive. Even though I had full say over how my particular protagonist looked (as pictured above—and no, I can’t explain how exactly she ended up as such a dirty hipster), she still had a ton of personality and attitude infused into her by the team at Insomniac Games.
So, it made me wonder: when those men and women make their own custom characters, what kinds of choices do they tend to make? I had the chance to ask some of the development staff that very question, and here’s what they had to say.
Ted Price
Founder/CEO
“I have a bunch of them, actually. I change all the time, but I enjoy playing the bigger guys—mostly because I’m not a big person. So, I like the super square jaw, African-American, muscle-bound characters, wearing something fairly unusual—like the drum majorette’s hat, maybe motorcycle pants, and a corset.”
Marcus Smith
Creative Director
“I usually play as a female. I typically have some sort of reddish or black hair, or some sort of combination of those. A lot of times, I’ve been playing with what we call the ‘Buzz’ hair, which is a big sort of afro, but with some shape to it—that’s been a good look for me. I’ll often use that hair with a red tint on a female character, and I really like the scout troop uniform stuff—so I usually have some sort of accoutrements, either the vest or the hat or something.”
Jacinda Chew
Studio Art Director
“You know, I bounce around when it comes to which players I pick. I really like playing as an African-American girl with the big afro. I know she’s actually a fan favorite as well, but I love playing her because she’s got a lot of attitude.”
Jon Paquette
Lead Writer
“Very little clothes usually, just because I like to look and feel fast. I don’t know what that is. [Laughs] But, if it was snowing, maybe I’d put a parka on or something. I like to have long, flowy hair, and some nice tattoos. And the thing that’s important to me is that the shoes look athletic. We have a bunch of different shoes that you can use, but for me, I want my character to look athletic, and be able to bounce around and do all kinds of stuff. So, for me, it’s the shoes.”