Skin Color

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Written by BuckGB on August 12th, 2001

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Disclaimer: I'm an old school, left wing liberal, whose heart bleeds for every cause. I hug trees, I wear t-shirts that say "Straight Not Narrow," and if the issue has a ribbon available, I have one. I'm also something of a genetic mutt, with a built in tan although culturally speaking I'm "white."

With that said, I read threads like this and immediately have this mental image of kobolds carrying little signs demanding equal representation for non-blue-skinned members of the species. Green skinned kobolds of the world, unite! It's a game, people...

One of the things I despise about the gaming industry is the perception that this hobby is only for adolescent white straight males. So on one level, I agree with the original poster, who I believe was trying to say that it is easier for people to feel comfortable if the avatars look like they do. This is true. I never play male characters, it's not psychologically comfortable. So if you prefer to play human avatars, it would make sense to want it to look like you. On another level... I really can't stand projecting real world problems into a fantasy game.

There may be some technical or artistic reason for not having darker skin tones on our models, I'll ask. I know there is a technical reason for not letting the player choose their skin tone (that I didn't understand the last time I asked, so I'm not comfortable saying anything at this moment from my home), although we do let you choose your height, your face, and your hair.

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