@Remuri: I will reiterate the fact that the character is too much of a blank slate to qualify for the position. There is, on a fundamental level, not enough actual personality to define the character due to both what they are and what they are from.
A PC from an MMO is fundamentally presented as a canvas for the player to project themselves onto and subsequently express themselves, be it by means of gameplay, visual elements (glamours), or otherwise. The difference between these characters and the ones I had given in examples in the interest check (namely, the Shepards from Mass Effect or Robin/Corrin from Fire Emblem) is that the latter have both defined appearances and personalities independent of what the player "might" imagine them to have.
To draw parallels between this and other games, I posit equivalent examples from both MapleStory and World of Warcraft, which are both MMORPGs in the same vein. In both of these cases, the player creates a character and progresses through the story (well "story") without ever really necessitating any sort of personality. In fact, the story doesn't actually matter in these cases—the only thing that matters is the progression of player power throughout the course of their leveling and their subsequent endgame loops. The same issue, I would argue, applies here. Something more like Dragon Quest IX or FFXIV, however, where the character is more closely tied to the story, would fall in line with the earlier Shepard example (though I'd still probably reject the latter due to the "no OC" rule; it's a weird can of worms to open and I could probably spend a while debating that subject if it ever becomes relevant).
If you mean to say the "character" that exists if the player does not assume the class, then the problem becomes twofold: neither the replacement character's personality nor abilities/capabilities are defined in any meaningful capacity, and shoving a bunch of skills that do X or Y thing at my face does not itself a proper skillset make. So unless you can define for me a character arc (a MEANINGFUL character arc, not a contrived one that is copypasted onto any character in the game that fits the criteria that is about as shallow as a puddle), I'm more inclined to reject than accept.
A PC from an MMO is fundamentally presented as a canvas for the player to project themselves onto and subsequently express themselves, be it by means of gameplay, visual elements (glamours), or otherwise. The difference between these characters and the ones I had given in examples in the interest check (namely, the Shepards from Mass Effect or Robin/Corrin from Fire Emblem) is that the latter have both defined appearances and personalities independent of what the player "might" imagine them to have.
To draw parallels between this and other games, I posit equivalent examples from both MapleStory and World of Warcraft, which are both MMORPGs in the same vein. In both of these cases, the player creates a character and progresses through the story (well "story") without ever really necessitating any sort of personality. In fact, the story doesn't actually matter in these cases—the only thing that matters is the progression of player power throughout the course of their leveling and their subsequent endgame loops. The same issue, I would argue, applies here. Something more like Dragon Quest IX or FFXIV, however, where the character is more closely tied to the story, would fall in line with the earlier Shepard example (though I'd still probably reject the latter due to the "no OC" rule; it's a weird can of worms to open and I could probably spend a while debating that subject if it ever becomes relevant).
If you mean to say the "character" that exists if the player does not assume the class, then the problem becomes twofold: neither the replacement character's personality nor abilities/capabilities are defined in any meaningful capacity, and shoving a bunch of skills that do X or Y thing at my face does not itself a proper skillset make. So unless you can define for me a character arc (a MEANINGFUL character arc, not a contrived one that is copypasted onto any character in the game that fits the criteria that is about as shallow as a puddle), I'm more inclined to reject than accept.