I go through phases. Right now, I just don't care if my characters are male or female so I usually default to male. I don't really care what gender other people choose either. I'm not playing games to hook up with a female, so to me, they're just another gamer regardless of gender (character or irl).
This is an old ass conversation and the shock should have worn off by now. Get over it folks.
I'm a latin american male so i'm not really sure how "cultural bias" would apply to me. While we basically have a western european culture many people in my region of the world seem to prefer the animation style of the far east. Hands down i prefer the style of Aion over WoW, i really don't mind much about my char's gender but i do feel uncomfortable playing ugly or animalistic toons.
Thanks for the insight, Caleveira. I had no background to make any assumptions on Latin American players.
Np, thinking about it i think it may have to do with the "ideal" male figure having somewhat more effeminate characteristics in mediterranean europe. The irony does not escape me that men may be ascribed "softer" qualities in cultures with rampant machismo, but the well known stereotype of the "latin lover" may be somewhat ilustrative. But also i think all representational art depends on aesthetic conventions, and this may make it seem that asian art has a far more pronounced preference for youthfulness than what it really does have. It simply has a different way of representing the same thing.
I say this because it is posible to design what are, in my view, hypermasculine chars in Aion. The company actually did go to some lenghts to "westernize" the toons for the NA release. Another good example would be Auron or Jecht from FFX who in no way look to me as either young or feminine, but are certainly representative of the "Asian" anime style. I know that in some manga a drawing of what would appear to outsiders as the classic schoolgirl may actually depict a middle aged woman. If the character is short (height is used to denote age in women) and skinny (as are pronounced feminine atributes) then there really is no conventional way in many drawing styles to denote age, as wrinkles may be only used on very old people and hair coloration will not customarily include just a few gray hairs. You depend entirely on clothes, context and a heavy use of the -san suffix to denote age in this situations. Similar and unfamiliar art conventions in eastern art may lead some people to see char models as exagerated by western standards imo and to receive a different impression of what was meant to be conveyed. It goes down to taste, eastern art does seem to avoid body hair and muscles a la Schwarzeneger (not always) but something else may have been lost in translation.
Edit; spelling...
Just to make things clear... I speak for myself and no one else, unless i state otherwise mine is just an opinion. A fact is something that can be independently verified, you may challenge such but with proof. You have every right to disagree with me through sound argument, i believe in constructive debate, but baseless aggression will warrant an unkind response.
I am a female, and I am comfortable playing anything. I have never refused to play a game because of avatar appearance. I play females more often, but I do play males when the situation warrants. For example, I played a male night elf druid because that made more sense to me. Actually, male night elves have some of the worst male models that I have seen, and they still were not a problem.
I am male and I have no issues playing either gender. Kinda like Dubhlaith there I make characters that to me at least make sense gender wise. For instance, I like my priests as priestesses instead, my assassins as female, my fighters as male, mages can go either way. I can refine my choices based on further appearance and abilities too but in the end I play what makes sense to me.
No required quests! And if I decide I want to be an assassin-cartographer-dancer-pastry chef who lives only to stalk and kill interior decorators, then that's who I want to be, even if it takes me four years to max all the skills and everyone else thinks I'm freaking nuts. -Madimorga-
Hey you could always play Batgirl, no one is forcing you to play Batman.
The phrasing of the poll was rather value weighted. I don’t feel uncomfortable playing female characters I just don’t want to. Would you describe me as being ‘uncomfortable’ with Orcs if I preferred not to play them?
I do think this is an overwrought concern in your online image. It does not bother me if MMO’s like Aion use the anime version of men, which is more Legolas than Gimli. Nor that they have tried to fuse western and eastern features into one. Likewise I find it amusing when girls complain about having to play fluffy anime toons, it is your obsession with image that makes this an issue.
Anyway I thought Aion had amazing customisation, and one of the promos said we could all look like Dwarves if we wanted to? Maybe Aion was over hyping itself if players are complaining about having a look they don’t like.
Comments
I go through phases. Right now, I just don't care if my characters are male or female so I usually default to male. I don't really care what gender other people choose either. I'm not playing games to hook up with a female, so to me, they're just another gamer regardless of gender (character or irl).
This is an old ass conversation and the shock should have worn off by now. Get over it folks.
so...
Thanks for the insight, Caleveira. I had no background to make any assumptions on Latin American players.
Np, thinking about it i think it may have to do with the "ideal" male figure having somewhat more effeminate characteristics in mediterranean europe. The irony does not escape me that men may be ascribed "softer" qualities in cultures with rampant machismo, but the well known stereotype of the "latin lover" may be somewhat ilustrative. But also i think all representational art depends on aesthetic conventions, and this may make it seem that asian art has a far more pronounced preference for youthfulness than what it really does have. It simply has a different way of representing the same thing.
I say this because it is posible to design what are, in my view, hypermasculine chars in Aion. The company actually did go to some lenghts to "westernize" the toons for the NA release. Another good example would be Auron or Jecht from FFX who in no way look to me as either young or feminine, but are certainly representative of the "Asian" anime style. I know that in some manga a drawing of what would appear to outsiders as the classic schoolgirl may actually depict a middle aged woman. If the character is short (height is used to denote age in women) and skinny (as are pronounced feminine atributes) then there really is no conventional way in many drawing styles to denote age, as wrinkles may be only used on very old people and hair coloration will not customarily include just a few gray hairs. You depend entirely on clothes, context and a heavy use of the -san suffix to denote age in this situations. Similar and unfamiliar art conventions in eastern art may lead some people to see char models as exagerated by western standards imo and to receive a different impression of what was meant to be conveyed. It goes down to taste, eastern art does seem to avoid body hair and muscles a la Schwarzeneger (not always) but something else may have been lost in translation.
Edit; spelling...
Just to make things clear...
I speak for myself and no one else, unless i state otherwise mine is just an opinion. A fact is something that can be independently verified, you may challenge such but with proof. You have every right to disagree with me through sound argument, i believe in constructive debate, but baseless aggression will warrant an unkind response.
I am male and I have no issues playing either gender. Kinda like Dubhlaith there I make characters that to me at least make sense gender wise. For instance, I like my priests as priestesses instead, my assassins as female, my fighters as male, mages can go either way. I can refine my choices based on further appearance and abilities too but in the end I play what makes sense to me.
No required quests! And if I decide I want to be an assassin-cartographer-dancer-pastry chef who lives only to stalk and kill interior decorators, then that's who I want to be, even if it takes me four years to max all the skills and everyone else thinks I'm freaking nuts. -Madimorga-
Hey you could always play Batgirl, no one is forcing you to play Batman.
The phrasing of the poll was rather value weighted. I don’t feel uncomfortable playing female characters I just don’t want to. Would you describe me as being ‘uncomfortable’ with Orcs if I preferred not to play them?
I do think this is an overwrought concern in your online image. It does not bother me if MMO’s like Aion use the anime version of men, which is more Legolas than Gimli. Nor that they have tried to fuse western and eastern features into one. Likewise I find it amusing when girls complain about having to play fluffy anime toons, it is your obsession with image that makes this an issue.
Anyway I thought Aion had amazing customisation, and one of the promos said we could all look like Dwarves if we wanted to? Maybe Aion was over hyping itself if players are complaining about having a look they don’t like.