Transgender gamers?

[LordOmnit]

Coming from a male whom identifies himself as exclusively heterosexual:
1) Yes - I find the female avatars more visually appealing (taking into account no sexual orientation matters there) and most frequently I work better with their styles of play
2) I haven't encountered one, but I wouldn't be surprised if they were out there (there's lots of stuff out there)
3) Yes - Soul Caliber III character creation stuffs and maybe one or two other things
4) Nope, never
5) Nope, wouldn't consider it

Although a bit late, this is a rather interesting place to put such a thing, but I hope your paper goes well.

 

[PurpleRain]

Why are we even attracted to breasts?! I mean in an animal way? They're great and all, but I have no idea why. The bigger they are the more healthy the female is?!

Onto question time:

1. For some reason i thought of Virtua Fighter 5 in this one. Two main reasons I play as Sarah in VF5. No1, I'm the best with her. She's the only character I can kick your arse with and wear it as a hat. No2, she's soooo hot! Plus when you win she sometimes kicks her leg in the air and you can see her undies... gold moment.

2. I usually play men in serious games to start with such as Mass Effect then move onto women secondly. Usually I don't care unless it effects the gameplay. Like woman are faster and men are bulkier. I usually go with fast cause I generally hate fighting someone who handles like a tank.

3. Again with Virtua Fighter 5; make Sarah pretty by dressing her up. So far I have a hot vampire bikie looking chick, and bright angel girl and a vampire looking girl but in black robs instead of leather bikie looking suit. Tasty. Wow I'm sovinistic.

4. Is there these kinds of games? I'm assuming hentia but generally don't touch that.

5. Cybersex for money?! Tell me how to sucker people like that and I'll do it. No for the cybersex part but for the easy $$$.

 

[CyberSkull]

1. All the time. I prefer to play as female characters mainly because I am male and I prefer looking at female characters. I play video games to do things I can't do in real life.

2. I can't think of any. While I prefer female characters, stats are the driving force. I wanna win. (^^)

3. Yes. I have for both genders in various games.

4. No & no.

5. No. I was liberal with /flirt in WoW (again as a female avatar).

 

[Girlysprite]

I'm female

1. I do it a lot now (playing males), especially in multiplayer games. In single player I don't care really. I like to play sadistic-sarcastic types, and no giggle shall pass my lips, only smirks.

2. Nope.

3. In some games, deeper roleplaying games, I have some clothing sets for several occasions. And in WoW I refused to wear better armor once because it looked so utterly stupid.

4. Not with a female in lead.

5. No. I don't play females anymore anyways.

 

[werepossum]

1. Yes, in Unreal Tournament I played a female character for awhile. It was a rather beefy woman with huge boobs that bobbed when she ran or was killed. And yes, it was freakin' hilarious.

2. No, but then I try to avoid games other than first person so gender is not an issue.

3. No. Clothing bores me in real life; virtual clothing would bore me in VR and in RL.

4. No. While I enjoy sadomasochism as much as the average bear, I can't imagine a game where I would find it interesting.

5. No. I can't imagine finding it interesting, and I would consider it to be cheating on my wife.

That's interesting about gay men and breasts. I've only had one good friend who was gay, but he enjoyed looking at women in general and breasts in particular. Although he was 100% gay, he did admit that women are more beautiful and more interesting to look at. I had assumed he was an aberation, but perhaps not.

Also, someone (my grandson I think) told me about a friend that played online (I've long since forgotten the game) as a woman, with a topless modded skin. Most males would stop to look before shooting, giving him an edge and a brief window to shoot first.

 

[Quistnix]

1. Have you ever played a character not of your gender when given a choice in the matter? If yes, please give specifics about your reasons for doing so.

Yes, for diversity. For example, the first time I played Knights of the Old Republic, I played a good male. The second time through I decided to go for the opposite, so I went for an evil female. In Oblivion I quite often played as a female, because the male characters mostly look like shit. In beat 'em ups I prefer the quick and agile character, and most of the time it's female.

2. Are there games in which you wouldn't choose to play a character of the opposite gender? If yes, which games and why?

No, at least none that I can think of.

3. Have you ever spent time unlocking game clothing articles to make your character look different when you didn't have to?(i.e. go out of your way) Give specifics.

Yes, I care about how I look, both in real life and virtually. In Oblivion, I installed clothing mods and saved up money to afford it. In Fable I searched for the best tattoos and hairstyles. I'm never aiming for the "sexy" look, neither in males or females, but just for nice-looking or stylish.

4. Have you ever played a game featuring; Rape or S&M, where the main character was female. If yes give reasons for doing so.

No. Would I? Maybe, in case of S&M if the game was good. People close to me have to much experience with rape (as victim) for me to see it as anything I'd like to encounter in a game.

5. Have you ever had "cybersex" for money, or to gain favor under the guise of a woman? Again give specifics.
No

Why are we even attracted to breasts?! I mean in an animal way? They're great and all, but I have no idea why. The bigger they are the more healthy the female is?!
It shows she'll be capable of feeding the offspring. Ironically, nowadays most men who are just looking for big breasts aren't the ones who actually want to be a parent.

 

[Meshakhad_v1legacy]

1. Yes. In many RPGs, when I create a character, I consider whether the concept works better as male or female.
2. Not really. Most MMOs, I play male, solely because I am male, and it avoids confusion.
3. No, though I might do so once ambulation comes out in EVE. I already have described his costume. I just hope I get to customize insignia. And add a dress sword...
4. Nope.
5. Never even considered cybering, period.

 

[LR]

Straight as a ruler girl!


1. Yes, I have. I find the male characters to be more well developed than the female ones, who are normally the most gross walking stereotypes of the gender ever. Not that I'm offended by it, I hate most women in general anyway. The male characters have the better character designs, and the costumes for males aren't all fanservice, big breasts and black thong underwear peeking over the hem of a stereotypically low-rise pair of blue jeans. I will though, give credit to many games for making the female characters believable. A good example of my thought process is between Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life and Another Wonderful Life. I prefer the one with the male main character over the female one because in playing the male I know what the female characters want; this applies a lot to the aforementioned reasoning for males over females.

2. I don't think there would be. If playing either gender got me something different out of the game, I'd certainly play through as both.

3. Being a woman, I enjoy a high level of customization in my video games. Hence why I enjoy games like The Sims and such. If the clothing item will create a visible difference on the character I'm putting it on, ie if the character is wearing a black shirt and I change them into a white shirt with a star on it, the avatar changes to have that same shirt, I like to try and collect as many clothing items as I can. If one article gives better stats over another, however, I will most certainly go with that.

4. No, I haven't. But they're not something I would be against. SH2 was pretty much the closest I've gotten.

5. I wouldn't need to wear a guise, and no, I have not. Not because I find it immoral or anything, hell, it's just like an erotica novel written by two people ((if either are any good)), but because I simply don't want to and no one on the internet can dictate their writing like I prefer, so I'm a picky SOL *****. :3

Think of more questions.

 

[werepossum]

Why are we even attracted to breasts?! I mean in an animal way? They're great and all, but I have no idea why. The bigger they are the more healthy the female is?!
It shows she'll be capable of feeding the offspring. Ironically, nowadays most men who are just looking for big breasts aren't the ones who actually want to be a parent.

Screw the offspring, what about ME? And it's not just big breasts, it's pretty much all breasts. (That women can be sexy with breasts of less than head size is something fantasy artists have yet to figure out. If you can't paint a drop-dead sexy A-cup, you're not much of an artist and should stick to fruit and landscapes.) About the only unattractive breasts I've ever seen are Tonya Harding's, some grossly fat chicks, and transexuals'.

To paraphrase Ben Franklin's statement about beer - Breasts are proof G-d loves us and wants us to be happy.

 

[ReLiC71]

Gay guy here

1. Have you ever played a character not of your gender when given a choice in the matter? If yes, please give specifics about your reasons for doing so.

Loads of times. I virtually always play females when it comes to archer characters in RPGs, for which I blame Diablo. I spent so long playing my rogue (which were female only) in that that I nowadays find it difficult to identify with a male bowman.

I probably split my characters about 50/50, on the whole. I like a variety, and I also like to see if they get different career paths/conversation choices/etc.

2. Are there games in which you wouldn't choose to play a character of the opposite gender? If yes, which games and why?

Nope.

3. Have you ever spent time unlocking game clothing articles to make your character look different when you didn't have to?(i.e. go out of your way) Give specifics.

Yeah, I can be a bit of a completist when it comes to that kind of thing. It's nothing to do with making my character look a particular way. I just hate feeling that I might be missing something. I'm currently buying all the outfits in Guitar Hero III.

4. Have you ever played a game featuring; Rape or S&M, where the main character was female. If yes give reasons for doing so.

I wouldn't avoid a game because of rape or SM themed scenes, but I wouldn't necessarily search them out.

A very long time ago, there was a Harlan Ellison game called I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream which featured a (virtual reality/forced memory) rape scene. It was quite harrowing, even though nothing happened on screen, but it really dragged me in and made me feel for the character involved.

If it was gratuitous, I might have more of a problem with it, but as long as it's integral to the storyline, then bring it on. I'm more likely to shy away from cruelty to animals in a videogame than anything happening to humans.

5. Have you ever had "cybersex" for money, or to gain favor under the guise of a woman? Again give specifics.

No. I have no desire to get my jollies from having someone believe I'm a woman.

 

[Dectilon]

1. In RPGs like Kotor I usually try both. Partly because since I want to try both a good and evil path I might as well see what the differences is between male a female too (there's always something), but I guess also because I find it interesting in worlds like Forgotten Realms that since stats are all that matters women are as strong and fast as men. The one unbridgable crag between men and women is bridged in stats-based games. I just sort of like the idea ^^

2. Not really, no.

3. Well... not... exactly. I did unlock almost everything in Soul Calibur 3 though, but I've already finished the campaign and the character creator was a little too limited for me to bother with : /

4. No. Although I think there was some of that going on in that strategic rpg game I talked about in one of the other threads.

5. Nope. I'm pathetic enough as it is, thank you!

 

[tiredinnuendo]

1. Have you ever played a character not of your gender when given a choice in the matter?
In a few games, but rarely on the first playthrough. I tend to play as a guy generally, not because I have a problem with playing as a girl, but I generally don't see the point. The exception to this is fighting games, where I tend to play as girls a lot because they're faster.

2. Are there games in which you wouldn't choose to play a character of the opposite gender?
There have been a few beat-em ups where the women were so pathetically underpowered that no amount of speed made up for it, so I didn't play them. But that's not about gender really.

3. Have you ever spent time unlocking game clothing articles to make your character look different when you didn't have to?(i.e. go out of your way) Give specifics.
In Super Animal Wars you have to beat Time Attack fairly quickly to unlock Alice's school-girl costume. I worked on that for a little while. (Alice was the best one)

4. Have you ever played a game featuring; Rape or S&M, where the main character was female. If yes give reasons for doing so.
Not really.

5. Have you ever had "cybersex" for money, or to gain favor under the guise of a woman? Again give specifics.
The closest I've come to this is watching a buddy of mine have his female night elf get drunk and table dance for money.

- J

 

[lokust2001]

1. Have you ever played a character not of your gender when given a choice in the matter? If yes, please give specifics about your reasons for doing so.

I usually play as a guy because i try and get my character to emulate my real life persona as much as possible. Kind of placing the real me in a fantasy situation rather than being someone else.

2. Are there games in which you wouldn't choose to play a character of the opposite gender? If yes, which games and why?

Most, for the reasons above.

3. Have you ever spent time unlocking game clothing articles to make your character look different when you didn't have to?(i.e. go out of your way) Give specifics.

In skate i tend to try and unlock the clothes that I'd wear in real life. Same for most games with customisable characters.


4. Have you ever played a game featuring; Rape or S&M, where the main character was female. If yes give reasons for doing so.

Nope, i couldn't even name any games where that's possible.

5. Have you ever had "cybersex" for money, or to gain favor under the guise of a woman? Again give specifics.

No, it seems rather tragic.

 

[Mstrswrd]

1. (I'm a guy). Yes, I have played a character not of my gender. I do so to either; A: Het the full story line; B: Get a different gaming experience (Usually the female character has a different skill set from the male); or C: to artificially extend gameplay (same storyline, abiltities, just a different character. Fine. I'm a completist.)

2. Not that I am aware of.

3.Yes, I have, but only because I am a completist, I almost never use them (the only exception to this rule is No More Heroes, because wearing all black is much cooler then the red ensamble from the beginning.)

4. Probably, but I can't remember. Actually, I know I have, but the name escapes me. Sorry. Edit: The game is Fear Effect, for the PS1.

5. No.

 

[Fire Daemon]

1. Not that often. I don't play much games that give you the option to play as a female, FPS' mostly. I don't mind playing as girls in games however. The game feels differant then playing as a guy, maybe because by playing as someone of a different gender your taken from your life to a further extent. But usually I play as a male the first time through the game,

2. Yes and no. Violent Games I'd have to say no. I just think an image of a women (and men but to a lesser extent) being killed in gruesome ways is wrong. I'd play as a women in anyother game though if I could be bothered beating it again or for some reason didn't want to play as a male.

3. Nothing major. The largest amount of time I've spent trying to unlock clothing would be in fable. And that was around 5 minutes.

4. No. Not my cup of tea.

5. No I don't play MMO's or games that allow for you to have sex.

 

[GTXanatos13]

1. Have you ever played a character not of your gender when given a choice in the matter? If yes, please give specifics about your reasons for doing so.
Yes, when I used to play world of warcraft, my main character was a female blood elf warlock. It occurred to me that if I was going to watch the character walking around for ages, I might as well have something fun to watch. In the super smash brothers series, my favourite characters have been samus in the first one and Zelda/Sheik in the second. This choice is based purely on proficiency with those characters. In other RPGS, such as the ones from bioware, (KotOR and NWN), I pick female characters if I feel compelled to explore alternate plotlines.

2. Are there games in which you wouldn't choose to play a character of the opposite gender? If yes, which games and why?
Yes, mostly fighters, again simply because I might be better with a male character. Since the only two fighters I play are the Super Smash Brothers and Mortal Kombat Series, and I already stated I've played girls in Smash, I usually play Sub-Zero in MK, simply because he's my best character.

3. Have you ever spent time unlocking game clothing articles to make your character look different when you didn't have to?(i.e. go out of your way) Give specifics.
In Dynasty Warriors 5, I felt compelled to unlock every last damn thing in that game, including costumes. The female costumes usually weren't much more attractive, but the male ones got pretty badass. I don't know how far I've had to go in games based on marvel comics, but I've always tried to get the classic costumes as opposed to some of the really dumb modern ones.

4. Have you ever played a game featuring; Rape or S&M, where the main character was female. If yes give reasons for doing so.
I did not know such games existed.

5. Have you ever had "cybersex" for money, or to gain favor under the guise of a woman? Again give specifics.
I have not had cybersex, but I have used a feminine guise to achieve a purpose in World of Warcraft. I was in an instance (don't remember which one), and our Tank was a moron and a homophobe. His was the only male character in the party, so I let slip the possibility that at least one of us was male, and he freaked out and left the party. We needed a better tank, and if nothing else it was quite amusing.

 

[GoddamnitReddas]

(female)

1. Have you ever played a character not of your gender when given a choice in the matter? If yes, please give specifics about your reasons for doing so.
Yes, but not because of any gender-related issues. Probably just because I liked the character more.

2. Are there games in which you wouldn't choose to play a character of the opposite gender? If yes, which games and why?
There arn't, again, because I wouldn't give two shits about playing a character based on their gender - I'd play them just because I like them or I'm good with them.

3. Have you ever spent time unlocking game clothing articles to make your character look different when you didn't have to?(i.e. go out of your way) Give specifics.
No, not really, no.

4. Have you ever played a game featuring; Rape or S&M, where the main character was female. If yes give reasons for doing so.
No.

5. Have you ever had "cybersex" for money, or to gain favor under the guise of a woman? Again give specifics.
What? No. What the fuck?