188 réponses à ce sujet

[godModeAlpha]

Great questions, deserve honest answers. Probably going to get dissected to bits ... lol
 

1) As a heterosexual player, do you feel comfortable having your PC who is not your sex, romance a NPC who is your sex. Like me as a male playing as a female PC who romances a male NPC. Or a heterosexual female who plays as a male PC, but romances a female NPC.

 
I'm a hetro male, I honestly dont know if I would have an issue as I have not played as the opposite sex in a game which has romance. Subconciously I probably avoid a scenario like this. 

This will likely be the first time I will play as a female in a f/m relationship with likely Cullen on my second playthough.
 

3) As a male, do you feel comfortable playing as a female character? As a female, do you feel comfortable playing as a male character?

 
Given the chance I default to female characters. All non romance games I play as a female. More so in games of the action genre. Like that my female characters are kicking ass, like to see the hurt.
  

5) If you are not white, do you normally try to create characters who match your racial identity? Or do you create a range of races?

Depends, if given the chance I try to create a character that would match my ethnic identity if it does not mess with the story. Which is why I was eager to find out the backstory behind Vivienne, Josie and Dorian.

Having said that, tis only recently I started altering my characters ethnic identity. Reason being is it does not really bother me and tis only recently games have been more accomodating.
 

6) Will you be comfortable romancing Vivenne if you are a white male? Do you even find Vivienne attractive? I do and I like how Bioware decided to create a black female with strong African features instead of the typical European looking female coated in brown skin.

 
Agree. Think they stepped up and really put the industry to shame. But not supprised given BioWare's history for pushing bounderies.
 

7) Will the majority of your Inquisitors be human? How hard or easy is it to play as an Elf or Dwarf  (and now Qunari)?

 
Human. First I like to play as a race I am familiar with, I can think like a human etc. Second round, I prefer to play as an elf. This is the first time that I would play as a female Qunari for on my second playthough, and plan to either romance Josie / Sera / Cullen.

[Celtic Latino]

01. Can't answer that on my end.

 

02. Yes. My PC is *not* me, and considering I play a variety of characters (not limited by race, ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation), it doesn't bother me in the slightest. I will say that I tend to be the inverse and feel more comfortable with male PC x male LI and female PC x male LI, but I don't feel awkward or uncomfortable with male PC x female LI or female PC x female LI. Its just a video game anyways.

 

03. Yes. I have no issue with playing female characters. At least 30-40% of my characters are female in most games. In fighting games my 'mains' tend to be female, and in games where you have to select a premade character (Borderlands), I tend to like the female the best.

 

(I'm both (Mixed Race) Latino and Caucasian ancestry and consider myself both. I'm technically 'mixed' but appearance wise I look and am considered 'white' IRL.)

 

04. Yes. Most of my Shepards were PoC, including my main (black female Vanguard). Most of my male Shepards were Latino or mixed Latino/Caucasian, my main male and female Saints Row characters are both Hispanic. In Dragon Age most of my PCs are white given the setting. In Fallout I mix up my characters. It really depends on the games and their setting. 

 

05. I generally create a range. To be honest the hardest for me is the heterosexual (non-Hispanic) white male because that's dominates comics and movies (and it gets very, very tiring, especially if the bad guys are Latino) Its not any personal prejudice but its just seeing that in every action, comedy, and superhero movie I see it gets monotonous. Plus offensive movies such as Meet the Millers and Transformers 4 really make me sore. It's the same reason I never ever play Sheploo in Mass Effect. I do understand what the video game and comic book industry is dominated by, I know its what sells too. People want someone to relate to and for many that character is relatable. Its easier to write someone within your perspective than outside it.

 

(Mind you just because I create a range of characters does not mean I don't like straight white male leads or heroes. I love the likes of Green Lantern, Aquaman, Nightwing, and so forth. Its just when playing a game where you can create your character, I like to go outside that trope. But that's just me. I feel the same way if I'm playing a Japanese game and I have no agency over anything. ).

 

06. Certainly. She's extremely beautiful. I actually am shipping a red haired, green eyed, fair skinned male Trevelyan mage with Vivi should she be romanceable. I wish we would have more PoC characters that aren't the Zevran/Isabela/Jacob trope to be completely honest. It'd be nice if we could get committed, relationship oriented LIs in the likes of Alistair, Leliana and Kaidan that are PoC (and yes Kaidan is debatable but I consider both Kaidan and Ashley white).

 

07. Um, as a human, yes. Nothing against skinny, pointed eared people, short stout folk or horned oxmen/women but humans are the most attractive to me. I will have at least one character of each gender/race combo though. Definitely planning my first to be a straight female Qunari mage. And given I love elves in most fantasy settings, I don't see why a few of my PCs *won't* be elven. Still up in the air about the dwarves though, mostly because I don't like particularly find short, hirsute, stout types attractive.  

[Sorcha_Amell]

1) As a heterosexual player, do you feel comfortable having your PC who is not your sex, romance a NPC who is your sex. Like me as a male playing as a female PC who romances a male NPC. Or a heterosexual female who plays as a male PC, but romances a female NPC.

 

A: Perfectly comfortable with playing a dude who is romancing a female. One of my first Wardens was Liam who romanced Morrigan.

 

2) As a homosexual player, do you feel comfortable having your PC who is your sex, romance a NPC who is of opposite sex?

 

A: Skip.

 

3) As a male, do you feel comfortable playing as a female character? As a female, do you feel comfortable playing as a male character?

 

A: As a female, I feel completely comfortable with playing a male character. It wasn't so easy when I was a teen, but as an adult it doesn't bother me.

 

4) If you are white, do you ever create characters that out right do not look "white" but rather black, asian, hispanic, or multi-racial? Or do you just stick with white?

 

A: Not gonna lie, I create characters that I can see myself as. Most of my characters are females and white. My very first run through with DA:O was as a white, female city-elf. Once I got the feel for the game and went to the wikia, I found out that you could change the skin tone for your character, but your characters' families were still gonna be white. That was disappointing and I decided to not make a character with darker skin. When I saw Vivienne, I was super pleased with how she looked and wanted to create a character like her. I was excited when I heard that we are going to be able to have more input in how our characters look in the CC this time around. I'll be spending hours in CC. So I do plan on exploring different skin tones for DA:I.

 

5) If you are not white, do you normally try to create characters who match your racial identity? Or do you create a range of races?

A: Skip.

 

6) Will you be comfortable romancing Vivenne if you are a white male? Do you even find Vivienne attractive? I do and I like how Bioware decided to create a black female with strong African features instead of the typical European looking female coated in brown skin. 

 

A: I'm not a dude, but if Vivienne is romancable, I am totally making a character to romance her. She's gorgeous and badass.

 

7) Will the majority of your Inquisitors be human? How hard or easy is it to play as an Elf or Dwarf  (and now Qunari)?

 

A: I want one of each race, so I won't have a majority of any type of race. It hasn't been difficult to play a Dwarf or Elf in DA:O so I don't think it will be hard to play either one in DA:I either. I'm super excited to play a Qunari!

 

 

Great questions =)

[DeusGoddess5010]

 

1) As a heterosexual player, do you feel comfortable having your PC who is not your sex, romance a NPC who is your sex. Like me as a male playing as a female PC who romances a male NPC. Or a heterosexual female who plays as a male PC, but romances a female NPC.

 

2) As a homosexual player, do you feel comfortable having your PC who is your sex, romance a NPC who is of opposite sex?

 

3) As a male, do you feel comfortable playing as a female character? As a female, do you feel comfortable playing as a male character?

 

4) If you are white, do you ever create characters that out right do not look "white" but rather black, asian, hispanic, or multi-racial? Or do you just stick with white?

 

5) If you are not white, do you normally try to create characters who match your racial identity? Or do you create a range of races?

 

6) Will you be comfortable romancing Vivenne if you are a white male? Do you even find Vivienne attractive? I do and I like how Bioware decided to create a black female with strong African features instead of the typical European looking female coated in brown skin. 

 

7) Will the majority of your Inquisitors be human? How hard or easy is it to play as an Elf or Dwarf  (and now Qunari)?

 

 

 

1)Skip

 

2)Am not a homosexual per say so I guess skip

 

3)As a female I loath playing as a male character, espy the gruff white guy that bangs every female he see. If the story stands out and his character is not sterotypical then I often can deal. But games with even terrible stories or not so great gampley[remember me] is a def WIN for me just because its a female protagonist. Tho once again even better if they are not a sterotype or fso dam flat like majority of the male protag's

 

4)Skip

 

5)ALWAYS, if I have the chance its even better and more personal and easy to relate too. Like stated on another threat am so tired of white washing/eurocentric views. Seriously they are not the only race of people on the planet around the world. I like to create anything thats often not white from my own ethncity to other POC

 

6)Skip-not white but I must say she is good looking along with the rest of the female cast and her features just adds to the even more

 

7) QUNARI QUNARI QUNARI QUNARI QUNARI QUNARI QUNARI  Dwarf

[Majestic Jazz]

I have to say I am surprised that this thread has not been derailed by any topic. I hope that Bioware is following this thread because there is some interesting information being given here, sort of like a free focus group for them right at their finger tips. It is interesting to see that many of the white players that have responded to this thread claimed that they have no problems playing as a PC of a race different from theirs and that many times, actively go out of their way to make a character that is more ethnic and less of the generic white male. It is interesting because developers/publishers has this idea that only white male protagonist can effectively sell a game and yet majority of white respondents have claimed otherwise. Again, I hope Bioware is taking note.

[dutch_gamer]

I have to say I am surprised that this thread has not been derailed by any topic. I hope that Bioware is following this thread because there is some interesting information being given here, sort of like a free focus group for them right at their finger tips. It is interesting to see that many of the white players that have responded to this thread claimed that they have no problems playing as a PC of a race different from theirs and that many times, actively go out of their way to make a character that is more ethnic and less of the generic white male. It is interesting because developers/publishers has this idea that only white male protagonist can effectively sell a game and yet majority of white respondents have claimed otherwise. Again, I hope Bioware is taking note.

But of what does Bioware have to take note? Bioware already designs games in which you can be of any skin color and in which you can play any gender. This thread changes nothing for Bioware because they already give the options people seek.

 

I  also don't  believe people not wanting to play white dudebros means developers/publishers are automatically wrong. This is a non-scientific survey conducted on a forum where a lot of people already hate the idea of the white dudebro. I am not saying they are wrong, but I am saying that this survey can't be used to tell developers to take note.

[Majestic Jazz]

But of what does Bioware have to take note? Bioware already designs games in which you can be of any skin color and in which you can play any gender. This thread changes nothing for Bioware because they already give the options people seek.

 

I  also don't  believe people not wanting to play white dudebros means developers/publishers are automatically wrong. This is a non-scientific survey conducted on a forum where a lot of people already hate the idea of the white dudebro. I am not saying they are wrong, but I am saying that this survey can't be used to tell developers to take note.

 

Well, my questions weren't really meant to be a professional "Scientific" survey, but it is a sample snapshot of some of the more core followers of their games. I am not saying that Bioware/EA should take the comments in this thread as 100% justification, but it would be odd of they totally ignored it as well.

 

My point I am trying to make is that it could be possible that the gaming community is far more progressive than what the suits and ties sitting in their executive boards think. The bulk of today's gamers are part of the millennial generation, which is already the most progressive generation America has had. Hell, we were the generation that voted for a black president twice, with over 60% of the 18-29 age group voting for Obama. Now I do not want to turn this thread, which has gone well thus far, into a political discussion. But like I said, gamers today aren't all racist or sexist and it would appear that this message is not reaching the top to those who makes certain decisions as to what gamers want to play as in terms of looks. It would appear that some of these suits & ties still believe gamers have a 1950s way of thinking when it comes to race and sex. 

 

This is what made me want to create this thread, just to get an idea where some people's heads our when it comes to these kind of topics. From what I am gathering:

 

- Most people do not mind playing as the opposite sex

 

- Most people do not mind having their PC pursue a romance in which the NPC is the same sex as they are. Unless it is a male gamer, which mostly seems like they are uncomfortable with doing a m/m romance.

 

- Many people, white and non-white enjoy the ability to create a wide range of faces that represent a wide range of ethnic looks.

 

- Many people (especially women) finds Vivi attractive and would like to romance her, but is possibly turned off by her personality. This was similar to Jacob in ME2 who people wanted to romance, but felt that his romance and personality was weak in comparison to Thane and even Garrus. 

[Samahl]

But of what does Bioware have to take note?

 

Because they market all their games with white protagonists.

[Neria Rose]

5. Always. There are so few protagonists who look like me that when given the option I always make my PC a brown-skinned female (with varying hair and facial features). The problems with darker skin tones in DAO and DA2 didn't bother me as much as the hair options. They were hideous. I'm hoping and praying that DAI has improved that part of the CC. Curls, braids or dreads would be wonderful. They would probably be a b!tch to render, but I'm tired of "silky straight hair" or nothing.

 

I'm really hoping for more diverse hair options as well. I've always opted for the curliest and/or shortest hair I could find in RPGs. Every time I'd roll a character, I'd say to myself, "Well, I know my character wouldn't wear a weave or a wig, nor would she perm her hair, so this style, that style and that style are all out." Developers seem to be throwing us a bone, though. ESO and TOR both have limited but decent black hair options (I especially love the locks in ESO).

[Gtdef]

With all that being said, where do you stand on such issues?

 

1) As a heterosexual player, do you feel comfortable having your PC who is not your sex, romance a NPC who is your sex. Like me as a male playing as a female PC who romances a male NPC. Or a heterosexual female who plays as a male PC, but romances a female NPC.

 

2) As a homosexual player, do you feel comfortable having your PC who is your sex, romance a NPC who is of opposite sex?

 

3) As a male, do you feel comfortable playing as a female character? As a female, do you feel comfortable playing as a male character?

 

4) If you are white, do you ever create characters that out right do not look "white" but rather black, asian, hispanic, or multi-racial? Or do you just stick with white?

 

5) If you are not white, do you normally try to create characters who match your racial identity? Or do you create a range of races?

 

6) Will you be comfortable romancing Vivenne if you are a white male? Do you even find Vivienne attractive? I do and I like how Bioware decided to create a black female with strong African features instead of the typical European looking female coated in brown skin. 

 

7) Will the majority of your Inquisitors be human? How hard or easy is it to play as an Elf or Dwarf  (and now Qunari)?

 

I don't feel like answering these specific questions. Instead I'll talk a bit about myself as far as playing opposite gender, racism and gaming goes.

 

The more personal the story is, the more close to myself I like making my characters. I think of it more as an exercise in philosophy than a chance to be someone different. That being said, I feel perfectly comfortable creating a female character and acting like one, not only in single player games, but in mmos as well. I'm a child of the instant messaging era, stalking and flooding irc servers, msn sorcery and more. I became pretty good at acting as a girl, trying to fool random people and cheat wow guildies out of their gold . I enjoy the process of flirting and influencing both as a participant and as an observer.

 

So yes, when I'm in character, I act like it. This doesn't mean that I will play a female in DAI though. I probably won't. I prefer playing females on more dynamic environments, usually where other people are involved. Recently I'm losing my interest, since you actually see a lot more females playing multiplayer games, but that doesn't mean I can't give them a run for their money from time to time ^^

 

Skin color doesn't matter much to me. Culture and consistency does. My go to guy in Kotor is the bald asian with the goatee, I mained Witch Doctor in Diablo 3 cause I thought it was the only interesting class. If I had the option to play a white guy in Jade Empire I wouldn't. In a game set in European medieval times I'd prefer something that looks caucasian. Skin colour can range from very white to mediterranean dark. 

 

This doesn't mean that I don't have preferences. I have pretty specific ones. I also consider myself racist. I'm of the opinion that most people fit their archetypes and stereotypes until proved otherwise. This can be something innocent (like speaking with different accent to italians and english tourists), to something more damning, like not like having immigrant neighbors of certain ethnic groups cause more often than not, they are more trouble than worth. What I'm not, is xenophobic.

 

From all the party/advisors, right now I consider Vivienne the second most interesting character, that meaning I want to learn more about their lives. My list is Leliana>Vivienne>Cassandra>Josephine>Sera. If she turns out to be a romance I think that I'll probably choose her for my canon run. Of course this can change when I learn more of them.

[KingoftheZempk]

Oh I shouldn't respond. But I will. Not sure if it helps or is necessary, but I'm a straight, white male.

 

 

1) As a heterosexual player, do you feel comfortable having your PC who is not your sex, romance a NPC who is your sex. Like me as a male playing as a female PC who romances a male NPC. Or a heterosexual female who plays as a male PC, but romances a female NPC.

 

I guess. I did it with my female characters in DAO and DA2. I'll do it again, just to play it and have fun and get achievements, but it's not really my cup of tea. I'm totally for the idea that if people want to do that in a game, go ahead and do it. I romanced Alistair and Zevran as a chick, and I did Fenris and Anders as a chick. Maybe it's my straightness coming in, but they just didn't feel for me. I guess (certainly with my canon run) that I view the character as me, an extension. Who I would want to be in that world, or more how I would react in that world if it was me placed there, who would I romance, what choices would I make, etc. Am I comfortable about playing a PC who is female or even a male and romance my own sex? Sure, it's just not what I would opt for normally.

 

That being said, I think there is a difference between playing through with the intent of being somebody different and having things happen to you that you may not like. Like I said, I'm white, straight, and male. Adding into that, I'm from an upper middle class family, I'm a conservative, and I'm a brother in a fraternity. Statistically, I'm going to be that straight, "advantaged" guy, etc. If I go to a frat party, I expect to see lots of straight people grinding and slipping into debauchery, especially with how we rage in my school. The first party I went to that wasn't Greek (and wasn't a theatre convention party), I was somehow shocked at seeing homosexual people making out, but also, I was shocked at seeing heterosexual people making out at that same party, maybe because I didn't know anyone there. Maybe I was grossed out by watching people who were gay go at it way more raunchy than how I and straight people at my parties do (at least in public, the bedroom is another story), and I easily can be a stereotypical fratstar when I want to be at a party, but I've always seen a line at Greek parties in public. This one was completely different. It's like how it seemed that all of the DA2 romances openly hit on you. Yes, it's a Bioware video game, but I don't think people were ready for such an open display of affection from people, especially since gay rights are still sort of emerging and becoming more accepted, especially in such a straight male dominated scene like video games. When I watch tv or HBO or a movie, I'm not surprised or shocked, because I expect Hollywood to do certain things since it is considered left of center in politics--generally.

 

 

3) As a male, do you feel comfortable playing as a female character? As a female, do you feel comfortable playing as a male character?

Yes. basically what I said above.

 

4) If you are white, do you ever create characters that out right do not look "white" but rather black, asian, hispanic, or multi-racial? Or do you just stick with white?

Not really, never felt a reason to or go on a "social justice" campaign. My characters are white, but not too pale, pretty close to who I am. I see DA as a pretty equal universe, aside from race like Human, Dwarf, etc. I don't think there's ever been skintone problems in DA, and for the most part (I'm trying to leave politics from either side out of this as much as possible) in the real world--or at least that I've seen here in America--racism and such are really not an issue. The only ones who bring it up are the extreme fringe racists like the KKK or the Black Panther Party (or is it the New BPP now?) and the occasional SJW who seems to think because you disagree with someone you are a racist, misogynist, misandrist, etc. Are there bad racist people? Yes. Is the problem mostly gone now? Yes.

 

6) Will you be comfortable romancing Vivenne if you are a white male? Do you even find Vivienne attractive? I do and I like how Bioware decided to create a black female with strong African features instead of the typical European looking female coated in brown skin. 

Yeah I will. I have a black aunt, so interracial families aren't a big deal to me. Is Vivienne attractive? To me, not really. I don't know what it is, or maybe I just need to see her more or her character personality more before I decide if I find her attractive. I can definitely see how she is attractive, but she just doesn't do it for me. That's not to say I don't find women with African features attractive. I recently met this gorgeous Jamaican woman and wow. Just wow.

 

7) Will the majority of your Inquisitors be human? How hard or easy is it to play as an Elf or Dwarf  (and now Qunari)?

My canon Inquisitor will have an 85% chance of being human. I'm certainly going to play a Qunari in the second run. I've tried Elf and Dwarf but they just didn't feel fleshed out to me. The Elves felt way to whiny, understandably because of their history and circumstances, but I just can't stand people who complain. They were like the modern day keyboard commandos who complain about something but never do anything. Actually, it's not that I hate complaining; I hate inaction. The dwarfs were more fun than the elves to me, and after having them gone from DA2, I'm definitely playing a dwarf again.

[Ina]

I have yet to romance a female LI as a male. It doesn't make me uncomfortable, but I tend to value the female friendships very highly (particularly with Morrigan and Isabela). A romance wouldn't have the same emotional connection for me. If I'm curious there's always YouTube.

 

I sort of agree with this. While I pursue all types of romance combinations and sexualities mixed in, male pursuing female is by far my least prefered and I tend to (with exceptions) do it more out of a sense wanting to be a completionist. If I role play a straight guy, I place friendships between him and a female NPC more highly than a romance. Perhaps this is because in media we're saturated with always seeing a man pursuing a woman for a relationship instead of just deep friendship. I like to do in these games that I don't always see an abundance of in mainstream media.

[Remmirath]

1) As a heterosexual player, do you feel comfortable having your PC who is not your sex, romance a NPC who is your sex. Like me as a male playing as a female PC who romances a male NPC. Or a heterosexual female who plays as a male PC, but romances a female NPC.

2) As a homosexual player, do you feel comfortable having your PC who is your sex, romance a NPC who is of opposite sex?

I'm combining these into one because I don't actually fit into either given category. As an asexual player, I feel equally comfortable with any romance combination, although I am probably less likely to pursue them than many other people -- I simply won't, unless it becomes clear that it's the most in-character choice for the character I'm playing at the time. I play a wide variety of characters who are usually very different from myself, and I base all decisions I make in the game on what they would do. I don't believe that my answer would be any different if I weren't asexual, but who can say for sure? I do play characters who have many other preferences and opinions that differ wildly from my own.

Whichever romances strike me as the sappiest are the ones I'm most likely to avoid, unless, again, it's obviously the in-character thing to do. Those will make me feel... more annoyed than uncomfortable, really.

3) As a male, do you feel comfortable playing as a female character? As a female, do you feel comfortable playing as a male character?

I feel equally comfortable playing either. I like playing all kinds of characters. I end up, all told, playing more male characters in computer games than female characters, but that's because I often am annoyed by the armour (or conspicuous lack thereof) available to female characters. In pen and paper games, I play male and female characters with equal frequency.

4) If you are white, do you ever create characters that out right do not look "white" but rather black, asian, hispanic, or multi-racial? Or do you just stick with white?

When the option is there, I'll just as often make my characters non-white as white, yeah. Maybe even slightly more often, thinking back on the characters I've made in 3d games (isometric games I rely on finding a good portrait and have played so many characters I don't remember nearly all of them). Not sure about even rough percentages or anything, but I don't really default to any particular appearance, save perhaps a preference for darker haired characters.

6) Will you be comfortable romancing Vivenne if you are a white male? Do you even find Vivienne attractive? I do and I like how Bioware decided to create a black female with strong African features instead of the typical European looking female coated in brown skin.

I think she seems pretty interesting from what little I've seen of her, and aesthetically speaking, I think she also looks quite good. I like her face. I'd be just as comfortable with my character romancing her as I would with them romancing any other character; depends on her personality, and the character's personality, and I haven't seen very much of hers yet and haven't even made my character yet. Romance options are never something I consider before playing the game. If it works, it works, and if it doesn't, no loss to me.

7) Will the majority of your Inquisitors be human? How hard or easy is it to play as an Elf or Dwarf (and now Qunari)?

I tend towards not playing humans if there's an option to do so, at least not as my first option when there's only one PC I'm playing at a time. At this point I plan for my first character to be an elf, and it remains to be seen whether I'll actually feel able to play through the game with more than one character (dependant on how the whole voice thing ends up working this time). If I play through twice, the next one will end up being one of the other species. I suppose I'd be most likely to go for a dwarf, then, but they're all interesting.

[Palidane]

With all that being said, where do you stand on such issues?

 

1) As a heterosexual player, do you feel comfortable having your PC who is not your sex, romance a NPC who is your sex. Like me as a male playing as a female PC who romances a male NPC. Or a heterosexual female who plays as a male PC, but romances a female NPC.

 

2) As a homosexual player, do you feel comfortable having your PC who is your sex, romance a NPC who is of opposite sex?

 

3) As a male, do you feel comfortable playing as a female character? As a female, do you feel comfortable playing as a male character?

 

4) If you are white, do you ever create characters that out right do not look "white" but rather black, asian, hispanic, or multi-racial? Or do you just stick with white?

 

5) If you are not white, do you normally try to create characters who match your racial identity? Or do you create a range of races?

 

6) Will you be comfortable romancing Vivenne if you are a white male? Do you even find Vivienne attractive? I do and I like how Bioware decided to create a black female with strong African features instead of the typical European looking female coated in brown skin. 

 

7) Will the majority of your Inquisitors be human? How hard or easy is it to play as an Elf or Dwarf  (and now Qunari)?

Usually, I play my first playthrough as "me", that is, a straight white human male warrior/soldier who makes the decisions I would make. After that, I usually have a specific character in mind from the beginning, and play their characterization through to the end.

 

1. Ehh. If I play as a women, I have a set image of her in mind, so I always feel one step removed when it comes to romances and such. I feel comfortable romancing another guy. In general, I don't care too much about romances, so it doesn't make a lot of difference.

 

3. I feel very comfortable playing a female character. Barring some sexist comments, it's almost exactly the same as playing a dude, just with a difference voice. No big deal.

 

4. I stick with white. It's not like I have anything against other races, I just never seem to consider it. Maybe it's because since most video game NPC's are white, it doesn't make a lot of sense to play as someone else. Take the human noble in DAO: you would have had a normal Ferelden white family, and then this random black guy that came out of nowhere. Oddly enough, Mass Effect has a huge mix of races, but all my Shepards have been white. Huh. I'll have to think about changing things up next time.

 

6. If you want to ask if I would a romance a black women, then yes. Me and Isabela got along fine. I wouldn't touch Vivienne with a 10 foot pole, but that's because her personality seems toxic, not because of her Rivaini descent. I wouldn't really be comfortable describing fictional characters as "attractive", but I will say I'm not a fan of bald women.

 

7. I'm not sure how many Inquisitors I will have, but I will play a different race every time, so I'll probably get to them all eventually. I think it's pretty easy to play a Dwarf or Qunari. I don't really get into elves, but that's mostly because I don't agree with a lot of their culture.

[Ophir147]

I'm pleasantly surprised at the civil direction a thread of this nature is taking so I'll respond. The information I've read so far from others is certainly enlightening.

 

1) I would have said that I was uncomfortable romancing a Male even with a female character before Dragon Age 2, but Fenris... changed me. My first playthrough was as a male mage, so obviously we got off on the wrong foot in terms of first impressions. But when I played the game a second time and paid more attention to his motivations, I saw him for what he was, and he just a broken person who believes he is lost and alone. I liked him enough as a character that I decided to throw caution to the wind and romance him as a female Hawke, and the arc is just so sweet I made femhawke romancing Fenris to be my canon playthrough. I guess I'm a bit of a sucker for damaged people. The same reason why I like Jack, and Morrigan, etc.

 

3) It depends on the voice actor of the character (if applicable) and my ability to create a good looking (read: interesting, but not necessarily sexually attractive to me) character in the CC. So I didn't really like playing Mass Effect as a female (for the former reason) and I didn't like playing DA:O as a female character (for the latter reason).

 

4) I tend to play white characters in Dragon Age as that tends to be the predominant skin color in the setting (i'm not a fan of the PC being a special snowflake fresh out of character creation). When creating a character in Mass Effect, I try to imagine what part of Earth he was from, or what culture he was raised as a part of (if he is a Spacer or Colonist). As a result, aside from my shameless self-insert canon playthrough, almost all my Shepards are not white. 

 

6) I don't think Fenris is physically attractive, but that wouldn't stop be from saying he is probably my second favorite romance Bioware has ever done (which kind of came out of left field for me). I don't personally find Viv attractive, and I don't personally find strong African features attractive, however if I find that I actually enjoy her character and having her around, chances are very good that I will romance her at least one and enjoy myself while I'm at it.

 

7) I plan to have an equal spread among Human, Elven, and Dwarven with a slight leaning toward Dwarf. I plan on one Qunari playthrough just to see if it radically changes the game (I doubt it will), but I was never exactly stumbling over myself in excitement to play as a Qunari. It is an extra choice and I'm happy for people that are excited about it though.

[Xerxes52]

Sure, I'll bite. Straight white male if you want to know.


1) As a heterosexual player, do you feel comfortable having your PC who is not your sex, romance a NPC who is your sex. Like me as a male playing as a female PC who romances a male NPC. Or a heterosexual female who plays as a male PC, but romances a female NPC.

A) Yes, I'm fine with that. When it comes to protagonists in video games, I don't see the PC as myself, but rather a character through which I experience and interact with the story. It's a lot more freeing in the sense that I can make characters who would behave nothing like I do in real life (pretty much a necessity when I do "evil" protagonists).

2) As a homosexual player, do you feel comfortable having your PC who is your sex, romance a NPC who is of opposite sex?

A) N/A

3) As a male, do you feel comfortable playing as a female character? As a female, do you feel comfortable playing as a male character?

A) Yes, I'm fine with playing as a female character.

4) If you are white, do you ever create characters that out right do not look "white" but rather black, asian, hispanic, or multi-racial? Or do you just stick with white?

A) Sometimes. Usually I stick with white, but I've also made PCs that are Black, Asian, Latino, and multi-racial.

5) If you are not white, do you normally try to create characters who match your racial identity? Or do you create a range of races?

A) N/A

6) Will you be comfortable romancing Vivenne if you are a white male? Do you even find Vivienne attractive? I do and I like how Bioware decided to create a black female with strong African features instead of the typical European looking female coated in brown skin.

A) Yes, I'm fine with romancing Vivienne. I do not find her attractive physically or on the snippets of her personality that have been revealed, but I'm glad they added more racial variety into the party.

7) Will the majority of your Inquisitors be human? How hard or easy is it to play as an Elf or Dwarf (and now Qunari)?

A) Probably not this time. Most of my playthroughs in DA:O were human, but this time I'm probably going for an even split in race and gender.

[Darth Krytie]

1/2: I know the first two questions were either about homosexuality or heterosexuality. I'm neither. I don't particularly care for labels, either. I only like people if I have a strong mental connection to them and they can be of any sex or gender. However, I prefer romancing women when playing a female pc, romancing men as a male pc. I also don't mind romancing male characters as a female pc. But don't tend to feel very comfortable romancing female characters as a male character. It's my least favourite combo.

 

3) As a female, do you feel comfortable playing as a male character?

 

I'm not bothered by it, but I generally prefer playing as a female character. It also depends on what type of male character I'd be playing as. If it's in BioWare game where I can control what I say and do? It doesn't bother me. If it's something like Skyrim, which I only played once, I play as a female. If it's a set character game? It depends on whether I can roleplay as someone who isn't sexist/misogynist.

 

4) If you are white, do you ever create characters that out right do not look "white" but rather black, asian, hispanic, or multi-racial? Or do you just stick with white?

 

I play a wide variety of races and ethnicities. I didn't in Origin only because the tones were so pink and looked terrible. I had a quite a variety in Mass Effect and DA2. I also played as all of the different options when I played KOTOR 1 and 2. I do tend to prefer to make someone closer to middle eastern in appearance. (My daddy is Iranian and I look more like him than my mum.)

 

7) Will the majority of your Inquisitors be human? How hard or easy is it to play as an Elf or Dwarf  (and now Qunari)?

 

I don't really have a problem with playing other fantasy races at all. I don't have a preference so far as having a hard time roleplaying as someone other than human, but at least in Origins I preferred the human origin the most.

[SirCxyrtyx]

1&2) I'm bi, so I'm not at all uncomfortable with any romance options.
 
3) I'm male, but almost all of my characters are female, and I have at least one other friend who does this too. Most games have male protagonists, so when I have a chance play a game where that's not the case, why would I just play as yet another dude?
 
4) Most characters I make are white. I occasionally make black characters. 

6) I do find Vivienne attractive. I don't know if I'll romance her yet, since I don't make those decisions before I play a game.

 
7) My first inquisitor will be an elf. I'm interested in playing a qunari too, and I have zero interest in playing a dwarf. Playing a human just seems like the boring choice.
 

Thirdly, even though I'm bi, I never romance men as women or women as men, because I'm surrounded enough by heterosexuality as it is, and I like to take breaks from it. EDIT: More specifically, I'm surrounded by heteronormativity and erasure.

This is almost exactly how I feel. Although I'm not opposed to doing a straight romance, as long as my character isn't straight and that can be represented in-game. For example, I romanced Thane in ME2, but that Shepard also romanced Liara in ME1 and Traynor in ME3.

[AEve1]

1) As a heterosexual player, do you feel comfortable having your PC who is not your sex, romance a NPC who is your sex. Like me as a male playing as a female PC who romances a male NPC. Or a heterosexual female who plays as a male PC, but romances a female NPC.

2) As a homosexual player, do you feel comfortable having your PC who is your sex, romance a NPC who is of opposite sex?

 

Bisexual female, so combining these. I feel comfortable with M/M, F/F, and F/M romances. So far I haven't found the M/F romances (where the PC is male and LI is female) to be comfortable for me. I tend to over-identify with the LI over my PC in those romances, and start feeling uncomfortable because I know I wouldn't want to date a guy with that kind of power over me. The power imbalance between PC and LI doesn't strike home as much in the other pairings.

 

3) As a male, do you feel comfortable playing as a female character? As a female, do you feel comfortable playing as a male character?

 

I have no problem playing as a male, and usually do for at least one playthrough. As long as the voice-acting appeals to me, anyway (took me a while to warm up to MShep when playing Mass Effect, and I still can't stand him as a paragon).

 

4) If you are white, do you ever create characters that out right do not look "white" but rather black, asian, hispanic, or multi-racial? Or do you just stick with white?

 

I'm white, but create characters that resemble multiple races. I like to see more diverse casts, so playing as a POC is one way to achieve that. Even if the cast was very diverse, though, I'd probably create non-white characters quite often, because the artistic tools are there and I like to make use of all the character creator options. Like other people have said, though, the hair options can be AWFUL. If Bioware doesn't release a toolset for DAI, then I demand better hair.

 

It's worth noting that the PC's race doesn't make a difference to scripted story, background, or dialogue in most of the games I own, but I would definitely be willing to play a game where it was a larger component of the story.

 

5) If you are not white, do you normally try to create characters who match your racial identity? Or do you create a range of races?

n/a

 

6) Will you be comfortable romancing Vivenne if you are a white male? Do you even find Vivienne attractive? I do and I like how Bioware decided to create a black female with strong African features instead of the typical European looking female coated in brown skin. 

 

Not a male, but I do think Vivienne is very attractive, and it's nice to see different beauty standards represented in-game. Her personality also appeals to me from what we've heard about her. I think she'd be a lot of fun to romance with a naive, apolitical character, or with a more canny PC.

 

7) Will the majority of your Inquisitors be human? How hard or easy is it to play as an Elf or Dwarf  (and now Qunari)?

 

I'm going to play as all of them! The qunari could be difficult to roleplay, depending on what kind of background they have in the final game, but I've never had any trouble playing as an elf or dwarf so I doubt it will be an issue. I identify most with female dwarves, though. I appreciate getting the chance to play as a woman who isn't especially slim.

[Warden Inquisitor]

Might as well get this out of the way. I am a straight, white male.

 

1) As a heterosexual player, do you feel comfortable having your PC who is not your sex, romance a NPC who is your sex. Like me as a male playing as a female PC who romances a male NPC. Or a heterosexual female who plays as a male PC, but romances a female NPC.  

 

No reason for me to feel uncomfortable. My characters in most instances are an extension of myself.

 

2) As a homosexual player, do you feel comfortable having your PC who is your sex, romance a NPC who is of opposite sex?

 

3) As a male, do you feel comfortable playing as a female character? As a female, do you feel comfortable playing as a male character?

 

Playing as either gender in a video game would not have a psychological impact. What matters is that I remember my characters as being bad*sses.

 

4) If you are white, do you ever create characters that out right do not look "white" but rather black, asian, hispanic, or multi-racial? Or do you just stick with white?

 

Meh. I prefer to represent myself as much as I can. I made a black, elf mage character in Origins once. 

 

5) If you are not white, do you normally try to create characters who match your racial identity? Or do you create a range of races?

 

6) Will you be comfortable romancing Vivenne if you are a white male? Do you even find Vivienne attractive? I do and I like how Bioware decided to create a black female with strong African features instead of the typical European looking female coated in brown skin. 

 

Trick question: I don't plan on romancing Vivienne, nor do I find her attractive. Only Sera, Cassandra, and Josephine have caught my eye as romance options.

 

7) Will the majority of your Inquisitors be human? How hard or easy is it to play as an Elf or Dwarf  (and now Qunari)?

 

No. There is no level of difficulty when it comes to playing as a Dwarf, Elf or Vashoth. All three are mere fantasy species. 

[Catche Jagger]

Well, I'm asexual so I'm not sure where I fit into this, but since I am herteroromantic, I assume question 1 is more applicable to me.

1) Yes. I've played characters of different sexes and sexualities. I see no issue with doing so as I enjoy roleplaying as characters who are different than me.

3) Yes. I've played as female characters before, and I intend to to make my main Inquisitor a female Vashoth

4) I enjoy playing as a diverse set of characters. As such, I make characters of different skin tones and features of different races, though I don't technically go out of my way to make a character of any particular race. I just go for what makes the character look interesting to me. (I did make make more deliberate efforts in Mass Effect)

6) I see no problem with romancing her as long as I end up liking her as a character (I thought Morrigan was beautiful too, but had difficulty getting myself to romance her due to getting irritated by her constant disapproval)

7) I intend to do one game with each race, where it goes from there depends on my experiences within those games.

[zestalyn]

Asian female here, mostly straight 

 

1) As a heterosexual player, do you feel comfortable having your PC who is not your sex, romance a NPC who is your sex. Like me as a male playing as a female PC who romances a male NPC. Or a heterosexual female who plays as a male PC, but romances a female NPC.

Playing a male protagonist does actually affect my gameplay. I got into gaming through RPGs like Guild Wars/Bioware games, so in a sense, I've been spoiled with having the option of playing a female with whom I can immerse my identity in and by extension, the game. My first non RPG was Assassin's Creed II, and aside from the finnicky gameplay/controls, I couldn't continue the game cause I had a hard time caring about Ezio. He was a very stereotypical heteronormative bro-dude prone to stubbornness, violence, and an obivous womanizer. That showed me if given the option, I will always play as a female and represent myself, whereas otherwise will probably make me less emotionally invested. 

 

2) As a homosexual player, do you feel comfortable having your PC who is your sex, romance a NPC who is of opposite sex?

 

3) As a male, do you feel comfortable playing as a female character? As a female, do you feel comfortable playing as a male character?

Depends on the male character's personality. I couldn't bear playing as Ezio Auditore, but I had no problem playing as my male characters in GW2 who were characterized to my liking. If ACII's protagonist was actually a woman with the same personality, I probably would've been more intrigued to continue playing, just cause the character would automatically represent something more rare.

 

4) If you are white, do you ever create characters that out right do not look "white" but rather black, asian, hispanic, or multi-racial? Or do you just stick with white?

 

5) If you are not white, do you normally try to create characters who match your racial identity? Or do you create a range of races?

I always try to create an Asian female to my likeness. These RPGs are among the very few times in entertainment media where I get to see an Asian English-speaking female have a strong role. So f*ck yeah. 

 

6) Will you be comfortable romancing Vivenne if you are a white male? Do you even find Vivienne attractive? I do and I like how Bioware decided to create a black female with strong African features instead of the typical European looking female coated in brown skin. 

Vivienne is gorgeous, and it makes me hope DA:I has included face options representing non-Caucasian ethnicities. I was pleased to see an Asian face in DAII's character creator, but was very disappointed by DA:O and ME in that respect. 

 

7) Will the majority of your Inquisitors be human? How hard or easy is it to play as an Elf or Dwarf  (and now Qunari)?

I can't decide if my first will either be elf or human. I will probably never play dwarf or qunari, not because I don't like them, but because I'd rather not be one. I find them as respectful and charming as humans/elves, but their appearance and culture don't appeal to me. I can see myself playing dwarf/qunari if I had that kind of spare time for multiple playthroughs, but that's unlikely. 

[Sylvius the Mad]

- Most people do not mind playing as the opposite sex

- Most people do not mind having their PC pursue a romance in which the NPC is the same sex as they are. Unless it is a male gamer, which mostly seems like they are uncomfortable with doing a m/m romance.

- Many people, white and non-white enjoy the ability to create a wide range of faces that represent a wide range of ethnic looks.

- Many people (especially women) finds Vivi attractive and would like to romance her, but is possibly turned off by her personality. This was similar to Jacob in ME2 who people wanted to romance, but felt that his romance and personality was weak in comparison to Thane and even Garrus.

At least, that's what they say.

[General TSAR]

Because they market all their games with white protagonists.

And who is the target audience of this marketing campaign?

[Nefla]

<~~~Straight white female, I have no problem playing people who are not me. I like to make a wide range of characters and prefer if no two are exactly the same, especially in look. I like playing every race, class, alignment, and sexuality and doing every romance(in different playthroughs). No type of character makes me uncomfortable to play (unless they're a sadistic, evil baby killer or something).