Ladies, how about you?

[Angelowl]

Honestly, the only times I get bothered by a lack of female main characters is when part of a games appeal is character customization. For example: Battlefield heroes. I was surprisingly annoyed by the sausage fest.

In other examples, Deus Ex: Human Revolution and Assassins creed 2. Never bothered by those, probably because the main characters were pretty hawt.

In a proper PC-RPG I'd rather have a female option. Especially if I can customize her to my tastes. Generally speaking, there is little reason to not have a female option available apart from the game being focused on a specific character such as in... Uhm... I can't seem to be able to find any good examples, in particular after playing Bioware games.

 

[Vault101]

So here's my question: Do you find yourself not feeling a desire to play games that do not offer a male or female protagonist choice, the way others do i.e. Mass Effect, Dragon Age, Fallout 3/NV, Skyrim and so forth?
.

an interesting question.....my answer is bascially it depends

in general I am starved of decent female protagonists to play as, so I will often favor games that give me the option

if not then generally I'm fine playing a male protagonist, especially if I like the game (like dead space or dishonoured) more so if I feel its actually a good charachter (John marsten from red dead) or the guys from Assasins creed

HOWEVER other times I really do get tired of "white male protagonist" notonly because they are male but because they are soo fucking boring

I play somthing like Uncharted or Far cry 3 and think to myself "wouldnt this be so much more interesting if I was playing as a woman?" (the answer to the first one being tomb raider)


that and the Witcher being a long slog RPG..I dont think I could last long playing that miserable bastard Geraldt

I'm personally hoping the success of Tomb Raider will encourage more devs to choose ladies as their protags.

I was hoping that too...it might not make a dent but its somthing at least, and theres also that game coming out called "remember me" we don't know if its any good yet but if it is successful...well baby steps

I mean if you go back and think about it across this gen there haven't been many titles with female protagonist that hit the "critical and commercial success" sweet spot...I know games like mirrors edge and heavenly sword aren't considered awful by any means (if a bit flawed) I think to really make that difference it has to be both VERY well received and sell well,

[b/]thats[/b] how trends are set... not just "ok to good" on eather front

 

[Liviola]

Do you find yourself not feeling a desire to play games that do not offer a male or female protagonist choice, the way others do i.e. Mass Effect, Dragon Age, Fallout 3/NV, Skyrim and so forth?

It's really depends. Some male protagonists are nothing but surrogates for the male power fantasy. So sick of it. The Witcher is a perfect example.

Can't agree more. I'm happy to play a male protagonist (especially if he is interesting and likable) but I do get really put off if he is unlikable/fake/represents something I don't agree with (e.g. chauvanist, excessively bloodthirsty, etc.) Same would go for a female protagonist.

I enjoyed the essential gameplay of the God of War series and the Hitman series, but I never actually completed any of the games because I just felt 0% sympathy or interest in the player character. Even the "sad" Kratos backstory did nothing to make me relate to him at all. The female parallel would be the (early) Lara Croft games, where I had zero interest in playing either, because I just saw that ridiculously out of proportion shard of boob polygons as pretty exploitative, and the few times she's shown to have a personality it still came across as very 2-dimensional.

So.. basically it's not really a question of gender, more a case of how much I feel like I can align to or appreciate a certain person's perspective. That to me, adds so much to a game.

One interesting case is Prince of Persia: Sands of Time. I began the game really disliking Prince because he was (deliberately designed to be) this haughty, pretentious brat, but as the game progresses, he is shown to have more depth as a person, and that unlikable exterior is just a facet of him. I finished the game absolutely adoring him and his sarcastic attitude that hides a really tender, loyal person. Also the gameplay and art was incredible, so that pretty much made it my favourite game of all time. For me, all it takes is a decently-written character.

 

[CriticalMiss]

It depends on the game.

Something like Arkham City, you are playing Batman. There is no room for imagination on the part of the player (not a bad thing, by the way) as you are controlling Batman, doing Batman things in a Batman world. Really you are just watching his story unfold. I don't mind not having a female choice because the story demands Batman and he is a decent character, so it isn't a bad thing to have the option taken away. I don't think the game would be better if you could play through the campaign as Batgirl/woman because loads of it wouldn't make sense. Something like the Zelda games I don't mind either. Again because Link is a fairly good character and he isn't too imposing, being a 'silent' protagonist probably helps there as he doesn't hit on female characters with terrible one-liners. And look at Team Fortress 2. No playable women but yet really fun. I still would like to see Team PNK, an all female (and pyro) team added to the game, alas I doubt it will happen.

Games I tend to avoid are the look-you're-a-burly-space-marine-let's-kill-some-bugs-hoo-rah! ones. Gears of War was a total sausage fest and whilst I played the first game, it put me off the rest because most of the dialogue had undercurrents of 'who has the biggest tallywacker?'. But it wasn't just the lack of female characters that put me off, the game as a whole was kind of a let down. But it also goes the other way, I hate games with poor female characters or women who are really just there for the presence of boobs. Basically DOA Extreme Breast Volleyball. Lollipop Chainsaw was borderline but I guess everyone in that was meant to be grossly exaggerated.

I don't think I've ever avoided a game solely on it's lack of a girl-player option, but it has been one of a handful of reasons to skip a title. Simply having the choice doesn't make something a guaranteed sale either. If I have to play as a man then the developers should at least do a good job of making them fun to play as, then I don't mind.

 

[Broderick]

As a male(in both body and mind), I will try to answer your question from the opposite side. Do I find myself unwilling to play games that do not have a male character or character selection like FO3/nv? Usually no. Some of my favorite games have female protagonists that you can only play. Beyond Good and Evil had the spunky Jade. Tomb Raider games have the courageous Lara. In Resident Evil 1, I always played Jill because I liked her more, and I liked her perks better(gotta love those extra inventory slots). I LOVED both(one and two) Parasite Eve games as well.

Generally, when there is a game where you can pick between a male and female character, and there are absolutely no differences between them(like fallout 3/nv or most MMO's), I will usually go with a male. This is only because those types of games are usually for you to build a character from scratch, rather than one that already has a personality and whatnot. My thought process is when there a blank templates, I pick the male because I am one, and because I usually like to choose things(such as their personality) based upon what character I have in mind. This is especially evident if I want to self insert my personality onto the character, rather than role play as someone else.

There would not be any difference if I put one of my characters in a female body I suppose; there is generally very little in custom character rpg's that would make a character be defined by their gender alone(unless this is one of those rpg's with gender specific perks or stats). Build the character first, then the gender I would say. I guess I just pick male characters more out of habit than anything else.

With female characters that you have no choice in playing, I tend not to think of them much differently than the males, at least in terms of being comfortable playing one. There generally isn't much of a disconnect because of my gender.

I hope I answered your question sufficiently and to your expectations. I also hope that this is legible, as it is 4:30 in the morning and I would not want to clog your thread with nonsense. Good night/good morning all! If you wish for me to elaborate on any part of my post, please do not hesitate to ask.

 

[A Weakgeek]

It annoys me when little games don't have a female character from the beginning like Awesomenauts or Magicka. Mostly because they are literally just avatars and there is no excuse. I usually go on twitter and shout at whichever company makes them

How can you tell? they are wearing face covering robes, with very simplified bodies. All I can imagine changing in the default robe is a slight curve on the chest area.

 

[Candidus]

I'm male, but I've got a long running purchase history of avoiding male-only experiences; God of War, Assassin's Creed, any modern FPS you care to name including Dishonoured and soon to include Bioshock Infinite. I've passed on them all because you can't choose the protagonist's sex.

Thoughts, TLR'd.

Spoiler

o I feel a bit antagonistic toward other men from the get go. Not for the sake of women or anything, just my nature I suppose. So yeah, I don't find it easy to adopt their struggles- which in a game would be the narrative- as my own, and I don't want to help them either. I can't make the narrative belong to me because I don't project onto game protagonists, and as long as it belongs to a man I'm just not interested.

(The above doesn't mean that I don't have male friends IRL. Not at all! I have at least... I mean a lot of- I have... Err. Two, I have two.)

o I don't look up to any men or women. I never had a childhood hero of either sex.

o I don't have a more ideal vision of me than as I am. I don't want to be like other men. There's nobody I'd trade with.

o Finally, I don't want to inhabit my avatar. As I said earlier, I don't project.

So about the only two motives I have left for selecting a character are: interest in the narratives and backgrounds of characters toward whom I feel neutral or better- which means they're female, robotic or very alien; and/or attraction. I can just about go from the investment toehold that either or both of these provide, to taking partial ownership of the protagonist's fight in the role of invisible guide.

Noted Exceptions: Does Starcraft 2 count? ... Not today it doesn't, Kerrigan and HotS wooo!
Hehe, sorry.

A legitimate exception is The Witcher 2. The collector's edition goodies were far too good to miss.

 

[Xanex]

Sounds like my wife and books. Oh she'll read a book if it does feature a male character. But the books she likes to read the most are from the perspective of a female character.

 

[MetalMagpie]

Do you find yourself not feeling a desire to play games that do not offer a male or female protagonist choice, the way others do i.e. Mass Effect, Dragon Age, Fallout 3/NV, Skyrim and so forth?

If given a choice, I prefer the game's main protagonist to have a fixed gender, because I like the protagonist to be a fleshed out character, not just a template for me to project onto. I like getting to know them over the course of the story, until I really care about their struggles.

Having a choice of gender generally belongs in the territory of build-your-own-protagonist games. The moment I'm faced with a "pick your gender" screen, my heart sinks a little bit. Because I know the main character is going to have little/no personality unless I supply one. This isn't by any means a deal-breaker for me (I mainly play games for the gameplay) but a good story with a strong protagonist is a really nice bonus.

I know it's a big thing for some people, but I'm really not interested in roleplaying. I write short fiction in my spare time, so if I want to invent characters and tell stories about them, I can do so without any of the annoying constraints inflicted by video games. (Who needs dialogue choices when you can have your characters say anything?)

As with books and films, it is nice to be able to relate to the main character, even if only in small ways, but gender isn't a boundary to that. Men and women aren't so different that I have any trouble relating to male characters.

 

[Moonlight Butterfly]

It annoys me when little games don't have a female character from the beginning like Awesomenauts or Magicka. Mostly because they are literally just avatars and there is no excuse. I usually go on twitter and shout at whichever company makes them

How can you tell? they are wearing face covering robes, with very simplified bodies. All I can imagine changing in the default robe is a slight curve on the chest area.

If you chose a certain robe they all have beards :<

Also no pink robe....WTF. (hehe)

 

[BartyMae]

It annoys me when little games don't have a female character from the beginning like Awesomenauts or Magicka. Mostly because they are literally just avatars and there is no excuse. I usually go on twitter and shout at whichever company makes them

How can you tell? they are wearing face covering robes, with very simplified bodies. All I can imagine changing in the default robe is a slight curve on the chest area.

If you chose a certain robe they all have beards :<

Also no pink robe....WTF. (hehe)

The implication being that women cannot have beards? Why, that seems downright...uh, well, maybe not sexist, but something equally ridiculous for this situation!

 

[A Weakgeek]

It annoys me when little games don't have a female character from the beginning like Awesomenauts or Magicka. Mostly because they are literally just avatars and there is no excuse. I usually go on twitter and shout at whichever company makes them

How can you tell? they are wearing face covering robes, with very simplified bodies. All I can imagine changing in the default robe is a slight curve on the chest area.

If you chose a certain robe they all have beards :<

Also no pink robe....WTF. (hehe)

Yeah, I guess some of the other robes are less gender neutral.

However, I'm not sure beards in magicka work like in real life. If you ever played Magicka stars are left (the dlc pack) All of the players grow beards, regardless if you're wearing a helmet that covers your whole head or not. So Im guessing if beards grow on metal, maybe women get the priviledge too.

I also crave for pink robes... Pink can be a manly color too!

Spoiler

 

[Lieju]

I'm female, and I'm equally fine with playing as either male or female.

However, the female characters are underrepresented, and there is far less diversity, so I love it when I can choose to play as a non-conventionally attractive female, and unfortunately this tends to mean the games where you can make your character from scratch.

If there would be more games where you can play as a sunken-eyed grey-haired scarred woman as the default protagonist, that would be great.

 

[blackrave]

I prefer to play my own gender characters (males) when it is possible
But I have nothing against playing fixed female characters either
Unless her character is written bad
Hold on, that actually applies to poorly written male characters too
So horrible characters in general

I'm certain playing as Gordon Freeman is the ultimate expression of "The Patriarchy".

Man, I didn't knew that "The Patriarchy" was all about wearing power hazmat armor and crowbaring enemies to the death
Now I'm totally pro-"Patriarchy"

 

[Nemu]

I honestly don't care. If I enjoy the game, the protagonist can be male or female, young or old, alien, human, a goat.

If the game sucks, I'm gone.

I PREFER a game that allows me to select how my toon looks, tho, regardless of gender.

 

[Lieju]

I'm certain playing as Gordon Freeman is the ultimate expression of "The Patriarchy".

You are correct.

The character of Freeman could be genderless, a man, a woman, gay, straight, bi, intersexual etc.

And it's not an issue that he is male, of course. It's the assumption that of course he must be a man, because being male is the 'standard setting' for humanity. Especially for a scientist.

 

[Phasmal]

I enjoy having the choice.
Yes, I do like having a set character, it just sucks that practically all `set characters` end up being male.
So now I'll take what I can get.

I don't mind if I have to play as a dude sometimes, but I don't like it when it's so damn obvious that the developers didn't think twice about the person playing the game maybe not being a male.
I hate it when I have to get hit on by some massive-boobed plastic lady in a cut scene. I'm like `Yeah, you can stop, there are no boners to be had here`.

Plus I'm huge on character customization anyway, so I love being able to choose what they look like.

 

[kailus13]

If a game doesn't allow for changing your avatar then you a generally playing a characters' story instead of your own, so I simply adjust. In all honesty though, even in games where you can change your avatar I would never play as me when I could actually look good.

I am male by the way.

 

[Raffian]

Ghrmf... I believe in diversity, I often find it frustrating not to be able to play a believable decent female character in newly released games. It is 2013, and the game industry is still fantastically immature about this.

What bothers me is also that female characters are almost always just the second - there to support or just look smexy.

Recently it came to my attention that games such as Bioshock infinite and The Last of us uses females as that second character, I hope that's not how it is going to be, that the AI keeps developing only so that the female sidekicks can become more intelligent ( rather than actually having to implement one as a protagonist) .

 

[RaphaelsRedemption]

It does depend on the game. If the game has built a character, and that character happens to be male, I'm ok with that. In this case, I'm not projecting my own personality on the game. Rather, I'm discovering this character's story. That's totally ok with me.

However, games that purport to have character customisation! These are a totally different kettle of fish. I get SO angry when a game provides all sorts of customisation options, but they all have to be male. Why? Why alienate me? Soon, my gender is going to be as interested in playing games as men. So don't piss me off! How hard is it to throw in a nod to us ladies by letting me pick an option that interests me? I don't even need to be able to create "hot" or "sexy" characters. I just want to have the option to create a simple, homely girl, should I feel the desire.

So, yes and no. It upsets me in some cases, but not others.