I started playing Mass Effect 2 a few weeks ago, and it made me stop and re-examine an aversion I've had since I was a little kid - playing as a female character in video games.
As far back as I can remember, whenever a video game would provide me the option to play as a girl, I would pass it up like the "Canada Dry" button on a vending machine. It's not difficult to figure out why - Guys, especially at a young age, have a highly-scientific, genetically-prewritten drive to prove how not gay we are to ourselves and our friends (unless we actually are gay, of course). This means lots of farting, horrible jokes, and no association with a weakness of any kind.
For most of history, women have been portrayed as the embodiment of weakness. And, for a long time, games did nothing but reinforce that image. Princesses always needed to be rescued or helped. Even when they weren't a liability, female characters would often just provide healing to the muscley main hero(es). There are a few exceptions, of course, like Alis in Phantasy Star or Samus Aran in Metroid. Personally, I don't think Samus even counts. She's just a male character who you find out later is a woman. Big surprise, but not a big step forward.
My friends and I used to play Super Mario Kart a lot, because it's an awesome game. A friend of mine, Jacob, became attached to the Princess character. That was his favorite racer. He took a lot of crap from the rest of us, sure, but he always seemed to take it in stride. That is, until my dad walked in one day and saw him racing. My father called him Princess Jacob from that day forward. Cruel? Yes. Hilarious? Also yes.
That's the way things were for me, right up until the year 2010. Now, back to Mass Effect 2.
I started up a game of Mass Effect 2 as a male character (naturally) and got about 10 hours into the story. I loved the game. The characters are great, the voice acting is superb, the story is solid, and the graphics are really pretty. As I developed a deeper fondness for the game, something started to feel.... wrong. It was hard to pin down, but I didn't feel like I was having the ultimate Mass Effect 2 experience. It took a lot of thinking, but I finally nailed down the problem. I loved most of the characters, but there was one character I didn't care for - Shepard. The main character. My character.
After this frustrating revelation, I decided to start a new game as the female Shepard, or "Fem Shep." It was mostly out of curiosity, because I didn't think I could enjoy the game as a female character. Here are the reasons I was blown away -
First of all, the voice actress for Fem Shep is much much better than the voice actor for Male Shepard. It's not that the male actor is bad. He does his job just fine. But, Jennifer Hale as Fem Shep takes it up a notch. In the game, you hear Shepard before you customize him/her. When I heard Fem Shep, I knew I had to give this character a try and do her look justice. My design centered on a look that works well for female politicians - hot, but not threateningly hot.
Secondly, Fem Shep isn't super-dainty, but also isn't some parodied sassy chick. She's just a woman. It's odd, because almost no other game goes for this. Girls are either princesses or maids or manly women with machine guns. Where's the realistic middle ground?
Thirdly, Female Shepard as a character is strong. The only implications that she is weak come from the world around her. For example, when Fem Shep walks up to one guy in a bar on Omega, he says something along the lines of "Oh, I think you're in the wrong place, honey. Strippers get dressed over in that room." Like in most of the conversations in the game, it gives you choices for how to respond to this. I decided to respond by sticking a gun in his face and threatening to pop a cap in his ass. It was empowering, and something you can't really experience by playing as the male character. He'll just be dissed by krogans. But then again, who isn't?
So, now I'm getting the full Mass Effect 2 experience, and through Fem Shep, it is quickly becoming one of my favorite games of all time. All that being said... I'm not sure if I'm going to go after romance options with any of the male crew members. That might be pushing it. Although, I would like to find some cute new outfits for Shepard! ^_^ Hmmmm. I need something that will match my purse..
If all else fails, just go by a quote from Tomb Raider developer Jeremy Heath-Smith - "If I'm going to be staring at someone's bum all day, I'd rather it be a female bum."
If all else fails, just go by a quote from Tomb Raider developer Jeremy Heath-Smith - "If I'm going to be staring at someone's bum all day, I'd rather it be a female bum."
Trying to not sound gay ^^
Seriously though, I'd be spending way too many time customising her to ultimate hotness. I always just choose the default character, nothing wrong with playing the female characters though.
I always thought guys like to choose to play as female character if the choice is given. Take that gay MMO (maplestory) I used to played. Guys literary made female accounts just to play as female characters.
EDIT: I have a feeling a mod going to change the title to "Playing Video Games as a Female Character" soon.
I've almost exclusively played female characters when given the option. For laughs and because I'd rather stare at the back of a sexy woman than a bulky guy for hours.
I love playing female characters too, but not all of them are correctly developed. That's the case of Faith, the girl from Mirrors Edge, the game's mindblowing (too easy though), but she's another character in the story, no personality, no nothing. In L4D I get a lot of crap playing with Zoey, she's so BM lol Otherwise, i like to play fighting games with females SF4 is all the way Cammy ;D Killer Instinct from SNES goes Orchid, etc, etc.
Some RPG's i played got pretty nice females too, but just few of them got a female as the main character (Crono Trigger is no challenge with a Lucca/Ayla/Marle team, altought mi fav is Robo/Lucca/Magus ;D)
Maybe I never have the chance to play Mass Effect 2, but ill save some space in my heart.
AW, how can you forget GladOS from Portal? Dammit, so much side-characters with much potential!
I play girl characters all the time in MMORPGs. When everyone there is a hot-blooded teen or yuppie who hasn't gotten laid in 3 months, expect the hits to come in like rain, and there are reasons why some chose female characters; even meta reasons... one game I know had a much faster casting animation for females than males for certain important PvP spells. Guess what, lots of power-players had girl characters.
I almost exclusevely play female characters, atleast I've done so in MMO's. Well first character in world of warcraft was an undead male, but later on rerolled into a female character and I've been keeping that trend ever since, all of my alts are females and it has carried over to any other game I play.
On July 06 2010 14:39 Waxangel wrote: I've always enjoyed playing 'ugly' female chars when the choice is given. Tauren female in WoW =o
Awww yeah, *highfive*
Yknow, NTS, I also just started playing Mass Effect 2 with a male character and I'm starting to feel the same way. I'll probably switch to a female character before I go to far in, I only played the very beginning.
(Also, is it just me, or does this game seem sort of dumbed down from ME1? What happened to enemy shields and my HUD? Whatev, l'll probably just faceroll through on easy mode and play it for the dialogue.)
Single player I just go either way. Generally whatever looks the coolest and prettiest. Sometimes the features are just more developed in one gender in some games. I thought the males in Elder Scrolls games looked better but the females in Dragon age looked better.
In the few mmos I've played, I've never created a female character.
On July 06 2010 14:39 Waxangel wrote: I've always enjoyed playing 'ugly' female chars when the choice is given. Tauren female in WoW =o
Awww yeah, *highfive*
Yknow, NTS, I also just started playing Mass Effect 2 with a male character and I'm starting to feel the same way. I'll probably switch to a female character before I go to far in, I only played the very beginning.
(Also, is it just me, or does this game seem sort of dumbed down from ME1? What happened to enemy shields and my HUD? Whatev, l'll probably just faceroll through on easy mode and play it for the dialogue.)
It's the difficulty. IIRC most of the data from the HUD is still there, it's just minimized. You have to pause to see some things, though. Play on Hardcore, it's still decently easy but you actually have to start using your skills the way they're intended. On Normal or below you can just run and gun with a pistol and never even use your ME stuff.
I always create female characters in games/mmos too. Unless there's some insane disadvantage, or certain story purposes (I've played through DA:O like 3 times). In LP2, not only are the Femme Fatales kinda cool but their levels get good guns. I'm not manly
1) I actually like the male voice actor for Shephard more, I guess this one is more of personal preference.
2) I thought the male Shephard was just like that as well, again personal preference.
3) I think this one is a matter of personal preference too.
Conclusion: I think it's just personal preference, the only female character I've really played was in Diablo II because you couldn't be a Sorcerer.
I think it's just as common for a guy to play as a woman character today as it is a male. In fact I've heard the exact opposite argument, that if you play as a guy, you're gay (the Tomb Raider quote).
I personally prefer playing males in RPGs because I feel I get better immersion, but I guess some guys can get just as good of an experience, if not better, playing as a female.
i remember hearing this on a podcast in relation to mass effect 2: "if i'm gonna go through more than 5 hours on a video game I might as well look at a nice ass while doing so."
I always play as a male character. Also in pokemon if its a pokemon I really want and its a girl I just run find a guy. I guess I still have the wanting to be manly thing going on or something. I just don't like playing a female characters, except in the Tenchu games. I forget her name but the girl was much more my style. Fast and ninja like while the guy was slower and about power.
lmfaooo, I sometimes choose a female character to pretend I'm a girl because I can sweet talk players into giving me free items (medium - top tier) back when I played Diablo 2. It's like what my friend said, "if I'm gonna be seeing the back of a character every time I play, might as well it be a female."
I love playing as female characters. I main as princess peach in super smash bros melee. I started to playing as peach for the novelty but then i realize how good she was. I remember winning local gamestop tournaments (not really competitive) as her and it was funny how much all the noobs at the tournament underestimated her.
Also, is OP THE NukeTheStars? If so, I'm a big fan. In fact, I'm gonna go watch an OSL commentary right now.
On July 06 2010 15:23 Hittegods wrote: I like to either make the most badass character possible, or the most hilarious one. Female are neither badass, nor hilarious.
You'd rethink that if you chose to go full Renegade as a female Shepard in Mass Effect/ME 2.
I hate the male voice actor for Shepard. Played through both ME1/2 with the same (renegade) female Shepard before even trying the male version, and he sounded very flat in comparison.
I've only played male characters, because I've only played one MMO (EverQuest), and other RPG's I played, I play for the immersion factor, trying to put myself into the game, etc... and I have no fantasies of being a woman, so I choose male characters.
Not saying anything about people who play as female characters, but for what I personally was trying to accomplish by playing RPG's made it make no sense for me to play a female character.
playing as a female character with a female user name can get you freebies. people will be really nice to you.... until they somehow find out you are male.
On July 06 2010 15:51 29 fps wrote: playing as a female character with a female user name can get you freebies. people will be really nice to you.... until they somehow find out you are male.
100% play as a chick every game...probably because I never identify with the characters or give a shit about them, and I'd rather look at a hot chick for 12 hours.
I actually managed to make a really hot char in ME2, definitely helped sit through all those boring cutscenes.
I only ever get even a hint of immersion playing FPS's....and you cant see your model in those.
While I played wow I found that most female characters were actually guys. The majority of non-attention whoring women chose male characters so they don't get harassed.
For me it was simply that female characters looked better, so if I'm going to spend 100's of hours looking at it hey, female it is.
I agree that the voice acting for FemShep in ME1/2 is superior.
Sometimes, the "core" of the game is really designed around a male character, and the female option/s are obviously trivial/embarrasing, and in those cases I choose the guy. That definitely isn't the case in ME1/2.
In this context I also remember something Miyazaki said when asked why his protaganists were so often young girls. He replied something along the lines that, in our culture, when a man or boy is aggressive or commits an act of violence (I think he actually talked about picking up a gun as his example), it's entirely normal and we don't blink. But when a young girl commits an act of violence, the audience has to sit back and think about what she is doing and why she is doing it and what it really means and what they would do in that situation (even more so presumably when it is a young character).
ME1/2 makes a lot of interesting ethical points and gender difference isn't really among them (the Asari being unigender notwithstanding - they look female, which makes them more or less female in the story). But still, I do think that, even disregarding the voice acting, the male Shep is normative, a character we have seen many times before; and FemShep is something a bit different. Not a lot different - as I say, gender isn't really a concern of the story - but enough to make it interesting. To me anyway.
I play Peach whenever I can, Mario Cart, Mario Cart64, SSBM, Mario Tennis are the games I played where this was possible. Well, in SSBM I also play other characters, but Peach is by far my favourite. In many other games I prefer female characters, though if the gameplay is different I prefer the one that is more fun to play (for example in Tales of the Abyss I could directly control my female party members, but they are mostly support casters or have lengthy animations, while the fun to play swordsmen are male).
I never had the feeling that I had to express my male superiority through not playing a female character. I don't even know of a case where someone tried to make fun of me for it. Some guys considered female characters as inferior, which made it even more fun to play those - and crush the nonbelievers.
Btw, what about Samus Aran? If you're one of the guys who only played male characters, how shocked were you when you found out that she's a female?
I default to female characters purely because one of the first games I ever played had minor hitbox differences between male and female characters. Its rare as balls now, but on the off-chance that there's a difference between male and female characters as far as ingame attributes go, I roll female characters just in case.
Of course, I also remember Age of Conan where female melee characters could only do like 40% of the dps of male ones because of an animation bug.
On July 06 2010 15:51 29 fps wrote: playing as a female character with a female user name can get you freebies. people will be really nice to you.... until they somehow find out you are male.
This is so true in all the mmorpgs I've ever played.
I always make girl characters in games unless I'm naming them after myself.
I started always picking female characters when given a choice after playing GunZ. The female characters were just so much more cool looking in that game, and most decent players picked the female.
On July 06 2010 18:53 Nightmarjoo wrote: I started always picking female characters when given a choice after playing GunZ. The female characters were just so much more cool looking in that game, and most decent players picked the female.
They actually had frame differences, enough to make some moves... you know.
Hmm I've never had a problem playing females, possibly preferred it in fighting game/rpgs. Never really thought of why, I guess better to look at ? lol Probably because I dont really roleplay or feel that character is me, even in rpg.. More like in you're the commander giving orders hehe.
they both have near identical lines and the dude voice actor is just fine. jennifer hale is better, but she's not so good that it should make you unable to enjoy the game as male shepard
i don't see why you'd happen to care more for a girl character considering that, but okay man, if you want to rationalize it that way
for reference I play female characters when given the choice 99% of the time but in ME2 i chose male because shepard is male officially and the female shepard is just there as fanservice
I played both ME1/ME2 as male and female, enjoyed playing female more. Generally I'd play either in an RPG, and sometimes purposely play two playthroughs if the different genders give different options.
I also just realized that if i'm modeling a character after myself then I pick male, whereas if I don't I usually pick female.
In multi-player games it's really just deceiving lonely internet people into favouring you slightly more. Never felt right to me, I always feel more immersed if I choose the character most similar to myself.
MMORPG: Male. I am not very comfortable with deceiving other people around me into believing I am female -_- Why would one do that anyway?
Single player games, I go with one with better storyline & experience if there is marked playstyle difference; It's case of immersion vs storytelling. Other cases I just go with the player I am good at.
On July 07 2010 00:46 Hesmyrr wrote: MMORPG: Male. I am not very comfortable with deceiving other people around me into believing I am female -_- Why would one do that anyway?
how does playing a female equate to "deceiving other people into believing you're a female" lol
legitimately pretending to be a girl is what would do it, not simply playing a char as the gender. if you see a female char in a game and instantly think "must be a chick" then geez man
On July 06 2010 15:12 Chill wrote: I played as a girl in Mass Effect too! Not sure why but it was enjoyable.
3rd person point of view hum...
I just think he finds it enjoyable the op becuase he rather listen and look at a woman instead of a man. I do the same most of my music has females leads.
I'm surprised at the apparent viability of gender deception in MMORPGs and the serious concerns over it I see in this thread. I would've thought most communities would be jaded enough by now to never assume a player is female without at least a measure of proof.
Then again, even as I type new idiots are being spawned into this world, destined for the internet communities of the future.
On topic: I prefer playing female characters, though I sometimes play male ones too. For competitive games, I throw gender out the window.
I've played Fallout 3 as a female in the past. The dialogue options you can get with the black widow perk are pretty hilarious, much more so than the options you can get playing as a male with the lady killer perk.
Huh, I actually never chose to play MMORPG (massive time waster in my opinion) so I never knew male chose female characters so commonly. Of course I have no problem with it if part of their ID or profile clearly states that they are male- not that I specifically care about gender of another person far out there, but the idea of male choosing female gives me strange peeves.
As for non-MMORPG, who actually care about gender of the protagonist? :p
On July 07 2010 03:20 Hesmyrr wrote: As for non-MMORPG, who actually care about gender of the protagonist? :p
My old roommate actually found it a huge turn-off to play a female hero in a single player game. He actually disliked entire games on this basis alone.
That south Park episode where Cartman explains how it's gay to get buttfucked or whatever, but not gay to do the buttfucking?? Using female characters is just like that. Which is more shameful: Using Peach or getting your ass kicked by the dude using peach??
I think I prefer to play as female characters for a similar reason as you, although I've never really thought about it.
In games with a "make your own" hero, I don't really *like* my character. It's just some dude. I'm not particularly fond of some random dude I customized. (Think Oblivion/World of Warcraft/Dragon Age style games). Some random attractive female I care more about keeping alive and enjoy as a part of my party.
Characters aren't really an extension of myself. My WoW character is a unit, like a Collosus. I like using it more if its something I consider aesthetically appealing.
This is all kinda hard to describe, as its not something I really think out. Bioware games are sorta the exception, since I think through dialogue selection, you're meant to play as something like yourself-- so Romance and stuff kinda encourages me to play male. I still often choose to play female, and just download some girl on girl mod so I don't have to romance a dude.
Except Allistair. There is no type of sexual orientation that doesn't welcome loving on Allistair. He's like the Day[9] of Dragon Age.
Apparently, female characters are easier to play in MMORPGs thanks to ignorant horny kids. I personally never play as female characters because 1) I don't play MMORPGs and 2) in any other game I always go with the tank character cause I love to tank (Hon, Fighting Games). And tank characters are never girls because then they'd be fat. And there are no playable/main character fat chicks in games.
I always roleplay RPGs as myself, so I usually never play female characters. If possible, i always make a younger, blue-eyed, with dirty blonde hair and a red tinged beard with skills I think I would learn if I were living in Imaginary World. Usually involving magic because I'm a bookworm, so I wouldn't be busting my ass working out to be a knight or some shit
How can you not play a female in MMORPGs? If I don't at least stare at a pixel representation of a female ass while dealing with idiot guildmates/rating conflicts/pugs/idiot pvpers/guild drama etc. etc. I'd go mad.
On July 07 2010 05:26 Ndugu wrote:Except Allistair. There is no type of sexual orientation that doesn't welcome loving on Allistair. He's like the Day[9] of Dragon Age.
For me personally it is less about trying to not be gay as much as female characters either are treated just the same as males and so there isn't really a good experience altogether or they act like men, which is just as bad.
On July 06 2010 15:16 Caller wrote: fuck you i like canada dry
Bwahah, I was wondering who would be the first to say it xD
As a Canadian, I'm personally insulted by you dissing Canada Dry. Not only is it crisp and refreshing, but since it is flavoured with ginger it's positively medicinal.
And yeah, I typed "flavoured", not "flavored". That's just how we Canadians do.
I'm pretty surprised at the number of people that link playing female and roleplaying as a female. Even in an MMO, I assumed it was understood that isnt you, unless you explicitly go around telling ppl you're a girl but thats another issue. I'd no sooner assume you are an elf, or a magician in real life... or that that is your real name.. OH WAIT.. Damn you battle.net!!
Not really saying its right or wrong to be immersed, just surprised and never really stopped to think how much into roleplaying (implicitly or explicitly) people are. Pretty interesting.
On July 07 2010 03:40 Hawk wrote: Which is more shameful: Using Peach or getting your ass kicked by the dude using peach??
There is no shame in losing to Peach. Peach is a badass. Consistently.
Indeed. And considering many of my friends play spacies, I get maybe 40-50% from one dsmash on each new stock. They complain that it's imba, and I love it.
I almost always play female unless it give me an handicap. If I got a sit a few hours in front of my comp watching a character, I rater have a hot girl than a muscularly guy. I don't see how it's gay.
On July 07 2010 03:40 Hawk wrote: Which is more shameful: Using Peach or getting your ass kicked by the dude using peach??
There is no shame in losing to Peach. Peach is a badass. Consistently.
Indeed. And considering many of my friends play spacies, I get maybe 40-50% from one dsmash on each new stock. They complain that it's imba, and I love it.
peach is imba and gay no lie. playing her in ssbm is the exception to the rule and actually does make you gay
I've never gotten into playing female characters because whenever I play a game I identify with my character in some way, and obviously I can't identify with being a female if I'm male.
Like Pokemon! I name the guy after myself, and therefore I go on all these adventures. I really don't want to play those games where the person is a girl. Cross dressing is a serious nono
I've done both, just depends what I think is a good idea at the time or what I think makes sense for the class if it's an RPG. I always make up silly backstories in my head and play in a certain style.
I don't get why people have a problem playing a specific gender, both are awesome heh.
To the guy above me: I went male (vek) in Diamond and female (vekki) in Platinum, share the love :D
My undead male mages name was vek My undead female warriors name was vekki
I usualy go for the ugliest character possible, which happen to be male all the time. I somehow find enjoyment in talking to the npcs in the world and wondering why they would not go "oh my god, what's wrong with your face?". That only holds up, when neither female or male would give you an advantage ingame, if so, I just go for the better one, I don't care really.
Man, I played ME1 first time through as Male Shepard, full paragon.
Then I played through as female Shepard, mad renegade, and never looked back. Seriously, female shepard kicks WAY more ass. Agreed with OP, full force. Plus, she's customed so hot it makes the game that much better.
And in ME2 - lesbian tension with Yeoman Kelly... totally worth being Fem Shep for.
I'm currently playing a female character in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic...don't know why I picked it. Guess I was just too tired of being male characters in both Kotor games.
I still think the main impetus for picking a female character is aesthetic, however subconscious the drive to look at (and control, oh yeah) a sexy woman rather than a macho guy is. My evidence is that overwhelmingly in text-based MMOs, people continue to choose to match their characters gender to their own gender, whether for 1, 2, or 20 characters.
I used to play as Conquer (the female squirrel) in Diddy Kong Racing for the N64 because I could've SWORN she was faster than the guys. I took a lot of flak from my brothers because of this until we unlocked Drumstick who was so imba so I just played as him all the time.
Ahhhhhh good times.
EDIT: Oh and 5/5 cuz Canada Dry really is disgusting.
EPT![[image loading]](http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/zz20/NukeTheStars/MassEffect2femshep.jpg)
SF4 is all the way Cammy ;D
