I finally got around to playing Super Smash Bros. Brawl this weekend and I got to thinking about how much time developers must spend designing alternate costumes for game characters. Brawl isn't so bad, condidering that most of the costume changes amount to a swapped pallete. But there are a lot of games out there that feature dozens of costumes for each character. In some cases it seems to serve a practical function. For instance, it's less complicated to stage a Scorpion vs Scorpion fight when one's a darker shade of yellow. But it's often just superfluous. Developers must spend hundreds of man-hours designing different outfits for game characters. Why? Do gamers have a pathological need to play dress up?
The first time that I can remember having more than two outfits to choose for my avatar was probably some wrestling game for Nintendo 64. Ironic, considering the testosterone-heavy nature of the game. Today, we are often met with an array of accessories, fabric patterns and footwear. There are now even websites devoted to hosting galleries of user-submitted avatars from popular video games. Real life fashion brands pay to include their products in video games. There is a guy who makes a living designing pink tights for Tony Hawk's virtual doppelganger. Think about that.
I understand this mentality when it comes to life simulation games or games that allow you to show off your fashion sense online, but other than that, I can't get my head around it. Do you like dressing up your character in all manner of finery? Let us know in the comments.
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