Gender in Gaming

[Mitsuki]

So do you guys usually play as a male or female characters when given that option to choose between the two?

Usually I'll play as a male character in RPG/shooter games like Mass Effect 2 & 3, Skyrim, Uncharted 2 & 3 (multiplayer), Fire Emblem: Awakening, White Knight Chronicles 2, and Fallout 2 & 3, to name a few. When it comes to character creation/customization, I find it a lot more fun to tweak the male characters and portray him as a strong, handsome warrior. Or something close to that effect. Rarely do I play as a female character, unless it's MMORPG like FFXIV. Mind, FFXIV is the only MMORPG that I really got into (besides Conquer Online back in the old days, which only lasted for a month or two), but I think I'm more inclined to customize a female character in games that involves social interaction with others. Wouldn't mind a male character too, but I'd have more fun playing as a female character in that instance.

I'll include a few screenshots later.

 

[Big Casino]

Il play as a male character 99/100. In RPG games its almost as if you are that character so it feels more natural for me to pick a male. Not that it ever looks like me but it just feels right. Ive replayed the mass effect games as female shephard which is definitely an improvement over the male as the voice actor is so so much better. SKyrim / fallout etc ive always been a man though those games have some of the ugliest looking avatars in gaming. Worth noting that in games like fallout and skyrim the gender doesnt make much difference cuz they have no voice but i still lean more towards men. Ive started playing as a female solider in cod ghosts though. They have smaller bodies and it seems to make it a little trickier to kill them.

Saints row has probably the best character building ive seen in games. You have a range of different voices to choose from and you can make your character as real or as crazy looking as you want. You could be a male body with a female voice and vice versa. No one can accuse it of being gender biased.

 

[Jdeadevil]

Reminds me of this scene from Chobits where Hideki runs into this girl on an online game and apologies, and then she replies in a guy's voice and then skips off, and then someone explains to him that it was actually a guy messing around.

 

[Shenorai]

Personally, I'm guilty of playing female roles whenever it's allowed. Half of it out of self-interest. But I also feel like I've played male roles in games half to death already. Some things become fairly predictable fairly quick. Of course, the same can be said regarding the female characters.

Though I wonder; how many games actually penalize you stat-wise for playing the female role over the male role?

 

[AuronX]

Varies for me. Some games I want to create a genuine persona of myself and therefore I go with a male character, but if there's a lot of character design involved I will usually try out a female character as well, sometimes instead of a male. There's more artistic satisfaction in designing a really great female character, and it's interesting to see how the game changes when using the other gender. It's the difference between feeling like you are the character and feeling like you can relate to them--both are enjoyable in their own ways. There are also some games, like Monster Hunter for instance, where the character is completely flat and never speaks or anything. In this case I will almost always choose the female because she'll be the more interesting silent character for me to follow around for dozens of hours. I'd imagine that's often the case for people--if the choice is there, men are naturally going to be inclined to craft their perfect woman and women are naturally going to be inclined to craft their perfect man.

 

[Sheechiibii]

Eh, I usually go female, partly cause they sometimes just look better (in Mass Effect trying to make a good looking guy was pretty much impossible), and partly cause I'm a girl myself, so it kinda feels more natural for me to play as one in games where I can choose.

 

[Exoskeleton]

I never noticed the pattern until this topic was brought up but I actually have this weird thing of mostly only playing females in multiplayer games(if there's a choice). I prefer using males in rpgish third person games like Mass Effect, Skyrim, etc. Yet when it comes to fighting games or games like Borderlands, Resident Evil, I prefer female characters. MMO games usually vary between the two genders but it's mostly whatever I'm feeling at the moment of character creation. I cannot tell you how many times I've deleted a male character just to create a female character I hate and then going back and forth recreating characters until I get sick of playing the first levels of games and giving up.

In my mind I feel like females are more agile and speedy in certain games while the male can seem a bit clunky and brutish at times. xD

 

[L]

I usually play a female character in most games because better customization options are given to female characters and they are much more appealing in more ways than one when compared to their male counterparts.

I mean, I don't need to play a mega fabulous guy or anything, but the amount of customization options you get as a male character are just really shitty most of the time.

 

[Thief of Hearts Joker]

Personally its so so, if its a MMORPG I normally stick with male cause last thing in the world I wanna have happen is someone hit on me only to find out I'm just a dood playing as a girl LOL.

But in games like Mass Effect, Dark Souls, any no mmo game I play as a girl, why? Like Shenorai Male Leads are played to death, I honestly have a hard time enjoying the game as much if there is a guy hero cause normally the female lead with him is either a weak character who needs saving, a support character that only helps out some, or actual good character but gets killed off in some bs way so the male lead has even more resolve for the final battle.

I like seeing females take the reigns, it makes girls to be actual awesome leads who can carry their weight and then some (IE Female Shepard <3). Its a breath of fresh air when you can make a girl the badass xD.

That's just my thoughts on this subject xD

 

[L]

Personally its so so, if its a MMORPG I normally stick with male cause last thing in the world I wanna have happen is someone hit on me only to find out I'm just a dood playing as a girl LOL.

Used to happen a lot in World of Warcraft, maybe it still does on low pop servers. It has happened to me a few times, but rly who dates on the internet lol

i think i'd rather play a game of "why haven't we had sex yet?" with every female add on my FB before trying to flirt with someone in a video game lol

 

[Shaissa]

For me, I usually Pick the Male first when giving the option? Why? because I am one? I almost never really choose a female, unless it is a case like BL2 or Diablo, where choosing a female is for certain classes. Other than that, choosing a male and female is basically the same outcomes, only minor differences in the middle.

 

[Linnaete]

In games that offer me a choice? I'd say I go for female about 2/3 of the time.

It's largely because there's too many male characters running around in the industry anyway. If I can be female and basically reconstruct my own self as much as I can into this character I'm building, then most of the time I will do that. I can play as a man any other time. Plus if you play Mass Effect and you're NOT playing as a renegade FemShep, you're playing it wrong.

I occasionally roll male for a variety of trivial little reasons. For example, I fell in love with that male Cockney accent in Saints Row 2, so I decided to stick with a male Saints gang leader. That was until I decided to turn him into an obese, mohawked bra-wearing hermaphrodite black person swagging around with a majestic pink bathrobe and sunglasses. Saints Row 4 similarly because I wanted to play as Nolan North starring Nolan North's voice as voiced by Nolan North himself.

 

[Big Casino]

i stuck with the cockney accent in all the saints row games aswell

 

[Mystical_Gaming]

If a game gives the option then almost always female 100% of the time. Especially games like Skyrim on pc all the free mods for armor customization, hair, and face models it's hard not to resist going wild with character creation options.

I just feel more relate-able to female characters in games. I like the agile and quick type of characters and females usually tend to be this. The counter side is the male characters you choose and their roles usually relate to being the tank or doing lots of damage. I'd rather play a character that is about avoiding damage and is harder to hit than about brute force. I guess Borderlands is a good example of this. Siren is more about healing and supporting than taking damage or doing the most damage. I see this in games like Mass Effect 3 multiplayer as well. Almost all the characters I like (vanguards, Adepts, and engineers) are the female characters. They are smaller, quicker, and while they may not do as much damage they can evade large attacks easier.

I honestly have never had anyone tell me "you can't play that character in a game, it's not your gender in real life!" but I have heard that argument before and how it makes a guy 'gay' if they play female characters or if a female plays a male character there must be something "wrong with them". I don't see the connection to how someone playing the opposite gender in a video game makes said person desire to be the opposite gender or have issues. If anything those who are making fun of others are the ones with insecurities in my opinion.

 

[Ed Elric]

I remember one time my boyfriend made a female character on an MMO and he immediately got attention from men... he stopped playing that character because he thought that it was too creepy. Men will believe anything when it comes to that XD. be careful.

I like being a man because, I like men? I hate being female characters it's lame imo. I think generally speaking, men are an easier character to make because they're simple. Women you have to put on makeup, make sure her hair goes with her eyes. Too much work if you ask me.

In Mass Effect I have a male. I like it because I can be a badass and be mean and demanding to get what I want! I feel more powerful playing a male character.

 

[The Witch]

I play as male characters because usually female characters are try-hards. The femleads will try extra hard to be 'bad ass' and it just comes off awkward and stupid. I know that's the dev team's fault for making them unrealistic but still, majority of the time females are the typical 'short hair, masculine, physically violent' stereotype that feminists wet themselves for and it just gets so old. I like strong women not masculine women. there is a difference. for example, elena fisher, aerith gainsborough, lucy stillman, zelda, jane shepard are all feminine but strong in a lot of ways. most devs just include femleads because sjws pissed and moaned about 'under representation' for females in gaming, so their hearts aren't into it and they end up making a weak-stereotype femlead. and i don't appreciate that sort of thing. so i stick to males, but whenever it's a good femlead i roll with that. that said, i prefer male leads because usually the guys are hot and i want some eye-candy as i play my game

 

[Black Maiden]

I tend to make characters of both genders. I find my experiences in games more enriched if I see all that a game has to offer (particularly applicable to games like Mass Effect due to gender-specific conversations), but generally I will start out with a female character. I find the greater level of complexity and attention to detail required to pull them off in most games to be more interesting. Between attempting to create a strong but still undeniably feminine character (a balance which many seem to fail at), ensuring that the eye colour and hair colour (and style) are juuust right and applying finishing touches and make-up, it's just more fun. I tend to put more effort into producing my female characters and I'm generally very pleased with the results. Plus, eye candy.

 

[Dr. Percival Cox]

If I'm playing an RPG or any game that has a self-created avatar, then I pretty much always make male characters because I find it rather amusing to try and make the person look as much like me as possible (what can I say, I'm beautiful ).

In any other game, it boils down to which one is more interesting or has the better starting equipment. I always appreciate well written characters, but I'm not looking for someone to "identify/relate" with, and if I do find one, gender doesn't really play a part in that for me anyways.

 

[Galadín]

In RPGs where you can select your characters for the party and such like, I'll more often choose the male characters over the females based on the fact that I find them more interesting and/or better designed.

In MMOs or games where you can create your characters (e.g. Lord of Arcana, Dark Stone, etc.) I'll probably end up creating a female character, provided their voices aren't high pitched and squeaky (hate that ). I tend to like the character designs of the female more and the armour most times (not all) looks prettier and less chunky on them (I hate it when game characters look clumsy).

In Tekken, the fighting game I play (not including Dissidia here since it's hard to classify it as one), I only play the female characters because the males either seem to be brutes, pure egotistical or scary violent.

 

[LovingOfLightning]

I play as female characters if I can. (Dragon Age Origins, Dead Island, FFXIII-2 and Silent Hill 3)
It is hilarious seeing You Tube videos of FFXIII-2 where the male player is clearly playing as Noel.
It doesn't mean I understand women any more than I do, it certainly isn't a "Female simulator" for a start!
It doesn't bother me, besides, they look better!