Dear IMC, I love you girl, stop playin’ with my emotions and let me be free.
– A concerned player.
Many of us enjoy this game despite its faults. Personally I’ve clocked about 200 or so hours now between iCBT2 and early access. When IMC responded to the early access issues with pricing I was really ecstatic because, I had never seen any MMO publisher/developer actually freaking listen to the concerns of their player base.
However, I am concerned for the state of the game. Not only because of the more prevalent issues involving the trade systems and P2W features, but the customization is another major issue.
When a player first logs into the game they are given only the option of preset hairs. Which is understandable because well these are 2D characters on a 3D backdrop. I also understand that it could be worst there could be gender locks (shudder). However… it isn’t acceptable take for example this steam game;
This game is Secrets of Grindea, a single player ARPG game being developed by an indie game studio comprising of 3-members located in Sweden(Which is by no account a boiling pot for diversity). What these three individuals understand that the entire development team of tree of savior doesn’t understand is simple character customization for localization.
Hair Color, Skin Tone, Hairstyle. Done. I don’t think we are asking the world of you? In fact I would be appalled if you(the developers) hadn’t programmed hairstyles to be overlays atop the main character base that can be recolored (they probably are). I am not saying don’t make money, or charge for hairstyles/features, because as DJ Khaled will often says; “It costs money to eat out here”. Allow us to at least have the choice of basic hair color/skin tone/hairstyle options and then more advanced styles and customization settings in the TP-shop.
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Regular Hairstyles should be the hairstyles from the character select screen(in case you change your mind down the line and want a new style)
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Incorporate some sort of Hair-Dye item to be sold in the TP Shop(Of course after granting a free one to the Early Access player-base that loves your game and keeps you fed)
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Premium hairs should include homages to pop-culture in North-America/Europe(the majority of your player bases) and even international musical/theatrical/media stars.
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Premium Hair Purchases should also(ESPECIALLY AT THEIR PRICE POINT) Come with the option of being recolored before finalizing your purchase/using preview screen. (The Dyeing system is built into the hair purchase)
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Skin Color/Tones for character should be chosen via character select screen and be changeable by purchasing an item from TP shop(similarly to how Team Name warnings are given)
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The price of hair needs to drop after applying all these suggestions and when the TP-shop has more clothing/costume items allowing for more personal customization.
On the note of making the game “more western” why does the IMC Dev Team not recognize that in an international game… that there are people of different skin-tones and colors? In short, why can’t my character have tan/peach/pale/brown skin? Why are there no different hairstyle options for different ethnic creeds? This is a basic concept most MMOs in general realize about their player base.
In the Korean market this was a non-issue as the demographic range for south koreans is pretty much non-existant… however when you brought the game over( I thought this would be resolved with the translations during icbt2 ) IMC failed to recognize that an “INTERNATIONAL” Game includes people from all creeds of life.
The following below is a chart distinguishing(Taken from Wikipedia), the different ethnic groups within South Korea, where the game was developed. This is based on a 2011 Census so results may be skewed however the point being made is… and I am going to be blunt. Korea is not a diverse country. It isn’t a melting pot of ethnicity like this game is.
Currently the South Korean Population stands at Approximately 50,000,000 people. Assuming the numbers for immigrants represented here haven’t been skewed or changed drastically one can make the connection that about 1-2 million or 2-4% (based on this data) of the ethnic demographics represented in the country are non-korean.
What makes this interesting is the game itself in its lore and design are non-korean and pulls from aspects of all several areas in the world but does not recognize them in its character creation.
The games server/town names Klaipeda, Orsha. A little research, and you will find that these are names of places in lithuania(Where the game roots its core lore from).
Take for Example the Feather Foot Rank 7 Wizard Class Skill; Kurdaitcha;
A quick google search of the skill name reveals;
The classes design/origin lies in australia.
OR alternatively classes like;
-Cleric Tree; Sadhu:
(Sanskrit sādhu, “good; good man, holy man”) is a religious ascetic or holy person. Although the vast majority of sādhus are yogīs, not all yogīs are sādhus.
Sanskrit Religious Sadhu Originating in Nepal.
-Archer Tree; Musketeer:
A musketeer (French: mousquetaire) was an early modern type of soldier equipped with a musket. Musketeers were an important part of early modern armies, particularly in Europe
The Muskteer from France
-Warrior Tree; Doppelsoldner:
Doppelsöldner (“double-pay men”,[1] from German “doppel” = double, “sold” = pay) were Landsknechte in 16th-century Germany who volunteered to fight in the front line, taking on extra risk, in exchange for double payment. The stated ratio was that one Landsknecht in four would be a Doppelsöldner. A small number of the Doppelsöldner of each company were usually issued with ranged weapons, such as a crossbow or an arquebus.
The Doppelsoldner from Germany
-Warrior Tree; Centurion:
A centurion (Latin: centurio; Greek: κεντυρίων, kentyríōn, or ἑκατόνταρχος, hekatóntarkhos) was a professional officer of the Roman army after the Marian reforms of 107 BC. Most centurions commanded groups of centuries of around 100 men but senior centurions commanded cohorts or took senior staff roles in their legion.
The Centurion from Greece
Cleric Tree; Bokor:
A bokor is a Vodou sorcerer for hire who are said to serve the loa(Haitian Voodoo Spirit) ‘with both hands’, practicing for both good and evil. Their black magic includes the creation of zombies and the creation of ‘ouangas’, talismans that house spirits.
The Bokor originating from Haiti
What is truly ironic, and sad, is the lore of the game pulls from includes several real world locations all over the globe. Yet refuses to represent other ethnic backgrounds within the game.
TLDR;
We should all be able to initially chose our hairstyle/skin tone/hair color during character creation. It’s 2016 for christ-sake character customization isn’t limited by 8-bit colors. We have the technology.
I love you IMC, so respect me.