http://archive.org/stream/physicalappearan00knig/physicalappearan00knig_djvu.txt
Gollum's appearance is very much up in the air concerning what was actually written about him, this article demonstrates the variety of interpretations people have made over the world.
The character Gollum was described as a few rather strikingly different things in LOTR, as he was only really seen in dim lighting conditions it left alot to the imagination. The strong overall theme however is that Gollum is described as being slimy and dark as darkness, with long thin fingers, big lamp-like eyes and six teeth. He has pockets or at some point in the past has pockets.There are only small allusions to Gollum living outside of the cave and even smaller ones to him previously being a hobbit.
http://www.carsonellis.com/blog/2010/01/10/gollums-from-around-the-world/
http://www.charlottedillon.com/CharacterChart.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEERJ1a2rsU
Extracreditz talks about how more can be revealed through clever use of game mechanics and visual clues that books and TV shows don't utilise as often as they don't have the same sort of restriction on expositional text or narration that might otherwise feel forced in a videogame.
Video games allow for more to be revealed without as much being directly explicated to the audience through narration. You've the physical appearance of the character, the way they're animated and the environment they live in. What they do, how they do it and facial expressions as well as dress. All of these sorts of things can combine to give a fairly thorough idea of what a character is like much quicker than any book can. Particular exaggerations of their behaviour or appearance can assist with this. The fact it's in a video game allows for these sorts of exaggerations to be much more apparent in ways not possible in live action.
http://simine.com/docs/Naumann_et_al_PSPB_2009.pdf
In this article on Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, it reveals how simply seeing a persons face and overall physical appearance can give you accurate insight into their personality.
likability, self-esteem, loneliness, religiosity, and political orientation are the big fice characteristics people are tested for being able to detect in a variety of different tests.
Some studies use face shots and other use full body shots which are arguably more reliable since it's believed that the body can convey this sort of information as well as the face.
still image vs film vs no audio vs full audio, the more information available to participants the more accurate they were. Everything about you appearance and how you behave contributes to how people interpret your personality and characteristics.
http://www.science20.com/news_articles/why_we_judge_personalities_appearance_it_works-92940
http://pubpages.unh.edu/~rmw/Warner_Sugarman_JPSP_1986.pdf
This article and paper respectively support the idea that you can ascertain some elements of a personality from physical appearance alone with some degree of accuracy.
http://www.qub.ac.uk/imperial/key-concepts/Exoticism.htm
Exoticism is the quintissential goal/past time for explorers. Seeking the exotic or foreign cultures or objects that are attractive or remarkable. Plants, minerals and people excited a feeling in the West and the rest of the world and reinforced the actual and metaphorical wealth of Western empires.
The exotic was often on display in such places as Kew gardens, which greatly expanded between 1841 and 1885 as a result of scientific research and travel, where plants and minerals from outside Europe could be viewed by the public safely in a domestic environment. The Gardens became essential to developing the British Empire by supplying seed, crops and horticultural advice to the colonies. The Great Exhibition of 1851 was the most famous display of imperial power and wealth, with items from each of the colonies on show to visitors.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3402717/
