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Do you prefer making a male or female character in an MMO?
TheWoundedStapler
Member Posts: 12
I've played so many MMOs in my time and i've noticed that i've always preferred creating female characters, but as of recent i've been called a pervert for creating a female character as a male gamer.
Also, this question is part of a discussion video I make called Let's Play: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgUUDPwk35A
So if you ever felt like getting the original discussion and opinions I had towards this topic, check out the video.
And if this post is in the wrong area, i'd love it if a mod could move it to the right area, i'm still new to the forums here!
Comments
The gender discussion in games is somewhat puperty, isnt it ?
Lets make the internet 18+, that would help a lot already ...
I think guys that make a big deal about gamers making female chars are just insecure about their own sexuality. I am not the collection of pixels on screen, it's an avatar I control so gender is not an issue either way.
And seriously, how many of these same idiots have played Tomb Raider? You don't see them complaining over controlling a female character there.
It's one of the most immature and pathetic arguments to plague MMO's and games in general. My advice is this, if anyone ever gives you shit over playing a female char just stick them on /ignore and carry on enjoying yourself.
While I used to create male characters for my 'main character', since I've developed a notorious alt addiction, I kinda pick what I see fit. It really depends on the artstyle, though; in some games, females for example look awful and vice-versa.
Lately, though, I almost exclusively create female characters. It may be the T-A factor (I'm a man, after all), but I just think female characters are more aesthetically pleasing when they're not presented in an overly sexual way (yes, I look at you, Scarlet Blade and TERA!). Weird is that in SWTOR, for example, where your gender actually matters (romancing companions, conversation options), I almost exclusively create male ones. So, yea, it depends, more female chars as of late, nevertheless.
Huge and awesome or hot and sexy. Those are the two character types I make.
In SWTOR I made a huge awesome looking sith warrior
Most other games the males look kind of lame so I go for super sexy.
I don't role play, and the character on screen isn't me. I'm me and my character holds my gear
So I have no issues playing a male or female character.
I always feel a bit uncomfortable playing as a female character. I think it's because I have a strong sexual desire for women. I can't relate to being a woman. It's a large part of why i find it difficult to role play as a female character. I think such a character would have vastly different feelings. Feelings that I could never imagine and could only experience if I was really a woman. It's OK if people want to try and do that though. In fact I'm sure it's a good thing if you can put yourselves in another genders shoes.
Now I'll tell you why I love the female character .... because I do not like seeing men's asses: P
Which Final Fantasy Character Are You?
Final Fantasy 7
Playing a female character was a useful option back when the early mmorpgs - Everquest, for example - gave female characters bonuses to things like Intelligence and Wisdom and gave males bonuses to Strength and Stamina. Those days are long gone, but it got us used to playing characters of either gender.
In some mmorpgs these days the classes are restricted to specific genders, so if you want to play a certain class you HAVE to pick female. I know Path of Exile does this, so if you want to play a Witch you have to play a female character - there is no male equivalent. The new Black Gold Online, for example, has a female-only Occultist class. I played one recently that was a "cutesy" looking game that had 4 classes, two male only and two female only, but I deleted it so fast the name has gone completely.
Plus, of course, the asses on female characters are always more entertaining to watch in third-person. This Skyrim video, showcasing a graphic mod, illustrates this perfectly http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvtC3RIbQlE
(There's no nudity!)
Play in first person view?
nope
Which Final Fantasy Character Are You?
Final Fantasy 7
Female when playing as a non healer (so usually), playing female healer makes me feel gay.
It all comes down to whether a person can put themselves in someone else's shoes, if they can try to think like some other male or female person.
Heck forget about female, trying to put yourself in some other guy's shoes seems impossible for most guys(vice-versa too), just trying to do it produces so much cognitive dissonance they start shaking and losing control, heck pushing them to try and do it makes most increasingly mentally unstable, ...
It's the type of close-mindedness of the dark ages, it's like they went back a couple of thousand years in their heads , ...
I used to play only male characters only not to fall into the stereotypes of the "female" gamer that used to exist. They just got treated differently.
Then I heard some wise advice from a friend, "if I"m going to stare at someone's ass for 6+ hours a day, they might as well be attractive".
I think that's a bit extreme. You can attempt to put yourselves in someone else shoes, but you can never really experience or feel what they are feeling. It's true even with people of the same gender. Most people can't understand something unless they have experienced it themselves. Until that time it is just someone trying to relate and be compassionate, but never truly understanding what another is feeling.
I don't think that's what he or what most people are saying when they play opposit genders. I think the point is they don't role play at all. There is no "character emotions" going on. That thing on the screen is just a puppet you move around so it may as well be a hot chick
To me it's not just a puppet though. I usually am playing the character like they are an extension of me in game. Perhaps they are different parts of me. For instance I might role play as a traveling half elven ranger who traverses the wilds and helps lost travelers. I might play as a character from an evil society that is trying to break away and turn good. I believe there is good an bad in all of us. My characters usually are something that comes from inside me. Maybe that's why I don't play MMORPGs much anymore. The characters don't feel like something substantial or something I could imagine being.
I'm one of those that makes fun of people who play female avatars, and I prefer to use someone who represents me and someone who I can relate to. When you go to a movie that's all about women, like "The Notebook", or that other "Sisterhood of Traveling Pants" whatever it was called, you do not like it or can't stand to watch it because you cannot relate to it. You're only there because your girlfriend made you go.
And quite frankly, I find the excuse that "it's just nicer to look at, I prefer looking at a female butt than a male one" is just lame. Not direct offense, of course, but the point of games is not to look at your characters behind. I suppose it just depends on the type of person you are. When I play an MMORPG, I play it to live in a fantasy world - to immerse myself. I thought that was the whole point of such games, to be some hero of some fantasy land - beyond the dullness of the real world.
Female.
I used to play exclusively male characters because I felt a connection between myself and my avatar in the game. Now I don't, so I want to play the hotter of the two genders. And based on my male perspective, that's female lol.
Are you team Azeroth, team Tyria, or team Jacob?
Oh I get it. If I was actually going to role play I wouldn't roll a female either...that would be creepy and weird. I was just explaining the other half who constant'y seem to get asked " how can you play a female when you're really a guy "
And the answer is simple....they don't role play.
It's a bit boring if the only characters you make are those modeled after yourself, but I used to play tabletop RPGs where you had to learn how to make different characters of varying personalities. I haven't created a character as myself thinking, "this is me," since I was a kid. Creating a representation of myself in a video game just doesn't interest me anymore as it may have when I was a kid. I don't roleplay in MMOs, so the issue of relating to a female character doesn't even come up.
It really just boils down to aesthetics, I prefer the look of female characters. That's probably because I'm a straight male, so I don't really have much interest in making a male character look good or aesthetically pleasing. When I play a male character, I tend to just choose some generic default look thinking "meh looks good enough" (I used the default male Shepard in Mass Effect). Whereas with female characters, I tend to put in more thought and time into their customization and visual gear choices. I guess if I'm going to play dress-up with a character, it might as well be female.
Playing - FFXIV, ESO
Played - FFXI, WoW, Lineage 2, Guild Wars, Aion, SWToR, LotRO, GW2, TERA, Rift, ArcheAge, TSW
I guess I like to be passionate about my character or it's not worth playing to me. Especially in an MMO that requires so much time put into it. If I'm playing as a character I can't relate to there isn't much feeling there one way or another. I'd rather feel something about my charter then nothing.