gaming Playing as the opposite gender

[Mutemutt 772]

This is a topic that I come across every once in a while: people playing characters opposite their gender in games (usually guys playing as girls in MMOs). This topic pops up more often in games where one can choose a gender to play as when they are creating their character. I'm creating this topic just to hear the views of my fellow forum members.

 

So, what are your views on the subject?

Do you believe there is a relation between playing the opposite gender and one's sexual orientation and/or gender identity?

Does it bother you when others play as the opposite gender; if so, why?

Are there situations where playing the opposite gender is more acceptable?

For those who play the opposite gender, why do you do that?

 

I'll post my views later on. Also (just to leave no room for doubt) this discussion isn't limited to just MMORPGs; feel free to talk about other cases such as FemShep or maybe Persona 3 Portable's FeMC.

 

Edit: Finally got around to posting in my own thread. post #100

Edited August 25, 2013 by MuteMutt

[Mephala 2,633]

No, to be honest; it's your choice whether you play male or female.

I like to beat the game both times so I can experience the voice acting. It doesn't usually alter any plot events, but it does let you try out new armour and whatnot. For example. FemShep; she's a total badass.

I also like to make myself when playing a game (well, it's hard in some situations...I mean, I can't make myself a Dunmer when I play Morrowind. )

Having either just a male or female protagonist is an entirely different story.

[MrMammal 157]

I don't care either way really. Depends what the character is for and how serious I am with it. If it's just for fun probably a girl but all my serious characters are male.

[Friendship_Cannon 1,676]

I played tf2 for a long time, and at one point I got a baloonicorn. I named her Lyra and painted her mint, and she was pretty as buck, and got all the assists and all that stuff a Baloonicorn does.

After I got her, I decided to add "Lyra :3" to my username "a pirate" / "the buccaneer" and did my thing. Turned out very funny when people on servers with voice chat called me Lyra and congratulated me for just playing ("good shot, Lyra" f.e.). I laughed at this, way too much. Every Brony I met totally knew what was up with my name, but still, it was just hilarious.

I got congratualtions for things that are just average play xD.

I believe you can easily be mistaken with such a name...

[~Starlight~ 764]

I sometimes choose male sometimes choose female, but in my family my dad and my brother often play as girls on games when I do not mind as much...

[Flow 1,619]

I find nothing wrong with it, hell I play Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate, and Harvest Moon: A Tale of Two Towns as a girl.

 

I play as a girl sometimes, I don't know why but I guess it's fun.

Edited April 8, 2013 by Flow (Naru)

[Rainblow H. Ash 5,090]

I play every MMO or game where you can choose gender as a male, save for World of Warcraft, which I recently started playing. Then again, I only chose female in that game to mess with my friends who had been begging me to play with them for years now.

 

I'd say they are sufficiently messed with!

 

Other than that, I have been in RPs before where I played a female character, but never in an actual video game, other than the aforementioned World of Warcraft. I don't think it says anything about someone's sexual identity nor does it mean they're weird, it's simply fun to play as something that you're not.

[Coffee Cream 74]

I think it's fine to play as whichever gender you would like. I can really get into a game's story by playing as Ezio Auditore, Kratos, Nathan Drake, Niko Bellic, etc. But I do find a difference in the game's feel if I play as a female protagonist. It feels good to rock the girl power sometimes, like Juliet Starling, Lara Croft, or my favourite...Nariko from Heavenly Sword. I don't really think there's a relation between someone's sexual orientation or gender identity when they choose to play as an opposite sex. I think it's more so because they want to see the story from someone else's point of view and to see if there's any storyline or dialogue changes for different sexes. Personally, when I have the choice in a game I'll play as the female character only because it's a familiarity to me I guess...but I have switched things up before. If I can customize the character, I'll try to make the character look as much like me as possible so I can really submerge myself in the game. In a way, it seems like you're the main character in your story that's unfolding - which is a pretty cool concept!

[Crispy 5,563]

A lot of the older games I like to play don't have a choice of what gender to play as, but when I rolled my shortlived hardcore Barb for DIII, it was a female.

 

Sadly, almost nothing changed.  The only reason I roll female characters in games is if they have a playstyle that appeals to me (or meaningful storyline changes).

[Kyoshi Frost Wolf 40,564]

I tend to do this in most games. If a game has heavy character customization then I might pick male. It is something that I have thought about, but I think I know why I do it. I personally wish I was female, for many different reasons. I suppose that is my way of expressing that. Might be weird, might not be. It is just something that I do.

[Fhaolan 4,469]

I don't see the problem. It's not like you're having an actual relationship with anything in the game. Well, if you are then that changes the playing field, of course.

 

There's also the aspect that if you're going to be staring at the backside of a toon for hours on end, it might as well be an attractive one.

[Алексей 110]

For me, I usually play male characters. I prefer to have a character that is as close to me in real life as possible so that I can relate to the PC much, much more and get very immersed into the game.

 

But, when I am, say, replaying a game for a different ending, I often choose a female character because I no longer feel the need to immerse myself into the game and relate to the PC, and I just want to see the game play out in a different way.

 

However, I am not too proud of this, but I used to play a lot of RuneScape when I was a couple years younger. After a while of playing, I decided to screw around and change my character to a female. After doing so, I found that people starting giving me stuff just for the hell of it much more frequently than when I played as a male character. And, once I decided to finally quit RS, I had about 30mil worth of crap that other players had just handed to me for seemingly no other reason than what they assumed my gender was.

[Dr. Eggnog 203]

I almost always play as a girl in games.  I like having something nice to look at and I like feeling pretty.  Much of what I liked in Oblivion was making a pretty girl and dressing her up nice, I played it like a barbie doll sim lol.  I'll sometimes play as a guy in sports games though, or games where the girls look really ugly.

[Vanguard 123]

I always play as a Guy In Video Games, since i like to be able to relate to the character and it is easier to do that if the character is the same gender, and usually if it's a RPG i like to Imagine myself as the character, make the experience more fun when you use your own morals.

[Scootalove 10,685]

It doesn't bother me at all. Sometimes, in video games if there are female characters I'll play as them because I don't care if I'm judged.

[TomokoKuroki 1,707]

I tend to do role-play a lot, so I've gotten into the habbit of making a lot of characters if I can. I make the character how I feel they should be depending on their "Class" or specialty, race, and homeland. All of these things decide weather it is a male or female character.

 

There is nothing wrong with playing a game as a opposite gender. In a world with customization you are free to do as you please. so why should anyone care about the gender of the person behind the character is beyond me.... with that said there is only 1 exception to this rule. If the person is playing as a female (but is male irl) and is doing sexual things or basically degrading women, then I have an issue.

[Radiance64 7,052]

I will definitely be a male given the choice, I don't usually play as the opposite gender unless I can make multiple characters in the game or something. I definitely always fiddle around with the customization options for a female though. Always...

I don't mind playing as a female in games that require it though, especially Metroid because Samus rules.

Definitely don't have a problem with people who play as the opposite gender though, why would I?

Edited April 8, 2013 by SBB64

[Pripyat Pony 2,608]

I don't see anything wrong with it. I often pick a male character in a computer game; for example, on the Streetfighter games, I main as Vega (Claw).

 

Sorta related: I have two accounts on Gaiaonline, a mule and a main. Both are masked and altho they're both wearing dresses and are the female avatar, they both get mistaken for male all the time. I often get mistaken for male on message boards, even if I have girly avatars. Not entirely sure why that is.

[TomokoKuroki 1,707]

I don't see anything wrong with it. I often pick a male character in a computer game; for example, on the Streetfighter games, I main as Vega (Claw).

 

Sorta related: I have two accounts on Gaiaonline, a mule and a main. Both are masked and altho they're both wearing dresses and are the female avatar, they both get mistaken for male all the time. I often get mistaken for male on message boards, even if I have girly avatars. Not entirely sure why that is.

 

 

Could be how you word out your sentences, I have seen that happen to a few of my friends xD. however I feel sometimes the people who think that assume girls always have to put faces in their messages like "^.^" every time. =/

 

Just food for thought

Edited April 8, 2013 by Hayzelestia

[Mutemutt 772]

So, it seems like most so far are okay with it even if they don't do it much themselves and a few are bothered conditionally. Very interesting, though I would like to hear from some that are bothered. 

 

I don't see the problem. It's not like you're having an actual relationship with anything in the game. Well, if you are then that changes the playing field, of course.

 

I'm glad you brought that up. In Persona 3 Portable, you could play as a female and of course it still had the dating sim elements. I can see how that would make some guys playing the game uncomfortable. I imagine most (or at least decent amount) still played through that since it was a new spin on an old game, though.

[Jinx 2,292]

I tend to go half and half, it's fun to create characters and mess with multiple possibilities. It's just the realm of fantasy after all, there's no reason not to.

[Fanboy_Of_Things 7]

I have probably played as a female in most games if not in my intial play through,  I would do so eventually.

My friends did find it wierd at times whenever we played these games together (mostly in pokemon)

 

If I have any issue with gender swapped characters, it is when I spend enough time around that character that I assume that is the actual gender.  its also likly that I will make the same mistake with people on these forums as well.

[Shanks 10,811]

I could completely and totally care less, sometimes people want to play as the opposite gender for whatever reason and that reason is completely irrelevant. Most of my characters on Star Wars the Old Republic are male but I did create my first female character on there a while back, a Sith Warrior Juggernaut named Mrs Stabby who I made because, the Sith Warrior is my favorite class, since I already have a maruader I wanted to know how a juggernaught plays and I just sort of felt like it.

[Titan Rising 2,156]

I almost always choose to play as a guy, but sometimes I would make female characters based off characters in animes and stuff lol.  Like I made this character in WoW modeled after Zola from Blue Dragon, she was awesome.  I really don't care what other peoples make their characters gender..  its just video games and gender doesnt matter to me anyway

[Kazuki Fuse 534]

It kinda bothers me, I mean its not really a big deal. I have gay friends and I'm completely comfortable no matter what people's preferences are, so it's weird that it bothers me. I honestly can't say why, its just something I was born with I guess.