Guys That Play Girls In Games. Why?

[katsabas]

In the Fallout series. Why?

Cause you can literally SELL your husband to the slavers if he pisses you off.
Cause you can flirt with Mr.Burke, win him over and then blow his head off in the name of the Regulators.

 

[Royta]

If I have to look at someone's ass for atleast 20 hours, I'm sorry but that's gonna be a girl's ass. Not a man's ass.

 

[WildSeraph]

I play female characters because I can't let out my girly side in real life. I'm gay and feminine, so playing a female character lets me explore a side of me that I'm not usually allowed to. Then there's also the fact that girls get more customization, so I can look better.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

In your guys opinion what makes a good female protagonist? Im working on a story line for a female protagonist in one of my games, but i want her to be cool without her having to be a strip tease, so what do i do to make her perfect?

It sounds crass, and after earlier I'm being careful, but talk to a woman. There's some gaming girls here that I'm SURE will put you right. Eleima, Susan Arendt, Elizabeth Grunewald, Skykema, Radelaide for a start.

[sub]If I know you and I missed your name out it's because I didn't want to single out all the girls [/sub]

 

[Nickolai77]

I think playing the opposite gender allows greater variety. Typically, when i complete a game with multiple actual or possible characters(Say, Mercenaries or Oblivion) i first complete it as a male character, and then, just for a change in scenery, a more different and usually female character.

For instance my current Fallout New Vegas character is a neutral good, fairly ordinary white male. At the moment, i'm just playing through the game in a very straight forward, common sense fashion. However, once i understand the in's and out's of the game, i plan to start a new game, and create a psychotic female character and rock the boat a little more.

 

[Savagezion]

More aesthetically pleasing.

This is my main reason. I would rather look at a female avatar than a male one. Some games offer an even greater experience though such as Mass Effect. Some games that allow character definition in dialogue can make this more fun and actually make the female more appealing.

I play males in games as well. However if I were to play through a game's campaign 10 times, probably 7-8 of them would be with female avatars. But even in shooters I will pick a female avatar if the option is there as usually online this will pull a lot of aggro. Plus, I like making people think they just got killed by a female gamer.

 

[Netrigan]

First person I usually play as a male character if offered. For third person, I go for female characters because if I'm going to stare at someone's ass for the next 10-60 hours I may as well enjoy the view. Doesn't spoil the immersion any more than the third person view.

And Fable has the added benefit of hot girl on girl action

 

[hazabaza1]

Generally I don't.
But I started a Dragon Age Let's play where my audience chose me to be a female.
[sub][sub]Which can be found on my youtube channel, if anyone wants to know [http://www.youtube.com/user/MrHaza2?feature=mhum][/sub][/sub]

 

[theamazingbean]

To get a taste of transgenderism without having to buy the new wardrobe or go through surgery.

 

[ParanoidEngineer]

It's perfectly simple.

I like to play as women because they have every right to exist in games as men do.

They are no different to men, apart from in voice, and are more attractive too.

And if anyone says that I'm wrong, my Female Commander Shepard will have to come round your house and sleep with you before giving you a glass sandwich with a hammer.

 

[Sephychu]

It doesn't need to be a bloke for me to role play. I can't throw shit with my mind, and I'm not an elf, and that doesn't stop me either.

 

[Manji187]

I was just trying to think of a reason why guys so often seem to play women in video games.
My brother plays almost exclusively female characters, and I know he isn't alone. I honestly can't think of single good reason to, for me, all it would do is spoil the immersion as I'm NOT a girl. So, anyone who does play as a woman in games, why? Feel free to speculate even if you don't play a woman, but please try not to just descend into "COz ThEy ARe PerVS LoL!".

TLDR: Why do men play as women?

EDIT: Women who play as men also feel free to reply as to why you do.

This is not about sexism, I am NOT saying you can't play as a woman, I just want to know why you do.

Reasons so far:

To see if it changes anything on the second playthrough.

More aesthetically pleasing.

Access to certain classes.

Distance yourself from the character.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anima_and_animus

If you're into psychology and the unconscious...

 

[anonymity88]

I think it's because back when Jedi Knight II devoured 300 hours of my youth I preferred Jan's character to kyle's so when the option to pick her model in MP came up I did and have never looked back.


Also the PvP argument...

 

[Nickolai77]

In your guys opinion what makes a good female protagonist? Im working on a story line for a female protagonist in one of my games, but i want her to be cool without her having to be a strip tease, so what do i do to make her perfect?

Personally, i tend to base major female characters on other fictional female characters. Choose a female character you find interesting and import them into whatever your writing. Then you change a few things about them to suit the plot, setting and obviously their name.

 

[Krantos]

I was just trying to think of a reason why guys so often seem to play women in video games.
My brother plays almost exclusively female characters, and I know he isn't alone. I honestly can't think of single good reason to, for me, all it would do is spoil the immersion as I'm NOT a girl. So, anyone who does play as a woman in games, why? Feel free to speculate even if you don't play a woman, but please try not to just descend into "COz ThEy ARe PerVS LoL!".

Because changing the gender of the protagonist significantly changes the tone of the narrative. Many actions and interactions take on a different meaning and a different feel when the gender is different. Don't believe me? Guy 1 punches Guy 2 in the face and knocks him out. vs. Girl punches guy in the face and knocks him out. See the difference? That's just one sentence, imagine an entire narrative.

Additionally, most games either give you the choice, or force you to play as a male. Should women not play Gears or War or Halo 1-3 just because the protagonists are male? Should guys not play Metroid? Breaking it down and saying that people should stick to their own gender characters is prohibitive and childish. If you personally prefer to play one way or another, fine, but there's no justification for expecting others to as well or degrading them when they do.

Frankly, I grew up having a lot of respect for women, and I feel they are significantly underrepresented in entertainment, but in games in particular. I've been playing Far Cry 2 lately and am seriously disappointed that among the mercs you interact with are a couple of female characters that you do not get the option of playing. All the male mercs are potential PCs but not the females. Why? It would make the game considerably more interesting if I could have a woman shooting the crap out of all these guys rather than "generic male merc #3204."

Most women in games are either love interests or sex symbols, and their personalities rarely see much variation. That's why FemShep was so popular. Her role was really written for a male character, but Jennifer Hale's performance brought it to life and gave her such a range of emotions and so much personality that she was extremely interesting to play.

TL;DR Changes the Narrative. Most games force you to play male already. Female NPC's lack depth.

 

[DaMullet]

Honestly, I've actually asked myself this question a lot because I find myself playing women characters almost all the time I get to pick something.

Maybe because I personally can't relate to other guys in general, but I doubt it.

Or maybe because I dont' have a high opinion of guys to begin with, so to put one in the hero chair is very difficult for me as I tend to really enjoy the immersion of a game.

I think its because in a game world, I find women more 'powerful'. Let me use the example of Mass Effect 2

Spoiler

If you play a female shepard and go after Garrus for a partner some of the dialog reenforces my thinking that women are more powerful. When Shepard comes on to Garrus, he starts stumbling, and making embrassing mistakes.

I mean, this is mr.bad-ass, Mr.Archangel, mr.I-can-take-on-every-gang-in-the-station-with-a-sniper-rile; Suddenly changed into an unsure, nervous wreck. The smirk of a woman is more intimidating then hundreds of guns to him!

That kind of power is more respectful/awe inspiring then a any blast from a BFG to me.

 

[crimsnking]

quick answer. escapism
long answer don't ask
as for myself if I'm going to be starring at an ass for the next 12 hours of play what better than to look a woman's posterior, secondly if it's first person i do because i imagine it throws half a wrench in the storytelling and i think thats funny

 

[Ren3004]

Personally, I like having some variety. That's pretty much it.

 

[Antidrall]

I don't, but my guess is that if you're going to play an MMO for the rest of your life, You might as well be looking at an attractive avatar for that time.