Bulgarian_Taffer on 8/8/2010 at 09:36

---

Sorry if this was brought up here before, but I couldn't resist.

The question that still pops up in my head is: "Why are there so many female blokes in roleplaying games?" Or... "Why are there so many dudes that roll female characters?"

I remember when Thief 2X came out. Most people said it was a great game, it had a great storyline, but some criticized the choice to put a female character. "Garrett with tits", they said... "It just doesn't fit".

But I had no problems with this. The writers of the story of Thief 2X wanted to tell us a great story - about a girl into an unknown city. I played the game, but it was like watching a great movie. So far, so good.

Roleplaying games however fit into a different category. They still have a great storyline. And you choose a character that best represents you into game. For example, I would play paladins because they are holy men and want to fight the evil ones. Or I would play warlocks, because they are EEVIL and I am sometimes evil too :) Or I would play orcs, because they are so huge and strong and I want to be like them in game - to be a defender of the horde.

And here comes cross-gender roleplaying. I really can't understand it.

If you play female characters and you're a guy... what? Do you feel girlish? Do you feel gay? It just doesn't make sense... The character indeed represents you, do you forget this?

Eldron on 8/8/2010 at 09:48

---

Does the character have to represent you?

I thought we were making up stories here, making up a new character. I don't become all the characters I make.

Sulphur on 8/8/2010 at 10:13

---

It comes down to a very practical choice. If you're going to spend the next 10-20 or more hours playing an RPG, would you care to spend it staring at a man's ass, or a woman's?

This is, of course, moot if the game is played in first person. But that's where my argument for body awareness comes in. (Shrek: I'm looking down, I'm... oh. Oh yeah baby.)

Shadowcat on 8/8/2010 at 10:24

---

Firstly, did you miss a sentence there? What does knowing or liking the story have to do with whether or not one of the characters represents you? (and what did you even mean by the "know" part?! Are you suggesting that you only play games (read books/see films/etc...) if you know the story in advance?

Secondly, gaming is frequently escapism. Where player character traits actually factor into the game, lots of people will happily play into the whole "what if?" aspect and choose characters who are not like themselves. Hence the name: role-playing. If you always play yourself* in every game, that sounds kinda dull. Unless, you know, your life is so awesome that the prospect of ever being anyone else is depressing :)

(*) or the closest fit, at any rate... I don't imagine that too many games would really give players an opportunity to play a character who was genuinely similar to themselves.

Bulgarian_Taffer on 8/8/2010 at 10:28

---

The answer to this question is YES. I usually avoid playing a game before reading some things about the plot in wiki.... This is also the showstopper for me to play Starcraft 2- hell, I haven't played old Starcraft and I've missed so many things - I hear the narrator, but I understand nothing...



Sorry, but this sounds a bit EMO. You don't like yourself then you look for an alternative universe where you can be whoever you want?