Male or female protagonist?

Some great games have had female leads like Metroid and Beyond Good and Evil. Honestly, I don't care at all what race or sex the main character is.

Pokemon games have the option between the two genders. Persona 3 PSP recently placed that option as well.

As a male, I'd play as a male, simple as that. The stereortype is that most video gamers will choose a VG female character to ogle at her assets and boobs and ass. Which is rather... pathetic.

What really needs to be changed is how sad most video game females are portrayed, especially in the age of the Internet because I would hope if one chooses to be... raging with hormones, they'd have another outlet to do it than in video games where the medium needs to be taken more seriously if it is to evolve.

I'd say maybe games need more protagonists like Jade, from Beyond Good and Evil? Also um... well I can't think of any at the moment, but mostly not the generic femme fatale that use their sexuality as like the only weapon. Kind of defeats the purpose.

i dont really care if its male or female

As a male, I'd play as a male, simple as that. The stereortype is that most video gamers will choose a VG female character to ogle at her assets and boobs and ass. Which is rather... pathetic.

thattotally

Why does it have be to oogle? Why can't they enjoy the female characters from a design / personality perspective?

As someone who works in IT, I only play male computer nerds in games. And they can't have super powers, since I don't have super powers. Additionally, no dwarves or elves, since I'm a human in real life. Obviously.

If the game is good I could care less. Personally I would like to see more games with a female protagonist

Because there isn't a design or personality perspective. At least, not a good one. This won't change any time soon, or heck possibly ever if something isn't done about it.

If given the choice, I'll choose my own gender, male, as long as they don't fall into the blank-faced bald stereotype a lot of male protagonists suffer. In all honesty i'd like to see more games star female leads just to escape the "blank-minded killing machine" meatheads that pollute 90% game box art.

Male, female, black, white, no hair, some hair. These things dont matter to me (unless the character looks really gruff. I just cant stand that style of character) besides that it all comes down to the story and music in my book. If they make those good I'm happy with the game.

Choosing gender only matter if it change the game.

When selecting a game character I don't think about its gender, just whether or not I like it, its functionality and such.

The other day a friend of mine came over, and we played Mario Kart Wii. Without even thinking I selected Daisy as I always do, not giving it a second thought. He says in a surprising voice "why did you pic a guurrrl?". Being caught off guard, I was a little embarrassed, but just for a moment. I then explained to him that I used her because of her weight class and vehicle selection.

After that, we just enjoyed a fun day of local multiplayer games.

Doesn't matter.

Choosing gender only matter if it change the game.

wiouds

In the type of games I play, even if there is a choice, it never makes any difference so, being a male I always choose a female ( as I would in real life :lol: ):)

I prefer male

What the heck is a seven world theory?

I'll play as a dude because I don't think women should be fighting or doing those other things that protagonists do.

I'm a male so if I get a choice I usually play as a male first, then female. Unless the male game model looks really stupid and ugly, then I'll just go with a female, because at least she'll look less stupid or ugly.

I always prefer playing as female characters. I just happen to like girly things, so it shows in my character choices.

I don't mind either way, but I usually choose male if given the choice. Then again, I prefer female Shepherd in Mass Effect--I just find her more believable as a hero and leader than the male one, I think it's the voices.

honestly i don't care if a character is female or male, as long as its a fun game to me, thats all that matters.

If the game is good I could care less.

TravJon

Pokemon games have the option between the two genders. Persona 3 PSP recently placed that option as well.

As a male, I'd play as a male, simple as that. The stereortype is that most video gamers will choose a VG female character to ogle at her assets and boobs and ass. Which is rather... pathetic.

What really needs to be changed is how sad most video game females are portrayed, especially in the age of the Internet because I would hope if one chooses to be... raging with hormones, they'd have another outlet to do it than in video games where the medium needs to be taken more seriously if it is to evolve.

I'd say maybe games need more protagonists like Jade, from Beyond Good and Evil? Also um... well I can't think of any at the moment, but mostly not the generic femme fatale that use their sexuality as like the only weapon. Kind of defeats the purpose.

thattotally

lara croft and jill from resident evil if my memory serves me right.

[quote="thattotally"]I'd say maybe games need more protagonists like Jade, from Beyond Good and Evil? Also um... well I can't think of any at the moment, but mostly not the generic femme fatale that use their sexuality as like the only weapon. Kind of defeats the purpose.

ghegpatatas

lara croft and jill from resident evil if my memory serves me right.

I don't care whether its female or male. If it gives me a choice I choose male, because thats what I am. But Its fun to have a female protagonist from time to time.

I loved Bayonetta the character, she was hilarious I thought.

Some guys might not like it but I wouldn't care since I'm a black guy and I pretty much never get to play as characters who are like me at all. Playing as a female character wouldn't be all that different than playing as the standard gaming protagonist.Senor_Kami

None of you are elves or space marines, but you don't complain about that. Why does gender or skin color matter in a game if you aren't prejudiced?

Why does it matter? If a game used a female protagonist well so that she's not there just for sex appeal (Hi, Bayonetta) it would not influence my decision to buy a game one way or another. [QUOTE="TravJon"]

If the game is good I could care less.

AngelicAvenger

Yeah, that's what I meant to type

[QUOTE="ghegpatatas"]

[quote="thattotally"]I'd say maybe games need more protagonists like Jade, from Beyond Good and Evil? Also um... well I can't think of any at the moment, but mostly not the generic femme fatale that use their sexuality as like the only weapon. Kind of defeats the purpose.

ChiliDragon

lara croft and jill from resident evil if my memory serves me right.

You're just listing side characters... though I love Shiki because The World Ends With You is such a unique game.

I prefer a female character, more so if a well written character or one I can create and not have to be bothered with a voice for, instead giving her a voice as I play.

Gotten sick to death of male characters of the years, too much of the same thing with the same story - man kill many, man hero. Man want revenge, man kill many, man die/live. And so on.
I refuse to play games with male characters these days because it's just too much of the same with a character I couldn't care less about, a character I can't identify with.

If I'm going to be playing a game for hours, then I prefer a female character and one I can identify with, instead of some done many times before male character.

You are implying that games with female leads do not follow the same archetype (woman kill many, woman become hero).

The rare times there is a female character, be it as an option or main lead, it's a refreshing change from the usual male. Developers tend to follow the usual dull stereotypes for characters though, imagination can be rare when it's easier to just do the same old thing and not bother to really work on the character.

[QUOTE="ghegpatatas"]

[quote="thattotally"]I'd say maybe games need more protagonists like Jade, from Beyond Good and Evil? Also um... well I can't think of any at the moment, but mostly not the generic femme fatale that use their sexuality as like the only weapon. Kind of defeats the purpose.

ChiliDragon

lara croft and jill from resident evil if my memory serves me right.

You are implying that games with female leads do not follow the same archetype (woman kill many, woman become hero).

reason58

The thing is, many of these games are simply with the option to play as a female - the amount of times I've had to be a male character simply because it's the only gender available is unbelievable - don't get me wrong, it'd never stop me from playing, as such, it's just nice when there's an option; way more girls that I know have begun getting into games over the years, and, looking at the article, just because they don't play games which have women as the main protagonist (because there aren't as many out there as male characters), does that mean that they will have to wait what looks like a few generations for game designers to get their act together?thecharmedbaja

I've no preference, and will happily play as either.

What the heck is a seven world theory?

Safetynetss

They don't vary from those seven scenarios, because they can't. They are so incredibly broad as to encompass every possibility.

[QUOTE="giving_upnoun"][QUOTE="ChiliDragon"]They rarely get to be the main protagonist, but there are a lot of good female characters out there that fit your description. Without even putting in much effort, I can off the top of my head think of these: Bastila Shan, KotOR 1 Kreia, KotOR 2 Female Sheppard, ME 1 and 2 Shiki, The World Ends With You Garnet Til Alexandros, FF9 Marle, ChronoTrigger Fall-From-Grace, Planescape:Torment Aribeth, Neverwinter Nights 1 Chris, Suikoden 3 Sialeeds, Suikoden 5 Mitsuru and Yukari, Persona 3 Chie, Persona 4 I'm sure if I bothered to look up the characters in each game in my collection I could find more.ChiliDragon

Yeah, and the topic title asks for protagonists so... hehe :)

You mean like the movie industry, who has evolved to have large number of well written and three-dimensional female leads as strong characters in non-traditional roles? (Yes, that was sarcasm. :P)ChiliDragon

Yeah, and the topic title asks for protagonists so... hehe :)giving_upnoun

I've run multiple playthroughs of Dragon Age, both Mass Effects, and Drakensang with a female character. Gender doesn't matter to me in a game's main character.

Drakensang was a blast with a female elf warrior...she would leap six feet into the air when delivering some attacks.:lol:

In most games, I'd rather play as male but in some games, especially adventure games like The Longest Journey it works to have a female lead. Although romantic sub-plots are just a little too weird.

Pokemon games have the option between the two genders. Persona 3 PSP recently placed that option as well.

As a male, I'd play as a male, simple as that. The stereortype is that most video gamers will choose a VG female character to ogle at her assets and boobs and ass. Which is rather... pathetic.

What really needs to be changed is how sad most video game females are portrayed, especially in the age of the Internet because I would hope if one chooses to be... raging with hormones, they'd have another outlet to do it than in video games where the medium needs to be taken more seriously if it is to evolve.

I'd say maybe games need more protagonists like Jade, from Beyond Good and Evil? Also um... well I can't think of any at the moment, but mostly not the generic femme fatale that use their sexuality as like the only weapon. Kind of defeats the purpose.

thattotally

First off I'd play as a male if given the option, but overall what gender the protagonist is doesn't make or break the game for me, however how the protagonist acts can ruin it a bit.

I agree with you, we don't need the whole femme fatale thing or the fake females dominating males thing as if that somehow shows "girl power". If I was a woman I think I might even be insulted, the again others seem to like it. I mean look at the reception of certain action movies that frequently feature female protagonists who somehow always overpower much stronger men...people eat that stuff up.

As far as recent movies Scarlett Johannson's character in Iron Man 2 is a perfect example. I would much rather see a game or movie that has a female lead in a typically male role, yet doesn't make a big deal of her being a woman, i.e. her being overly sexy, or making comments about her opposition's male anatomy...that sort of thing.