Poll: Roleplaying Opposite-Sex Characters

[The Apothecarry]

When you eliminate aspiration as a motive for making a male character- because you don't aspire to be any cooler or stronger than you are, because you're already cool and strong enough, then you obviously default to attraction.

I make characters with features that I find aesthetically pleasing. That's women. Nothing strange about it. Case closed.

Very well said, sir. I like that.

 

[Faux Furry]

Some RPGs have a fixed gender. For instance, there really isn't an option for women who want to play JRPGs (and even a few WRPGs) to play an avatar of the same sex as themselves, you should know. Maybe the reasoning is that they wouldn't want to check out another woman's butt for 30-100 hours (or that guys like Yuri [http://static.gamesradar.com/images/mb/GamesRadar/us/Games/T/Tales%20of%20Vesperia/Everything%20Else/Give%20JRPGs%20a%20Chance/RAW/Yuri--article_image.jpg] from Tales of Vesperia look enough like women), anyway, so why bother?

I know that I would play a third-sexed avatar if such things were available (outside of flash games in certain places on the Internet) or a robot (if Sega ever gets around to releasing another Phantasy Star Online}. Being the same gender, species, age, race or even made of meat all of the time gets dull.
RPGs are there to let one see new world through someone else's eyes without having to go through a messy optic transplant.

Shadowrun can be fun like that. Want a robotic limb? Cybereyes? We got it covered.

But does Shadowrun have cybernetic genitalia in it? That's the real question. You know exactly why that is [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1WvLB8P-DM], I'm sure.
Sex-Change that are as easy as mode changes for a Transformer, what else (TranSexualFormers?)?

 

[Yureina]

And hey, when we have an image in our heads or on the screen it's usually something we want to look at.

Why does every guy have to pull this bloody line out when this topic comes up? >_>

Anyway, as far as the topic goes, I don't see anything odd about it at all. Personally though, I don't do it. I have tried many times to play as a guy in games where I have a choice, and every single time it just fails for me and I have to go back to my female characters. It has alot to do with my mind itself, and goes a bit deeper than mere personal preference. With that said, I still can play games, even RPG's, even if I am forced to play as a male, and in some recent games (Assassin's Creed II, Deus Ex) I can actually end up really liking the main character.

 

[Macgyvercas]

I thought roleplaying the opposite gender was a D&D tradition...

 

[The Apothecarry]

You don't expect a woman to charge into battle breathing fire and cutting down dragons with a six-foot sword.

Maybe you don't, but I grew up on JRPGs. That stuff happened every Tuesday

So, you're used to it by now

 

[high_castle]

I regularly play male characters despite being female. As the OP said, it's a different perspective. In most games, I give both genders a try. In some, though, I stick with one over another. Take ME2. Because femShep cannot go three minutes without molesting Jacob with her voice, I don't play her. In some games, the animations or dialogue is just so overly sexualized that I don't want to deal with it. I wouldn't walk around like that or speak like that, and I don't want to RP a character who does, either.

 

[The Apothecarry]

And hey, when we have an image in our heads or on the screen it's usually something we want to look at.

Why does every guy have to pull this bloody line out when this topic comes up? >_>

Anyway, as far as the topic goes, I don't see anything odd about it at all. Personally though, I don't do it. I have tried many times to play as a guy in games where I have a choice, and every single time it just fails for me and I have to go back to my female characters. It has alot to do with my mind itself, and goes a bit deeper than mere personal preference. With that said, I still can play games, even RPG's, even if I am forced to play as a male, and in some recent games (Assassin's Creed II, Deus Ex) I can actually end up really liking the main character.

I suppose that was a bit rude of me. It's a true statement, but I didn't really think about.

 

[Austin Ashe]

I feel more comfortable playing ladies in games and RPGs. Not sure why. Maybe it's because the men are all muscle-bound he-men (and I've never been that way once in my life) and the women tend to look more... average (closer to myself) so naturally I identify with that more.

I also RP as girls on occasion, but it always gets a little wierd when some male player playing a male character decides to hit on my character. I guess you can say that every woman I RP is celebate.

I give you props for trying to handle it gracefully though. I'm not sure I'd be able to deal with that without being visibly and obviously wierded out by it.

 

[The Apothecarry]

Some RPGs have a fixed gender. For instance, there really isn't an option for women who want to play JRPGs (and even a few WRPGs) to play an avatar of the same sex as themselves, you should know. Maybe the reasoning is that they wouldn't want to check out another woman's butt for 30-100 hours (or that guys like Yuri [http://static.gamesradar.com/images/mb/GamesRadar/us/Games/T/Tales%20of%20Vesperia/Everything%20Else/Give%20JRPGs%20a%20Chance/RAW/Yuri--article_image.jpg] from Tales of Vesperia look enough like women), anyway, so why bother?

I know that I would play a third-sexed avatar if such things were available (outside of flash games in certain places on the Internet) or a robot (if Sega ever gets around to releasing another Phantasy Star Online}. Being the same gender, species, age, race or even made of meat all of the time gets dull.
RPGs are there to let one see new world through someone else's eyes without having to go through a messy optic transplant.

Shadowrun can be fun like that. Want a robotic limb? Cybereyes? We got it covered.

But does Shadowrun have cybernetic genitalia in it? That's the real question. You know exactly why that is [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1WvLB8P-DM], I'm sure.
Sex-Change that are as easy as mode changes for a Transformer, what else (TranSexualFormers?)?

Yes, it does. The Augmentation guide covers gene replication, genetic engineering, cyber implants (skin, breasts, sexual organs, you name it). Science is everywhere and it ain't always pretty. It's easy, but it ain't cheap.

 

[Yureina]

I suppose that was a bit rude of me. It's a true statement, but I didn't really think about.

I'm not really bothered by it, but I really don't feel like it answers the question too well. Also, choosing a character that is "nice to stare at" to me does not really have anything actually do to with role-playing a character.

Sorry to single you out, but... well... you were the OP.

 

[Faux Furry]

Some RPGs have a fixed gender. For instance, there really isn't an option for women who want to play JRPGs (and even a few WRPGs) to play an avatar of the same sex as themselves, you should know. Maybe the reasoning is that they wouldn't want to check out another woman's butt for 30-100 hours (or that guys like Yuri [http://static.gamesradar.com/images/mb/GamesRadar/us/Games/T/Tales%20of%20Vesperia/Everything%20Else/Give%20JRPGs%20a%20Chance/RAW/Yuri--article_image.jpg] from Tales of Vesperia look enough like women), anyway, so why bother?

I know that I would play a third-sexed avatar if such things were available (outside of flash games in certain places on the Internet) or a robot (if Sega ever gets around to releasing another Phantasy Star Online}. Being the same gender, species, age, race or even made of meat all of the time gets dull.
RPGs are there to let one see new world through someone else's eyes without having to go through a messy optic transplant.

Shadowrun can be fun like that. Want a robotic limb? Cybereyes? We got it covered.

But does Shadowrun have cybernetic genitalia in it? That's the real question. You know exactly why that is [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1WvLB8P-DM], I'm sure.
Sex-Change that are as easy as mode changes for a Transformer, what else (TranSexualFormers?)?

Yes, it does. The Augmentation guide covers gene replication, genetic engineering, cyber implants (skin, breasts, sexual organs, you name it). Science is everywhere and it ain't always pretty. It's easy, but it ain't cheap.

Who needs spell-casters, demon familiars and elder gods when science can provide so many wonders in an RPG setting? If somebody could properly implement all of those features into game with HD graphics...it might end up AO-rated and nobody could play it anyway. Still, it would be worth a try!

 

[Bigfoob]

Uh... Yeah I'd say that's kinda odd. Your character is usually your representative so switching genders seems like a type of cross-dressing to me.

 

[The Apothecarry]

I suppose that was a bit rude of me. It's a true statement, but I didn't really think about.

I'm not really bothered by it, but I really don't feel like it answers the question too well. Also, choosing a character that is "nice to stare at" to me does not really have anything actually do to with role-playing a character.

Sorry to single you out, but... well... you were the OP.

No, it's perfectly fine. I don't roleplay characters designed to look pretty. My head does that for me. The only reason the sheet says "Charisma = 18" is because the character is usually using a class that utilizes Charisma.

I think that line was more directed at males who play as females in video games. For tabletops, everyone has a different image of one's character. I know that my Shadowrun character is supposed to resemble Revy, but I don't know what goes through other players' heads (and I'm thankful I don't).

 

[Austin Ashe]

And hey, when we have an image in our heads or on the screen it's usually something we want to look at.

Why does every guy have to pull this bloody line out when this topic comes up? >_>

Anyway, as far as the topic goes, I don't see anything odd about it at all. Personally though, I don't do it. I have tried many times to play as a guy in games where I have a choice, and every single time it just fails for me and I have to go back to my female characters. It has alot to do with my mind itself, and goes a bit deeper than mere personal preference. With that said, I still can play games, even RPG's, even if I am forced to play as a male, and in some recent games (Assassin's Creed II, Deus Ex) I can actually end up really liking the main character.

Because we want to assert the fact that we aren't homosexual for wanting to play a female character.

At least, that's my guess.

 

[Kouta Cles]

I always seem to make male magic-based characters and female martial characters, dunno why.

In Mass Effect 1+2 I had a female Shephard, mostly because I played 15 mins as male Shephard and was turned off by the bland voice acting :/

So yeah, I think RPing either gender is cool. I did play a female sylph in my last DnD campaign and no-one questioned that at all, maybe watching so much anime where the most dangerous person is always the quit little girl?

 

[spartan231490]

I had a bit of a debate with one of my RPG friends a while back.

Eight of the nine D&D characters that I've built are female, and the current Shadowrun character I run is a female. During one D&D session, he told me he thought it was weird that I kept building and running female characters mostly because he had to picture me in his head as a woman, be it a half-drow or dragonborn. Something about it creeped him out, but I see it only as building a character that is "different."

Nobody else in the group, including the GM, ever thought this was weird. He was the only one to say anything. He's had his characters make suggestive comments to mine and I never thought it was odd, but he said he'd prefer that I build male characters so he doesn't feel awkward.

I'd like to point out that these characters are never roleplayed as looking for romance. They aren't some innocent helplessly trapped in a moral dilemma or a damsel in distress. Usually they're a headstrong, self-sustaining fighter-type. My Shadowrun character, for example, is a psychopathic gunslinger based on the character of Revy from Black Lagoon. The only way to date her is to buy her a missile launcher.

I thought I'd make a topic about this, as I'm sure it's quite common. My mom made a point of that when she noticed that my Mass Effect, Fallout 3, and Oblivion characters were female and when she asked me why, I couldn't give her a straight answer. I think now I can say I play female characters just to be different. You don't usually expect an adventure to have a female protagonist, so given the choice I side with the ladies. It can really change a game.

And hey, when we have an image in our heads or on the screen it's usually something we want to look at.

Admittedly, I find the number of characters that u play as female a bit odd, but there isn't anything wrong with it.

 

[The Apothecarry]

And hey, when we have an image in our heads or on the screen it's usually something we want to look at.

Why does every guy have to pull this bloody line out when this topic comes up? >_>

Anyway, as far as the topic goes, I don't see anything odd about it at all. Personally though, I don't do it. I have tried many times to play as a guy in games where I have a choice, and every single time it just fails for me and I have to go back to my female characters. It has alot to do with my mind itself, and goes a bit deeper than mere personal preference. With that said, I still can play games, even RPG's, even if I am forced to play as a male, and in some recent games (Assassin's Creed II, Deus Ex) I can actually end up really liking the main character.

Because we want to assert the fact that we aren't homosexual for wanting to play a female character.

At least, that's my guess.

I think that was what was crossing my mind when I typed that. That and "LOL I'M FUNNY."

 

[The Apothecarry]

I had a bit of a debate with one of my RPG friends a while back.

Eight of the nine D&D characters that I've built are female, and the current Shadowrun character I run is a female. During one D&D session, he told me he thought it was weird that I kept building and running female characters mostly because he had to picture me in his head as a woman, be it a half-drow or dragonborn. Something about it creeped him out, but I see it only as building a character that is "different."

Nobody else in the group, including the GM, ever thought this was weird. He was the only one to say anything. He's had his characters make suggestive comments to mine and I never thought it was odd, but he said he'd prefer that I build male characters so he doesn't feel awkward.

I'd like to point out that these characters are never roleplayed as looking for romance. They aren't some innocent helplessly trapped in a moral dilemma or a damsel in distress. Usually they're a headstrong, self-sustaining fighter-type. My Shadowrun character, for example, is a psychopathic gunslinger based on the character of Revy from Black Lagoon. The only way to date her is to buy her a missile launcher.

I thought I'd make a topic about this, as I'm sure it's quite common. My mom made a point of that when she noticed that my Mass Effect, Fallout 3, and Oblivion characters were female and when she asked me why, I couldn't give her a straight answer. I think now I can say I play female characters just to be different. You don't usually expect an adventure to have a female protagonist, so given the choice I side with the ladies. It can really change a game.

And hey, when we have an image in our heads or on the screen it's usually something we want to look at.

Admittedly, I find the number of characters that u play as female a bit odd, but there isn't anything wrong with it.

Similar to what he said, but he seemed to infer that I was not right in the head. I will say that my best character was male (if that means anything to anyone).

 

[Yureina]

No, it's perfectly fine. I don't roleplay characters designed to look pretty. My head does that for me. The only reason the sheet says "Charisma = 18" is because the character is usually using a class that utilizes Charisma.

I think that line was more directed at males who play as females in video games. For tabletops, everyone has a different image of one's character. I know that my Shadowrun character is supposed to resemble Revy, but I don't know what goes through other players' heads (and I'm thankful I don't).

And there's nothing wrong with Charisma characters (Though i've never played DnD. I figure that just means you like to handle situations with words rather than violence. I know I do that in some games myself, like Fallout. :3)

Also, why wouldn't you want to know what goes through your character's heads? Wouldn't that help you roleplay them better?

Because we want to assert the fact that we aren't homosexual for wanting to play a female character.

At least, that's my guess.

Not sure how playing a female character in a game could possibly translate into homosexuality, but... okay.

 

[Wierdguy]

Man, woman, orc, galactic monstrosity... whats the difference really?

Also:

In Mass Effect 1+2 I had a female Shephard, mostly because I played 15 mins as male Shephard and was turned off by the bland voice acting :/

So much this - if there was one thing I really hated about the ME games it was male Shepards voice acting - Mark Meer should be fired for that one.