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.
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.
I don’t really like looking at men. Yeah, the Witcher games are pretty alright but Geralt is kind of boring for me to watch. Given a choice between watching a buff dude throw a goblin at another goblin in bg3, or a buff woman do the same? Probably want to see the woman. Maybe it’s just low grade ambient horniness.
I never think of the character in a game as “me”. I had a friend who would always make himself. White guy with short hair and a short beard. That’s not for me. I don’t want to watch myself get blown up, stabbed, eaten by a dragon, whatever.
I don’t like when games feel like they’re just giving me eye candy or lazy titillation, though.The whole bikini armor thing I’m not into. Someone else mentioned they hate heels. Same.
RPGs present the opportunity, and even the excitement, to be something you’re not. There’s allure in trying on something you’d normally never get an organic chance to wear.
I like girls. I like how they look, I like the way they sound, I LOVE their fashion options. It isn't really any deeper than that. That said, I'll usually always play a male character in a Souls title, because [insert valid reason for inconsistency here.]
EDIT: I guess if I had to further expand on this, I'd say that female characters give me a way to explore options I don't have as a tall, bearded, broad, 'built' man. I've always loved cuteness, hyperfeminine fashion, "girly stuff", and so in addition to just really, really liking girls, video games allow me to explore the cute, feminine avenues I can't in the real world.
Also, as another commenter stated, I'd also just rather look at a girl's ass than a guy's for the entirety of a playthrough lmao
And you believe me, there is definitely a market for that lmao
Not here to tell you how to live your life, of course. But there are a non-zero number of people that would love to see that and not to make fun of you for it.
Shave your legs? If you want to dress in feminine clothes, just do it [if your country allows it].
I’d recommend against shaving your arms, though. Last time I tried that, it messed my sense of proprioception, turns out I’m used to the input of airflow over arm hairs to keep track of where they are, who’d know.
That said, I'll usually always play a male character in a Souls title, because [insert valid reason for inconsistency here.]
I often do this when I want the character to mesh with the build. If I'm playing a character with a great shield and giant hammer, I'll want a big beefy character that is often easier to create in game as a male body. And when I play a quick assassin, I often pick female. It's like the opposite of how anime weapons work.
FYI: as someone I think would like incongruent in girl mode, I went as Dr Frankenfurter (creation scene, was cold) for Halloween this year and went all out: full makeup, fishnets, shaved legs, 4" platform heels, etc. It was very fun and could be a good entry into what you might want to do. Also: you can always dress up at home just for yourself.
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.
Because female characters typically have better creation options, like hairstyles and outfits. I like to create and play characters that I find aestheticlly pleasing, as a straight guy that means mostly female characters. I do occasionally try to make an idealized version of myself though.
Sometimes the ladies are just cooler, you know? I tend to just go with whatever I'm feeling on the day, and if the woman has a good voice lines or an interesting mechanic or whatever else then I guess I'm being a woman today
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.
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