Avowed Character Creator Only Allows You To Pick Human Or Elf Race; Dev Explains Why

A lot of expectations are riding on Avowed, which has rightfully generated much hype among the fans. But Obsidian Entertainment has just given a major reality check in a new interview with IGN. The game director, Carrie Patel, has clarified that the character creator will only let players pick between the human or elf race. There are no other race options in the RPG because of both the lore and technical reasons. 

We want to make sure that whatever experience we’re offering is smooth and natural and well paced to the player. And one of the things about the species of Pillars that I think is a lot easier to account for in an isometric game is just the variation in sizes,” said the game director.

The races in Avowed can be vastly different when it comes to height. For instance, a dwarf may cause the first-person camera to hover at quite a low level. It can affect the gameplay to an extreme extent. Additionally, the size difference in other races could make the combat feel a bit clunkier. It may also make it harder to deal with certain in-game situations because of having a shorter character height.

You have aumaua and then you have humans and elves who are at roughly the same scale, and then you have orlans and dwarves who are quite a bit smaller. And for each of those, especially in first person, you’re adjusting the height of the player character’s capsule and sort of where their weapons are relative to enemies and how their hits land and how hits land on them.”

However, the dev assures that these limits were not impossible to tackle if the studio planned to have more races. It is seemingly a matter of priority and choosing an optimal path while making choices that make it easier for both the devs and gamers.

Other Interesting Reads:

• Xbox Achieves All-Time High 200 Million Monthly Users Across All Platforms.
• Kurt Russel Talks About Why He Did Not Voice Solid Snake In Metal Gear Solid.
• [Exclusive] Phantom Blade Zero Could Feature 2D Animation Sequences.

The RPG—set in the Pillars of Eternity universe—has gone through a lot of phases before satisfying the vision of the devs. In the past, reports have suggested that it went through a massive internal reboot. Additionally, Obsidian Entertainment is pouring all its talent and prowess into crafting the best entry possible. Devoted Studios also previously chimed in to lend help in creating high-quality 3D assets necessary for the project. 

Avowed is set to release later this year, sometime during the fall. However, no exact release date or window has yet been announced. And since it’s an Xbox exclusive, the title is only coming out on Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X, and PC.