As a male I always try to play male characters ingame because it feels more natural, and makes the game more immersive. Just as I dress male and act male in real life, because it feels natural and immersive. So there is no reason to emulate myself differently in an online world when I'm perfectly happy with how I am in the real world.
Hmmm....I've played all of the Tomb Raider games and all of the Splinter Cell games.
I play both female and male characters in MMORPGs.
What am I?
Then again....why does anyone care?
This.
Every time I see posts like the OP's I have to laugh.
There are myriad other games where a female character is the lead... Lara Croft in Tomb Raider (tons of guys played those games), Samus Aran in the Metroid Series, Perfect Dark... the list goes on. Yet I don't recall any outcry by sexually insecure males over that, saying "it creeps me out controlling a female character! Stop it right now! Make Lara a guy!"
So what's the deal in MMORPGs? Are we shattering these people's delusions that every female character they see has a female behind it? I know there's a fascination with the idea that girls/women play MMOs too... and I've seen it - all too many times - the way guys will treat another player if they know, or at least believe, they're female '"IRL". They act like morons, frankly. I know females who play male characters so they won't get hit on by idiots looking for an e-romance.
In FFXI, I play a Mithra... a female only race, due to the lore. I play it for the stats and because it's more interesting to me than the other races. I am not "role playing a female feline character" when I play FFXI, any more than I'm "pretending to be Lara Croft" if I play Tomb Raider. But it amazes me how many people have hit on me, made passes, were calling me 'babe' and such... even buying me a dozen roses in-game... some of these people I've known for a few years... they just assumed I was female because I play a female character. Their reactions when they find out are hysterical. I usually get bitched out "for not telling them" and then interrogated (out of their own embarassment, of course) about why a guy is playing a female character.
My reason is simple and goes back to Neverwinter Nights - the Atari PC game, not the AOL one. The male characters looked and were animated horribly, like they had 2x4's shoved up their rears and there was no way I was going to control a character for the long term that horribly animated. The females, on the other hand, were modeled better and were animated far better. I've found this to be the case in easily 90% of the MMOs I've played... so I've stuck with female characters.
It's a choice, to me, just as hair style or hair color is. Which ever overall look I like the most, I go with.
I can't be concerned with the fact that so many guys make assumptions and then act on them, or that they suffer from some kind of insecurity where controlling female character in a video game somehow reflects who they are in real life.
If male players having female characters bothers someone *that* much... I would advise they stop playing MMOs.
And as for the OP's view of why some developers are making some classes 'female only'... that's pretty ridiculous. There's also classes in those games that are male only. It's a "design decision"... or, plain laziness to me. There is no "conspiracy" to enable more guys to play female only characters.
"If you just step away for a sec you will clearly see all the pot holes in the road, and the cash shop selling asphalt..." - Mimzel on F2P/Cash Shops
Originally posted by girlgeek There are men that sincerely are helpful, but there are also those that don't think we GIRL gamers are as capable as they are, and therefore they need to "take care of us." /gag
I can agree with nearly everything you said except that.
It has nothing to do with girls being bad gamers - well.. in most cases. It's just natural for men to be helpful to good looking women (and all ingame avatars are such). If you played as a woman looking 50 yo and fat I can assure you 100% people would not be as helpful. :P (applies to RL as well!)
SF
PS: I am male.. I played everything in many genders.. but never made a female tank. I just can't see many people believing i can tank as a female. :P
Originally posted by nethaniah
Seriously Farmville? Yeah I think it's great. In a World where half our population is dying of hunger the more fortunate half is spending their time harvesting food that doesn't exist.
There is no easy solution, save to try not to care very much. What does it matter, in the long run? If men want to be creepy in that way, it does not substantially affect me. Also, most women can tell if a man is pretending to be a female. I am not sure men can make the same determination, simply because of misconceptions about women in general by men.
Many guys, in my experience, don't even think about it. They see a female character and their built-in 'fantasy mode' kicks in where they assume it's a female playing the character and that female player could become their new girlfriend.
I know guys who deliberately let other guys believe they're female just to take advantage of how much money, items and help guys will give to someone they presume to be female irl... It's really sad.
"If you just step away for a sec you will clearly see all the pot holes in the road, and the cash shop selling asphalt..." - Mimzel on F2P/Cash Shops
I can agree with nearly everything you said except that.
It has nothing to do with girls being bad gamers - well.. in most cases. It's just natural for men to be helpful to good looking women (and all ingame avatars are such).
Not all are, but I agree. It's instinctive.
If you played as a woman looking 50 yo and fat I can assure you 100% people would not be as helpful. :P (applies to RL as well!)
SF
PS: I am male.. I played everything in many genders.. but never made a female tank. I just can't see many people believing i can tank as a female. :P
I generally play females as casters and they tend to be healers at that. Female warrior types make me laugh.
"" Voice acting isn't an RPG element....it's just a production value." - grumpymel2
Many guys, in my experience, don't even think about it. They see a female character and their built-in 'fantasy mode' kicks in where they assume it's a female playing the character and that female player could become their new girlfriend.
Hopeless romantics.
I know guys who deliberately let other guys believe they're female just to take advantage of how much money, items and help guys will give to someone they presume to be female irl... It's really sad.
It's weird. I dislike being given gifts in MMOs. I want to earn my rewards. What's the point of playing a game if the prize is given to you?
"" Voice acting isn't an RPG element....it's just a production value." - grumpymel2
With the exception of Sex specific classes I always pick male avatars.
Never been one of those guys that enjoy running around a game as a chick.
I think there is a fundamental divide on how people perceive their (and others) toons.
I think your post highlights 1 aspect of it.
By what you posted I preceive you see your toon as an extension of your real-life self. Your part of the story unfolding, you defeated the boss, you made it happen.
That if you play a female toon you see yourself as becoming effeminate (or that its an attack of you masculinity) because youre "playing as a chick".
While what I posted . Shows that I see my toon as no more than a animated character that I control. That Im not really part of the story, but just guiding it thru, Im not playing a female, Im just controling a female toon.
You know now that I think about it. The few people that I work with who play MMO's almost always talks about their toons in the 1st person. While I almost always refer to mine in the 3rd person.
Pretty spot on.
I consider my characters in mmos an extention of myself. So I always pick males.
I'm also a avid Rper and it feels wrong to roleplay a female as a Male in real life.
I remember being a kid playing Street fighter with my brother. I would give him shit for selecting the female characters lol.
hmmm... you brought about a deep seeded issue of mine on a game forum. You a shrink? how much you charging bro lol?
It never hit me till i payed APB beta. I am not the one to care if guys are playing girls and girls are playing guys. But when i am the only guy among 50 to 60 female characters running around with deep cut tops, red stockings and tiny skirt showing off the panties.... yes it really creeped me out.
On the forums the guys were showing of their skimpily dressed female characters in screenshot thread and it only further gave me that uneasy feeling that how many men/boys are living out their fantasy of being with a hot women which they would probably never get a chance to be with in real life? sad? if you ask me yes it is very sad.
But kidding aside, I dont buy the excuse "I dont want to stare at a man when I am playing". If that was true then those same people would not want to look in a mirror because "they dont want to stare at a man".
I use a mirror to brush my hair, shave, and check if anything is stuck in my teeth. That's it. I don't stare longingly at myself for hours.
How many hours a day do you, Yam?
Imo, the most likely explanation for men playing women is that they want the attention that female avatars get from horny males. Be it for getting free loot or favours.
Not me, Dude. I don't ask for, nor do I usually accept - gifts.
I cant believe that people play MMORPGs to watch female avatars. There are much better venues if you want to look at female forms like I dunno, photographs or real videos?
I do that too, but porn gets old after 8 hours or so.
"" Voice acting isn't an RPG element....it's just a production value." - grumpymel2
If you are playing a female character, there is no way to avoid "manly" attention. Some males will give you a compliment or flirt with you. And if you like manly attention (being male youself), well.. you know who you are.
If you are playing a female character, there is no way to avoid "manly" attention. Some males will give you a compliment or flirt with you. And if you like manly attention (being male youself), well.. you know who you are.
You are all a bunch of transsexuals.
Guys almost never hit on my female characters!
What's wrong with me?
"" Voice acting isn't an RPG element....it's just a production value." - grumpymel2
If you are playing a female character, there is no way to avoid "manly" attention. Some males will give you a compliment or flirt with you. And if you like manly attention (being male youself), well.. you know who you are.
You are all a bunch of transsexuals.
No one has ever flirted with me in an online game, though I play female characters most of the time.
Maybe Germans don't do such thing... I dunno. (I tend to play on German servers)
All you perfectly male people that get laid with supermodels know what makes a male... well male. Good to know we have such a great male population in the world. Gives us hope for the future...
There is nothing wrong in playing a female character if you feel so... Same the other way around if your a female in real. Humans are much more complicated then you think... They have their own reasons to do what they do.
So keep your "masculine normality" to yourself and go watch some football will ya?
I've been uplinked and downloaded, I've been inputted and outsourced. I know the upside of downsizing, I know the downside of upgrading.
I'm a high-tech low-life. A cutting-edge, state-of-the-art, bi-coastal multi-tasker, and I can give you a gigabyte in a nanosecond.
I'm new-wave, but I'm old-school; and my inner child is outward-bound.
I'm a hot-wired, heat-seeking, warm-hearted cool customer; voice-activated and bio-degradable.
It doesn't bother me much, but I have always wondered why so many people would want to play and roleplay a female character when they are male. It just seems wrong FOR ME, so its sometimes a bit hard to understand. But seeing the community we live in today, where everything is accepted I guess its just the way it is. I'm probably just to old fashioned and conservative to get it.
I'm not saying its wrong at all, I just don't understand. Please don't be offended and take it the wrong way, this is a delicate matter and could easily get out of hand I reckon.
But for me playing a mmorpg is the same as being a character, and playing that role, so you could say there is playing a female in a game, and roleplaying a female, but for me that goes hand in hand. I play a roleplaying game after all, which most people unfortunately forget or don't care about
And that's the fundamental difference ~ You play in the 1st person ~ I and others play in the 3rd person. I guess I could argue it is equally creepy trying to make your character look as much like yourself. Less people "roleplay" than simply "play".
To me making a character is no different that painting a picture or scripting a play or film and countless male artists paint women, and vice versa. Not every film in which the protagonist is female is written by a woman. It's all about how your imagination works and how self centred your mind is.
I believe roleplaying is about taking a role, that is mostly something completely different from what you are in real-life and finding the challenge and enjoyment in trying to be in that role. I don't quite understand why gender would be a problem here. As a guy, I like to play both genders, I usually choose the little goofy males and the amazon females. I find it very annoying, that when playing with female avatar, many think I'm female in real life and treat me differently. It is highly irritating... I guess that one reason why I choose the less attractive female avatars. The less human-like ones anyway.
To my experience, in general, older men don't have problems with it and roleplay female sometimes. Any age women don't have any problems with it. Younger men who are sexually very active have problems with it, but completely understand if a woman plays a male avatar. You can make your own conclusions, I already have my theory why this continues to stay so discussed subject in various MMORPG forums. Desperate young men who are not able to satisfy their sexual needs, that's the problem. I think all problems within humanity derive from there, now when I think about it!
But for me playing a mmorpg is the same as being a character, and playing that role, so you could say there is playing a female in a game, and roleplaying a female, but for me that goes hand in hand. I play a roleplaying game after all, which most people unfortunately forget or don't care about
And that's the fundamental difference ~ You play in the 1st person ~ I and others play in the 3rd person. I guess I could argue it is equally creepy trying to make your character look as much like yourself. Less people "roleplay" than simply "play".
Yeh, but it's not even 'creepy' for roleplayers.
I sometimes roleplay an evil bastard, and I sometimes pick the choices to be one in an RPG, that doesn't mean I'm an evil bastard (no I'm NOT =D).
When roleplaying I imagine what sort of character the avatar I'm playing is and act out his / her actions accordingly, I don't imagine that character being me, which is not the case regardless of gender.
Example: I'll be playing a female Smuggler in TOR, because I like the idea of a gun slinging bad ass female.
I'll also be playing a male Jedi Consular, because I like the idea of this wise old force dude...
Even picking a gender for pure sexual reasons is not 'creepy', we get flooded with sex stereotypes and sexually tinted images constantly, for both males and females, why would it be creepy to roll an opposite gender in an mmo then; we're not living in the first half of the previous century anymore people.
Satisfying your sexual tendencies isn't creepy at all, just natural; only if it becomes obsessive, well then you might be in trouble.
Feel free to use my referral link for SW:TOR if you want to test out the game. You'll get some special unlocks!
All you perfectly male people that get laid with supermodels know what makes a male... well male. Good to know we have such a great male population in the world. Gives us hope for the future...
It's a heavy responsibilty, I can tell you.
There is nothing wrong in playing a female character if you feel so... Same the other way around if your a female in real. Humans are much more complicated then you think... They have their own reasons to do what they do.
So keep your "masculine normality" to yourself and go watch some football will ya?
It's the off-season. Unless you mean soccer.
"" Voice acting isn't an RPG element....it's just a production value." - grumpymel2
Example: I'll be playing a female Smuggler in TOR, because I like the idea of a gun slinging bad ass female.
That is SO...cliche.
I'll also be playing a male Jedi Consular, because I like the idea of this wise old force dude...
Even picking a gender for pure sexual reasons is not 'creepy', we get flooded with sex stereotypes and sexually tinted images constantly, for both males and females, why would it be creepy to roll an opposite gender in an mmo then; we're not living in the first half of the previous century anymore people.
Satisfying your sexual tendencies isn't creepy at all, just natural; only if it becomes obsessive, well then you might be in trouble.
What if you like goats?
"" Voice acting isn't an RPG element....it's just a production value." - grumpymel2
Comments
As a male I always try to play male characters ingame because it feels more natural, and makes the game more immersive. Just as I dress male and act male in real life, because it feels natural and immersive. So there is no reason to emulate myself differently in an online world when I'm perfectly happy with how I am in the real world.
This.
Every time I see posts like the OP's I have to laugh.
There are myriad other games where a female character is the lead... Lara Croft in Tomb Raider (tons of guys played those games), Samus Aran in the Metroid Series, Perfect Dark... the list goes on. Yet I don't recall any outcry by sexually insecure males over that, saying "it creeps me out controlling a female character! Stop it right now! Make Lara a guy!"
So what's the deal in MMORPGs? Are we shattering these people's delusions that every female character they see has a female behind it? I know there's a fascination with the idea that girls/women play MMOs too... and I've seen it - all too many times - the way guys will treat another player if they know, or at least believe, they're female '"IRL". They act like morons, frankly. I know females who play male characters so they won't get hit on by idiots looking for an e-romance.
In FFXI, I play a Mithra... a female only race, due to the lore. I play it for the stats and because it's more interesting to me than the other races. I am not "role playing a female feline character" when I play FFXI, any more than I'm "pretending to be Lara Croft" if I play Tomb Raider. But it amazes me how many people have hit on me, made passes, were calling me 'babe' and such... even buying me a dozen roses in-game... some of these people I've known for a few years... they just assumed I was female because I play a female character. Their reactions when they find out are hysterical. I usually get bitched out "for not telling them" and then interrogated (out of their own embarassment, of course) about why a guy is playing a female character.
My reason is simple and goes back to Neverwinter Nights - the Atari PC game, not the AOL one. The male characters looked and were animated horribly, like they had 2x4's shoved up their rears and there was no way I was going to control a character for the long term that horribly animated. The females, on the other hand, were modeled better and were animated far better. I've found this to be the case in easily 90% of the MMOs I've played... so I've stuck with female characters.
It's a choice, to me, just as hair style or hair color is. Which ever overall look I like the most, I go with.
I can't be concerned with the fact that so many guys make assumptions and then act on them, or that they suffer from some kind of insecurity where controlling female character in a video game somehow reflects who they are in real life.
If male players having female characters bothers someone *that* much... I would advise they stop playing MMOs.
And as for the OP's view of why some developers are making some classes 'female only'... that's pretty ridiculous. There's also classes in those games that are male only. It's a "design decision"... or, plain laziness to me. There is no "conspiracy" to enable more guys to play female only characters.
and the cash shop selling asphalt..." - Mimzel on F2P/Cash Shops
QFT
I've been uplinked and downloaded, I've been inputted and outsourced. I know the upside of downsizing, I know the downside of upgrading.
I'm a high-tech low-life. A cutting-edge, state-of-the-art, bi-coastal multi-tasker, and I can give you a gigabyte in a nanosecond.
I'm new-wave, but I'm old-school; and my inner child is outward-bound.
I'm a hot-wired, heat-seeking, warm-hearted cool customer; voice-activated and bio-degradable.
RIP George Carlin.
/yawn
I can agree with nearly everything you said except that.
It has nothing to do with girls being bad gamers - well.. in most cases. It's just natural for men to be helpful to good looking women (and all ingame avatars are such). If you played as a woman looking 50 yo and fat I can assure you 100% people would not be as helpful. :P (applies to RL as well!)
SF
PS: I am male.. I played everything in many genders.. but never made a female tank. I just can't see many people believing i can tank as a female. :P
Many guys, in my experience, don't even think about it. They see a female character and their built-in 'fantasy mode' kicks in where they assume it's a female playing the character and that female player could become their new girlfriend.
I know guys who deliberately let other guys believe they're female just to take advantage of how much money, items and help guys will give to someone they presume to be female irl... It's really sad.
and the cash shop selling asphalt..." - Mimzel on F2P/Cash Shops
I generally play females as casters and they tend to be healers at that. Female warrior types make me laugh.
"" Voice acting isn't an RPG element....it's just a production value." - grumpymel2
It's weird. I dislike being given gifts in MMOs. I want to earn my rewards. What's the point of playing a game if the prize is given to you?
"" Voice acting isn't an RPG element....it's just a production value." - grumpymel2
Pretty spot on.
I consider my characters in mmos an extention of myself. So I always pick males.
I'm also a avid Rper and it feels wrong to roleplay a female as a Male in real life.
I remember being a kid playing Street fighter with my brother. I would give him shit for selecting the female characters lol.
hmmm... you brought about a deep seeded issue of mine on a game forum. You a shrink? how much you charging bro lol?
Playing: Rift, LotRO
Waiting on: GW2, BP
It never hit me till i payed APB beta. I am not the one to care if guys are playing girls and girls are playing guys. But when i am the only guy among 50 to 60 female characters running around with deep cut tops, red stockings and tiny skirt showing off the panties.... yes it really creeped me out.
On the forums the guys were showing of their skimpily dressed female characters in screenshot thread and it only further gave me that uneasy feeling that how many men/boys are living out their fantasy of being with a hot women which they would probably never get a chance to be with in real life? sad? if you ask me yes it is very sad.
I do that too, but porn gets old after 8 hours or so.
"" Voice acting isn't an RPG element....it's just a production value." - grumpymel2
If you are playing a female character, there is no way to avoid "manly" attention. Some males will give you a compliment or flirt with you. And if you like manly attention (being male youself), well.. you know who you are.
You are all a bunch of transsexuals.
An adorable little one, too.
So cute.
"" Voice acting isn't an RPG element....it's just a production value." - grumpymel2
Guys almost never hit on my female characters!
What's wrong with me?
"" Voice acting isn't an RPG element....it's just a production value." - grumpymel2
No one has ever flirted with me in an online game, though I play female characters most of the time.
Maybe Germans don't do such thing... I dunno. (I tend to play on German servers)
Its so good to be all judgmental is it not?
All you perfectly male people that get laid with supermodels know what makes a male... well male. Good to know we have such a great male population in the world. Gives us hope for the future...
There is nothing wrong in playing a female character if you feel so... Same the other way around if your a female in real. Humans are much more complicated then you think... They have their own reasons to do what they do.
So keep your "masculine normality" to yourself and go watch some football will ya?
I've been uplinked and downloaded, I've been inputted and outsourced. I know the upside of downsizing, I know the downside of upgrading.
I'm a high-tech low-life. A cutting-edge, state-of-the-art, bi-coastal multi-tasker, and I can give you a gigabyte in a nanosecond.
I'm new-wave, but I'm old-school; and my inner child is outward-bound.
I'm a hot-wired, heat-seeking, warm-hearted cool customer; voice-activated and bio-degradable.
RIP George Carlin.
And that's the fundamental difference ~ You play in the 1st person ~ I and others play in the 3rd person. I guess I could argue it is equally creepy trying to make your character look as much like yourself. Less people "roleplay" than simply "play".
To me making a character is no different that painting a picture or scripting a play or film and countless male artists paint women, and vice versa. Not every film in which the protagonist is female is written by a woman. It's all about how your imagination works and how self centred your mind is.
I believe roleplaying is about taking a role, that is mostly something completely different from what you are in real-life and finding the challenge and enjoyment in trying to be in that role. I don't quite understand why gender would be a problem here. As a guy, I like to play both genders, I usually choose the little goofy males and the amazon females. I find it very annoying, that when playing with female avatar, many think I'm female in real life and treat me differently. It is highly irritating... I guess that one reason why I choose the less attractive female avatars. The less human-like ones anyway.
To my experience, in general, older men don't have problems with it and roleplay female sometimes. Any age women don't have any problems with it. Younger men who are sexually very active have problems with it, but completely understand if a woman plays a male avatar. You can make your own conclusions, I already have my theory why this continues to stay so discussed subject in various MMORPG forums. Desperate young men who are not able to satisfy their sexual needs, that's the problem. I think all problems within humanity derive from there, now when I think about it!
I find female figures more attractive to watch so with 3rd person games if there is no gender specific dialogs i'll probably choose female character.
this thread also needs this mentioned;
internets, where men are men, women are men and children are the fbi.
I need more vespene gas.
Yeh, but it's not even 'creepy' for roleplayers.
I sometimes roleplay an evil bastard, and I sometimes pick the choices to be one in an RPG, that doesn't mean I'm an evil bastard (no I'm NOT =D).
When roleplaying I imagine what sort of character the avatar I'm playing is and act out his / her actions accordingly, I don't imagine that character being me, which is not the case regardless of gender.
Example: I'll be playing a female Smuggler in TOR, because I like the idea of a gun slinging bad ass female.
I'll also be playing a male Jedi Consular, because I like the idea of this wise old force dude...
Even picking a gender for pure sexual reasons is not 'creepy', we get flooded with sex stereotypes and sexually tinted images constantly, for both males and females, why would it be creepy to roll an opposite gender in an mmo then; we're not living in the first half of the previous century anymore people.
Satisfying your sexual tendencies isn't creepy at all, just natural; only if it becomes obsessive, well then you might be in trouble.
Feel free to use my referral link for SW:TOR if you want to test out the game. You'll get some special unlocks!
This has bothered me for quite some time as well, but eventually i realised this.
If this bothers you, you have to either :
1: Get laid.
2: Question your sexuality.
3: Quit MMO gaming.
I didn't buy tomb raider because it looked like crap, not because i had to play a female character.
It's the off-season. Unless you mean soccer.
"" Voice acting isn't an RPG element....it's just a production value." - grumpymel2
What if you like goats?
"" Voice acting isn't an RPG element....it's just a production value." - grumpymel2
heh Vent don't lie.
Don't try to hit on a in game player until you use voice chat lol!
Playing: Rift, LotRO
Waiting on: GW2, BP
I guess the Tomb Raider series was bought by record numbers of women gamers
Finally - Best site for Chuck Norris
http://www.chucknorrisfacts.com/