The first phase of the project is the Character customisation system (Well ok, not the first, but the first that I can show a screenshot for). I've gone with a fairly standard approach: I have divided the model up into sections, head, torso, and legs. I have created several different versions of each section, with different hair types, clothes types, etc, and these can be swapped out in any order.
Character Customisation Options:

Full size image available here.
I have only applied a simple single-colour texture to the models, so they will be clearly distinguishable in the game. I have plans to allow the player to change the colour of each item of clothing, as well as skin and hair colour.
At this stage, I have only implemented around 3-4 different options for each part of the model, but I intend to be able to add new clothing types (or hair styles) to the character without having to rig and animate it again.
Which brings me to my next point: Rigging.

The reason I have only implemented a small selection of clothing types is partly because I am not 100% sure how a model which has been divided like this will handle when it it rigged and animated. I have done concept demos before, which worked great, but this is the first time I've tried this technique for a fully fledged project.
Rigging is something I dont think anyone really likes. Modelling is a lot of fun, texturing is quite a rewarding process, and animating has its moments, but rigging is a tedious process.
For those who dont know, rigging is a common technique used to prepare a model (in this case, a character) for animation. You basically take your 3d model, and attach it to a "skeleton" (called a "bones rig"). You can then animate the character, commonly by using IK Chains, for Inverse Kinematics. This is where you specify the pose of the character, (for example, running, holding a gun)and and algorithm is used to determine how the bones rig, and hence, the character, should move to occupy that pose.
The problem is, when you have multiple meshes, (The objects that I am working with are called "editable meshes" in my modelling program) you have to apply the same skin modifier to all of them, withoug distortion of the meshes along the seams. It can get tricky, but I hope to have the first character type (the male character) rigged and animated by the end of the week. I really only need an idle, and a run animation for the time being.

Thanks for reading...