Would you prefer to play characters of your own identified gender?

I am a girl and I play male and female characters in all games. The characters I play in MMOs are not me so I don’t identify them as me just characters I created.

Actually the gender is less a deal as I used to make it, for a long time I avoided making female characters in MMO’s because I was always creeped out by that dude who makes a female D&D character, an elf, who runs around trying to seduce men….

I still make my characters, by majority, male but since SWTOR I have been delving into creating female toons as well….

I use a multiple of names when I play games, always the same ones. For example, “Avaraes”. It is not a very masculine name, so I use it for my female characters. So.. really, all the decides gender for me, usually, is the name I’m using.

Out of the list of names, I’ve only got three “female” names, and about five male.

I’m male and always play male characters for 2 reasons. First the immersion factor you mentioned in the video and second specifically in MMO’s I feel uncomfortable presenting myself as female to other players.

I am very much the same, I have a hard time playing male characters; I don’t connect to them or the game at all. the only exception to this has been Assassin’s creed – the only reason i can think to give to why i can play this game and not worry about the sex of this char is cause i can’t see his face, hear his voice and he is wearing a dress. ;P 

I have tried playing guys in games, and in mmos but i find i either quit the game very fast or i delete the char. I know females who have and do play male chars and are fine with it. I also know guys who play females (most the time their reason is cause they like looking at a nice ass. ;P ) 
On a side note, i think game makers should hear this and make more games with female options, cause i sick of not being able to play a game i can’t get into cause it is only male main char. =(

I role characters that are the same gender as me but I must say this is a great Chat Bubbles subject. I can totally understand about rolling the opposite gender because of the model being better composed. 

I went to collage majoring in Art and subbing in Creative Writing and when I play a game I generally apply the same creative process in creating a character to play as I do a character that I would like to write about. Sometimes the backstory that I create for the toon, an old writing habit, fits a male; sometimes it fits a female and I base the toon on that and the personality type that I create for the toon. Although the female model is asthetically more pleasing to a man’s eye, it only plays a minor role in my creative process. Neither does being male myself play any significant role in the process. I often tell people that I just lay the ground work for the creation of the character and then the character takes over and finishes creating themselves. So I relate to all of my toons in some fashion and have no real preference, one way or another, during the creative process.

I play female characters mostly. I think that’s true because I’m a gay gamer. me and my bf bother prefer this. I cant stand the butch character designs of most male characters. In wow i played females, in guild wars 1 females, guild wars 2 i have 5/7 female characters. but when i played Tera Online i was able to play the male elf (i know stereo type) but it was because they weren’t so masculine i could create the character i liked. Honestly I wish more games had characters that were like that more and i might like it.

When I first started playing MMO’s, I only ever played as my identified gender. I fell into the whole “this extension of me as the fantasy hero I would be if the would be could be would”. I would never create a female character because I just did not see myself as able to “connect and identify” as a female character in the setting. Many years later, I still tend to lean toward my identified gender for my main characters but have broken the mold – venturing more into the escape from the real world side of things and gaining more of a disconnect between the “extension of myself” in the game world and myself at the keyboard. There’s also a whole lot of self realization and comfort level involved with that switch that there’s no need to go into here.
Similar to you, if I didn’t have the option of playing my identified gender (less likely being that my identified gender is male), I would probably lose interest in the game faster.

Fun topic. The psychologies behind people’s choices can get… pretty durn interesting.

I tend to stick to my own gender, if it’s a game without that option it doesn’t seem to bother me unless it’s an mmo with class restricted selection. Blade & Soul currently comes to mind as one that may bug me when it’s released. (One class I believe is only playable as a particular gender)

I have male friends who are the opposite and play as females but for me it’s the male toons.

When playing a First Person game I generally prefer to play my own gender as in those games I feel like I am the character. I am playing myself. For that reason I struggle to care about or associate with characters in first person games where the character is given too much personality and background story (or shown in cut scenes) as opposed to being a blank canvas whose identity I can assume. 

In 3rd person games I feel as though I am playing someone else as I can see the character and it clearly doesn’t look like me. I am happy to play either gender under those circumstances. I feel that I am role-playing that character as opposed to it being an avatar representing myself.

I am surprised (even disappointed) that there are not more female protagonists in 3rd person games. Or rather more “serious” female protagonists with real personalities and flaws (like Max Payne) as opposed to these silly “fantasy” girls. I guess market research shows that the largely male audience prefers to play Male characters. This does seem to be true as I am actually shocked that there are not MORE males playing female characters in games like WoW than there actually are.

I find it odd that most males apparently prefer to play males in 3rd person games. Maybe they do associate with the character in 3rd person games and unlike me they actually see the 3rd person character on screen as their avatar. Kind of odd given that the physical prowess of most male gamers is probably closer to the average female represented in games and not within a country mile of the muscle-bound superheroes they actually play. How do they “identify” with that?Surely they could better relate to a less physical female character that uses intelligence and skill as opposed to brute force to overcome foes and obstacles?

I very much appreciate the more realistic representation of a female protagonist in that new Tomb Raider game. Can’t wait til March. Goes without saying that I am also a big fan of films like Hunger Games and Haywire where female characters don’t conform to the stereo types of either being helpless, s*x objects or over the top and crazy like in Sucker Punch or Bayonetta. 3rd person gaming for me is more like a movie. I root for the character I am guiding and want them to be as realistic as possible and maybe even aspirational. They do not represent me so gender is irrelevant but female or male I want them to be “realistic” even if they are of an alien race. Perhaps “believable” is a better word than “realistic”.

I’m a male who initially always played as a male character. Now I enjoy playing as both, but tend to create more female alts. I LOVE character creation and my interest in female characters was strictly aesthetic in the beginning. As I leveled females to acquire new armor and such, It became apparent that I “cared” more and became more attached to some female characters then i ever had to a male. IRL I’ve always been attracted to strong females anyway so I suppose it makes sense. I love me a female rogue; I blame Buffy.

For me personally it depends … in MMO’s which I play almost exclusively I choose the gender of the class depending on whitch looks better in endgame armor. In WoW I play a dwarf paladin and a pandaren monk … both male – and I play a worgen priest and a pandaren shaman … both female. My wife plays a male humen paladin … the rest of her chars are female though.

i usually just pick what feels good at the time of creation, sometimes i can only think of names that are specifically one gender, other times I go with what feels better in my mind for the class.

I used to make more male characters, but I kept finding that I felt many male choices in games just looked goofy or overly macho, so I pretty much default to a female character. 

It probably started with FFXI for me. I wanted to make a thief, and Mithra had the best dex/agi, but only female options, so there really wasn’t any choice there. I kept using the name after XI.  It felt wrong on a male character though, so I kept making females. I did have a name for a male Tarutaru that I really liked which my Asura in GW2 inherited, but it’s kind of the same deal there too. That name is for a funny little male character, giving it to a giant Norm or Charr wouldn’t feel right.

Yanno what, I think that’s the biggest factor in my male/female character choices. Everyone knows that coming up with a name for the hardest part in making a new character. I keep recycling old ones, and those names already have an idea attached to them. Over the years, I guess more of the female names survived, either because it was harder to come up with a unique make name, or because I just liked the female names more.

Good topic,
I usually see a type of character role I want to be, wither its the bad ass or evil, good person,, etc. Then i will see what character models male and female would give me the feeling of capturing that personality best. Ex. Mass Effect Series Male Shepard was closer to what i would be like while the Female Shepard was more of a bad ass who was tough. Many MMOs i play, I do have a mix of male and female characters which depends on how is see the character role. I do think it always help to have an option of a female/male choice in RPGs since they are aimed at player’s taking or embracing the role as a acting character/role.You mentioned the walking dead game, these type of game are usually set with a male or female main character since you are playing a role dictated by the story, similar to reading a book or watching a movie from a certain male/female perspective. The topic you bring up is something that can easily move the conversation of Game’s trying to bring in more female players. Also the challenge of bringing in strong relate able female characters who’s foundation is not for eye candy but to give a player a new perspective from a female and the challenges that might be different verse a male character. The game industry and the marketing being in some ways the big anchor in this issue of make females more eye candy visually where it can over shadow a strong female character who is written to try to break the mold. Hopefully we see a more shift away from the typical hollywood video games and move to an indie film direction where character development and the way gameplay/story can be used to move players and get them to think.

I am Male and mostly play female toons where possible, in wow Tauren I always play male, dwarves mostly play male too. Will not play male Blood elf.

Depends on the character I want to play atm. But honestly, I’m a male and I play mostly males. Usually because as a male it’s easier for me to create, identify with, and rp a role and story for them. But I have dabbled in female characters.

What do you think leads players to pick one or the other?

I believe most or the majority plays the same gender as they identify with but I don’t think men (for the most part) immerse themselves in their charter(s) like you describe in your video.

What about you? Do you prefer to play characters of your own identified gender? Do you prefer to play characters of a different gender to your own? Does it vary from game to game?

I never played a female avatar in a MMO game until my buddies and I create a guild named Altdorf Quilter’s Club in Warhammer Online. I wouldn’t even think about the possibility of playing a female avatar until I created this character for this guild. We picked old women names to complete the theme and we had a lot of fun before moving to the next game and new adventures.

Geraldine was her name in WAR Online and she was a healer and my main. The point of how I worded the sentence before is to help finish my answer to your first question.

I think guys tend to treat their MMO avatars as a third person and more like possessions then women do. Immersion is not as important to us.

… where there’s not that choice – is that a problem for you? No

Or do you simply prefer to play whatever looks cool, and gender is irrelevant?
Everyone thinks “their” avatar is cool unless they are doing something silly like my friends and I did with the creation of the old lady guild.

Thanks and I enjoyed the topic.

I have both male and female cher in wow.  My main is male tho. after a few times in chr, generation I ended up with a male belf.  I since have made both ugly, and good looking chrs. but for some reason I can’t keep around a alliance chr..  I would tell my friends that looking at a female cows rear end is always better than staring at a male’s ass all that time.  mmmm steaks. 

I play both.  Characters in video games are their own characters, much like the characters in a novel.  They are not extensions of myself in that game.  I see myself more as a director or author telling the story within the confines of a medium, and the story of a female protagonist is just as interesting as a male protagonist… sometimes more interesting because there are even more gender-based stereotypes to play with/break.

Also, for me, a lot of my enjoyment just comes from having a character that looks cool while being badass.  Badass female characters can look very, very cool.

I am a male, I play male characters. I have never chosen a female character if there was an option otherwise.
The only excuse that pops up is that males say that the female characters look better, and “LOL GAY” if you think otherwise, my rebuttal is that if your sexual identity is swapped by a (MMO) character that takes up 1/30th of your screen, you’ve got issues.

I’m male, and i play mostly female characters in mmos i find them more appealing to me, and because i always play support/healer i find them more suitable for the role.

Only thing I cant play are melee characters dont know why but i always get confused when i play melee, and delete them after 10-15 levels.

Although in GW2 females are strangely too beautiful and  too sexy as if they are all topmodels  . 
If i play singelplayer rpgs i will play both genders.

As I mentioned in a reply way down below, I have always had a mix of male/female characters. To expand upon that, this goes all the way back to my original gaming experiences – Pencil and Paper D&D (and have carried many of the names throughout the ages as well!). For me, it’s not identifying with a character, but creating an “entity” through which to experience the story. Most of my characters are pulled from Sci-Fi/Fantasy stories I wrote myself through the years as a past time, so, like in those stories, each character has their own personality and ways of dealing with the world around them – both male and female. I have simply “transposed” those characters to each game I play and have them “act” accordingly in the story based on who they are. That’s why I have enjoyed games like SWTOR – because of the focus on story, I can play the same class but get a slightly different experience because the characters are making different choices and actions based on their personality.

I’m male and I almost always play female. However to add on top of that, I am also homosexual. For me it’s purely aesthetic. I tend to play, what I think, is prettier or looks cooler.

On another subject, I did want to say, that I was really happy to see you say “identified gender” rather than just gender, as I know a boat load of people who identify differently. Than you for that.

I am a straight Male and I would say about 2/3 of the time I play female characters. I do this because female toons usually end up with more interesting option on character creation and I as a man I prefer to be looking for hours on end at something I find pretty.

The 1/3 of the time when I play a male character is usually because the male gender has a particular design option or animation that I found interesting or unique. Generally if a class has an “evil” feel to it (i.e warlock, necromancer) I will also roll it as a male toon. If the female gender has no interesting options or is just plain ugly (*cough* dwarf *cough*) I will pick the male option.

My first MMO was SWG and I started making a character that looked exactly like me (hairy white guy with red hair…when I later unlocked Jedi, I made that character then).  Half way through I felt silly so I started making a black zabrak chick to look as different from myself as possible.  Ever since then I’ve kinda developed a group of character names that have certain qualities to the corresponding characters; about half male.  Usually I’ll choose depending on the race/gender aesthetics of each game.  In games with only one character I generally play male.

I’m a man and I play female characters 90% of the times. The main reason is that I find voice acting of female characters better. Maybe it’s because I’m a man and I just find female voices more pleasing to the ear? I don’t know.

Best example I can give of the odd male voice – WoW human male /laugh. That is one creepy laugh!

Note – SWTOR is one of the best games in terms of voice acting, and I played both male and female characters in that game.

I think it depends on whether you see yourself as the character you play. In games where I am forced to be immersed in the character more, eg first person games like Oblivion and Skyrim, or games with romancible npcs eg Mass Effect, i play male. In games where I identify less with the player character like WoW or GW, i generally go for the prettiest characters.

With Wow, part of that is that the male characters are all huge hulking monstrosities, eg Draenai or Human, but part is also that if i am going to be staring at a character I don’t/can’t immerse myself into as a substitute for me, i prefer to look at something more feminine.

I’m a girl and pretty much only play female characters when I have the option to. But for me it’s not just about playing a character that’s the same gender as I am. I can get totally immersed in a game if the main character is male. For example:I love zelda games and don’t care if link is a guy, I don’t care if all the characters in TF2 or killing floor are male, I still enjoy them. While if the option was there, I would probably pick a female character because it would represent me better in the game. But this is not completely true because I’m 5ft1 and game characters are usually bigger than that, so should I only play gnomes? Should I only play characters with the same eye color as myself? Having blue eyes on my character when I have blue eyes myself doesn’t add much to immersion in the game, but gender is important for some reason? I don’t really know the answer to this.

The real reason I pick female characters is… women are just way cooler. Who cares if it’s just some boring guy fighting a dragon when you can have an awesome warrior girl looking awesome killing a dragon! Hercules and Xena were both cool shows but who remembers Hercules?

My main is always a female. I do roll male characters, however it always bugs me whenever someone calls me dude. This happens more frequently when I’m playing on my male character. I’ve gotten used to people saying, “thanks man” and such, but whenever someone calls me dude I feel they truly think I’m a guy and I have to battle with my urge to correct them.

Ultimately, my being lazy wins out. I mean why waste the keystrokes on correcting someone who #1 doesn’t care and #2 who you’re not going to see again ever?

I’m with you so much on the whole role play idea, and always play as female.

I love the challenge of playing as female, as I am more interested in playing simulation games, forming friendships, and having nice conversations.

Female avatars are less intimidating, and seen as more welcoming and engaging.

Besides, you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar, so I would much rather charm and engage people to get what I want than to fight for it!

I like the construction of a female character, the clothes, the hair, the accessories, etc., which for me is as much fun and interest as the game.

Also a personal challenge to make sure my character has high femininity and not be “read”..