Yeah. I always attributed it to an ego thing, especially when these same people hear that there are others who don't do this, and they seem confused, almost angry, as to why anyone would play as anybody but themselves.

It's not at all an ego thing, it helps to identify with the character. Personally I will use the default/canon look in a character driven game but in something like Destiny... depending on how much I feel like role-playing either I will make it look as close to an idealised me as is possible (easy to identify with and the "role-play" is merely confronting things as I believe I personally would if I happened to be in that situation, or I will make it look as close to what I feel a character in this universe and situation might look like and role-play based on what sort of moral code etc I feel they would have. But if you ask any of my friends you won't hear a thing about my ego, I often talk too much but nobody has any problems with my ego. edit: although narcissistic people probably WOULD also make an idealised version of themselves... I'm just saying correlation != causation here. Just because narcissistic people do so because they are narcissistic, doesn't mean other people who do so are also narcissistic.

"Ego" isn't just about self boasting and narcissism, but even with that aside, I would just see the idea of playing as yourself due to a lack of creativity or imagination, especially if it's "needed" to "identify with the character."

I said it helps in identifying with a character, not is required to do so. You can fantasize about something without believing it to be true. If I want to fantasize about Becoming Legend(tm) that's perfectly fine and has nothing to do with an inflated ego and/or narcissism unless I actually exhibits traits of those things. Again, just because egotists/narcissists are likely to do those sorts of things, doesn't mean everyone who does so is an egotist/narcissist.