Guys who play girl characters

[robbo316]

I started playing female characters back on Unreal 1 just because until recently it seemed like male models in games were just ugly. Human males in WoW being a great example of ugly faces (not the graphical limitations but the hair/face options). Skyrim does have some great male models but I guess old habits die hard. Also in games like Fallout New Vegas when the "adult activity" mods came out I just like playing as a girl that expresses, should I say....free love? I'm far from a hardcore RP person but I'm not so closed minded that playing a girl is something that insults my ego and makes me feel like a little girl. Ive known guys to act as if playing as a woman is breaking some secret man rule. People like that need to really look at themselves and see why such a trivial matter makes them uncomfortable.

 

This is exactly the reason why No One Lives Forever died the death that it did; Macho men (in their own minds), thinking it was totally wrong to play a woman. Personally, it doesn't matter to me, but (there's always a but, isn't there), in games like this and M&B, I always err more towards a male Nord, because my heritage is actually Norwegian, so I tend to have a character that looks something like me (long hair, bushy beard, just a shame you can't have tattoos!), it just helps with the immersion I guess. Hell, I can't even bring myself to use a character class other than Nord, even though the Argonian'ss, and the Kha'jit's do look pretty cool!

[GnatGoSplat]

What you say here is rather interesting GnatGoSplat....Are you male or female IRL? As a female myself, I can't connect to and feel indifferent to female characters I make....I just don't enjoy them at all...I only really enjoy playing male characters myself and feel a lot more involved with them....and I make my males large men....my Skyrim character is a Nord with a Race height Adjustor Mod, plus he is consoled to Altmer height and is at max weight slider....Seems quite similar to your reactions, opposing sexes and views, but so similar somehow for some reason.....opposite spectrum's I guess.

 

I'm male. I agree, we probably have a lot of similar views, just reversed. For me, it's not just about how the character looks which seems to be priority to some people, but I also love the idea of unlikely heroes. The underdogs that don't look the part of a stereotypical hero, but who rise above and kick ass. For the most part in games, male and female are treated the same. There were a few moments in DA:O where characters would state their surprise at my character's strength or accomplishments for both being an elf (they are smaller and daintier than humans in DA:O) and also for being a woman. I loved that. Part of it may be that I grew up a wimpy kid, so I used to enjoy those silly movies about wimpy nerds triumphing over big bully jocks.

 

It's interesting though, that as far as being more able to connect to characters of the opposite sex, my wife isn't like you or me. She prefers to play female characters. I think she prefers female heroes as well since she is a self-proclaimed "feminist". Only time she played a male is Mass Effect, where she originally started with FemShep, but switched to BroShep because she thought her custom FemShep was "too ugly" and sounded "too butch".

[StayFrosty05]

What you say here is rather interesting GnatGoSplat....Are you male or female IRL? As a female myself, I can't connect to and feel indifferent to female characters I make....I just don't enjoy them at all...I only really enjoy playing male characters myself and feel a lot more involved with them....and I make my males large men....my Skyrim character is a Nord with a Race height Adjustor Mod, plus he is consoled to Altmer height and is at max weight slider....Seems quite similar to your reactions, opposing sexes and views, but so similar somehow for some reason.....opposite spectrum's I guess.

 

I'm male. I agree, we probably have a lot of similar views, just reversed. For me, it's not just about how the character looks which seems to be priority to some people, but I also love the idea of unlikely heroes. The underdogs that don't look the part of a stereotypical hero, but who rise above and kick ass. For the most part in games, male and female are treated the same. There were a few moments in DA:O where characters would state their surprise at my character's strength or accomplishments for both being an elf (they are smaller and daintier than humans in DA:O) and also for being a woman. I loved that. Part of it may be that I grew up a wimpy kid, so I used to enjoy those silly movies about wimpy nerds triumphing over big bully jocks.

 

It's interesting though, that as far as being more able to connect to characters of the opposite sex, my wife isn't like you or me. She prefers to play female characters. I think she prefers female heroes as well since she is a self-proclaimed "feminist". Only time she played a male is Mass Effect, where she originally started with FemShep, but switched to BroShep because she thought her custom FemShep was "too ugly" and sounded "too butch".

 

As I have been sitting here contemplating your post, you have bought something to light for me that I hadn't really considered....I love watching 'underdogs' triumph too both in movies and in RL...and for all my Dovahkin's massive stature he uses more devious and cunning methods....very tactics heavy...rather than just plowing through opponents with sheer brute strength....a light armored thinker and planner.....the contradiction between the size of my character and his combat style after I read your post and your 'wimpy nerds' comment threw a lot in the spotlight for me....My father didn't keep me safe, he let us down in situations that required someone with superior body strength to step in...we females in my family are a feisty bunch, we have had to be...but I do know it has left me with a real admiration for men who will step up when needed...So I make big capable looking men in my games who look like they can step up and easily squash aggressors under their feet....over compensation much.... :tongue: .... :biggrin: ....Does leave me wondering though how much for all of us, our life experiences and perceptions effect our choices in what we have a preference in playing though.

 

I so 100% agree with your wife....femShep does sound 'butch'.... :laugh: ....And if I can guess right, the thing she most disliked about the femShep's appearance wouldn't happen to be the infamous 'Duck Lips' would it?.... :biggrin: ...Bioware fixed the Duck Lips issue in ME3....they had a lot of complaints about it and did something about it.

[Triaxx2]

I've come to two realizations. I dislike playing female elves and female Argonians. The former seem to have tried to hard to be 'sexy'. It's not quite true, but it feels that way to me. And the later seem to have character models that don't match up to the males as well as the other races. They just seem weaker even though there are no gameplay effects, and no repercussions to it.

 

Second, I don't really care what the gender of my character turns out to be. Unless I have a specific thing in mind for them, like my Female Paladin, who refused to steal or my supremely eloquent Orc Male who's default method of winning a debate was to smash the opposition in the face with a mace, I tend to fall back on one or two character archetypes whether male or female. They always end up a little lewd and a little crude and at the same time, they're basically good hearted. Or they've got perfect manners and work for the lowest of the low, the Thieves Guild, or the Brotherhood. (Often both.)

 

It ends up not mattering if it's a male or female character because they act the same. I might make a few roleplay decisions differently, but they'll end up with the same result depending on the character, and not what sort of external equipment they're packing.

[Greymane]

I'll chip in with a shallow but honest answer.

 

Vanity. I am extremely vain and find it easier, with the mods available, to create a female character who appeals to my sense of design and aesthetics than a male one. I am not even talking attractive, as it has nothing to do with the urge to stare at female anatomy. More that the overwhelming majority of clothing and armor choices I find appealing are available for female characters rather than males. Oddly, it's also true that the overwhelming majority of clothing and armor choices I find abhorrent to my sense of design are only available to female characters, but that is another matter.

 

In some other games, I'll play a female character for story purposes. In Mount & Blade, for example, I always play a female character because it makes the unwritten narrative more interesting. In that game, if you are a playing a female character, you are the only female war leader in the entire game and all the more amazing for it. In Skyrim, however, that is not true. Despite the occasional pretense the game tries to make to the contrary, there are no gender restrictions or cultural expectations to defy. Women, without fanfare, operate in every role on every stratum. Their equality is so unremarkable within the world that not a single character remarks on it. I do like that aspect, but it also reduces gender to a purely aesthetic choice which only returns things to my first reason.

[Murietta]

I see there are lots of guys, plaing girl like me. :biggrin:

I have one general reason: there are a lot of womam sets of clothes and few of men's clothes. It isn't fair! :sad:

I used to play only guys characters first time in both Skyrim and Oblivion.

Nowadays Skyrim: only girl. Oblivion: only guy.

[GnatGoSplat]

I so 100% agree with your wife....femShep does sound 'butch'.... :laugh: ....And if I can guess right, the thing she most disliked about the femShep's appearance wouldn't happen to be the infamous 'Duck Lips' would it?.... :biggrin: ...Bioware fixed the Duck Lips issue in ME3....they had a lot of complaints about it and did something about it.

 

Hahah, that's exactly it. My wife called it "platypus lips", but same thing. I actually liked it on my femShep, I was watching Luther at the time so I thought it was pretty cool that my custom femShep resembled Ruth Wilson who I find quite attractive. I did notice the change the change in ME3 so I had to add some of that poutiness back into her lips.

[Roguespear]

Lets face it, the girl characters are faster, look nicer, and have more armor choices, and seriously, what would you rather see as your character runs down the road, a nicely done female rear end, or some guys. Also the armor allways looks better on a girl.

Started playing a female character in Oblivion when the Obsidian armor became available, it was rubbish on a male character, but on a female Salutarian Elf character, it was killer. My Lunari character now uses the BlackSacrament craftable Ninja Nightingale Armor retex and has the most pleasing rearend when running.

[Carmelpoptart]

Lets face it, the girl characters are faster, look nicer, and have more armor choices, and seriously, what would you rather see as your character runs down the road, a nicely done female rear end, or some guys. Also the armor allways looks better on a girl.

Started playing a female character in Oblivion when the Obsidian armor became available, it was rubbish on a male character, but on a female Salutarian Elf character, it was killer. My Lunari character now uses the BlackSacrament craftable Ninja Nightingale Armor retex and has the most pleasing rearend when running.

 

Not everyone thinks that females look nicer. and their only slightly faster. and it's difficult to even see the rear behind the armour. and it's easier to roleplay as a male character when your a male yourself. and some people don't give a sh*t about sex appeal in video games. and males have beards. that last one is a good reason to only play as a male character.

[rabcor]

Playing video games is all about being someone you could never possibly be in reality. And of course they're more fun to look at, i don't play games to play as myself, roleplay all the way ;)