340 réponses à ce sujet

[naddaya]

Most games (even with some degree of character customization) have male protagonists. If the protagonist can't be customized, I don't care if they're male or female. If I can choose though, I always play as a female character (unless the va is really bad) because I don't get the chance often. I don't self-insert or anything, I just like playing as a female more.

[Abelas Forever!]

I'm just wondering that if you don't understand that some people are not willing to try the opposite gender for example then what is the reason for that? Are you worried that that person doesn't get the most out of that game or what is the reason?

[ames4u]

I'm female and I've played both genders with no discomfort. I prefer to play female characters however-the wider range of hair and facial tweaking has more variety for me to use than the males customization does. Everyone plays the game their own way. If they find it uncomfortable to play as the opposite sex then that is up to them to decide whether or not they will play as one. It's called Player Choice for a reason after all.

 

But the reason is twofold;

 

A majority of games tend to have a male protagonist by default and when a female is a protagonist they are usually played off for certain tropes or behave and act in ways I don't find particularly comfortable to watch. So being given an outlet to play a competent, down to earth female protag that I customized myself is gratifying.

[Bayonet Hipshot]

I always play male characters since I am a man. Specifically a male mage since I am a male academic in real life and mages are the people that come closest to being academics. 

 

Why do I play as a man in RPGs  ? 

 

The answers are simple. I know what it is like to be one. So it comes easy to me. I can relate to it a lot better and the choices my character makes feel like the choices I make. 

 

This is also why I don't play as female characters much. I cannot relate to them. Some of their actions and doings seem very odd and off to me. The only exception to this rule would be the latest Lara Croft.

[Nefla]

I always play male characters since I am a man. Specifically a male mage since I am a male academic in real life and mages are the people that come closest to being academics. 

 

Why do I play as a man in RPGs  ? 

 

The answers are simple. I know what it is like to be one. So it comes easy to me. I can relate to it a lot better and the choices my character makes feel like the choices I make. 

 

This is also why I don't play as female characters much. I cannot relate to them. Some of their actions and doings seem very odd and off to me. The only exception to this rule would be the latest Lara Croft.

 

I think this statement is indicative of quite a big problem we have in video games. The latest Lara is actually written as a person and as such she is relatable to players of both genders. A large majority of female characters and protagonists however are written as tropes, clichés, and one dimensional sex-objects or damsels. (or both) I can identify with new Lara, I can't identify with Bayonetta and her ilk. It's a shame that this is the image being projected of women, "this is what women are."

[Darth Krytie]

I think this statement is indicative of quite a big problem we have in video games. The latest Lara is actually written as a person and as such she is relatable to players of both genders. A large majority of female characters and protagonists however are written as tropes, clichés, and one dimensional sex-objects or damsels. (or both) I can identify with new Lara, I can't identify with Bayonetta and her ilk. It's a shame that this is the image being projected of women, "this is what women are."

 

I wish I could give you ten likes for this.

[ArtemisMoons]

Whoa, whoa. Women are people??

Joking aside, I think I'm going to try a male playthrough of the series soon. lol

I always wondered how it might change some things up. Maybe I'll understand what it's like to be a person. xD

[Nefla]

Whoa, whoa. Women are people??

Joking aside, I think I'm going to try a male playthrough of the series soon. lol

I always wondered how it might change some things up. Maybe I'll understand what it's like to be a person. xD

Unless you play a mage, they're not people like you and me!

[Mockingword]

I've never had trouble relating to female characters at all. Since I was a child, some of my favourite protagonists were female. The fact of Belle's female-ness in Beauty and the Beast didn't prevent me from identifying with her love of reading, or her feeling of being outcast, or her longing for adventure.

 

The fact of the matter is, when a game finally affords me the opportunity to play as a gay man, I'm going to damn well take it. Women are neat, but I'm not lacking in opportunities to play them. Especially not white, straight women.

[Spectre Impersonator]

I'm a dude and I greatly enjoy playing as a Fem Shep and Lady Hawke. Now I'm thinking about "Ladyhawke." I love that movie.

[KaiserShep]

I always play male characters since I am a man. Specifically a male mage since I am a male academic in real life and mages are the people that come closest to being academics. 

 

Why do I play as a man in RPGs  ? 

 

The answers are simple. I know what it is like to be one. So it comes easy to me. I can relate to it a lot better and the choices my character makes feel like the choices I make. 

 

This is also why I don't play as female characters much. I cannot relate to them. Some of their actions and doings seem very odd and off to me. The only exception to this rule would be the latest Lara Croft.

 

I can't speak on Lara Croft since I haven't played the latest Tomb Raider, but which actions in these particular games are odd for a female protagonist to do? Often when I see this come up, it has a lot to do with the physical aspect, but a mage or biotic makes this irrelevant, but then, being able to wield magical powers makes quite a lot of things irrelevant when it comes to relating to a character.

[Omikuji]

I always have two characters I 'role play' as no matter what type of RPG it is (when the option of character creation is available) and it will always be a male character first. When I role play, I completely detach myself from the character and take nothing personal with it and play to the courses of not my own choices but of the character that I have developed. I never put myself in a game, because I'm dreadfully boring and like making characters, and the male character I always make is one I have over the years developed and understand. 

 

Of course, the two characters are also more for roleplaying opposites of each other. The male character will always be soft, gentle, nervous elf/thin young man who asks questions and does his best to help people the best he can even when it harms him. The female character is totally opposite to him, a strong willed power house who does not roll over for anyone and speaks her mind if something is stupid. She will not risk herself in someone elses stupidity. They are not me, I do not reflect them, and why should they?

 

I'm role playing something other then me, so why should I limit myself to a gender I have to deal with daily? I don't go around lieing about it to people, which is where I think people have issues with, so I don't see the problem with other people playing characters with opposite genders. People get enjoyment from different things, who am I to say what people should and shouldn't be playing. I can understand projection role playing in games, but I myself can't bring myself to do it because it's just too jarring for me. So I play characters that aren't me so it's easier for me to play those characters and not tied to my own restrictions. 

 

I relate to well written characters, no matter the genders. If I can understand their point of view, choices, and lives then it's easier for me to enjoy them. Poorly written ones that are just filling an eye rolling thing like the overly sexified lady for the guys or the muscle bound men for the power fantasy are a massive issue that surprises me that it is still around. 

[Bayonet Hipshot]

I can't speak on Lara Croft since I haven't played the latest Tomb Raider, but which actions in these particular games are odd for a female protagonist to do? Often when I see this come up, it has a lot to do with the physical aspect, but a mage or biotic makes this irrelevant, but then, being able to wield magical powers makes quite a lot of things irrelevant when it comes to relating to a character.

 

The oddity with many female characters that I have usually stems from many things.

 

Physical aspect is one part of it. For example, remember Femshep in ME 1 ? Her physical appearance looked logical and the come ME2 and ME3, out of nowhere some parts became too ample and her limbs became skinny. How can you expect me to sit there believing that skinny limb is going to be holding the Revenant or the Javelin or the Claymore steady and well, shoot it accurately ? I know there is cybernetics and stuff but suspension of disbelief only go so far. Plus, athletic females don't have ample assets. 

 

In some other games it is not just ample assets and skinny limbs but long hair that is not tied up. You know how easy it is to take advantage of long hair that is not tied up in a fight ? Just hold and tug or set it on fire...Possibilities are endless...Thankfully ME was sensible in this regard. 

 

Then there is the clothing that some of them..well..wear. One does not simply wear weird armor with exposed parts to fight . No same man would ever do such a thing in any fight, real or virtual one. Also the ridiculousness of the clothes in terms of fashion. You are here to fight and lead lady, not enter a beauty contest. 

 

Additionally, there is the fact that sometimes they just lose control / go into meltdown during a crisis out of nowhere, even when they have faced worse stuff. 

 

The latest Lara Croft is attractive but also athletic. Nothing ample.  She wear the clothes that make sense for her purpose as an adventurer and survivor. She deals with her crisis and powers through without going berserk. She is very resourceful and can just function by improvising. 

 

That's why I like her. 

[Darth Krytie]

The oddity with many female characters that I have usually stems from many things.

 

Physical aspect is one part of it. For example, remember Femshep in ME 1 ? Her physical appearance looked logical and the come ME2 and ME3, out of nowhere some parts became too ample and her limbs became skinny. How can you expect me to sit there believing that skinny limb is going to be holding the Revenant or the Javelin or the Claymore steady and well, shoot it accurately ? I know there is cybernetics and stuff but suspension of disbelief only go so far. Plus, athletic females don't have ample assets. 

 

In some other games it is not just ample assets and skinny limbs but long hair that is not tied up. You know how easy it is to take advantage of long hair that is not tied up in a fight ? Just hold and tug or set it on fire...Possibilities are endless...Thankfully ME was sensible in this regard. 

 

Then there is the clothing that some of them..well..wear. One does not simply wear weird armor with exposed parts to fight . No same man would ever do such a thing in any fight, real or virtual one. Also the ridiculousness of the clothes in terms of fashion. You are here to fight and lead lady, not enter a beauty contest. 

 

Additionally, there is the fact that sometimes they just lose control / go into meltdown during a crisis out of nowhere, even when they have faced worse stuff. 

 

The latest Lara Croft is attractive but also athletic. Nothing ample.  She wear the clothes that make sense for her purpose as an adventurer and survivor. She deals with her crisis and powers through without going berserk. She is very resourceful and can just function by improvising. 

 

That's why I like her. 

 

99% of your problems are because women in videogames are written completely crappy by some dudes who can't envision what real women are actually like in real life. Bikini armor and ginormous breasts are often poor game design decisions.

 

Though, I'm five feet tall and totally not at all in shape, and I can still lift my 110 lb, 5"4 15 year old daughter and carry her around a while. So, women in actual shape can lift things and be small of stature.

[Bob from Accounting]

That is ridiculous.

 

First of all, much of those complaints have little to nothing to do with writing. You think it's the writers who make the character models? Who draw the artwork? Who rig the animations? No. It's someone else. The tendency to blame any real or imagine fault in a game on the writers is epidemic on these forums.

 

Second, it's absurdly naive and shallow to claim this is an issue of 'dudes who can't envision what real women are actually like in real life.' Particularly since, by definition, stories deal with women and people in general who are very unlike the kind of people you'd meet on the street in 'real life.'

[Ferretinabun]

 

Then there is the clothing that some of them..well..wear. One does not simply wear weird armor with exposed parts to fight . No same man would ever do such a thing in any fight, real or virtual one. Also the ridiculousness of the clothes in terms of fashion. You are here to fight and lead lady, not enter a beauty contest. 

 

 

Don't even get me started on boob cups on armour! Not only pointless and objectifying, but also an actual death trap. Ashley Williams, I'm looking at you:

 

http://www.tor.com/b...-would-kill-you

[Bob from Accounting]

The plain and simple truth is that clothing, despite how much some people may whine at it, is a huge part of characterization. Including armor. It's why elegant characters wear elegant clothing, why thieves dress like thieves, why brute warriors dress like brute warriors. It establishes the character.

 

The reality of that is characters are not going to dress in identical bulky armor despite that perhaps being the most 'practical' solution for combat.

 

Part of that reality is feminine characters having a feminine figure and silhouette.

[Darth Krytie]

That is ridiculous.

 

First of all, much of those complaints have little to nothing to do with writing. You think it's the writers who make the character models? Who draw the artwork? Who rig the animations? No. It's someone else. The tendency to blame any real or imagine fault in a game on the writers is epidemic on these forums.

 

Second, it's absurdly naive and shallow to claim this is an issue of 'dudes who can't envision what real women are actually like in real life.' Particularly since, by definition, stories deal with women and people in general who are very unlike the kind of people you'd meet on the street in 'real life.'

 

I did say that some of it was poor game design decisions.

 

I know stories are written about things and people who are unlike situations and people you'd find in real life. But often times women in games, if they even have a personality at all (which they often don't), are very one-dimensional.  Sometimes they say things I can't imagine women saying and act in a way I can't imagine women acting.  This is, really, based on the assumption that the woman in the game isn't just there to have big bouncing breasts in unrealistic clothing in the first place.

[Bob from Accounting]

That seems to be a problem that has less to do with women and more to with plenty of video games not really bothering or knowing how to establish good characters in general. After all, plenty of characters are men whose only purpose is to shoot things or punch things. Many characters in video games, period, are one dimensional. Not just women.

 

In any case, it's something BioWare has done a good job avoiding.

[Darth Krytie]

That seems to be a problem that has less to do with women and more to with plenty of video games not really bothering or knowing how to establish good characters in general. After all, plenty of characters are men whose only purpose is to shoot things or punch things. Many characters in video games, period, are one dimensional. Not just women.

 

In any case, it's something BioWare has done a good job avoiding.

 

At least we can agree on that.

[Thumb Fu]

I'm a man, but i prefer to play as a woman actually, that's not to say i don't ever play male characters because i do, i have both ME and DA playthroughs as male chars, but on the whole i actually prefer to play as a female.

The reason? I actually put it down the the fact that in the majority of games you do play as a white male protagonist, the entire reason i play games is to step out of my own shoes and enjoy the world, or another world in somebody elses, and quite frankly if i can play as a strong female character in a leading role then that just hits all the right buttons for me (i find strong women attractive) is that cool to put the reason i play a female character down to base urges? I think it's fine we're creatures of passion if you ask me and i'm not ashamed to say "yes i play a female character because i find it sexy" i would probably not be so enclined to play as a stereotypical bikini-clad heroine who slowly looses more of her personallity as she looses clothes and is essentially eye candy for the whole game. Bioware doesn't do that thank god so i'm happy to play my strong female protagonist just fine in their games.

Addendum, i've spent some more time reading more of the posts in this thread, sorry just catching up and i have stong opinions on this subject.

It seems to be a common thought here that it's difficult for a man or a woman to relate to the opposite sex, some of the problems they might come accross in the game as a woman opposed to playing as a man, or the dialogue options or responses one might get playing as a woman is different from a man. I kind of relate to this, stepping into the position of the opposite gender is going to be jarring in certain situations i think, and thats because the world we live in is terrible and highly prejudice.

So i wonder, is it not helpful, to the individual, to actually put themselves in that position, so you can get at least a small idea of what it's like (i fully realise playing a game is not going to hold a light to actually being in somebody elses position, but i think it can still provide a window, please let me know if you think i am way off the mark)? This isn't always an option i know a lot of games do a disservice to women, and often men actually, it's not we are protraid poorly, it's the fact there isn't much of a variety, just my 2 cents there again if i'm wrong hit me up, i'd like to dicuss and get other points of view.

In Biowares case i think they strive to be inclusive and have a good variety of characters and content, and i know they have a lot of female writers on the DA franchise so hopefully that helps thing.

let me know if i sound like a narrow minded dong.

[Vapaa]

Don't even get me started on boob cups on armour! Not only pointless and objectifying, but also an actual death trap. Ashley Williams, I'm looking at you:

 

http://www.tor.com/b...-would-kill-you

 

On the bright side, DAI is doing a pretty good job so far, Vivienne and Cass both have outifs without silly boobplates.

[GrayTimber]

While I'm more likely to play as a female character, especially on the first run, I'm very comfortable playing as a guy.

Example: My latest male Dalish elf. Playing as that character was fun to rp as on so many levels.

 

I think this comes from me viewing it from a character standpoint rather than a gender one. ("Who is this person and how will they grow.")

Being a writer and artist probably helps with this.

[KaiserShep]

Don't even get me started on boob cups on armour! Not only pointless and objectifying, but also an actual death trap. Ashley Williams, I'm looking at you:

 

http://www.tor.com/b...-would-kill-you

 

I'm pretty sure that this was corrected (for the most part) since DA2. I think I may have seen some of the old models used in DA:O on some unimportant NPC's, but for the most part, the major female roles all had sensible looking stuff. The entire city guard used pretty much the same design, and we had Aveline and Cassandra.

[Mathias]

If you're not rolling a Male, you're playing the game wrong.