Being able to choose from various races for a player character is a common feature in many RPGs. And more often than not, one of these choices are humans. Humans are often the "default" race, having no special bonuses or penalties, and being the middle ground between various extremes that other races personify. The general idea behind this is that since the players are humans themselves, they would know how to play a human, right?
Well, that might be good and well for playing, but for design, it doesn't help one bit. In order to make other races enjoyable, they should be "different" from humans. But when humans aren't characterized properly, what is "different"? This is where my thoughts are straying at the moment, so I'll try and piece together a list of common human behavior, from which other races can then be abstracted.
Humans are Curious
Let's face it - humans love to explore new things. It's the reason Marco Polo went to India, Columbus went to America, Magellan went around the world, and Neil Armstrong went to the Moon. It's the reason there's so much tourism in the world. But it's more than that, as well. Why do we read books on various subjects, study things in university out of our own volition? Because humans are curious. We love to learn new things, gossip, and research on new scientific frontiers. People don't spend millions of dollars on CERN just for the heck of it, or spend years with certain animals to learn their behaviors. Which brings up the next point.
Humans are Passionate
We are able to pour our heart and soul into something we do. This, coupled with curiosity, has enabled us to invent and discover all these amazing things over the centuries - steam engines, light bulbs, cars, semiconductors, programming languages, iPhones. And much, much more. We can have a lot of determination with things that are dear to us, be it studying a certain subject, caring for a certain person, writing a novel, conducting a scientific experiment, or helping out in poor areas of the world. Sometimes, this passion is just filled with a "feel good" result, but sometimes, there are ulterior motives.
Humans are Greedy
Humans love having stuff; kids want toys and chocolate, adults want houses, cars, money. Some want nice furniture, others would like a nice computer, yet other need a HiFi system, and some want to get millions of dollars as bonuses. Money is a powerful motivator (in fact, it's the reason a lot of people go to jobs), and the more the better. I'm not going to say that it has turned people into materialists, because we might have been this all along, but it has certainly made money accessible. The current economic crisis is partially the fault of greed and materialism, without looking at the thin ice we were standing on.
Humans obey Authority
In the Milgram Experiment, it was tested just how much humans are willing to ignore their own morals for orders given by an authority figure. The result was that most participants were willing to go so far as to "kill" another person, because they were told to do so. A less extreme scenario would be soldiers obeying orders, or workers obeying their bosses. Of course, sometimes, obeying orders has ulterior motives, such as keeping one's job, and yet humans elect a person to lead them every few years, and then listen to that person. Well, sometimes they do. It shows, however, that, sometimes, humans need a leader.
Humans conform to Society
Humans tend to live with other humans, and living together has unspoken, unwritten rules that people tend to follow. I'm not talking about laws, I'm talking about etiquette. Humans tend to put up a certain façade when dealing with other humans, because that is what is "expected". However, this can be a cause of the next point.
Humans like Individualism
Humans want to be themselves, do things they like to do. This is sometimes caused by pressure from "society", and it is sometimes frowned upon by it. Other times, such display of individuality, and the change it can bring, can be very refreshing. It's what caused different styles of art, in different fields, to emerge, or, again, what made some people make strange inventions or discoveries.
Humans need to Belong
What I mean is that humans can't stand isolation. We look for many things to supports us - family, friends, religion, clubs, jobs. It's good to feel like being part of a group, to feel like one really matters, perhaps even to have a higher purpose in life. Social contacts and familiarity are important, because it is a drive to keep going, and it is a secure net we can fall into when things go very wrong.
Of course, these seven points are generalizations, and not every human will have all of these characteristics. But I do think that they give a fairly good picture of how humans are in general. Things I didn't add are aspects like creativity, the explicit need for a religion, or a fear of change, as I think that there are enough people on both (or more) sides of these aspect so that they are no longer general.
With these seven things in mind, we can now create races which are "different" in more than just looks and stat bonuses.
Qi
Well, that might be good and well for playing, but for design, it doesn't help one bit. In order to make other races enjoyable, they should be "different" from humans. But when humans aren't characterized properly, what is "different"? This is where my thoughts are straying at the moment, so I'll try and piece together a list of common human behavior, from which other races can then be abstracted.
Humans are Curious
Let's face it - humans love to explore new things. It's the reason Marco Polo went to India, Columbus went to America, Magellan went around the world, and Neil Armstrong went to the Moon. It's the reason there's so much tourism in the world. But it's more than that, as well. Why do we read books on various subjects, study things in university out of our own volition? Because humans are curious. We love to learn new things, gossip, and research on new scientific frontiers. People don't spend millions of dollars on CERN just for the heck of it, or spend years with certain animals to learn their behaviors. Which brings up the next point.
Humans are Passionate
We are able to pour our heart and soul into something we do. This, coupled with curiosity, has enabled us to invent and discover all these amazing things over the centuries - steam engines, light bulbs, cars, semiconductors, programming languages, iPhones. And much, much more. We can have a lot of determination with things that are dear to us, be it studying a certain subject, caring for a certain person, writing a novel, conducting a scientific experiment, or helping out in poor areas of the world. Sometimes, this passion is just filled with a "feel good" result, but sometimes, there are ulterior motives.
Humans are Greedy
Humans love having stuff; kids want toys and chocolate, adults want houses, cars, money. Some want nice furniture, others would like a nice computer, yet other need a HiFi system, and some want to get millions of dollars as bonuses. Money is a powerful motivator (in fact, it's the reason a lot of people go to jobs), and the more the better. I'm not going to say that it has turned people into materialists, because we might have been this all along, but it has certainly made money accessible. The current economic crisis is partially the fault of greed and materialism, without looking at the thin ice we were standing on.
Humans obey Authority
In the Milgram Experiment, it was tested just how much humans are willing to ignore their own morals for orders given by an authority figure. The result was that most participants were willing to go so far as to "kill" another person, because they were told to do so. A less extreme scenario would be soldiers obeying orders, or workers obeying their bosses. Of course, sometimes, obeying orders has ulterior motives, such as keeping one's job, and yet humans elect a person to lead them every few years, and then listen to that person. Well, sometimes they do. It shows, however, that, sometimes, humans need a leader.
Humans conform to Society
Humans tend to live with other humans, and living together has unspoken, unwritten rules that people tend to follow. I'm not talking about laws, I'm talking about etiquette. Humans tend to put up a certain façade when dealing with other humans, because that is what is "expected". However, this can be a cause of the next point.
Humans like Individualism
Humans want to be themselves, do things they like to do. This is sometimes caused by pressure from "society", and it is sometimes frowned upon by it. Other times, such display of individuality, and the change it can bring, can be very refreshing. It's what caused different styles of art, in different fields, to emerge, or, again, what made some people make strange inventions or discoveries.
Humans need to Belong
What I mean is that humans can't stand isolation. We look for many things to supports us - family, friends, religion, clubs, jobs. It's good to feel like being part of a group, to feel like one really matters, perhaps even to have a higher purpose in life. Social contacts and familiarity are important, because it is a drive to keep going, and it is a secure net we can fall into when things go very wrong.
Of course, these seven points are generalizations, and not every human will have all of these characteristics. But I do think that they give a fairly good picture of how humans are in general. Things I didn't add are aspects like creativity, the explicit need for a religion, or a fear of change, as I think that there are enough people on both (or more) sides of these aspect so that they are no longer general.
With these seven things in mind, we can now create races which are "different" in more than just looks and stat bonuses.
Qi
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