Whenever it’s an option, one of the most exciting parts of starting a new game is customizing the player character. Designing the protagonist is a great way for players to get invested in their role in the game. Some players insert themselves into the world, some come up with an original design befitting of the setting, and others just make the goofiest character they can for fun. Character customization will probably never go out of vogue, at least as far as RPGs are concerned. Recent entries in the genre like Cyberpunk 2077 have proven that this facet of game design is constantly expanding and is going in some great directions.
One upcoming RPG that ought to have a masterful character creator is The Elder Scrolls 6. Bethesda’s fans have been clamoring for the studio to continue its line of fantasy RPGs for many years, and although the game is probably really far away, Bethesda revealed that it’s in development back in 2018. Since Elder Scrolls games always open with the player making their own adventurer, The Elder Scrolls 6 surely will too. It seems like, given the direction character customization has gone in recent history, Bethesda will probably try to improve character creation in one key area: inclusivity. The Elder Scrolls 6 has a chance to stand out as a game that’s sensitive to player’s wishes to be well represented.
Although it has its flaws, Cyberpunk 2077‘s character creator made some great strides in allowing body type diversity. The dystopian action RPG turned a lot of heads when word of customizable genitalia got out. Although some were confused at first, it quickly became apparent that this allowed players to play V as intersex, nonbinary, and so on, an exceedingly rare opportunity that excited a lot of players. It wouldn’t be surprising of Bethesda has already taken note of the hype around this aspect of character design and decides to incorporate some form of this in The Elder Scrolls 6. Previous games like Skyrim haven’t gotten quite so intimate in customization before, but if Bethesda is finally moving past Skyrim, a big change seems appropriate.
There’s another diversity option that players can probably expect that’s deeply tied into giving players control over body type, and that’s the power to choose pronouns. It’s one thing for the player to shape the protagonist’s body as they see fit, and it’s another for the game’s NPCs to acknowledge and respect the player character’s gender identity. Pronouns are also becoming increasingly common customization options, and not just in Cyberpunk 2077. Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War allowed players to choose Bell’s pronouns when starting the campaign. If Bethesda diversifies body types, hopefully it gives players their pick of pronouns too.
While it’s great that Cyberpunk allowed players such broad possibilities of physical representation, Bethesda would be wise to do one thing differently. Cyberpunk 2077 ties V’s pronouns to the voice that the player choices, which many players considered problematic, since a voice’s pitch isn’t always a good indicator of a person’s identity. Thankfully, The Elder Scrolls generally has silent protagonists, so it seems likely that The Elder Scrolls 6 would just give players a list of pronouns to choose from.
Gender identity options might not be the only inclusivity topic Bethesda has on its mind. Not long ago, fans of Dungeons and Dragons and other table top games started expressing their discomfort with the stereotypes that the game’s player races are built around. For instance, while players were eventually permitted to play as orcs, traditionally nothing more than a monster, the player race implied all orcs were unintelligent and violent. Player’s wishes to see change in this area led to a particular feature in Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything which allows players to vastly customize published player races, allowing much more realistic characters while doing away with uncomfortable and archaic notions of race. The move was applauded as a big step towards better handling the complicated topic of race in fantasy.
The Elder Scrolls 6 might become much more sensitive to undertones of race too. As is often the case in fantasy RPGs, Elder Scrolls has a broad range of fantasy races that players can choose to be. While traditionally each race comes with an exclusive ability meant to indicate the race’s predispositions and culture, The Elder Scrolls 6 might do things differently. For instance, Bethesda could add an extra step to character creation in which players choose a couple starting boons from a list of passive and active bonuses. That way, Elder Scrolls 6 will spend less time boiling playable peoples down to stereotypes and give players much more liberty in coming up with unique builds and designing backstories for their characters.
Bethesda clearly isn’t afraid of complicated and detailed character creators. That much is proven by Fallout 4, which had an exhaustive list of physical traits players could assign to their characters body, even if most of these were for the face and head. Skyrim‘s creator was also nothing to sneeze at, but there’s lots of room for improvement. The bigger Elder Scrolls 6 gets in this area, the better. Recent games have proven that players have a vested interest in having lots of freedom in designing the protagonist they want to see in the world, especially if it helps them feel represented in entertainment. Bethesda would be wise to take note of all the games that have gotten praise for increasing visibility for lots of groups.
It’d certainly reflect positively on Bethesda to do so. Both the criticism and praise that CD Projekt Red’s latest customizer received serves as an invaluable source of information for Bethesda to work off of. The same goes for Wizards of the Coast’s response on the Dungeons and Dragons front. People are ready and willing to make the heroes they want to see in the world. The problem is that not every game gives them the necessary tools to do so. Players have a lot of high hopes and expectations for The Elder Scrolls 6. There’s no doubt that Bethesda is feeling under pressure to deliver. However, that’s nothing the company hasn’t faced before, and now that it’s under Microsoft’s wing, it’s more stable than ever. Bethesda has lots of time and resources to make this long awaited RPG fulfill as many fan hopes as possible, including feeling welcome in their favorite game.
The Elder Scrolls 6 is in development.
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