Poll: do you prefer to play as male or female character ?

[Eddie the head]

What game is it? Mass Effect? Male. Fallout NV? Female. Knights of the Old Republic? Male. Knights of the Old Republic 2? Female.

Context is everything.

 

[CarolusRex]

Depends on the game, and if it's an RPG or MMO then race is also a defining factor.
For example: On WoW I tend to play Humans, Night Elves and Blood Elves as female characters (generally caster classes as well) whereas the rest I leave to be males.
If it's The Elder Scrolls, it really depends on the class (III or IV) or the way I want to play (Skyrim) Mages and such tend to be females as well as either Imperial or Nord. Assassins vary but are about 50/50 with gender. Bulky warriors tend to be Nord, Imperial or Argonian (Yeah, not exactly bulky, but whatever) males.

That's how I choose my genders for games.
All based on factors within the game.
Sometimes, females can suit something more than a male and vice versa.
...I hope that's coherent, I'm tired so I do apologise if it isn't.

 

[Therumancer]

so fellow escapists i wanted to get your thoughts on this.
as the title implies : do you prefer to play as a male or female character whenever a game gives you the option to play as either ?
also please state the reason why do you choose to play as either gender ?
personally i like to play as a female character whenever a game gives me the option to do so.
examples being mass effect 2 where i chose to play as a female shepherd while most others were playing as male shepherd.
i really feel for gamers who didnt play as female shepherd coz it was awesome experience.
other examples being saints row the third where i played as a female , a hot one though..lol .
it really feels awesome to blow away bad guys with rifles, shotguns, missiles, grenedes etc playing as a female
and then in skyrim where am currently playing as a female nord named rose.
now let me explain why i choose to play as female character. its because its feels fresh to play someone who you are not ie am a male , so it feels different, exciting and more fun.
i feel more games must come out with female protoganists with good character depth .
so fellow escapists please respond what do you prefer to play as and why . thanks
also dont forget to cast your vote in the poll above !!!
edit : added additional option for those with no particular preference

I play as both, something that applies to both video games and PnP RPGs. I've gotten mixed results ranging from noone missing a beat, to people thinking I was wierd when I've played cross gender. It's about even.

One funny thing though is that when I've played PnP games I've gotten both comments about "do you ever play male characters" and "my gawd, you should actually try playing a female character sometime" usually in response to me playing a hyper macho type (which can be fun since so few people do it). One PnP game I played a Barbarian Witch Doctor (Warrior-Mage type oddly enough) who I based on Randy Savage, drawing his magic from his patron spirit "Booh Yeah!" It got some laughs except for one person who oddly thought I was serious for some reason. It was a not-super serious campaign though so it wound up working, I found the comment about playing the other gender occasionally funny though.

 

[Bucky01]

i like to alternate between the two, but its still tilted towards women, mostly since the majority of any games important NPCs and bad guys sex percentage is nothing but a giant sausage fest so playing as a female for the game makes it feel slightly less lop sided.
This is mostly in RPG's when i roleplay as a rogue character or if its 3rd person where I'd prefer to be looking at a woman's ass over a man's ass, even if it is digital.
but there are always a few exceptions in those conditions.

 

[Steeveeo]

For me, it depends on whether or not I'm going to be seeing my character on a regular basis. For example, in something like Mass Effect, where the game mainly has the camera on Shepard rather than through his/her eyes, I would pick female.

On the flip side, if it's a majorly first-person game, like Skyrim, I'll go male so I can more easily put myself in my character's shoes.

 

[debra_ beretta]

I tend to play females because I have a tendency to create characters which look like me but I'll often play as my alter-ego; a huge muscled tank of a man often wielding large two-handed weapons and a penchant for kicking ass.