Do you view the player-character as "you"?

[MysticSlayer]

The only two times I really went out to make myself in the world were Mass Effect and Fallout 3 (both of which I enjoyed doing so). For the most part, though, I make characters I want to play as.

Take Skyrim for instance. If I want to, I can make an honor-seeking Nord who enjoys picking fights, slaying dragons, and driving out those pesky elves. None of that describes me, but it is a character I like role playing in the world of Skyrim. However, I may decide I want to play a sneaky thief and/or murderer who gets a thrill from getting away with what she's not allowed to do. That's about as far from my personality as possible, but that was one of my favorite characters to play as in Skyrim. Being able to make the character look like how I see them can help a lot in making that role playing more enjoyable.

 

[Flames66]

My first play-through of a new RPG is always as myself. I create a character as close to myself as possible within the confines of the setting, use equipment and weapons I like and react to situations naturally.

Once I know the game, I might make other characters. I am currently playing Skyrim again as a Khajiit Pirate. This is never my first action and only happens if I really enjoyed the game as myself and can think of a character i want to try it as.

In online games, My character is me. If someone I meet is roleplaying a character, I assume they are that character and interact with them as such. I prefer to put myself in the world and speak entirely in character, because i am the character. I actively shun the green fatman in the clown mask and mankini because I assume that is how they picture themselves and don't want to be associated with the deranged. I know they are doing it for a laugh, but it negatively impacts my enjoyment, making them people I don't want around me.

 

[Joccaren]

Yes and no. Playing a fix locked story with no choices that uses purely action to keep me... 'entertained', then no.

In something with some level of role playing, I will alternate between playing as myself in that world, and playing a personally-created character in that world.

Personally created character as its the only way I'll get to experience the whole story. If I play as me, I'll only ever take one route, every time. Because I know me, and I know the choices I would make. If I create another character, I can make different choices and still enjoy the game.

Playing as me, however, is a natural course of events. Escapism is a thing. It doesn't mean escaping myself though. I like myself. I like who I am. However, my spare time IRL is rather boring. So I escape IRL, and journey to another world to have fun. Why be me watching a boring reality TV show, when I could be me running around slaying dragons and griffins and solving murder mysteries?
Its also kind of me, and my family's, philosophy in regards to watching near anything. Why watch sports? I'd rather be playing them. Why watch cooking shows? I'd rather be cooking. Why watch reality TV? I'd rather be living life. Its the same in games. Why would I want to watch someone else kill a dragon, someone else be the hero, or someone else get the girl? I can get that in movies if I want, and they at least try to dazzle me with flashy set pieces and action, and an inordinate amount of comedy, in order to make up for how boring that type of drama is on its own [And this is coming from someone who loves romance movies and dislikes romantic comedies. Main stipend is that they're tragedies - happy romantic movies aren't really as interesting]. Can't watch a lot of drama. I'd rather be living it.

And that carries into games. Why watch my character make choices, when I could be making choices? Why watch some dude on screen kill a dragon, when I could kill a dragon?
Cover it in flashy set pieces and action, and yeah, I'll get distracted enough to not care as its obviously trying to be a movie, not a game, but I also find those games more boring.

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

Depends on my mood and how silent the protagonist is. Story also plays a role. However, in games that do give a lot of player agency, I am more likely to roleplay.

I don't identify as 'me' in particular very often though.

 

[Fieldy409_v1legacy]

Usually my first playthrough of an rpg where I can make moral choices I will choose the closest to what I would pick IRL. And im not talking an idealised vision of myself as always good choice pure guy. Ill make greedy choices too or act vengefully executing characters I have a chance to spare their life if I think they are douchebags. If I replay I will often roleplay everyhing from monsters to saints to guys with unique motivations.

 

[ArcaneGamer]

Nah, never. I'm the dude playing the dude.

I'm guessing whilst disguised as another dude?

 

[Hero of Lime]

Nope. The furthest I've gone is giving my Pokemon player characters my name, as well as the avatar for Fire Emblem Awakening who I also gave my hair color. Even then, I never think I am the character, or the character is me. I even like to make silent protagonists their own character, rather than just projecting myself onto them as is intended.

I may get immersed into the story, or the game, but no matter what, I know I am just a regular guy holding a controller, or handheld, playing a game. I'm not big on character customization anyway, I'll usually use the default name, and appearance in games that have a good default character.

 

[Imperioratorex Caprae]

I don't see the point of self-insertion since most game characters have skills or powers I'll never possess. It seems a bit ludicrous to make pre-generated protagonists an analog for myself and personally created characters are still not me, they're characters I create to exist in that universe and play according to however I feel that character would have done. Lots of D&D and DMing (and a fair amount of acting) have allowed me to create personas that have nothing to do with me IRL. And thats the way I like it since games allow me to explore things I normally would never or could never do.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Nah, never. I'm the dude playing the dude.

I'm guessing whilst disguised as another dude?

More often than not, yes

 

[Clive Howlitzer]

Nope, I generally create characters and do not self insert. I find that more interesting than just playing as what I would do.

 

[Something Amyss]

To an extent, but that persists whether I play a created character or a stock one. Whether there's a story or not.

So I don't think it ties to my rejection of a specious argument.

 

[happyninja42]

Yes, I frequently inject myself into the protagonist of games I am playing. It's an escapist fantasy for me, and I like pretending that it's me in that situation. Who "me" is might change, for example in games like Skyrim, where I can make any character I want, I will create a backstory for the "me" I am playing this time, and have his actions be reflected by that history.

Other games, where I don't have the choice, as there is one set protagonist, I just pretend it's me, and do the actions that I would do, to see how the outcome would be.

It's why I rarely play characters on an evil path, because I don't like doing shitty things to people. And since the character is an embodiment of me, it makes me feel bad.

 

[Chaos Isaac]

In a way, yes. Mainly because I am controlling the person, and what hurts them in game, is virtually and harmlessly hurting me. So, i'm like. "Fuck that hurt." "Oh god that's a boss." "Oh gawd, they just backstabed me." "OH FAWWWK, WHY DO THEY HAVE THE MECHS!?"

But as for actually me? Nah. I view them as a character in this world, though, usually one of my own design. It might be a planar walking man who I create in every game 'cause magic, or, a barbarian man who punches things like no other. But they're not me.

So, no, I don't view them as me. There is a seperation, until shit gets real and i'm waaay too into the game to not realize that.

 

[wings012]

I like to take the role of the writer or director or some kind of capricious god. I am in control of this bloke and it is in my best interests to keep him breathing so he/she can entertain me some more. Now tell Bastilla to shut up and kiss you, for that is a response that amuses me deeply.

 

[Trippy Turtle]

Not at all.
Even when I make a character look like me I still think of them as little more than a slave to my will.

I sometimes try to do things in-game as I would do them in real life, but that's still not enough for me to think of the character as me.

 

[NeutralDrow]

Quite often, yes. It's part of my personal definition of immersion.

If anything, it happens on most games, regardless of whether I make a character or I'm playing a defined character; in the former, I tend to inject my personality and morals, in the latter, I adopt a new version of both. Only the PC doing something seriously out-of-whack (whether a choice, character judgment, whatever) tends to knock me out of that self-identification, at which point I become that voice in their head trying to tell them what to do[footnote]Then there were the Baten Kaitos games, which brilliantly decided to have it both ways.[/footnote].

 

[Kiardras]

Wouldn't exactly say they are "me", but characters I create all tend to be the evolution of one character I've had my entire life.

 

[Gordon_4_v1legacy]

When it comes to my favourite RPGs, the Mass Effect and Dragon Age series, I tend to think of myself as a personification of the player character's intuition or conscience that guides or suggests a course of action. Ergo every time they die it was either because I gave them bad advice or they didn't listen to good advice.

 

[Poetic Nova]

Depends on the character really.

If he\she has a (massive) backstory already, then I play according to said characters character.

If it is a 'create your own protagonist' it depends on the setting. But I do atleast try to play according to my own character where possible.

 

[Jake Martinez]

It depends entirely on if the player character has any personality or not. If they are just "voiceless protaganist" then I tend to not really view them as "me" but as an extension purely of my will in the game.

If I'm playing a game like the Witcher 3, then absolutely not because Geralt is Geralt and while I may make decisions "for him", it's still his story and I'm just along for the ride in many ways.

Personally I don't really feel the need to identify with a character that much. I mean, it's kind of a strange requirement for a video game in the first place. I don't read books because I need to see myself in the main character of the book, I read them because I want to read an interesting story. I'm perfectly capable of enjoying a story about someone else if you know what I mean. After all, it'd be pretty sad if I was only interested in stories about 40 year old married hispanic software engineers.

When I play a game or read a book I'm kind of looking for something new or different than my real life. With some games it's simply about the experience of playing (like Minecraft, which I almost classify as a complex digital toy rather than a real game, but it does have a "win" state so I give it a pass.) and there are other games where I am simply enjoying watching the story unfold as I work towards completion. In neither one of those is my enjoyment diminished because I happen to be giving orders to a gnarly old dwarf of a fey looking swordsman. I mean, I'm not a Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings is probably my favorite book(s) (I've read this probably about once every 2-3 years). In fact, I have absolutely nothing in common with any of those characters, but I sure enjoy reading about them.