Research on MMORPG players and their characters

[Doom972]

I'm conducting a research for my bachelor's degree in information science about MMORPG players and their characters. If you can spare the time, please visit the following link and answer this short questionnaire:

http://www.eSurveysPro.com/Survey.aspx?id=87817d00-c503-452d-9130-4b0bb41809f0 [http://www.eSurveysPro.com/Survey.aspx?id=87817d00-c503-452d-9130-4b0bb41809f0]

The topic of discussion: Why did you pick make the character(s) that you have? Why did you pick that gender/race/class? Why do you think others pick theirs?

 

[GoldenEye]

When I play a customized character I usually play it as a version of me, because the element of identifying with my character is importent to me. So Visually wise it looks pretty much like me, maybe with minor changes (usually different eye colour).
The class choice depends on the game, but I tend most of the time towards the rogue type classes. I guess I find this class the most varied since I have the options to fight, sneak and solve problems via conversations.

 

[Thyunda]

I have something of an anger problem when playing MMOs, but only if I'm playing as Doctor Grimm. Any other character and the rage just doesn't awaken. This applies to both Guild Wars 2 and The Secret World...as Thyunda it just isn't there. It's really quite strange...the anger's real but only on one name.

 

[RaphaelsRedemption]

I used to play a female Gnome Frost Mage in WOW. I'm a girl. I liked the gnome, because it was female without being overly sexy. I chose mage, simply because I like the simplicity of a DPS class- tanks and healers have too much responsibility for me, as in dungeons I can crumble under expectations.

I guess as a general rule, I like to create female characters. I also prefer them to not be overly sexualised, though I really like chubby or cute appearances. I usually choose a ranged or casting class because I enjoy the playstyle. While I don't role play to the extent that I speak/interact/make choices as my character might, I do like my character's appearance to match some of my own characteristics - colourful, quirky and fun. I guess for me, my character is a reflection of me, and not a fictional personality. I don't create another persona, and I don't like to idealise my character in appearance or any other way (hence my dislike for over sexualised female avatars).

I can see that some people would play another gender or an idealised character as wish fufilment or something like that, but that has never appealed to me. Hope that helps!

 

[Tayh]

Interesting questions, but the pre-defined answers are... Odd. You really need a "Don't know/care." answer.
"Q. I prefer communicating with characters of the opposite gender."
^^This question, in particular, needs a "Wtf does the gender of another character matter."

 

[Auron]

We all put a bit of us in our characters consciously or not. The questions were mostly gender related, no? I always tend to play offensive spellcasters or paladin-like hybrids when I can, not a fan of full-on warrior or archers. In more modern scenarios I tend to like rogues and secret agents and in hero games I like Batman like gadget and intelligence based characters. That's both for mmo's and real RPG but I like to break the routine and play something different from time to time.

About gender I never pick opposite gender, I see no reason to make my avatar a female, it's my representation in that world and I never understood why people do it. Funnily enough my girlfriend agrees and I have heard similar stuff from women in the Escapist as well, I believe we relate a lot less when we're playing opposite gender characters and we all need a minimum of relation to characters we play. Then again mmo characters rarely have personality or dialogue.

 

[Candidus]

I always make characters of the opposite sex.

I have some innate animosity toward other men. I had no childhood heroes of either sex. I don't celebrate the virtues of other men. I don't want to be like anybody else. I don't have an ideal version of myself in mind that differs from me in reality. I don't want to inhabit my avatar. Admiration, emulation and self-insertion are OUT as motives for making a character.

So, I make characters that I'm attracted to. I clothe them as I want, and occasionally pan the camera around to appreciate them while idle.

Occasionally I communicate with others as my character, and pose as a woman. I have a female sibling who frequently stays here and has helped me with the ruse by communicating for me when prompted in ventrilo. This often allows me to extract things from male players.

For example, I hid from an invader in Dark Souls (not an MMO, but the freshest memory of this behaviour I have) and opened communication via GFWL. Long story short, I invited him into ventrilo, and my sibling spoke to him for a minute; he finished up handing over a +5 Lightning Axe and +10 Hollow Shield. Which I promptly killed him with.

The above being said, I usually don't communicate at all. It takes a prompt, like being invaded or invited to a raid or what-have-you. Then I decide on my persona based on what I think I can get, and whether or not my sibling is available.

 

[Luca72]

I like "utility" classes - roles with a ton of options, like stuns, evades, whatever. I prefer characters that can move quickly, even if it hinders defense. In fact, the only class I didn't play past level 10 in WoW was Warrior for this reason.

But the questions were more about how you select an avatar and what gender you pick. Well, I'm a guy, and I almost always choose a male character first. And I suppose I make it look like me when that's an option. But if I have a choice I will always go with some kind of "monster" race - Argonians/Khajit in Elder Scrolls, Trolls and Undead in WoW, etc. I don't know what that is. I find playing a human to be painfully boring.

But after a while I want to experiment with other classes, so I'll usually make characters that follow a "theme" that's interesting to me. This is when I'll make a female character if there seems to be a cool story behind it (like a female Paladin in WoW). Even when I'm making themed characters where I come up with a story for them, that never alters the way I interact with other players. I'm just me when I talk to other people online. It seems silly to try to think "how would my character act" as opposed to engaging naturally.

 

[Fluffythepoo]

In wow i initially picked tauren males because they were the largest and weapons scaled up in size based on race, and tauren males were bigger than females, making tauren males the largest playbale unit in the game (still are).. so pretty weapons were prettiest on taurens, (also Tauren chieftain was my favorite hero in WC3) Everyone other mmo i pick the smallest or most ridiculous race, because they usually have the funniest/best written backgrounds.

And i know alot of pvpers use gnomes or goblins because theyre the smallest hitbox/hardest to click on/hardest to figure out what theyre wearing (which used to be important in upper level pvp) for their respective factions. Or certain racials are far too good to pass up for some classes.

But i never actually role play in mmorpg, so characters are chosen based on aesthetics/utility. Also id never pick aesthetics over utility.

 

[Atlys]

When I first start playing an MMO, my first character is always going to be a male human. I try to make myself in the game as close as possible (well, apart from being fat). That way I can be sucked into the game. I am always on a quest for immersion in MMORPGs, and it helps to have a character that looks similar to myself. I also always pick a paladin-like character because they are usually the most self-sufficient. I play MMOs almost like single-player games, so I want to be able to go as far as I can without asking for help. Also, I always choose the good path. I like making people, even NPCs, feel good in the game, so the path of righteousness is for me.

When playing these kind of games I don't roleplay with other players (usually. I did roleplay in Furcadia when I was in middle school, but I don't go back to those days) but I do roleplay with NPCs if they have interesting things to say. I love characters that feel like they are real people, or at least are fleshed out enough to have stories behind them. Recently I started playing Everquest 2 and those characters are amazing to talk to. Most of them have interesting things to talk about.

As for why others pick theirs, there is a variety of reasons why people pick certain traits for their characters. There is always a small percentage who are like "@*&$ it" and just go with whatever, or pick something different every time. But I imagine that a good bit of characters are projections of their players. Either they are made to look and act similar to the player, or they are the complete opposite just to shake gameplay up a bit. Everyone makes their characters the way they are for different reasons.

 

[V da Mighty Taco]

Well, I never play MMO's so I can't really say. I'd probably play as a female though, knowing me and my penchant for playing as the perceived underdog of a group and females are typically the least played characters. You can go ahead and call me a hipster now.

 

[DanielBrown]

Argh, three yes, one no and no neither options?
Well, did my best.

OT: I prefer manly races, so elves or gnomes have never been an option for me. Tried them, but didn't like it.
Played MMO's for probably eight years, I never roleplay and always play as a male. When customizing them the most important part is the hair, which I want as long as possible... not many games have satisfying long hair options for male characters however. If body type is an option I'll go for the tallest with a muscular kind. If they look like steroid freaks I'll take it down a notch however. Face types doesn't matter to me as much as facial hair(another thing many games are bad on delivering), which I prefer to have at least a goatee of.

Why I choose these option are fairly obvious as I myself am a tall man with waist long hair and a naturally muscular build. Think most people base their decisions on making a cooler version of themselves. Never really cared about others character models, but I remember playing Diablo II with some old man when I was a kid. He played the amazon and said it was his main because of the sweet ass. I assume that's why many guys play as female characters... as well as having other people being nice to them because they think it's a sexy girl gamer behind the keyboard.

As for classes I tend to play them all. I'm an altoholic who constantly needs to have some character to level. When raiding or doing larger group activities I stick with support/healer classes though. It first started in WoW when I got sick of queueing as dps, so I went healer instead.
Noticed I didn't have to do much work and could relax instead of battling with the dps meters and started loving it. Today my main is a captain in LOTRO, whose main job is buffing and off healing. It's amazing since I make a huge difference if I'm focused, but if I'm not no one will notice.
I generally avoid tank classes since it's too much responsibility and perfection involved.

 

[Doom972]

Interesting questions, but the pre-defined answers are... Odd. You really need a "Don't know/care." answer.
"Q. I prefer communicating with characters of the opposite gender."
^^This question, in particular, needs a "Wtf does the gender of another character matter."

The reason that there isn't a don't know/care answer is because too many people might pick those. That's why I asked to pick the answer that's closest to your own. People are rarely completely neutral about a subject, and would pick one side over the other when not given a choice to stay neutral.

As for that question, it matters for the research. I'll be glad to say more about it once I'm finished collecting data.

 

[Mr F.]

I dunno what I thought about the questionnaire...

Should have had an "Other" option from the start, I know my sister James would not have been able to answer the primary question.

As for the actual questionnaire? Some of the questions seemed to just be proposed twice, from opposite sides.

I found it odd.

I cannot remember the genders of the characters people play. I am just an Undead priest. People call me Tequi. Thats about it. Most of the guys I play with are just that, Guys. You can tell from the voice chat. But I have no preference either way as to playing with guys or girls and shit like that. IDGAF really.

 

[morrie man]

I find that in any MMO that I play my character always resembles me as much as he can, also is the same gender, I thinks it always cooler to have my character look like me and makes me feel more into the game. I usually try to match there abilities with what I am good at in real life you know like shooting laser guns and flying space ships. I do really try to match my abilities or things I am good at but sometimes you wanna try other things out just cause you can and it looks fun.

I would also have to agree with #Mr.F as the questionnaire could have been worded better in my opinion and there could have been more variety in questions for example, types of weapons you prefer or abilities.

 

[morrie man]

I find that in any MMO that I play my character always resembles me as much as he can, also is the same gender, I thinks it always cooler to have my character look like me and makes me feel more into the game. I usually try to match there abilities with what I am good at in real life you know like shooting laser guns and flying space ships. I do really try to match my abilities or things I am good at but sometimes you wanna try other things out just cause you can and it looks fun.

I would also have to agree with #Mr.F as the questionnaire could have been worded better in my opinion and there could have been more variety in questions for example, types of weapons you prefer or abilities.

 

[Colt47]

Questionnaire needs an option for "don't really know". I play a character in MMOs, but I don't self project onto it like a lot of people seem to do. I've played both a female character in Final Fantasy XI and a male one in World of Warcraft, and never thought once that my characters in-game sex was a major deal. However, it did matter more in World of Warcraft that I picked a male character due to end game raiding and gender confusion during voice chat.

 

[dogenzakaminion]

I found the survey to paint me as some weird sexual deviant because I always play female characters. For me it's simply more fun from a roleplaying perspective. "Why would a woman be a bounty hunter or warrior or whatever?" That's more interesting to me.

 

[Doom972]

I found the survey to paint me as some weird sexual deviant because I always play female characters.

Can you be specific about what made you feel this way?

I don't think that you are a deviant. I tend to play female characters a lot myself. I might be sexually deviant but that's beside the point.