Poll: To Female Players - Does Gender really matter for Single-Player Games with no customization?

[SoranMBane]

In general, I don't care whether the protagonist is male or female as long as they're interesting and likable, but it would certainly be nice if there were more decent female game protagonists out there. It's almost staggering to think about how few games I've played where the protagonist is female by default (Portal, Portal 2, Mirror's Edge, and I suppose Okami if goddesses in wolf form count; that's it), and there's no denying that women haven't exactly gotten a fair shake in games. Sure, we get the occasional kickass chick as a support character, like Alyx in Half-Life 2 or Ellie in Dead Space 2, but playing a game that has an awesome female character doesn't exactly make up for the fact that I'm never playing as an awesome female character. Basically, what I'm trying to say is that, while I don't have a problem playing as a guy, what I do have a problem with is the fact that I'm playing as a guy all the time; it just gets stale after a while. I don't think diversity is too much to ask for.

 

[Korolev]

It doesn't break or make a game, but it would be nice to see more female main characters in video games - SENSIBLE female characters that is, and not ridiculous characters like Ivy from bloody Soul Calibre (no sane warrior would enter battle wearing what amounts to little more than a swimsuit with cuts in it).

 

[Cyclone of Mystery]

I've gotten used to playing as guys, and if it's central to the story that main character be male, then I don't mind at all. Being able to play as a female in Mass Effect was very welcome, however. And I think part of that is the reason why it's one of my top five games.

 

[Xisin]

I picked kind of. I don't think developers need to go out of their way to make characters, but I think they shouldn't go out of the way to avoid women. Variety is the spice of the life after all.

I won't avoid a game because the main character is male. Actually, I'm more likely to go the other way. I couldn't play X-blades(think that's it) because the main character wore dental floss I believe.

 

[Tilted_Logic]

I have no problem playing male characters in single player games, especially when female leads in games these days seem to be overtly sexual and cliché'.

There have definitely been times where I thought 'hey this would be awesome if I could play as a badass female' but it's never stopped me from purchasing a game before.

 

[mental_looney]

I play a girl if there is the option but alot of single player games aren't open world story types with a specific character and their story while mass effect can work with either a male or female protagonist, games like red dead redemption or assassins creed 2 or god of war may not work as well with a female character due to cultural and historical settings.
Part of the fun of some games is being someone totally different and seeing what it would be like, I wouldn't decide not to play a game just because I couldn't go a girl there are so many good games that I wouldn't have played.

 

[swenson]

Doesn't matter to me at all. What matters more is the portrayal of other female characters in the game. As a straight woman, I'm not particularly interested in playing as a male character in a romance with a female character (or a male character in a romance with a male character, or a female character in a romance with a female character), simply because, well, I don't swing that way. I'm still likely to be OK with it if it's handled well, though. What I really, really can't stand is if female NPCs exist purely for breast physics and fanservice. I am entirely not interested in seeing other women's boobs-n-butts stuck in my face, in a game or out of it.

Otherwise, like I say, I don't care much at all. Occasionally I'll choose a male character in a single player game of my own volition without really caring (Mass Effect, for example), and I'm a big player of TF2 who doesn't care in the slightest that none are female. (well... maybe Pyro!)

 

[Tasachan]

God of War just wouldn't be GoW if Kratos was a girl. I'm not being sexist, I'm just saying. Besides. I'm a girl and I enjoyed playing as Kratos. And Dead Space? Resident Evil 4? Two other games I liked playing as a guy. When RE5 came out, I played as Sheva - but would have been just as happy playing as Chris as well.

What pisses me off is that all the female characters in MMORPGS all are so skanky looking. Why do they all wear bikini armour and short skirts? How is that even effective in battle? (Keep in mind I've only logged a few hours here and there.) That gets to me a whole lot more than not being able to choose my gender.

What I really, really can't stand is if female NPCs exist purely for breast physics and fanservice. I am entirely not interested in seeing other women's boobs-n-butts stuck in my face, in a game or out of it.

Another good point. I thought Fran was a sweet character in FFXII, but her cut scenes (overdrives? I forget what they're called) made me uncomfortable.

 

[zeldagirl]

It depends on what you mean by "matter". Will it prevent me from playing a game that otherwise looks interesting to me? No, of course not - denying myself an enjoyable experience just because of a single design choice would be foolish. And not every character should be female. Take LA Noire, for example. Making the protagonist a woman would have completely ruined the story because it would be an absurd idea - a female police detective in the 40s? Unheard of! Same holds true for God of War, really - that simply wouldn't be the same game with a female main character.

But in those cases when the character could be female without any harm to the cohesion or immersion of the game, then I do wish that more developers decided to have a female lead. I don't think for a moment that male players would turn away from a good game simply because they had to play as a girl, so why not make it happen more often than it does?

Basically this. I wouldn't say I don't play games because of the lack of a female option, but rather I'm disappointed at how underrepresented females are. Same goes for other traditionally underrepresented groups. It would be nice to see developers move away from the straight, white male paradigm every now and again.

 

[Saelune]

If the game doesnt advertise customization or is not about it, I have no qualms about being male. No problems in Half-Life 2, or Halo, or all CoD games. Hell, some games that do have customization, Im still playing a male character (My Shepard is male)
But a female character should be standard in any game about customization. (such examples being Dragon Age, Mass Effect, The Elder Scrolls, Brink ((oh wait)))

 

[Vault101]

I know I will be called out for bias (since I am a male, and most games the main character is male) but to female players do gender really matter?

I have seen girls skip God of War becuase you couldn't pick a female Kratos, and even for the Gothic series (rpg, but no customization of looks.)

So how much does it matter for Single-Player Games with no customization?

depends really, if theres no customization then this indicates that that charachter is part of the story, like Kratos and thats fine

I would however be pissed if I had to play mass effect or fallout as a guy

but its not just the gender of the charachter, its a combination of things like I stoped playing kane and lynch after 5 minutes because I was like "I dont give a fuck abotu you assholes or whats going on.."

I mean more female protagonists would be nice, not only in RPG's, its jsut I guess Ill jump at any chance to play as a female because It doesnt come around that often

 

[Vault101]

Gender is part a of character. I don't want a role there simply for the sake of appeasement. If it adds nothing to the game, why waste your time?

Take Male Shep and Female Shep - Gender adds nothing to the game other than your choice of romance. It's a useless tack on. The world interacts with you in completely the same way.
It shouldn't.

useless tack on? I disagree, there are a few suble differences, and having to play the game as white male protagonist with stuble and short brown hair (WTIH his voice acting)....ick the very Idea is annoying, Im glad they gave you the choice thats one thing I like about bioware games

sure it may only be astheetic but you wouldnt belive how refreshng it is to play as a female who is also voiced, because that doesnt come up often

I mean at some poit ME was "suposed" to be somthign of an RPG

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

Did people really skip God of War because they couldn't pick a female Kratos? I have never heard of such a case.

this.

plus if they were so "woo woo woo, i'm a troll who must be different" there is heavenly sword, which i don't think i heard a male complain one instant about playing a female for that game (i only played it for a bit at a friends which it was decent enough fun.)

if gender matters that damn much to you, then we aren't playing the same games..

plus alot of games do call for a male lead as it is in the way the story is told, so if it did call for a female, then hell yeah bring the game on, but those are few and far inbetween naturally because of the more male attention of the audience.

 

[Vivace-Vivian]

Would I change Nathan Drake into a female? No.
Would I change Spyro into a lady? No.
Would I change Kratos into a girl? No.

Would I like there to be more games with female protagonists? Yes.

Answer your question?

 

[AstylahAthrys]

Though I usually do choose to be a girl when I can, in games where I can't, I really don't care. It's just as easy for me to play as Master Chief or Ezio as it is for me to play a girl.

You know, I don't think I own a game where the non-custom PC is a girl. I play as plenty of girls (Shepard, Hawke, the Gray Warden, any Elder Scrolls protagonist, Sparrow, and the Pokemon hero to name a few), but in a game where you don't choose who you want to be there isn't one. Just goes to show that it doesn't matter (to me at least.)

 

[Farseer Lolotea]

It depends on other factors. If the player is supposed to be a specific, predefined character (see: GoW), that's just how it is.

 

[Chancie]

Nope, gender hardly means a thing to me. If I like the look of the story and the characters seem interesting, I'll pick it up regardless of if I'm playing as a guy or a girl. I'm a girl, and to be honest, I find myself getting more attached to the male characters than female, so most of the time, I prefer a male main character anyways.

 

[Klarinette]

Meh... to be honest, it's not even one of those things I think of. Now that you mention it, though... no, it still doesn't bother me. As per your example, if I were to actually play God of War, I'd be like, "Fuck yeah, I'm so manly right now," as opposed to being angry that I couldn't be a female--and probably incredibly scantily clad--version of Kratos. That said, I haven't played God of War mostly because I don't like games like that *shrug*

Incidentally, one of my favourite old school past-time games, Harvest Moon 64, is one where you play a male and one of your biggest goals is to nab one of the village females. It's still fun.

 

[justnotcricket]

If no-one *ever* made a game with a female protagonist, then yeah, it'd be a little tedious.

Generally speaking, however, the gender of the protagonist is less important than how well that protagonist is constructed and woven into the story. A female Kratos would have made less sense than a male one, if for no other reason than because women don't tend to go about their vengeance in quite the same way as men - if you want to make a hacky-slashy-bombastic-over-the-top-bloodbath game, then a female protagonist doesn't make quite as much sense as a male one.

If the game is an RPG, and especially if it offers customisation, then obviously it's nice to have both gender options, so that you have the greatest flexibility with role-playing.

 

[Alar]

-Is a man- Ever since growing up with Hayao Miyazaki's inspirational films, I've always found female protagonists to be more interesting. Partly because most people don't expect them to be, but also because of the deep inner strength that women seem capable of.

Not all women, mind you. There are plenty of cowards among women, just like men.

...that sounded a bit sexist, I think.