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Character customizations?

Personally, I'm in favor of customization for communication purposes, but I don't really see its appeal when it comes to the story mode. The games have a pre-defined path and customization doesn't change the fact that we are following (and admittedly influencing) a fictional character's journey rather than our own. I'd much rather that the player characters stop being silent.
 
THIS ISN'T THE SIMS

And also:
Most people prefer not looking like clones when in multiplayer
I know where you're coming from, but in rustboro and fortree you can choose what trainer class you want to represent you.

That's what it was like back in the Gen 4 days of multiplayer, but I don't want to look like an Ace Trainer or anything like that (since I don't want to look like Sugimori artwork and not a 3D model of my character when I'm seen in battle), I want to look like my own original trainer, not something pre-set for me.

The next games are going to determine this then. Is customisation Kalos-only, like Secret bases and following Pokemon? Or was it removed from ORAS only because of nostalgia (and to keep development times down)?

Well, Secret Bases were in Gen 4, albeit much watered down than making them like in Gen 3. As for following Pokemon, Gen 5 was being developed at the same time as HG/SS and didn't keep track of it, while they probably didn't have time for it in Gen 6 (though Amie is close enough).

On the subject of customization, I doubt it's because of nostalgia, because Junichi Masuda stated that customization "was based on French culture", which gives out the idea that only French people change their clothes while everyone else in the world dresses in the same outfit like they're some sort of cartoon character, and it would be a shame if customization was Kalos only and that in Gen 7 we're stuck with the default look for the entire game, meanwhile the Animal Crossing franchise also owned by Nintendo has let people customized their character since the beginning, and taking out customization in OR/AS feels like a step down.
 
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...which gives out the idea that only French people change their clothes while everyone else in the world dresses in the same outfit like they're some sort of cartoon character...

Isn't that assumption just a bit drastic? We all know France is known for its fashions and it seems that's more what Masuda was meaning when they put customization in a region based on France, rather than that it was literally based on some French-only custom of changing clothes.
 
...which gives out the idea that only French people change their clothes while everyone else in the world dresses in the same outfit like they're some sort of cartoon character...

Isn't that assumption just a bit drastic? We all know France is known for its fashions and it seems that's more what Masuda was meaning when they put customization in a region based on France, rather than that it was literally based on some French-only custom of changing clothes.

Well, I don't think it should be Kalos only, but I don't want to look like a clone of the default look or like an NPC trainer with their portrait-only appearance in battle, but like my own trainer with it's own outfit and stuff. OR/AS goes back to the days of D/P/Pt in which we chose a trainer class to represent us instead of customization where we can represent ourselves, and nobody wanted to go back to those days, they rather move on to being able to customize, and I would be upset if I was stuck with the default look in every game after this.
 
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I'm still hoping that they'd keep customization limited to textures especially if they want to make the jump to grand Final Fantasy type cut scenes like they were hinting at with ORAS. Meaning:

- Skin color
- Hair color
- Eye color
- Clothing color

Then for the online avatars they could have the same option just for specific trainer classes (For example a black Hex Maniac with brown eyes, blonde hair, and a white and pink dress).

This still allows them to get around the alternate jiggle physics for bobbed hair bouncing in a back draft of a giant fire lizard or having the characters alternate style hat blow off their head during a windy cut scene. Sure it will be sad seeing full customizations die a premature death, but as compromises go this could still work out. Besides everyone this way would have the same options for customization. No more female trainers having more clothes than the males!
 
Personally, I'm in favor of customization for communication purposes, but I don't really see its appeal when it comes to the story mode. The games have a pre-defined path and customization doesn't change the fact that we are following (and admittedly influencing) a fictional character's journey rather than our own. I'd much rather that the player characters stop being silent.

Perhaps, but that is every game. However, there is enough customisation already (choosing our own Pokemon, allowing us to name them, being able to choose from a limited select dialogue) to help us feel as though the characters are us, and having the feature to change their appearance too would further enhance that experience, and is greatly appreciated to those of us who see the characters as us rather than just a character.

Having the main characters silent allows us to further imagine the characters as us. When they have no dialogue, we are free to create our own.
 
Personally, I'm in favor of customization for communication purposes, but I don't really see its appeal when it comes to the story mode. The games have a pre-defined path and customization doesn't change the fact that we are following (and admittedly influencing) a fictional character's journey rather than our own. I'd much rather that the player characters stop being silent.

Perhaps, but that is every game. However, there is enough customisation already (choosing our own Pokemon, allowing us to name them, being able to choose from a limited select dialogue) to help us feel as though the characters are us, and having the feature to change their appearance too would further enhance that experience, and is greatly appreciated to those of us who see the characters as us rather than just a character.

Having the main characters silent allows us to further imagine the characters as us. When they have no dialogue, we are free to create our own.

Yeah, it comes down to whether you see Pokemon as an RPG or as an adventure game. I think it's hard to argue that Pokemon isn't an RPG from a pure gameplay perspective. It has the key tertiary gameplay loop of "advance levels -> become more powerful -> advance story" that is the cornerstone of every RPG. Since it is (gameplay-wise) an RPG, we should be able to role-play. We're able to do it to an extent with our team, but character customisation helps this.

Losing the silent protagonist (and with no choice in dialogue) will lose a lot of the RPG-ness and, I think, a lot of Pokemon's charm.
 
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