On games that warrant a second play though I often choose to play as the female character. Sometimes it's nothing but an aesthetic change, other times it actually alters the game in subtle ways (Fallout 2 is my most notable memory of that).
Playing the Opposite Sex in RPGs
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I usually go through as a female for most of the reasons already listed here. In TPRPGs, like Fable 2 and KOTOR, I opted to play as a female character for the sake of some eye candy while playing. I did it for the same reason in Fallout, until I realized that the Black Widow perk actually helped me out quite a bit.
Buffy has taught me that chicks being badass is way more badass than guys being badass. That just gets cheesy. Plus I've always been interested in playing with gender rolls in videogames (although most videogames don't take the gender thing terribly seriously).
Don't think I've ever played as a female (which would be my gender) character unless the game forced me to.
It's kinda funny in MMO games, though. I've got friends on WoW that're still not able to figure out why I wouldn't play as a female character. Though, the female character I have, aptly named after myself (haha, I find the way guys ask "are you really a girl!?" very funny), tends to result in me being treated by far better than when I'm on my male characters (around people that don't know me, that is) - it's the easiest way to exploit other players; simply walk around as a pixellated lamppost with boobs, with a cute face and a name worthy of a woman (like... a real one... out of flesh and blood, you know?) and guys will do anything for you.
Which, in itself is pretty frightening...
Also, I dislike the idea of how a whispy lingerie model is supposedly an exellent warrior. I'd rather just play as a male character and actually look like I'll be able to do smash your face in if you cross me.
It's kinda funny in MMO games, though. I've got friends on WoW that're still not able to figure out why I wouldn't play as a female character. Though, the female character I have, aptly named after myself (haha, I find the way guys ask "are you really a girl!?" very funny), tends to result in me being treated by far better than when I'm on my male characters (around people that don't know me, that is) - it's the easiest way to exploit other players; simply walk around as a pixellated lamppost with boobs, with a cute face and a name worthy of a woman (like... a real one... out of flesh and blood, you know?) and guys will do anything for you.
Which, in itself is pretty frightening...
Also, I dislike the idea of how a whispy lingerie model is supposedly an exellent warrior. I'd rather just play as a male character and actually look like I'll be able to do smash your face in if you cross me.
It depend on the game, if the game is focuses on role-playing I play either gender in around equal amounts depending on my character concept.
In games where your character is little more than a conduit with which you interact with the world I usually play a male character as I find them more aesthetically pleasing.
In games where your character is little more than a conduit with which you interact with the world I usually play a male character as I find them more aesthetically pleasing.
I usually play as a male character during my first play through, just because I find it easier to act the way I would act in the beginning. Then I switch to a female and experience the game from a whole different perspective (for example, if I'm evil the first time, I play the good guy the second time).
Well actually, I don't like that guy mostly because of the kind of character his face represents. I'm not really for the whole battle-scarred hardened war veteran (even though that was pretty much what the devs would alluding you were).Madshaw said:
For some reason, I tend to play as females in RPG's - could be compensating for all the games I played between 1985-2000 that basically forced you to play as a man, or it could be a matter of estethics as most male character models tend to look constipated, or I could just be really in touch with my feminine side. (Hey, not kidding - I actually thought Geralt the Witcher had a...rather alluring presence/attitude, but that was nothing compared to my girlfriend, who positively drooled over him
Anyway, it seems to be a mostly a roleplaying thing, as I pick (regardless of gender) whoever has the style I want at the moment in fighting games. But in RPG's, I tend to go girl. Sometimes it has the rewards of discovering alternate solutions to conversations/puzzles. Sometimes the reward is getting to hear Jennifer Hale's voice for a +30 hour storyline. And sometimes I discover that this game is actually more fun to play as a male - which includes my all-time favorite Baldur's Gate 2.
Basically, I usually try both genders, but I tend to start as a female. (Interesting enough, so did about 60% of all Age of Conan players I saw last summer, it seemed to me. That surprised me a little
Anyway, it seems to be a mostly a roleplaying thing, as I pick (regardless of gender) whoever has the style I want at the moment in fighting games. But in RPG's, I tend to go girl. Sometimes it has the rewards of discovering alternate solutions to conversations/puzzles. Sometimes the reward is getting to hear Jennifer Hale's voice for a +30 hour storyline. And sometimes I discover that this game is actually more fun to play as a male - which includes my all-time favorite Baldur's Gate 2.
Basically, I usually try both genders, but I tend to start as a female. (Interesting enough, so did about 60% of all Age of Conan players I saw last summer, it seemed to me. That surprised me a little
Good man!Aardvark said:
I did the same thing, although i lead them both on for a bit and THEN ordered him to his death.
I tend to play female characters whenever possible, no idea, preference maybe?
I'm a WoW player, and about 80% of my characters are women...
60% are gnomes...
But yeah, i always play Female characters, i don't see why but i just enjoy playing the game more if i play as a woman.
Playing a woman on a MMORPG is sometimes kickass for lack of a a better word. I hear some players give women free items in an attempt to be chivalrous or something.Archemetis said:
now for the serious post i normally play as a female in games even though i am not one because in most games they have an extremely unfair advantage over males in that they are smarter in certain games and have an easier or more satisfying playthrough in other games
I usually play female characters in rpgs. You didn't expect me to stare at a dude's ass all day while i play did you?
I often play both, but I find myself being more calculating when I choose a male avatar. Usually, it is because the male avatar appeals to some invented ideal aspect of masculinity that I find irresistible and somehow superimpose over the male avatar I choose. But if the male avatar doesn't speak to me of his role very clearly, I'm less interested in him. Or if his role is not as interesting, in terms of the story. It matters less to me with playing a female avatar in a story where the storyline is not really changed that much by the sex of the character, though I like the feel of the different tone that it brings, the subtle changes in dialog sometimes. Though, I was terribly upset by the storyline differences in the gameboy games Harvest Moon, Friends of Mineral Town from Harvest Moon MORE friends of Mineral Town--the first being where you play as a boy doing various things and the second where you supposedly play in the exact same town inheriting the exact same farm only as a girl. The story lines were wayy too different for me and really missed out on an interesting opportunity to challenge stereotypes. I played the first one obsessively, but the second one I put down in disgust as it felt sexist to me for not trying put a girl in the same situation as the boy, and watering the story down instead.
Female avatars are very often pretty and it is fun to play something pretty, despite the oft-repeated talk about rampant cases of ridiculous oversexualization. It is even more fun to can kick behinds and take names and be all strong and stuff while also being our cultural platonic ideal of pretty which is immensely appealing in games like Virtua Fighter 4 where I clean the room with these delicate looking Japanese avatars and where I rarely choose male avatars. But in games with a story, or even a hint of one that offer choices in classes and abilities and cultural roles within the game and suddenly I am making a decision between a female and a male avatar based on platonic, mythological ideals. For example playing someone who embodies the idea (for me) of being a strong, nurturing protector. I am very taken with the idea of men in both the aggressive yet nurturing/caretaker stance and I can't help but play male avatars who in my mind are fulfilling those roles or other roles that are deep rooted in some fanciful sense of romanticism I harbor for certain male stereotypes. I am not saying that I can't see (or haven't played) a female avatar in those roles as well and being just as fulfilling to play, but there is something terribly fun about playing a male avatar as a girl, especially when you are in groups with other people online and they have no idea about your sex and very often assume you are male--especially when your avatar is male. There is something really fun about taking care of everyone as a male, even protecting the "womenfolk" (who are often guys playing girls) because for me there is a serious irony to it where I feel like I am shattering a stereotype at the same time I am holding the stereotype up in some grandiose preserved state.
Anyways, what has been strange to me is how I don't hesitate to many a slew of female characters for games but I will have this small scattering of choice, pet male characters who I pay a lot of attention to and consider a lot, in terms of the roles they bring to the story. I don't think about the girls as much or consider them as much I think because I already am one. But since I am not a guy and they are still quite foreign to me and because we have all these fascinating roles established in society that girls have difficulty exploring without changing the mood or feel in real life, playing a male, anonymously, has a great deal of appeal because suddenly I can be in those roles without questions, and explore them.
Female avatars are very often pretty and it is fun to play something pretty, despite the oft-repeated talk about rampant cases of ridiculous oversexualization. It is even more fun to can kick behinds and take names and be all strong and stuff while also being our cultural platonic ideal of pretty which is immensely appealing in games like Virtua Fighter 4 where I clean the room with these delicate looking Japanese avatars and where I rarely choose male avatars. But in games with a story, or even a hint of one that offer choices in classes and abilities and cultural roles within the game and suddenly I am making a decision between a female and a male avatar based on platonic, mythological ideals. For example playing someone who embodies the idea (for me) of being a strong, nurturing protector. I am very taken with the idea of men in both the aggressive yet nurturing/caretaker stance and I can't help but play male avatars who in my mind are fulfilling those roles or other roles that are deep rooted in some fanciful sense of romanticism I harbor for certain male stereotypes. I am not saying that I can't see (or haven't played) a female avatar in those roles as well and being just as fulfilling to play, but there is something terribly fun about playing a male avatar as a girl, especially when you are in groups with other people online and they have no idea about your sex and very often assume you are male--especially when your avatar is male. There is something really fun about taking care of everyone as a male, even protecting the "womenfolk" (who are often guys playing girls) because for me there is a serious irony to it where I feel like I am shattering a stereotype at the same time I am holding the stereotype up in some grandiose preserved state.
Anyways, what has been strange to me is how I don't hesitate to many a slew of female characters for games but I will have this small scattering of choice, pet male characters who I pay a lot of attention to and consider a lot, in terms of the roles they bring to the story. I don't think about the girls as much or consider them as much I think because I already am one. But since I am not a guy and they are still quite foreign to me and because we have all these fascinating roles established in society that girls have difficulty exploring without changing the mood or feel in real life, playing a male, anonymously, has a great deal of appeal because suddenly I can be in those roles without questions, and explore them.
I think, in a first play-though, there is a tenancy to try and make your avatar represent yourself. On subsequent play-throughs, you feel more free to explore other character ideas.