I basically coin flip. In games like Mass Effect, I’ll play a male character and then years later play a female character – just to encounter new conversation trees.
In D&D or something like that, it is somewhat harder, due to pronoun hell at the table (I sympathize with anyone having to deal with this on a larger scale – it’s insane on a small scale, and I can barely imagine being trans and having to deal with that…)
I play in 2 games and run 1. As a player I play both characters who share my gender and one that doesn't. At the table I run there's a guy who plays a woman, and used to be another.
It's never caused issues or confusion. So for anyone interested in playing like this, feel free to do so! For pronouns I've also found success in referring to characters instead of players with names unless explicitly talking to the player, but that's easier as a GM.
Honestly I just pick whichever option looks cooler. Most games that ask me to pick play in third person, and if I’m gonna have to stare at this thing the rest of the campaign it might as well be something I think looks cool
A lot of video games are steeped in hegemonic masculinity, and I find that portrayal of men somewhere between mildly and extremely uncomfortable. Women are sometimes characterized a little differently in those games, because the generic woman’s power fantasy is not coming off like a massive bag of dicks with insecurity around the size of their pecker.
The other reason is that Toadette just doesn’t get enough love.
First did it in Kotor because the female PC had much more fun conversation choices with Bastilla(namely she'd be a catty bitch towards you and it was hilarious.)
Then in Elder Scrolls Oblivion because if you wanted to look good, all of the best looking clothing and armor was for CBBE body.
Mass Effect 1-3 because the female PC had better lines and better inflection on the sarcastic lines.
World of Warcraft as a blood elf because when I tried it for shits n giggles I made 25 gold in the first hour of play from people just throwing gold and items at me for no reason.
I don’t know if that makes sense, but to me it depends on how “canon” they look.
Usually the games that give you the m/f character choice will put more effort in one version of the character over the other, with the “non canon” one looking like they were forced to put them in there.
“Canon” version are also often featured in official arts and commercials.
Examples of who I picked in games following this line of reasoning:
Male Robin - FE Awakening, Female Corrin - FE Fates, Male Byleth - FE 3 houses, Female Shez - FE 3 hopes, Aether - Genshin, Stelle - Honkai star rail, Kassandra - AC Odissey
But again, this is very much a “how I feel on the spot” thing, no hard preferences in general.
Most of the time, I just make myself and I’m a guy. But in games where I am constantly making characters, like Elden Ring or something, I just slap the random button a bunch and whatever it gives me I accept.
Well… Fallout 2 I am always a woman because it makes dealing with the slaver leader a helluva lot easier.
Female outfits are typically more interesting, like in GTA maybe it’s not as bad but I’m tired of every endgame male armor in rpgs of MMOs being a guy in a giant mountain of metal. It doesn’t look “badass” it looks stupid and bland. (On the flip side bikini armor is also stupid)
That and female voices are just more… appealing? Idk the science behind it but there’s a reason AI assistants are like 95% female voices.
But really it's because in fps they have abilities that make them quicker and it's more my style of gameplay. I rush to a choke point and try to make it look like there are many players there to push them towards my teammates.
I've rarely considered it beyond functionality. I'll play a female in a fighting game if I like how the character plays. If the choice is purely aesthetic, I generally just choose whatever the default is. In Dark Souls III, I played a female because I thought I could make a beautiful character (and I think I did)
I play a mix of characters. If they're voiced, I tend to prefer feminine voices. I think there are a number of reasons for this, but one practical one is that I just hear better in a higher range for whatever reason (and this gets more true the older I get). I have a much easier time hearing higher-pitched voices and generally find them more pleasant.
If they're not voiced, it depends upon if I'm role-playing something specific. If so, I'll pick whichever I think fits best. If not, I'll probably pick a female character just because I find them more pleasing to look at. I always wanted to go back and do a female V playthough of Cyberpunk, but I just never got around to it.
Years ago, in the early 2000s, I got in to MMOs with Final Fantasy XI. I played mostly female characters there because people were more likely to help out.
kbin.social
Aktywne