ESO first impressions: character creation

The character creator for the game is pretty elaborate. You choose from one of three factions, from however many races there are (I didn't actually check), from four classes, and then there are a surprising number of body modifiers you can use to adjust your character's ... characteristics.

For women (because I generally tend towards playing female characters when possible), you can adjust: boob size; torso size; waist size; hip size; butt size; leg size; belly size; arm size; hand size; and foot size.

There is a triangle where you can adjust your body type between thin, fat, and muscular.

For face, you can choose between (I believe, I'm at work and quoting from memory) three options on the triangle as heroic, angular, and soft.

I was kind of disappointed with the nose options for women. I don't know whether they just didn't want to load, or whether they are all basically the same time button nose with miniscule variations, but I tried to get a non-button nose and failed. I was pretty disappointed, as I don't have a tiny button nose and it's nice to have the option to make your character look less like a supermodel.

But nope. Supermodel with a button nose.

There is also an option for body tattoos and face tattoos, as well as adornment which is that thing on her forehead and her earrings. Overall, I think the character creation is fun, but lacking in nose options.

The beginning area was decent, but something I think might have helped was a pop-up to tell me what the ideal weapon for my class was when you are told to pick from the available options. Is my class best suited to bow and arrows? Two-handed axes? Dual-wield swords? I don't know, because the game didn't tell me. So I chose bow and arrows, which is what I use in Skyrim.

The second NPC who talks to you is voiced by Jennifer Hale, who is voice of femShep in Mass Effect, so that threw me off. The problem with really liking some voices in games is that you start to hear their voices in every game you play. It's like the voice of Gideon Emery - I first heard him as Balthier in Final Fantasy XII, then as Fenris in Dragon Age 2, and NPCs in various games, and now he is Lor'themar Theron in World of Warcraft, too. They're all over the place!

Gideon Emery has a fantastic voice, though. Mmm.

Another voice from the beginning is John Cleese. JOHN. CLEESE. I really hope you see the character he voices again because otherwise what a ridiculous waste of that voice.

Another impression is that it's weird not having your cast bar showing unless you're in combat, but I understand why that might be.

So, that was my experience with ESO so far. Spent way too long making a character, ran around the beginning area being excited to hear Jennifer Hale and John Cleese, killed a few mudcrabs with a friend after we had a dance party where someone started playing their lute right beside us (for real. I want that), and then he crashed to the blue screen of death and I froze when examining a dead body.

I will play more after work, probably.