Well, as a guy, I’ve been asked multiple times why I systematically play games female characters in video games, to the point of skipping a game if I’m forced to pay a male one, with a few exceptions (I really liked Albus from Troubleshooters for example). Whenever there’s romance in a game, I’ll also take the F/F route. Yet, I don’t think I fetishize those in general. There’s a thing about not liking most M characters in games, but also something about playing someone really different from who I am. We’ve had an interesting conversation about this with my gf who always plays F characters and woyd never play M.
Although I’m a straight guy, I’ve always more identified to female friends and characters, although I have a few male friends too. So I’m wondering who else does that (playing a character not matching your gender), and if you found your own explanation.
Edit : It’s not really an oversexualization drive for me, I try to play a female character that looks like me, even though I’ve never thought about actually becoming a woman.
Edit 2 : So far, I think we have, hmm…
- Playing someone that differs from one’s irl identity
- Physical Attractivity
- Male character writing and design
- Lara Croft effect
- Lady Dwarf
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If I have to stare at a digital ass, it might as well be a chick’s ass
Why are you staring at the ass and not literally everything else in view?
Because the game designers went out of their way to give the female character model a nice ass.
It’s ok to say you like playing as the opposite gender without fear of anyone thinking you’re gay, you don’t have to objectify women to make a point.
The point is that the difference between 1st person view and 3rd person view matters.
Objectifying? It’s a made up video game character lmao
Yeah, I can make the ass as big as I want.
Pixar, eat your heart out!
I also like to play woman characters in games, tomb raider being my favorite one. And it’s because I don’t like to watch a guy’s ass the whole time! I’m playing Cyberpunk right now and I chose a female character for exactly the same reason.
Cyberpunk’s fem V;s voice acting is also way better than the male one.
Why are you staring at the ass and not literally everything else in view?
It’s right in the center of the screen! There is no way not to look at it.
I disagree, in most 3rd person games I’m hardly ever looking at my character model, but I don’t usually play games with a lot of downtime like MMOs I suppose.
Still though when I’m running around a dungeon in Elden Ring, in not staring at my characters ass, I’m looking at the dungeon/monsters/next thing I’m doing. It’s kind of like a nose, it’s always there and you can see it, but it’s rarely the focus.
In a game like WoW your character is dead center of the screen for hundreds of hours. You didn’t a lot of time looking at your character’s movements
Try playing a game in third person with an invisible character then
I will play either way, hell in long dark Astrid isn’t as grunty as will and that matters a ton
Cishet guy; I play female characters more often than not.
One factor for me is that so many male characters feel… cheesy, like the game assumes I’m hideously insecure in my masculinity and need to be excessively pandered to by making my avatar Muscledick McFireman, and all the ladeeeez will just be aching to jump into my pants when they see my ridiculously huge arms.
It feels like really sad wish-fulfilment fantasy, to the point that it wrecks the immersion; it’s almost getting into AI Girlfriend levels of cringe.
There’s more to it and I haven’t fully worked out all the edges, but that’s a big lump of it.
I mean yes okay I also ferinstance play female dwarves in dragon age because my god Becky, but that’s both minor and very situational.
The women characters are just as cheesy too though. Boobieabs McMakeup
Smol tiddy Gith GF begs to differ :D
9/10 though.
Also cishet dude. I’ve never even thought about why I very slightly prefer playing as a female avatar, but this feels about right to me.
That and Samus Aran, probably.
👍
People look at gender while I’m just trying to see what style fits me in playing. Sometimes it’s male characters and some times they are female.
Same dude. People make a big deal of this shit all the time but it literally does not matter to me.
If the game wants me to create a character I’ll just make a dude like me and spec him out with the stats I want. If there’s preset characters to choose from, I couldn’t care less who they are. If I want to play a necromancer and the only one is an 8ft pink lizard lady that farts rainbows, fuck it, I’m playing an 8ft tall lizard lady necromancer that farts rainbows.
Yeah, but that’s an interesting thing to talk about I think.
My gf always creates characters looking as closely as possible to her. I do the exact opposite. What’s funny is that… she lacks self confidence and I do not. So it’s not about that. I suppose it’s something else that determines us that way. I have an idea, but I wanted others opinions.
Well if you want my opinion, I do it out of sheer laziness. Like I said above, I’m way more into tuning the stats in RPG builds than appearance. Sure, if I need to be a non-human to get a particular buff or ability I want, then I’ll do that. Otherwise, it’s human male, olive skin, short black hair, beard, done.
she lacks self confidence and I do not.
she wants to see herself being the awesome protagonist while you have no problems seeing your own worth so don’t need the enhancement.
Yes, generally if it’s new to me, I don’t have an appreciation of how their individual play styles will match mine, so I’ll default to the malez same as me. However, where I’m familiar with the characters and their game style, I’ll choose what suits the game in the style I like to play.
So for instance, street fighter is chin li for life.
MMORPG = many men online role playing girls
If I’m going to play an MMO watching someone’s ass run from point A to B for 40 hours a week, it’s damn sure gonna be a woman’s ass.
Whether this is the actual reason or simply the most socially acceptable explanation that can be stated is unclear.
You lost me at “to the point of skipping a game”
It’s 1 thing to prefer, it’s another to obsess over it.
I can understand your reaction, but I suppose that as long as I don’t bother people and devs with my preferences, it might be ok.
I mean your preferences don’t affect others directly but it’s definitely a red flag to me as to what kind of person you are. The vibe I get is that you’re somewhat of a misandrist. In this case self harming since you’re a guy.
True or not, that’s what I get from that statement.
I’m not sure that’s true, but I understand how it could lead to this conclusion. My personal stance on the matter would be : do as you please as long as you don’t harm others.
I’m a cis guy and I play primarily female characters. I will play male characters, but I find it fascinating to roleplay as a female character. It’s something I’ll never experience in real life and I find female characters are often more interesting.
IMHO if you’re going to pretend/imagine yourself as the character you’re playing, I feel you might as well do something that isn’t you for the experience. Otherwise, what’s the point of putting yourself in a characters shoes if you just make yourself in that world? I already know how I’d be in any situation…because I’m me. Hell, in RPG games I’ll even sometimes romance male characters, if thats an option(Playing Femshep in Mass Effect, I will often romance Garrus Vakarian, for example).
Then again, I’ll also sometimes explore LGBTQ+ relationships, if they’re offered, playing as either male or female characters, even though I’m not interested in that in real life.
Is it a little weird? Probably, but it also helps me understand what it might be like for other types of people and how to better understand and sympathize with their life struggles and experiences. RPG stands for Role Playing Game, after all.
Cishet guy. Most male protagonists are too brutish. They look dumb. Female protagonists seldom have that issue.
Agreed.
Strong male lead = dumb brute
Strong female lead = badass
Edit: ‘dumb’ being used liberally here
If I have to stare at a butt all day, I would rather it be a female butt.
I mean, yeah, this is basically the reason for me, without the horny part. I don’t experience immersion in third-person games, and I don’t have a strong sense of identity, so I might as well have a character bobbing up and down on screen that I enjoy looking at.
Male. If I can make a character, I’ll make a male character almost every time, especially on a first run. Or if the character is otherwise a placeholder for "me* in the game.
That said, I love when games give us female protagonists that aren’t sexualized (think FF6), and I’d love to see more of that.
So, do I prefer to play as a male character? It depends.
I’d like to see some good takes on “female perspective” in games. But if it’s basically an aesthetic difference, I’m making a character that matches my gender because it’s supposed to be “me” in the game.
Regarding MMOs in particular:
I’ll play male characters when the female model is more sexual than I’m comfortable with, always. The first that comes to mind is WoW where the male models had a lot more ‘character’ to me. If I’m playing an Orc or Worgen I don’t want to look like a green/fury generic female body that has a straight back so you can see the ‘goods’. For EQ I had a mix of Male/Female alts, but did tend towards Male.
I also tend to like the way male armor is modeled over boob-plate.
Single player narrative games will depend on if romance is an option as I’ll tend to play female, otherwise it’ll be a toss-up with consideration to my prior points.
Over the years I’ve found it easier to hide behind a male avatar/username as I’ve gotten some rough interactions over the years and will only join voice if I feel like the people I’m text chatting with are chill. Tried joining a guild recently and got more ‘onlyfans’ jokes than I was comfortable with, and I’m sure someone will say that’s my fault for being irked by it, but that’s why I take these steps.
Yep! Perfect visual representation haha
Not the OP, but that’s basically how I felt, yeah. For this reason I mostly stopped playing female characters when I was done with puberty
i wouldn’t overthink it too much. it seems youre in a category of almost 30% of male respondents, not all preferences say something meaningful about us.
Maybe. I’m not a native English writer so it may not have sounded like I wanted. I just find this curious, but I’m not in pain because of that.
Cis-het guy, usually play female characters. One of my first action games as a kid was Tomb Raider and I think that just cemented in my mind that women characters are badass
Lady Dwarf. If there is an option for it, always lady dwarf.
Started with world of Warcraft, I just wanted the least played character type, so Cindie the lady dwarf warrior was born. She lives on in any game where it’s an option.
I think you just really like Cindie and want to keep her around.
OP edited!
I am male. If given the option to play female and a female would make the story more interesting I will choose to play a female. What defines “interesting” is arbitrary. Valheim - female named Muscle Wife. Phasmophobia - black male with friends (due to movie tropes) and female solo (because they look janky and ragged as hell). MMOs - depends on the aesthetic. If I am going to be staring at a character for a long time and I am not roleplaying an ugly bastard then I will choose female most of the time since I don’t play MMOs to self insert.
When choice isn’t an option I do not avoid a game just because of a character’s race or gender, but I am starting to get real sick of white male protagonists. They aren’t really offering me any new perspectives.
