Do you 'self-insert' in videogames?

[The_Lost_King]

No, I don't. At most I will give my character their own personality but I never make myself.

 

[nightingale]

Yeah, I do. Face, hair, personality, weapon of choice... maybe armor if available for customization, they're all as similar to the real me as it is made possible. I don't usually use my real name because it would sound weird in most fantasy worlds, but I do have a limited number of alternatives which I've used so much that by now are almost like second or third names. Imo, this way the experience becomes more personal.

 

[Zombie Sodomy]

I always play through the story as if I was the main character, but I don't take that into account when I create my characters look. The character could be an alien woman; I still think of her as being me. I've never really thought of my looks as being part of my identity. If it's my brain in a different body, it's still me. I have a hard time making a character that isn't me. It's not fun to me, so even if I set out to create an evil character I will still end up making the exact same choices as on my last play-through. I always try to make the best decision the first time around, and I can't bring myself to do anything that I don't believe is the best decision. It can be inconvenient at times to have my character so connected to me. In Star Wars: The Old Republic I finally created an Imperial class, I went with Bounty Hunter because they have no official connection to the Empire and are just fine killing sith and Imperial officers, and am leveling far slower than any of my Republic characters because I can't bring myself to do half the side quests on that side.

Edit: I also have yet to find a game that lets my character have my long ass Bon Jovi/Neil Young hair. My bottom lip is tricky too.

 

[uchytjes]

I always do my first playthrough. After that I play just to do stuff.

 

[concrete89]

More than I would like to admit. In the end, my characters act like I would act, given their abilities, and sometimes, I get far too invested in their struggles.

 

[jdogtwodolla]

I can barely manage to self insert into the Xbox/Mii universe, how the hell am I supposed to do it in an actual game?

 

[New Frontiersman]

That's how I tend to do it, at least for my first play though. I like to feel as though I'm in the game, that's really what I've wanted ever since I've been a kid: to be in my won video game, and character creation options let me do just that. I just love the feeling when I see myself in the game, and I try to make my characters act like I really would (more stealthy to try and avoid confrontation, pick the morally "good" options) rather than just go for whatever makes me more powerful. Maybe I'm an egomaniac to like to see myself in my games, but that's just how I am, I like to experience things as me rather than someone else.


That being said in more open games like Skyrim or Oblivion I might still roleplay my "me" character a bit by coming up with interesting back stories whenever the game doesn't provide one.


Of course on later playthoughs I usually create a character different than my own to try and experience things from a different perspective and play in different ways which is always interesting too, but I'll always have a preference for my "me" characters.

 

[Olas]

No


That seems like a weird thing to do, it's like narcissism incarnate. While I often insert my own personality, preferences, and morality into the characters I play as, because it just feels more natural to me, I don't see any reason why they should look like the blob of bone and flesh holding the controller.

 

[Odbarc]

I have multiple characters I bring into every one of my games. If I can name my character, they are given specific classes, roles, genders, ect.

 

[The Hero Killer]

No never, I'm one of the most uninteresting creatures on the planet. I play RPGs and create characters to play a role that couldnt be further from myself not to mention most of my characters are female.