Poll: Is this a common thing for most gamers?

[Chancie]

I'm female and the gender typically doesn't matter to me, but I do notice that I tend to get more attached to male characters. If something bad happens to them, I'm more likely to be moved by it if they're male for some reason.

 

[CoverYourHead]

I prefer male, but I have no real problem with playing a female, it just makes relationships in stories (especially the ones I'm directing) a little less intriguing.

 

[seanmcdow]

not bothered about gender my problem with bayonetta is that she is so unlikeable. dante is an asshole too i wish these people would take their jobs seriously and not act so full of it all the time.

 

[Veret]

Yeah i agree, although i can enjoy a game with a female protag. Its just there aren't any. Their either Princess Peaches Or coldhearted bitchs.. And this may seem sexist, but its true, there aren't any strong female characters because frankly, what is the buy going to be then, a little pussy? a boy-toy? a dumb brick that fell out of the wall?

Sad but true... Wisht here was but there aren't...

If you can't find any decent female protagonists, then you've missed out on some truly excellent games. Just off the top of my head, and in increasing order of quality:

Mirror's Edge
Beyond Good & Evil
Mass Effect series (it's better with Jennifer Hale)
Freaking PORTAL

 

[CloakedOne]

do you actually try to identify with the female or just accept that you can't? Just curious. I make a conscious effort to identify with female protagonists and, as a result, I feel like I'm finally getting the hang of it. Just a thought.

 

[high_castle]

I'm female and I don't have any problem identifying with male protagonists. Why should you guys have problems identifying with a female one? Maybe it's because there are a very few games where females are given decent characterization. At the end of the day, I don't think gender determines personality.

 

[RJ Dalton]

So, the recent release of Bayonetta has had me thinking about something.

I tend not to enjoy most video games with female protaganists.
snipped for space

First of all, you mean sex. Gender refers to the rolls associated with members of a society, which are usually, but not always, based around sex, which is the biological differences between male and female. Let's keep it straight people!

But seriously, or at least on topic (because I was being serious (that's a pet peeve of mine)), I don't care one way or the other what sex the character is. What matters to me is the characterization. It's how you present the character that makes it fun to play.

 

[Looking For Alaska]

I am a man, and the gender of the protaganist doesn't matter to me.

 

[_Cake_]

I'm female and if I make my own character I usually try to make it the most like myself. If it's a character based game I rather a male main character. Female lead characters are always just sex objects, WAY too tough, or both. It's very unrelatable.

 

[scoHish]

BOOBS

Interesting point. Please elaborate.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

Although I have missed out on a lot of Female-Protagonist games [Metroid, Bayonetta, Wet etc.] But in every RPG where I can build a character I always make at least one female profile. In fact my current Grey Warden is a female human Noble

 

[War Penguin]

Even though I couldn't care less that my character is a girl [small](I'm a guy, by the way)[/small], I do find myself choosing to play as a guy when I get the option and in moral choice games. I find the character I create relatable which makes me more immersed in said game. If the game is a girl, fine. I'll probably be just as immersed, but only in story. I feel as if I'm making the story go faster rather than creating my story.

 

[Lullabye]

Really it doesn't matter to me unless they want me to relate withthe main character, in which case it's usually easier if it's a guy.

 

[zungerman090]

It is more interesting to play as both female and male. Gives us new perspectives and all.

 

[Veret]

Now come on. Portal was a great game but she was a silent protaginist? How is that a decent character? And I hated the girl in mirror's edge. Haven't played the others though...

Ah. Glad you pointed that out, and particularly glad you decided to use the words "silent protagonist." You presumably already know this, but just to bring everyone else up to speed: A silent (or blank, depending on who you ask) protagonist is when the writer(s) intentionally left the main character as nondescript as possible. The idea is that by leaving the main character blank, players (or readers, or viewers) can subconsciously imagine themselves in the role of the protagonist, which makes the plot a great deal more immersive.

Needless to say, games do this practically all the time--since the player is already controlling the main character's actions, developers figure they might as well go all the way and let players believe they really are the hero. But it's been around for a long time and in plenty of other media.

So back to female protagonists. You mentioned you don't like Faith from mirror's edge? As it happens, I don't much like her either. That's because while I was actually playing the game, it was easy to feel as though I myself were actually racing across the rooftops and beating up SWAT teams--never mind the fact that she's a petite Asian girl while I'm male, white, and unnaturally tall. But then those rather idiotic cutscenes kept coming up where she took on a personality of her own, and the immersion was totally broken. It's like playing through the Half-Life series, only to suddenly find Gordon Freeman scowling and making allegedly "badass" quips about how he's gonna start breaking some combine face. Just...no.

And now, finally, Portal. It's not a game about some lady trapped in a screwed-up science lab, its a game where you have to escape from said lab, and the lady in question is just a vessel for the player. This is why I take issue with people who are unwilling to play games with female protagonists; they're missing the point entirely. Chell isn't a woman, Master Chief isn't a man, and Spyro isn't even a damned dragon; they're all just you.

 

[Cowabungaa]

I usually try to flesh out my opinion, but it's rather simple in my case:

Gender does not matter to me (at least in this case), personality does.

 

[Dexiro]

Being a guy i find playing as a female protagonist less immersive, i can't really relate as much.
I like to imagine myself in the protagonists shoes occasionally, but i guess i'm not really up for imagining myself as a woman.

There are exceptions though. Just seen people mention things like Portal and Beyond Good and Evil, i loved those games!
With Portal you were really more "random test subject" than female character, and the gender of the character in BGaE seemed kind of interchangeable.
On second thoughts i don't mind as long as the game's fun and the main character isn't shoving her tits in my face all the time (as i suspect FF13 to do).

 

[Void(null)]

Really doesn't bother me one way or the other.

I have never felt my identity or sexuality was threatened by Tomb Raider, or by picking Chun-Li in Street Fighter, nor have I ever felt that I could not relate to a character because of gender.

Then again I also do not place myself in the characters shoes, I view a game the same way I would watching a movie or reading a book, its a story, its not a proxy of me.