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General: How to Spot a Gender Faker
Stradden
Managing EditorMember CommonPosts: 6,696
Today, new MMORPG.com Staff Writer AJ Glasser writes her first piece for us. In MMOs, women are often given special treatment by their male counterparts in-game. Problem is, that pretty elf maiden you're "just trying to help out" could really be an elf lord in disguise. AJ gives us some pointers on how to spot a faker.
A girl has got it made in MMOs. Gear, gold, XP; you name it, and a girl can get it either by asking (pretty please) or by doing raids with the right kind of suckers (er, guys). From helping a girl out in a hard dungeon or handing over some gold when she was short for that new Longsword, men do all kinds of favors for women either in the name of good gamer-ship or out of pity for a gamer girl who doesn't seem to know the ropes. Alas, the condescending generosity is often misplaced - that damsel in distress that men are always out to rescue is probably a guy in disguise.
According to a Reuters article published in July of 2006, nearly 60 percent of guys in MMOs will use female avatars to add an edge to their gameplay rather than out of some closet obsession with gender-bending. Going as a girl is a good PvP tactic; a nice pixilated rack will distract some people, and there's a bent appeal in letting people think they've been owned by a girl. And no one can deny that the inherent sexism of MMOs breeds pity for girl gamers - and pity breeds freebies all around. There are other reasons that a guy will take up a female avatar, of course. When you're locked into a serious gaming frenzy of say 40+ hours a week, it's more entertaining for men to focus on a feminine backside swaying from side to side - and most female character models are more aesthetically pleasing than their male counterparts.
;)
Read the whole article here.
Cheers,
Jon Wood
Managing Editor
MMORPG.com
Comments
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Guide of how to play a girl gamer...
I usaly just help anyone I can not an female avantar just more becouse they might be female. I personly never play an female charater, becouse well....hard to roleplay. Also why would I care what the sex is of the person 100s of km away from me.....really why do those folks think they will get? Sexes chat....:/
However I do not developers do actualy help with this hype by giving female charater extreamly short skirts and these kind of things. It is still clear that the majority of the devs are male :P
Quote: "There has yet to be an MMO that gives you XP for Dancing."
Dance Online gives you XP for dancing.
I need to take issue with this article. It tends to make it seem that all male players who play a female avatar are doing so just for the stuff they can get or for the way they are treated in game. I would much rather hope that the majority of males playing female avatars are doing so because they are role players. I have had one female avatar for a very long time now. She has lived in many lands and is always a magic user. She does NOT need others to survive and an offer of some trinket just to get her attention will most likely end up with the other avatar getting a very stern rebuff.
I have recently created another female avatar. She is monk and her personality is based on a Mord Sith as described in the literary series, "The Sword of Truth". She is very aloof and treats male avatars like inferior beings, not worth her time.
So, you see, I have a feeling that many males playing female avatars are doing so because they are role players. I am sure that females playing male avatars are doing so for the same reasons.
======================
It's just me, so open the door.
Yes it did and yes it still does
I play exclusively funny characters.
Small and cute races.
Most evil profession around.
Love the small evil guys
.
We are the bunny.
Resistance is futile.
''/\/\'''''/\/\''''''/\/\
( o.o) ( o.o) ( o.o)
(")("),,(")("),(")(")
What I noticed that in many MMO the players tries to get advantage with this, call it another type of scamming. For example I noticed a blondy in Borealis (AO) with give me credits plz (or something similar) name, mosty at the same location, dressed sexily (and don't forget how ugly the AO avatars are...). Wonder if (s)he ever succeed with that cheap trick... But I also noticed many helpful avatars who helps everyone without question or ask, but not with money. And that should be normal.
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"Anyone posting on this forum is not an average user, and there for any opinions about the game are going to be overly critical compared to an average users opinions." - Me
"No, your wrong.." - Random user #123
"Hello person posting on a site specifically for MMO's in a thread on a sub forum specifically for a particular game talking about meta features and making comparisons to other titles in the genre, and their meta features.
How are you?" -Me
Am I missing something here? When did 'Role Playing Games' (the name indicating that you play a role of something different to what you are) become 'Creepy Online Dating'. If you want to virtual make out with someone then look up Lavalife, RSVP or something.
Theres absolutely nothing wrong with playing a character of the other gender, for aestetic purposes or roleplaying or whatever you feel like. Personally I think there is something wrong with the people that assume everyone should make characters of the same gender as themselves just so they can hit on you. I play both male and female characters depending on what I like the look of, sometimes male models look awesome, sometimes the female ones do, it varies.
Also as amusing as the article was, it seems a bit stereotypical. You are basically assuming all female gamers are in the same boat as you. There are as many promiscuous and flirty online girls as there are guys pretending to be. The bottom line is though, if anyone is silly enough to offer me stuff for perving on my avatar, im not going to say no, although I will probably block them after I recieve said goods for being creepy.
This article cracks me up. Brightens my day thats for sure. While I've run into plenty of guys that are cool and don't give me any extra attention when they find out I'm a girl(usually something i say gives it away or one of my rl friends accidently do it when they play) I still find it easier to play a male toon. Why? Because the kiddies (teenagers especially) leave you alone.
Although I've played plenty of female toons that everyone left alone (because i swore alot so they thought I was a guy, go figure I guess some people are stuck on that girls should act like ladies attitude back then) WoW introduced (in my opinion) new gamers especially younger ones to the mix and they are no holds bard with the old fashioned sexist attitude.
A guy that lets things go to far or is beyond nice only because its a 'female' supposedly in my opinion deserves whatever happens (ok not everything like RL loss of money, but if they wanna throw away gold and items to impress a chick online thinkign it might lead to something more offline wise deserve a kick in the pants). This does not apply to people who do it for RP reasons, this is just one normally jaded female gamer's point of view.
You'll never see any of my toons male or female scam money or items out of anyone. I like to earn it myself, if a guild mate or a friend donates money (donation as in i didn't even ask they just offer the help) I won't say no of course honestly who would? Though I would try and enforce some way to repay them like paying back the gold or crafting a particular item in return etc etc.
Please Refer to Doom Cat with all conspiracies & evil corporation complaints. He'll give you the simple explination of..WE"RE ALL DOOMED!
rofl very funny article, but it has some major points *coughs* WoW *coughs* I have to admit though I am personally getting rather sick of having to stare at a character's behind all the time, I think I just found out why I prefer games like Baldurs Gate 2
Quoting people doesn't make you clever, in fact, it makes you all the more stupid for not bothering to read the quotes you post in the first place.
The condescending generosity part has always made me laugh a little.
I've been part of guilds where they've had no idea I was female, I don't go out of my way to deny it or shove it anyones face. The second I jump on Vent for a raid (or whatever) the next time I log on I'll have a bunch of guys asking if I need help with this, that and the other.
Saying we've got it made though? That's a load of BS. If a guy says he's a guy in a guild chat, no one questions it, no one cares, he's just a gamer. If a girl says she's a girl in guild chat, the innevitable response is... prove it. In case you're wondering, the response to that is, bite me!
Oh and by the way, I never complain to people online, unless it's a friend and I genuinely have something to complain about. If someone asks me if I had a good day, and I had a good day, I'll say I had a good day. I'm not going ramble to just anyone without need. Way to hit on those stereotypes AJ.
Important Information regarding Posting and You
We're not all complainers!
AFter watching my wife play MMORPGs, I wanted to point some things out...
1) Stripper Names, she loves to use them. Mainly because she has always been a natural tease. Her favorite MMO name is one of her favorite lesbian pornstars.
2) She has fun dressing provocatively and running around topless. She gets a kick of all the tells she gets from guys. Even she doesn't dance at request though. Actually, she usually despises in-game dancing...
3) After she realized that guys do give her "special treatment" she started taking advantage of it herself. Of course she displayed the appropriate appreciativeness, but then when she logged off would tell me how stupid some guys are online to actually think giving items to her will result in anything. She was able to get her full tier 2 before anyone else in her guild in WoW this way. All her epic mounts were also paid for by others!
Everyone is different, but I'll say one thing for my wife, she is good at getting anything she wants from other gamers. It is always entertaining to her the reactions of others on a VOIP server the first time they hear her voice and then see their reaction in-game.
AJ, try SWG; you get xp for dancing, music, image design and entertainment quests (it has a full entertainer system as a profession, where you can piece together your own music/dancing routines, and change nearly every facet of the character).
Not a bad, and quite amusing read all-round. Curiously you didn't touch on the male-playing-female cybering part of internet gaming.
As for the basis of the article, do men get treated differently in games then women? OF COURSE! Lets look at almost every single fantasy story being pushed down our throats, along with every popular story throughout history. Now take a look at the morals most of us got brought up on, "don't hit girls", "the man walks on the outside to keep the girl safe on the inside", "open the door for the lady", "don't use swear words around ladies", etc etc etc. We have been programmed from birth that it is the mans responsibility to protect the woman, it's an engraved response within most men.
But don't you women worry, with the state of the country and the decline in personal responsibility and accountability, and the decline in family values, you women won't have to worry about us men doing they annoying things like opening the door, pulling out your chair or tossing our jacket over the mud puddle for you.
I play only female characters in all games that let me. Be it online or singleplayer. I just find a female form more pleasant to look at especially if you are going to spend many hours playing her.
gender faker == wanna be transvestite
no other way to put it
sad but true
always has been, always will be
nothing else to say