Why Guys like playing as girls?

[DragoonKain3]

In MMOs, I play a lot as girls mainly because if I'm going to see some character's butt for hundreds of hours on end, then might as well be female. Not to mention most MMO male models looks like they took like 10 pounds of steroids or something....

In single player RPGs, I'd choose the gender that gets the childhood friend of the opposite sex (for obvious reasons). If there isn't any, then I go for powergaming reasons, else I have no preference.


Really, nothing complex or deep about decision making here.

[Chaos2Frozen]

Originally Posted by Vexx

What is this "my character is me" delusion? Most players look *nothing* like their toons.

It's not that "this character is me", it's "this character represents me" hence the word 'Avatar'.

Again it's just my opinion, but I can't shake the weird disconnected feeling playing as a female character... Hell, I don't even play a different specie if I could help it.

[Squiggy]

Isn't it more like 'Avatar represents what I want it to represent'?

[Chaos2Frozen]

Originally Posted by Squiggy

Isn't it more like 'Avatar represents what I want it to represent'?

It'll be foolhardy for me to argue against the freedom of choice of others There's no winning that.

But for me and others like me- my avatar represents myself in the game world... As much as it allows me to 'accurately' I'll have you know I do have silver hair and glowing blue eyes in real life too you know.

[Obelisk ze Tormentor]

Originally Posted by Mr Hat and Clogs

It's all just escapism.

That's the whole idea, I think. Beside the speed, agility and items thingy .

I also a guy who like my avatar to represent myself in MMORPG or any games that allowed you to create your own character. It's coz in any other games you already play as someone else, why won't you play as (close as) yourself when given a chance?

[Pink Cow]

Originally Posted by Ryonea

Hmm, not for me, maybe. I tend to prefer playing as a guy, whatever the game is.

From what I saw, people playing as girl characters are most commonly found in MMO games (at least over here). They do that because they could trick other players by sweet talking or something like that so the target player would really think that it's a real girl behind that girl character. This trickery is done to ease the gameplay... like finding a hunting party, forming a relationship, etc. since guy players tend to be more helpful toward girl players so in MMO, guys like to pretend to be a girl.

Well, that's from what I saw so far.

This. Even my guy cousins gave this as a reason when I ask them.

But it's funny when some female character comes up and starts sweet talking other people. Most guys do this behind their female avatars and it becomes extremely easy to detect if a character is actually a guy or not. At least, it's become easy for me. I don't know if other girls can tell the difference.

Sometimes when the "females" are sweet talking another dude, I'd walk up to them and say something like "this dude's actually a dude". Then I watch as rage and lolz ensue.

[Duo Maxwell]

Originally Posted by Chaos2Frozen

I'll have you know I do have silver hair and glowing blue eyes in real life too you know.

Now I'm really curious about you....
I've never in my life seen anyone with silver hair. Not the grayish one, but silver.

Well, most of my avatar is also silver hair, since I really like them .

[NorthernFallout]

I vary, but I mainly play females 'cause there ain't many such characters in other media. FemShep being an example. I REALLY like badass, strong, independent women in media (and IRL *shifty eyes*), because there ain't many of them, so in RPGs/MMOs I can choose for myself. I usually create them as badass as I can too, no barbie thing for me here.

In EVE I'm using a female avatar simply because I like the design of them better (and no, not the boob+ass aspect). Not much can beat a t-shirt with a black leather vest, dark hair with a ponytail and sunglasses, staring at you.

Though I create males when it's a Berserker/Tank-like character... As I portray myself a bit more then (similarly, healers/rogues I might go female more often). And no, I never go around saying I'm female, or take advantage of it, if anyone asks, I'm male IRL.

[Hiroi Sekai]

This generally applies to fighting games, doesn't it? I admit I play almost always as a female character in those, but in other games like RPGs, I prefer to be male.

For fighting games, the females are more agile and flashy than the males about 90% of the time. They're just more fun to play as, and kick more ass once you master them. Examples?

Noel Vermillion. Chun Li. Ayane. Talim.

The exception to this somewhat general rule probably applies to Mortal Kombat, where making pools of blood is more badass with the cooler powers they gave to a majority of the males. That game was meant to be burly anyways.

[SaintessHeart]

Can anyone tell me how to play as a guy in the Neptunia games?

Playing as a girl is fun. Makes you treat your character seriously, so you would play your best, trade for the best armour, do the best looks, and make her the cutest thing you have ever seen.

[Seitsuki]

Also, if you're going to stare at an ass for hours every day, may as well make it a female one. Just more mentally pleasing.

.....not that I stare or anything.

[Crimrui]

I play as a female character only in some fighting games or in those games where there is no deep character development and where playing as ether gender doesn't bring anything new except few convo changes. Game like Oblivion, for example. If I'm gonna spend 80% of the game on mindless fighting I might as well go for the female. So yeah, it's strictly for eye candy. For every other game I play as a male.

[Hiroi Sekai]

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

make her the cutest thing you have ever seen.

Originally Posted by Seitsuki

Also, if you're going to stare at an ass for hours every day, may as well make it a female one. Just more mentally pleasing.

Originally Posted by Crimson Cloud

it's strictly for eye candy.

We've done the boys proud, men. May I join your faction?

[Mahou]

Mahou is male and likes to play female characters in MMOs.
The reason you may ask? Most female sprites looks simply better. Since I don't do endgame activities like raiding, instancing and such I won't have to focus on the environment. So why not play a nice looking character ?
Let's use WoW: The male looks that are acceptable for me are Orc, Tauren, Worgen and Dwarves. The remaining ones either do hardly matter or I prefer the female appearance instead.

As for beat-em up games (of which I'm imho the most unskilled player): It depends on the fighting style or if I'm "comfortable" with it.

But to tell the truth, back when I wa active in forum rping I only played as a male "hero". I could never think myself into a female point of view even if it is just fiction

[Jan-Poo]

Originally Posted by SilverSyko

Lol, so folks are completely missing the point of what a "custom avatar" is then?

If that was true everyone should choose "human" as race.

I've seen many people who shared your view, so I know that in case someone with a female character were to tell you that he's actually male IRL you'd think he's strange or even wrong.

But would you have the same reaction if someone with the obligatory hulky character were to tell you that he's a 9 year old kid?

Would you have the same reaction if someone with the obligatory midget character told you he's 6 feet tall?

Would you have the same reaction if that provocative blonde amazon is actually a not so looking fat girl IRL?

No you wouldn't. It's really only sex that some people believe must match with the user's real identity.



Anyway to add some more insight on the OP's answer. Some people can play a game without identiying with their own character, even when it's a MMORPG. When I've played FFXI most G.I.R.L. I've encountered never lied about their true gender and never even tried to act like female. In those cases the character is seen more like a doll to play with.
You then learn to see the characters on screen as puppets and the people behind them as their puppeteers even if all you see is the puppet.

[TinyRedLeaf]

Out of all the CRPGs I've played where a choice of gender was available, I've played a female main character only twice: as Rebecca Black (Tremere thaumaturge) in Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines, and Luviena Evermoore (human bard) in Dungeons & Dragons Online.

On both occasions, it was for mainly for aesthetic reasons — the designs of male characters in both games were just too horrible for me to bear. The Western "ideal" of macho masculinity baffles me: I really have no idea why Western designers like to make male RPG heroes look like half-evolved gorillas overdosed on steroids.

Once past the looks though, it was refreshing in both instances to play as a female character — developing their backstories, in particular, turned out more interesting than I had expected. By and large though, like Mahou, I find it difficult to "roleplay" a woman, so I usually stick to male characters.

Gender-role stereotypes inevitably colour my choices as well, making it hard for me to imagine a nice, pretty girl hoisting around a Fat Man mini-nuke launcher in Fallout 3, for example. I'm also especially glad to have played a male character in Dragon Age: Origins — the ending would have been that much more complicated had my avatar been a woman.

[yezhanquan]

For WoW, I am playing a Blood Elf female, a Gnome female, a Dranaei female and a Tauren male. Tauren, being larger in size, looks better as male for me. Gnome males have thick eyebrows/moustaches. So mainly, it's for the looks.

[RedKey]

As far as I'm concerned, it's not a matter of personality, roleplay, dialogues or whatnot.

Originally Posted by Flying Dagger

Subsequent runthroughs/alts on MMOs are girls as they are usually more pleasing on the eye.

This. If I have to spend hours staring at a screen exping/farming/raiding, I'd much prefer doing it while looking at a character that pleases my eye more.

[Black0raz0r]

I often play as female in RPGs (Fallout and Mass Effect) because I want my favourit Anime Girl in the game xDDDD
in Shooter I change the gender always

[darklift]

ALways a male in RPGs. Other games I choose the female. Way hotter