Game developers are always saying that they want YOU, the player, to be made to feel like they're a genuine part of the experience. But as I've said before, I've never bought that: You give the PC both a face & a name and the immersion is broken. They are no longer playing a part of the narrative but are instead pushing just another avatar.
One could make the argument that anyone could fashion the avatar they control into the likeness of the player but that doesn't work for me: If the player knows they're making a PC that resembles themselves then part of the immersion is lost: You're not playing yourself - you're playing some twat who looks like you.
No, the way it should work is to not make such an intended connection obvious: I kind of like how in Spec Ops the Line the player's XBLA name is incorporated into the credits. I, of course, had no say in this and, as a result, the immersion and the notion I was genuinely playing a part in the narrative increased tenfold.
So what would I do? Well, if I were making a 'never-show-the-face'-esque first person shooter, I would make the request of the player that they take picture of themselves using a webcam of some kind. Thus, the image would be replicated in every reflective surface. I've seen such an act being performed in various sport games so why can't it be taken out into different genre? If anything, it would make the 'player playing a part' more genuine.
Whether they'd like it or not
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