Do you self insert?

[IamLEAM1983]

I don't so much self-insert as I massively roleplay as long as I'm not given an actual name.

Bethesda games are great for self-insertion purposes, but diverging from myself is still as simple as creating a non-Breton who isn't named Daniel Sauvé. As yes, that's my name. Hassan the Khajiit isn't me. Black-Scale the Argonian isn't either. If and when I feel like self-inserting, the character's name starts to resemble mine. As a rule, that doesn't happen often. The less anthrocentric the universe, the less I'm inclined to slip myself in it.

One of the problems I have with this approach, however, is the fact that no matter how hard I try, I can't roleplay a Courier who's stuck with CP from birth and who has to hobble his way around the Mojave with a lazy eye and a bum leg. Statistics will always climb, so even my self-insert Breton will inevitably be a much greater badass than I ever will be. Ergo, he stops being a vector for my own personality. In other words, when I do self-insert, it only lasts for the first five or so levels.

Give me a named protagonist, however, and I just can't do that. Geralt of Rivia is Geralt of Rivia. Corvo Attano is Corvo Attano. All the Assassins are who they are. I could never hold a candle to Gordon Freeman's curiously under-developed intellectual prowess, I'm sure. I mean, the dude's studied at Innsbruck and he's barely in his thirties! He's an M.I.T. graduate!

What am I, in comparison? A thirty year-old bookworm. String theory? Lawl, more like cheese string theory.

 

[Frankster]

Depends on the game.

For my first run in bioware rpgs for example i do tend towards self insertion as it feels more honest, i usually have little idea of the world im playing in as so find it more immersive to play an alternate version of myself (so id contribute to the stats of male soldiers in that regard), but on the subsequent playthroughs i get more creative with my characters.

For games like Walking Dead or Tomb Raider with a fixed protagonist, i tend to project myself as the character instead.

 

[ninjaRiv]

Oh... This is not what I thought it was. Disappointed.

Seriously, though! I self insert into things games like Fallout, Elder Scrolls, etc but usually based on a background I give that character... If that makes sense. Like one guy is me but if I had been raised by Radscorpions, for example. That me would get animal friend perk or focus on survival. He would also avoid confrontation with scorpions. But I might make a female character who is obsessed with money so she would be pretty nasty to get what she wants but would learn a lesson based on the missions. So he might end up less nasty.

If a character is already established or has his own basic background, I'll still make choices based on my own moral compass but more along the lines of what I think the character would do. Or, rather, what I want him/her to do. But with mass Effect, I'd play for the story and character interactions' I'd play a female or male character only because I want to get all interactions and possible scenarios.

But then again, in things like Metal gear, I'd play Peacewalker playthroughs and kill everything playthroughs just because of fun and trophies.

So I suppose it depends on how fleshed out the character is when I get to play.

 

[FootloosePhoenix]

I can't help but grin every time I see this thread's title.

Anyway, I do not self-insert. I'm very much a fan of characters; not a fan of myself at all. Like Daystar mentioned, even in games where the protagonist is designed practically for the sole purpose of you projecting yourself into the game through them (BioShock and Persona 3 FES come to mind, since I've been playing those recently), I tend to form an attachment to the protagonist anyway as if they were a distinct and tangible person. Call me crazy, but Jack from BioShock is one of my favourite main video game characters. In games where you make your own character, I actually make my own character; it's not me running through the hills of Cyrodiil, it's Steals-Sweetroll, the thief-y Khajiit with an Argonian name, or Priscilla gro-Baaluk, the male to female transgendered orc.

 

[Bara_no_Hime]

Yeah, sounds dirty no matter how I type it

Yeah. I came to this thread specifically to make a masturbation joke. However, if seems you've ninjaed me in the OP!

Also... tee hee... I said "came." ^^;;

Am I in a minority then, when it comes to gaming, that I see protagonists as their own person, not simply an avatar for me to project onto?
I get the impression that most gamers do project themselves into games as the protagonist, seeing as how only around 18% of Mass Effect 3 players used Femshep

Yeah, I don't get that either. I never project onto the protagonist of a game.

At best, I pull a character from my D&D line up and play THAT character instead.

If I want to be myself, I can do that in Real Life. I game to be other people with lives that far more dangerous than my own.

 

[mgirl]

Heh heh self insert. Childish humour.

I'm not sure how to answer it though. I mean, if I take the example of the walking dead, playing as Lee, he's nothing like me. He's male, a lot older than me, I really had no reason to 'be' Lee, yet I would make the decisions that felt like what I'd do. It may be more of a matter of immersion than self insertion, but I did feel emotionally connected to the characters.

On the other hand if I get the choice I always play as a female character, so maybe there is a bit of self insertion for me, or maybe it's about what I find relatable.

I'm not really sure what I'm trying to say anymore... I'll stop now.

 

[the7ofswords]

It totally depends on the game. If there's an established character, I try to play that character, one way or the other. And if given a good/evil choice in an established character, I usually play through twice. Now, in a game where I can make a character, I most often play as a constructed character personality.

Games like Fallout or Elder Scrolls are my favorite, because I'll play through multiple times as different characters. What I really like to do is role-play the protagonist in different ways. The first time I'm a female with a kind heart who wants to help people. The next time I'm a complete ass-hole who's just in it for himself. The next time I'll be a roguish anti-heroine, who has a smart mouth, but in the end does the right thing. I will occasionally try to play a game as myself in these cases, but more often I try to become the character. So rather than insert myself, I'm shedding myself and trying to be this character I've made up.

It doesn't matter if I'm male, female, furry or alien or whatever?I try to think and feel like the character. To me, that's the most fun of all, and it's why I like big open-world games with lots of opportunities to interact and explore new characters and settings.

 

[thehorror2]

I like to try to self-insert, where possible (that phrase is never going to not sound horrible, is it?) Some games have fairly defined characters. Lee Everett is a good example. You decide parts of what he thinks, but not all. Some decisions are forced binaries, others just don't have the option I would take. Alpha Protocol is similar. Mike Thorton can be any of three different flavors of badass/jackass, or a mix, but he's never entirely the player's character. (the plot of the game is fairly linear, but the effect you can have on the parts of it you see can be tremendous.)

The odd thing is, almost all of my favorite RPG characters STARTED as self-inserts, but became their own characters later on. KotOR II's Jedi Exile is to my mind the most interesting protagonists of that console generation, purely because of his/her character arc. Sure I named him after me, and picked the headshot that looked most like me (if much, much more tan) but by the end of the game he evolved into a wholly separate creature; he didn't do what I would do, he did what I think the Jedi Exile would do. Same thing happened with my Commander Shepard in Mass Effect. He started as me and turned into my interpretation of Shepard, Savior of the Galaxy. The only game where my self-insert didn't disappear into the game's protagonist was Fallout New Vegas, which I think speaks to the amount of flexibility that game's writing accounts for. When I got to the point where the Courier starts to align with the NCR, Legion, or Mr. House, I couldn't really decide on who to support. In a situation like that you bet your ass I'd waffle on my allegiance and to my surprise, the game allowed for that. I even told all three factions that I'd allied the Boomers with them! And then I promptly turned on all three sides, locked Mr. House out of his own house, and gave New Vegas back to the people, just like I wanted to.

 

[DSK-]

I've never tried/been able to. I always make decisions as myself and do what I want to do, but I never go beyond the boundary of "this is a game that I am playing".

Having said that, I have quiet literally inserted myself into a few FIFA games

 

[Rendahli]

I think I do it pretty much all the time. (slightly less dirty than saying I self-insert all the time)

For example(s):
In my current play through of Baldur's Gate 2 my character is not Rendah'li Kellat half elf, spawn of Bhaal, he is me with a cooler name and more interesting life. Or in Skyrim, Hjoll Firemane is me after many, many visits to the gym.

In some cases though it can be quite difficult or something might happen which stops me from being able to.
In L.A Noir I began playing as me

Spoiler: Up until the point where Cole...

Has an affair with that singer woman.

At which point he couldn't be me anymore because I wouldn't have done that. From that point on I was simply watching Cole run around doing cop things, whereas before it was an odd looking version of me running around doing cop things.

In Halo, I am a Spartan warrior, but then during the cut scenes I am suddenly not a Spartan warrior, I am Dan on a sofa watching John be a Spartan warrior.

I guess it depends on the game. If there is an opportunity to self-insert I'll take it and honestly I prefer it when I can be self-inserted. (So lock up your games, I'm coming to self-insert myself all over their faces and stuff!)

 

[King Aragorn]

Context sensitive is the best way to put it. Some games, I simply can't. Such as Batman as someone noted, the game gives you no space to insert yourself in. While some game, I simply cannot NOT insert myself into the characters, in games such as TES or Fallout.

 

[Xarathox]

Most of the time, no I don't self insert (God, that does feel dirty typing it). However, if combat gets pretty heavy then I tend to get lost in the moment and I do become the PC... until the next dialog heavy cutscene. Then I'm wrenched right back to being the audience.

 

[Grahav]

Depends. In visual novels, or games like the Walking Dead I go as myself. In games like GTA or Mortal Kombat I just go ape shit like the protagonists.

Most times I just end up as something mixed.

 

[Idsertian]

Daystar, stop making threads about games and get back to making threads about awesome British food! We need a thread about Lea & Perrins, dammit! Unless you did that one already, in which case, get on and make one about...I dunno...Seriously Strong Cheddar, or something.

OT: I often find myself self-inserting (you're right, that does sound dirty), even in games that don't call for it. Games like Mass Effect, Skyrim and Half-Life 2 are prime candidates for this, but I also find myself doing it in games like Gears of War on occasion.

In fact, pretty much every game I self-insert, even if it's just for a moment to taunt the enemy (whoever they may be).

 

[Guitarmasterx7]

I mean I like to if possible. Helps me get into the game a lot more. So yes, if I get to create my character or if it's in first person.

 

[Beryl77]

No, I usually don't self insert (you're a dirty, dirty man).
When I play a game where you can make your own decisions, I try to imagine what that character would do in certain situations but it's usually not what I would do. Even in games with silent protagonists like Freeman or Link, I imagine what they could be thinking or what they would say and how they would react. But again, it's just this idea of the character that I have but it's not myself.
I pretty much always see the character that I'm playing and myself as two separate entities.

 

[Chaomage6]

I only self-insert (yeah, still dirty) with games like Oblivion, Skyrim, Guild Wars, Fallout, etc. where I am making a character to fill my role. In Half-Life, Dishonored, I am playing as Corvo, I am not Corvo. Even with grand strategy or MOBAs I think not how I would act, but how a commander would act, because I am playing a commander. Meh. Must be my acting experience.