Poll: Why do you play as opposite gender characters?

[laol1999]

i guess that is your looking at an ass for the entire game it should be a nice ass

 

[laol1999]

i guess that is your looking at an ass for the entire game it should be a nice ass

I hate when people give that response.
It ALWAYS sounds like a worn out excuse.

well it really is
but if you are looking at a guys anatomy or a girls atatomy, what would you rather see

 

[Haunted Serenity]

I usually play as male because thats what I am and I enjoy me. But i will admit unless I'm in some kick ass heavy armour which you can't tell gender, the female body is much easier on the eyes. See Chinese stealth armour female character.

 

[Haunted Serenity]

To be honest, I play women in games more or less out of habit nowadays.
There used to be a time when female protagonists were few and far between in games and I would buy a game solely to play the girl (Pokemon Crystal, FFX-2, Rumble Roses). I often choose the girl my first playthrough in game (KOTOR1/2, Mass Effect1/2, Fallout 3, Oblivion) or choose female characters more often when there is a selection of characters to choose from (Dead or Alive series, Lego Batman). I suppose you could make the argument that I'm still choosing female characters for the option due to the majority of games still featuring male protagonists... in spite of how dickish Acti-Bliz's supposed comments about female protagonists were, I notice that the majority of games I own or have played recently either feature only male characters or only include playable female characters if there are also playable males.

Sometimes I'll pick male characters for the option of trying something new, since I usually pick females. I suppose you could also argue that I don't like how my gender is presented. More often than not, we're shown as muscle-bound macho jerks and who the hell would WANT to play that? And when we're not that, we're over-sensitive borderline emo whiners or something else distasteful. Women on the otherhand, can pretty much be anything in games- at least ones that have the good sense to cast them as anything beyond the stereotypical "naughty villainess" or token love interest for the macho jerk.

Or the males are mute and you get to make up words for them.
"I've fought mud crabs fircer than you"
"where were you? Greenmead cave"
Although the females are also mute in that game. Manly dark elf female grunts though.

EDIT: Damn double post.

 

[Hristo Petrov]

Well if I'm going to spend a large amount of time looking at an ass while running up and down the game world I'd prefer it t be a female's ass

 

[Senare]

At least all the first three options.

Whenever there's customization to be had, I can generally make them cooler than their male counterparts. If there are any differences in the way the game treats you I get have fun with the different perspective. I have also played enough male leads to become, quite frankly, bored of them.

 

[ImperialSunlight]

Well the sex appeal is out the window seeing as i'm ...not into girls...
I like playing as women in fighting games simply because they have they're own movesets and abilities, wich are usually more on the agile, deadly side, rather than the showoffy frat boy side. In rpgs and similar games I always choose a male character when possible however.

 

[imaloony]

Mixed.

Firstly, I like variety. Why wouldn't I play as a female character? I get sick of watching a male ass bounce up and down in front of my face for hours on end. It's fun to play the other side once an a while. It's like asking someone why they would play good and evil. To see both sides.

Also, I'm an amateur writer, and I've actually created quite a few BA female characters that I like to create in game and use to kick ass.

 

[PauL o_O]

I always make a customizable character look as much as me as possible. I like to pretend that the bad assery done by the character is me :3

 

[fullbleed]

Because they're pretty but also because in the case of Mass Effect I've heard the voice work is better when you play as a female and frankly I agree, plus you get tired of all these gruff gargle with nails macho voices.

 

[Krantos]

My primary reason is that there are very few games that feature a female protagonist. That being said, it is generally the case that changing the main character's gender gives the experience a decidedly different feel.

I absolutely love FemShep. There are way to many games that feature a tough grizzled male protagonist, and far too few that feature a tough as nails female that doesn't ooze sexuality. I also love Jen Mui from the first Mercenaries game for the same reasons.

 

[peduncle]

if i'm going to stare at my character wiggling its ass at me for the next 40 hours while it runs, i at least want it to be a woman's

 

[wadark]

You mean despite the breasts?

Har har. Anyway in all seriousness, I'm big into RP on World of Warcraft now, so it is rather interesting to play and try to get into the mindset of a female character.

The other reason is that females are more attractive to look at for long periods of time. I don't mean that in a simple "girls are pretty" sort of way. But that most of the male character models are like body building neanderthals. The only race that this doesn't bother me is the Draenei, but the females are still more attractive to look at (even if they have the most preposterous back posture).

 

[Optimystic]

Other: when they have better voice actors (e.g. Jennifer Hale, Mass Effect) or animations (Human Females, WoW.)

 

[Karousawai]

TBH it depends on the game and how the female character model is designed. For example I wouldn't play a RACASTEAL (female android ranger) in Phantasy Star as I just don't like the look of the model, but I play a female undead in WoW cos I like the forsaken I've written background for her for the WoW RPG and shes a fun, interesting character. In the same vein I always go out of the way to have a female Inquisitor character in my warband somewhere as theres a lot of open space for characterisation. The 41st Millenium is already a giant sausage fest so I do what I can.

In short, a cool female character and I'm sold. Gender doesn't bother me as long as they're an interesting protagonist.

 

[gellert1984]

Long ago I played a game called fallout, some of you may remember it, it started with a cave full of rats, I created two male characters and had a great deal of difficulty defeating the rats and never survived to leave the cave. My first female character walked right through the came barely slowing down to kill rats and I dont think she actually died until I encountering rocket launcher touting super mutants.

I have better luck with female characters in almost every game I play.

 

[Sarcasm Spasm]

Ill play a female character if they are the actual character of the story
but if i have a choice between a male and female character i usually choose male
usually because i envision myself as the character

 

[Serenegoose]

I don't typically want play as the opposite gender (guy) in games, because I find that it's a little tougher for me to identify with them - in RPGs, I always want a character I can identify with, at least for the first playthrough. However, in most other games, male is the default and only option, so I guess you could say "I play as opposite gender characters because I have no other choice."