'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/2wBDAAYEBQYFBAYGBQYHBwYIChAKCgkJChQODwwQFxQYGBcUFhYaHSUfGhsjHBYWICwgIyYnKSopGR8tMC0oMCUoKSj/2wBDAQcHBwoIChMKChMoGhYaKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCj/wgARCAAGAAoDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAFQABAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAb/xAAVAQEBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACA//aAAwDAQACEAMQAAAAmYYMv//EAB8QAAIBBAIDAAAAAAAAAAAAAAECAwAEERIFBiEkQf/aAAgBAQABPwDm4k670u5sRGPemR1Icvosas/3GSdqjtuMkRXUTqrDIGieK//EABYRAAMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAADMf/aAAgBAgEBPwBUP//EABYRAAMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABMf/aAAgBAwEBPwBw/9k='%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Chrono Odyssey has arguably the most refined character creator I have experienced in a modern MMO. I played around with it for hours after booting up the June playtest, and I can go as far as claiming it's the first time an MMO has topped Black Desert's character customization. However, the particular facet I liked about it is somewhat divisive: is its near-boundless slider freedom.
As it turns out, the developers do think it had gone too far. Future tests of Chrono Odyssey will impose restrictions on how much the sliders can morph the baseline character models.
Chrono Odyssey studio CEO finds the tendency to make deformed characters "heartbreaking"
Bonggun Bae, NPIXEL CEO and founder of Chrono Studio, recently disclosed the decision of reining back the character creation for future beta tests. The reason, he said, is it's "heartbreaking" to see what many players made of it.
Trending
For those out of the loop, Chrono Odyssey has multiple sliders and morph graphs for various features of your character's face and body. This is not the point of contention, though. It's the fact that the sliders let you manipulate the baseline to a surprisingly large degree.
You can create the supermodels that are so common in a Korean MMO, but you can also make your guy an absolute abomination. During internal testing of the game, the reception was quite positive to this great slider freedom. As Bonggun Bae explained:
"We believed that even exaggerated appearances were a player’s choice, and we made the tough decision to allow full freedom. (Placing restrictions would’ve been the easy way out.) However, this CBT completely changed our perspective.We were shocked to see characters intentionally designed to look as strange and uncomfortable as possible — even to the point of distorting the beloved character models our team worked so hard on. It was honestly heartbreaking."
The freedom to be silly can become a beloved part of the charm in a single-player RPG like Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (something that Oblivion Remastered understood well). In an MMO like Chrono Odyssey, though, the freedom of making your own Frankenstein's monster is a double-edged sword.
With the great power conferred by the character creator came a great responsibility that many players didn't keep. Regardless of server region, it was commonplace during the two-day beta test to see a great pageant of deformed monstrosities.
A case can be made for the value of quirk it adds, but there's also a case to be made for how immersion-breaking it is. The developers have chosen to take the latter stance. Going forward, they will place "meaningful restrictions" on how silly you can make your hero.
Stay on Sportskeeda for more MMO news and guides.
