340 réponses à ce sujet

[Nefla]

I have no idea. It's not like there's some magical barrier that separates men and women and makes us unable to understand each other. We both get sad, angry, happy, vengeful, humorous, etc...and we're far more alike than we are different. When I play games I play every possible race/class/gender/personality I can because I want to discover everything and put myself in the shoes of people who are not exactly like me. If you think "how would I feel in this situation?" and think "how would ____ personality react to that?" then it's easy to identify with a character of either gender or any race.

[GVulture]

Yeah, it is just a personality thing. There is nothing in a given situation where I consider my gender before I react to something. If you are role playing a hard nose bad ass, it is gonna be the same no matter where the reproductive organs are.

[smoke and mirrors]

I am male and my play thru`s are half and half male and female . As someone said before if the game gives you choices i want to try them . I try all the races and both sexes . It wasn`t that long ago when you had no choices at all but to play white male Anglo saxon . I model my female characters on my wife so its ok to stare at her

butt  

[TKavatar]

I have no idea. It's not like there's some magical barrier that separates men and women and makes us unable to understand each other. We both get sad, angry, happy, vengeful, humorous, etc...and we're far more alike than we are different. When I play games I play every possible race/class/gender/personality I can because I want to discover everything and put myself in the shoes of people who are not exactly like me. If you think "how would I feel in this situation?" and think "how would ____ personality react to that?" then it's easy to identify with a character of either gender or any race.

This is exactly how I see it. We're all human no matter what, we should be able to empathise with one another even if that person is of a different gender or sexuality.

[Remmirath]

I've played roughly equal numbers of male and female characters ever since I began roleplaying, both in computer games and in face-to-face games, and I don't see that changing. I enjoy playing very different characters from myself, but I don't consider gender to be a large part of that at all. Gender is something that is about as important to me as hair or eye colour. While it does always mystify me that many people place such import on it, they clearly do, and so sometimes I play characters for whom it is important. Chosing the gender of the character has more to do with appearance than with anything else for me, because I usually have some sort of idea of the general aspect I want a character to have, and some games make it much easier to make certain types of characters or concepts of characters as male or as female. When I must contend with a voiced PC that adds another possible reason to pick one gender over another. The character I played in DA II wouldn't've worked out with the female voice actor, for instance, so I made a male character. If I realise that I've made several characters in a row who are one or the other, I'll often purposefully switch it up the next time, thus part of why I'm intending to play a female character first for Inquisition.

I am definitely one of those who enjoys playing a very distinct character (or characters, in games which allow that), and to me playing myself or even someone very similar to myself would be a bit boring and not taking advantage of playing a roleplaying game in the first place. I don't think there's anything wrong with playing that way, of course, it's simply not something I have any interest in doing. I always play characters with very different personalities from previous ones when I replay a game (unless I replay it with the exact same character, which I do only rarely).

As for romances, the only time I'll do them at all is if it feels inevitably in character for the character I'm playing. Otherwise I'll ignore them, as I'm not very fond of them in an ultimate sense, only if they happen to contribute strongly to the story for that character. My characters differ across the whole range of what gender they're atracted to, as well.

It is interesting to see so many different viewpoints here.

[Plague Doctor D.]

Well,like CuriousArtemis,i myself am genderneutral(And im on my way to becomming a writer.Coincidence? )

but i exclusively play female characters(I am male,biologically).

In my case,its because i am just fed up with male protagonists.

Being someone who started being a gamer with the age of seven(I was encouraged by my parents^^)i played countless male protagonists,and its just getting so very very stale.

Could we at least gave a few male protagonists i wouldnt hate IRL?^^

 

But then again,i might be an extreme case when it comes to things like that,since i deliberatly make my characters look ugly,or mediocre at best, since im quite fed up with the fact that,in fiction,you apparently need to be a looker to be an exceptional person.^^

 

Also,most of the male gamers i know prefer playing female characters.Maybe its a Germany-thing.Or maybe i just know a lot of strange people^^

[dlux]

I identify with my characters, so I prefer to create good, male characters. I even make them look like me for some reason, Mass Effect and Dragon Age 2 are exceptions though.

 

Also,most of the male gamers i know prefer playing female characters.Maybe its a Germany-thing.Or maybe i just know a lot of strange people^^

A male friend of mine also prefers to play games as a female character. I asked him why, and his response was that if he had to look at an ass while playing, then it should be a female one. Can't argue with that. 

[Innsmouth Dweller]

if i'm playing the game with silent protagonist my PC's gender is distributed equally through PTs.

if my char has voice... well, i rerolled female Shepard after half an hour or so because i couldn't stand male Shepard's voice (i really do like Mark Meer tho) 

 

after my 1st DA2 PT as male, i started the new one. Jo Wyatt's voice is amazing. never rolled male Hawke after.

[Just My Moniker]

I tend to almost always play as the opposite gender (my opposite being female) for two reasons 1. Im already a guy in real life so why would I want to be what I already am in a world where I can be anything. and 2. I like looking hot when I kill monsters 

[Nimlowyn]

So I can only speak for myself, but here goes:

It's not that I'm uncomfortable playing as a female.  It's that I'd rather not, particularly if I'm going to engage in a romance.  If I am going to engage in a romance, I want to play as a male but only if I can romance other males.  I'm just not interested in the romances if they are lesbian or straight.  It's not that I don't want them in the game; I personally just don't want to engage in them.

 

So, for example, in the ME series, since I couldn't play as a gay Shepard (or, well, I couldn't be explicitly gay), I played both male and female characters up until the third game.  Once I found out that my gay Shepards could finally have a romance, I have only played that game as a male.  In DA: O, I played both male and female because I really didn't like Zevran very much (but my canon is a gay dwarf noble who romanced him).  However, in DA 2, since I kind of liked both of the m/m romances, I've never played through as a female Hawke.

 

In games without romance features, I go back and forth and play both genders (such as Elder Scrolls or Fallout, etc.).  It's only when romance gets involved that I like to really only play as a gay male character.  Again, that's really just my opinion and, probably, an odd one at that.

I feel the same way. Unlike in JRPGs, where I've never felt that *I* was the protagonist, in Bioware games, I identify with my character as an extension, interpretation, exploration, what have you, of myself. Given that Bioware allows me to chose my character's gender and romantic interests, I play as straight females. It is not a matter of comfort, but of interest. I am interested in experiencing these stories vicariously as a straight female (In fact, romancing Fenris as a female Hawke gave me a bit of an epiphany and a greater appreciation for my husband). It goes without saying that what interests me is not a comment on what interests others.

[Vincent-Vega]

Very interesting topic. Being a guy myself I almost exclusively played male characters for many years (probably the identification thing) though I never had a problem playing as a female if a game only had that option.

Recently, I'd say my ratio is 50:50 with no real preference. If I play a game a second time, I will definitely play the opposite sex though. I even romanced Alistair in Origins (although Leliana was very tempting )as a female, which, being hetero myself, was admittedly a bit weird at first.

[Allan Schumacher]

I'm quite surprised that there are people here on BSN who are uncomfortable with roleplaying PCs of a different gender.

I myself have no issues with it, I like stepping into someone else's shoes and doing a play-through of the game. My canon Warden is a female dwarf commoner in fact.

So I'm curious as to why some people don't like it. I find it strange that they choose to miss out on content on purpose, but maybe that's just me.

 

 

On a personal level, the mental hangup I have with playing a woman, when given a choice, is that I often struggle to convince myself that I'm playing as a woman, rather than As A Man Playing how He Things a Woman Should Be.  It's not that I can't, it's just that that feeling is always there and it presents a cognitive drain/distraction.

 

Oddly, when I'm not given a choice it's less of an issue.  Though it also comes up less in gaming.

[Grieving Natashina]

I'm not sure if this has been brought up by anyone else yet, but I hope I'm not the only one here that feels this way.

 

I have only one big reason reason why I haven't played a lot of male characters in Dragon Age.  It isn't because I have trouble getting into the mindset, or that it doesn't click with me.  I love roleplaying of all kinds and I have played men before.  While I wouldn't pursue a M/M romance since it really isn't an interest of mine, I've enjoying romancing women as a male character.

 

I wish I could say any of that, because my reason is much more shallow.  Most of the time, in the character creator, I can't get the Warden or Hawke to turn out the way I want it.  I simply wasn't great at making male characters.  It sounds silly, but if I'm going to see my PC's face in a close up, I want it to be something I find appealing to look at for the 40-50+ hours of game time.  

 

My first male character in the DA games was a male Hawke and my husband helped me create him.  He looked great and I had a fun time playing him and romancing Merrill along the way.  

 

_{Feel free to laugh at me now.}

[NRieh]

 

So I'm curious as to why some people don't like it. I find it strange that they choose to miss out on content on purpose

People do not 'choose to miss out in content', people choose to play the content they prefer.

 

 

 

Oddly, when I'm not given a choice it's less of an issue.

Probably, because playing preset characters always makes you more an observer than a player.  

It does not make the game boring or bad, simply it's another kind of gaming experience. There are many games with preset male characters (which is hardly surprising), many great games among them, but they are nothing like 'open-PC' games.   

[n7stormrunner]

I'm not sure if this has been brought up by anyone else yet, but I hope I'm not the only one here that feels this way.

 

I have only reason reason why I haven't played a lot of male characters in Dragon Age.  It isn't because I have trouble getting into the mindset, or that it doesn't click with me.  I love roleplaying of all kinds and I have played men before.  While I wouldn't pursue a M/M romance since it really isn't an interest of mine, I've enjoying romancing women as a male character.

 

I wish I could say any of that, because my reason is much more shallow.  Most of the time, in the character creator, I can't get the Warden or Hawke to turn out the way I want it.  I simply wasn't great at making male characters.  It sounds silly, but if I'm going to see my PC's face in a close up, I want it to be something I find appealing to look at for the 40-50+ hours of game time.  

 

My first male character in the DA games was a male Hawke and my husband helped me create him.  He looked great and I had a fun time playing him and romancing Merrill along the way.  

 

_{Feel free to laugh at me now.}

 

no it's a fine reason. not exactly deep but then few things are. 

[In Exile]

 

I wish I could say any of that, because my reason is much more shallow.  Most of the time, in the character creator, I can't get the Warden or Hawke to turn out the way I want it.  I simply wasn't great at making male characters.  It sounds silly, but if I'm going to see my PC's face in a close up, I want it to be something I find appealing to look at for the 40-50+ hours of game time.  

 

 

Creating male characters that don't look like hellspawned abominations is the hardest part of a Bioware game for me. I pretty hit one face that looks attractive and human(ish, depending on character race) and that's what I stick with for every male character ever. 

[Grieving Natashina]

Creating male characters that don't look like hellspawned abominations is the hardest part of a Bioware game for me. I pretty hit one face that looks attractive and human(ish, depending on character race) and that's what I stick with for every male character ever. 

So it isn't just me then?  Okay, I feel a little better.  I still can't get a male Warden to turn out the way I want it and I have mods up the wazoo.  I think when I do my next big DA binge later this summer, I'll just ask my husband to help me create the male character again.  He did a great job last time.

 

When in doubt, call an outside source.    

[Snore]

I'm not sure if this has been brought up by anyone else yet, but I hope I'm not the only one here that feels this way.

 

I have only reason reason why I haven't played a lot of male characters in Dragon Age.  It isn't because I have trouble getting into the mindset, or that it doesn't click with me.  I love roleplaying of all kinds and I have played men before.  While I wouldn't pursue a M/M romance since it really isn't an interest of mine, I've enjoying romancing women as a male character.

 

I wish I could say any of that, because my reason is much more shallow.  Most of the time, in the character creator, I can't get the Warden or Hawke to turn out the way I want it.  I simply wasn't great at making male characters.  It sounds silly, but if I'm going to see my PC's face in a close up, I want it to be something I find appealing to look at for the 40-50+ hours of game time.  

 

My first male character in the DA games was a male Hawke and my husband helped me create him.  He looked great and I had a fun time playing him and romancing Merrill along the way.  

 

_{Feel free to laugh at me now.}

Same way with me except with female characters, I've found that I have no idea how to create a female character that looks half way decent. 

[smoke and mirrors]

On a personal level, the mental hangup I have with playing a woman, when given a choice, is that I often struggle to convince myself that I'm playing as a woman, rather than As A Man Playing how He Things a Woman Should Be.  It's not that I can't, it's just that that feeling is always there and it presents a cognitive drain/distraction.

 

Oddly, when I'm not given a choice it's less of an issue.  Though it also comes up less in gaming.

 

Allen not to put you on the spot but whats the difference between playing female and playing an elf or dwarf , i guess your not either ? Don`t want to sound rude just a thought 

[TKavatar]

People do not 'choose to miss out in content', people choose to play the content they prefer.

It's their loss if they choose to ignore half of the content which they paid for.

[Grieving Natashina]

Allen not to put you on the spot but whats the difference between playing female and playing an elf or dwarf , i guess your not either ? Don`t want to sound rude just a thought 

It's one thing to be able to put yourself in the shoes of another race.   It's fantasy after all.  However, for some, it's not easy to put themselves in the shoes of another gender, because that's a part of reality.  It's much more difficult to change your attitude and views to the opposite gender.  However, playing your own gender even as a different race can be inherently easier to relate to.  It's human nature.  

 

That's my thoughts, anyhow.

[Bizantura]

As a female I play both genders.  What would be a challenge is to play as a transgender because that would make me feel uncomfortable.  One appealing thing about RPG's is that you can be anything but yourself or project yourself.