Custom character, or at least option for female

[random n00b]

One of the best things in RPGs for me is the ability to play a completely different character each time. That of course involves thinking up and creating characters that have nothing to do with how I am myself. Always playing a carbon copy avatar of myself would be incredibly boring. Playing characters of either sex is not a problem, romance included. If you strip away the roleplaying aspect from roleplaying games, not much remains.

 

I can't help but think that a lack of imagination is to blame. Different people, different tastes I suppose.

[Moatilliatta]

I'm going to Tyranid your face.

I'll Space Marine your sister.¹

 

 

 

 

¹Llyr lol

[Moatilliatta]

@Volo

Your point would be pretty good if we were talking about PnP gaming but we're not. All computer RPGs put us into some kind of role not of our choosing since it cannot provide all options like a PnP can and as such it really isn't about roleplaying in the same sense.

 

I tend to think that Random is closer with his lack of imagination idea or perhaps a lack of an open mind or something.

 

tl;dr

People who cannot roleplay the other gender should go back to their crappy JRPGs.

[Jaesun]

I feel this way, pretty much. When I can play a female character, I actually identify with her... sort of "become" her... and transfer my thoughts, feelings, and actions to her. When forced to play a male character, I can't identify with him and don't ever feel I "am" him. It's rather like sitting on his shoulder and watching him run around the world doing his thing, but not really emotionally invested in whether he succeeds or not.

Oh, and pretty much avoid all romances with a male character if possible. Damned Geralt had me feeling like a peeping tom every time a seemingly-benign conversation ended up with a lousy trading card! Now I can avoid them all... they do make me feel a bit, er, scummy.

 

Yea, I feel the same way, in that (for obvious reasons) I can identify when playing a male or female character, and can transfer my thoughts, feelings and action upon them. But where a game breaks immersion for me is when romances rear their ugly heads. For example "THAT scene" with Ashley in Mass Effect, when that started I was thinking OH MY GAWD. PLEASE TELL ME THIS IS NOT HAPPENING! To the point I quickly tried to get through the dialogue and scene to end and then completely turned off the game and hit up the Bio boards to find out how to AVOID that encounter and start over. D:

 

I however typically like playing male characters, and the lack of a female choice does not really bother me that much when choosing to buy a game. However I like it a lot more if there IS an option to play both sexes.

 

My only concern in buying AP is that since you can only play a male, and there ARE romance options, if I avoid them, how much of the game will I miss out on? :/

[Killian Kalthorne]

Sounds to me someone has commitment issues.

[Rostere]

I have no problem playing both male and female characters.

 

I don't know if I get into the roleplaying too much or if the NPCs react differently, but all men seem like **** when you play as a female.

Edited October 3, 2008 by Rostere

[Cl_Flushentityhero]

Honestly, someone who can't role-playing the opposite gender has simply proven to lack role-playing skills since one of the main ideas of role-playing is being somebody you are not. Perhaps, those people are into the wrong genre of games. Just sayin'.

 

"Can't" and "would rather not" are two different things, and I think we're talking about the latter. By the same token, not everybody who thinks they can or enjoys roleplaying the opposite gender is any good at it.

 

Also, to another poster, I think romance was cut from Alpha Protocol; probably by the McCain administration and their supposed family values.

[Nick_i_am]

Wait, now you jerks are just being sexist.

 

Chicks can't be sexist!

[Dragonesse01]

Alrighty, I guess some have a valid point saying role playing is about getting into someone else's character... nevertheless you can play someone completely different to the real you, but then still it is easier if the character has the same gender as you... you gotta have something to identify with...

 

and what was that up there bout Antony Hopkins not being like Cannibal in real life as an argument that you don't need the character to be like the real you lalalalala.... well no, but at least he played someone of his own gender.! That is exactly it.. like in movies, you can play someone totally different, but SAME GENDER lol.

 

Another thing, I wonder (becos I don't know) if it is really that difficult technically to make custom characters in games.. many games do so with great succes and it seems to me that those games didn't have to sacrifice anything for it... so if thats the case... if it is possible and the game stays good... then why the bloody hell not. Us female gamers might be the minority, but hey we are out there;)

 

Oh and I don't wanna play JRPG's... I don't like them lol. I like the KOTOR ones, Jade empire, Mass effect and Obsidian has 2 RPG's coming up, Alpha Protocol and Aliens and I wanna play them both... AS A WOMAN:D

 

Anybody else wonder what Obsidian thinks bout this topic? I do!!!

[J.E. Sawyer]

Another thing, I wonder (becos I don't know) if it is really that difficult technically to make custom characters in games.. many games do so with great succes and it seems to me that those games didn't have to sacrifice anything for it.

Mass Effect's human heads could have been higher quality had they not been morphable. Building and rigging a customizable head generally lowers its quality compared to a one-off head. Also, there's the investment in technology. That's not a sacrifice as far as the player is concerned, but it does have a cost for the developer.

 

Anybody else wonder what Obsidian thinks bout this topic? I do!!!

I think character customization is often important in games, period -- RPG or otherwise. But I don't think it's always necessary or even desirable. It depends on the game, the setting, the story and a lot of other factors. As I wrote early in the thread, in Aliens I think that female characters are so important to the franchise that females should be the default for a player character.

[kirottu]

But... but you get cooties from women.

Edited October 3, 2008 by kirottu

[Dragonesse01]

Another thing, I wonder (becos I don't know) if it is really that difficult technically to make custom characters in games.. many games do so with great succes and it seems to me that those games didn't have to sacrifice anything for it.

Mass Effect's human heads could have been higher quality had they not been morphable. Building and rigging a customizable head generally lowers its quality compared to a one-off head. Also, there's the investment in technology. That's not a sacrifice as far as the player is concerned, but it does have a cost for the developer.

 

Anybody else wonder what Obsidian thinks bout this topic? I do!!!

I think character customization is often important in games, period -- RPG or otherwise. But I don't think it's always necessary or even desirable. It depends on the game, the setting, the story and a lot of other factors. As I wrote early in the thread, in Aliens I think that female characters are so important to the franchise that females should be the default for a player character.

 

 

Ok, that makes sense;)

[Llyranor]

You guys should get Fat Princess. While you don't actually play a female character, the main NPC in the game is a fat princess whom you feed pieces of cake to make fatter and fatter. It's a capture-the-flag type of game, so the fatter you make the princess, the harder it is for the enemy team to take her away.

[Dark_Raven]

Honestly, someone who can't role-playing the opposite gender has simply proven to lack role-playing skills since one of the main ideas of role-playing is being somebody you are not. Perhaps, those people are into the wrong genre of games. Just sayin'.

Volo likes to role play as a hot woman.

[~Di]

Yea, I feel the same way, in that (for obvious reasons) I can identify when playing a male or female character, and can transfer my thoughts, feelings and action upon them. But where a game breaks immersion for me is when romances rear their ugly heads. For example "THAT scene" with Ashley in Mass Effect, when that started I was thinking OH MY GAWD. PLEASE TELL ME THIS IS NOT HAPPENING! To the point I quickly tried to get through the dialogue and scene to end and then completely turned off the game and hit up the Bio boards to find out how to AVOID that encounter and start over. D:

 

LOL! I don't know the scene in question, because thankfully Mass Effect not only allowed me to play as a female, it gave me Kaidan as well!! I mean, yum!

 

I however typically like playing male characters, and the lack of a female choice does not really bother me that much when choosing to buy a game. However I like it a lot more if there IS an option to play both sexes.

 

My only concern in buying AP is that since you can only play a male, and there ARE romance options, if I avoid them, how much of the game will I miss out on? :/

 

I usually avoid romances when I'm forced to play as a male. Romancing a female doesn't add to the gaming experience for me, so I usually just skip it. I didn't mind the flirty stuff between Anna and TNO in PS:T, but if it had gone further... let's just say that the combination of twisted dead grey limbs, horns and a scaley tail would have made me shudder big time!

[Nick_i_am]

the combination of twisted dead grey limbs, horns and a scaley tail

 

Great, now I need a shower.

[~Di]

"Can't" and "would rather not" are two different things, and I think we're talking about the latter. By the same token, not everybody who thinks they can or enjoys roleplaying the opposite gender is any good at it.

 

Also, to another poster, I think romance was cut from Alpha Protocol; probably by the McCain administration and their supposed family values.

 

Exactly. I've been playing computer games for nearly two decades, and most games have male main characters so obviously I "can" do it. I just don't feel emotionally invested in them, and am just going along for the story. I am certainly more emotionally involved in a game where the main character is female, especially if a romance is involved. I still will purchase games that force me to be a premade male character if the story otherwise interests me and the game comes highly recommended. I loved Deus Ex, for example. I won't be running out to buy AP when it hits the shelves for that very reason. No female character to play, and the "spy" genre has, in my opinion, been done to death. If I learn something different after it's out, something that sets it apart, maybe I'll change my mind. But at this point, I don't see that happening.

 

Folks around here just seem to believe that if anyone doesn't play games exactly the way they do, don't enjoy exactly the same gaming experience that they do, don't enjoy exactly the same games that they do, then it's okay to insult them and imply that they are either wrong, or stupid... or both. *shrug* But there are still plenty of posters here who respect other points of view and enjoy hearing them. You are one of these!

[Jaesun]

Yea, I feel the same way, in that (for obvious reasons) I can identify when playing a male or female character, and can transfer my thoughts, feelings and action upon them. But where a game breaks immersion for me is when romances rear their ugly heads. For example "THAT scene" with Ashley in Mass Effect, when that started I was thinking OH MY GAWD. PLEASE TELL ME THIS IS NOT HAPPENING! To the point I quickly tried to get through the dialogue and scene to end and then completely turned off the game and hit up the Bio boards to find out how to AVOID that encounter and start over. D:

 

LOL! I don't know the scene in question, because thankfully Mass Effect not only allowed me to play as a female, it gave me Kaidan as well!! I mean, yum!

 

It was the big "sex scene". D: And Kaiden... just didn't do it for me. I just did not like his character (I felt Ashley was way more interesing and better written *shrug*). But this is going WAY off topic...

 

I usually avoid romances when I'm forced to play as a male. Romancing a female doesn't add to the gaming experience for me, so I usually just skip it. I didn't mind the flirty stuff between Anna and TNO in PS:T, but if it had gone further... let's just say that the combination of twisted dead grey limbs, horns and a scaley tail would have made me shudder big time!

 

LOL! I agree. I did not mind the mild flirting, but had it gone further, I more than likely would have stopped playing. Though I survived the Elanee "encounter" in NWN2, I will never ever replay the OC or MotB as a male.

[Fionavar]

Thread Pruned: Do please try to post in a civil and constructive manner ... it really takes too much energy to have to move from the Roost. So more constructive posting, less baiting and then I do not have to do anything and we end up with a win-win situation ...

[SteveThaiBinh]

Oh yeah and don't forget the Longest journey games.

Adventure games have always been relatively rich in female protagonists, from Rosella to Kate Walker and Victoria McPherson.

 

One reason I like to have a choice between male and female characters in RPGs is because it adds to the replayability of the game. If I like a game, then when I get to the end I don't want it to be the end, and it doesn't have to be. I know that if I replay with a character of the opposite sex, some NPCs will react differently to me, some options and quests will open that were previously closed off. Even if only a tiny percentage is new content, it makes the second or third playthroughs every bit as enjoyable as the first. Of course, any game with multiple paths will achieve a similar outcome, as it looks Alpha Protocol will, for example. So I would echo random_n00b and say another reason I like to have the choice is because I like to roleplay lots of different people, not just one who is like me (although my first playthrough will often be just that). Thirdly, I like romances, the more the merrier, and Carth was not whiny!

[Dragonesse01]

I don't mind the romance between characters, but I don't care if its not there either.

 

Anyway, I guess custom characters either male or female just give everyone what they want... play their own gender or the opositie, create someone very much like you or not like you at all and anything in between, plus the option to replay it all different each time. That seems like true role playing to me: that you can be anyone you want, get in any role you feel like.

[mr insomniac]

his is what annoys me in many CRPGs. In a RPG I want to play my character, be able to make my character how I want within the rules of the game, and have ownership of that character. I don't want to play the developers' character. That was a major drawback in Torment.

The story would have suffered had not he Nameless One been who he was, not to mention the characters would be different as well, in terms of their relationships to the Nameless One.

[Nightshape]

oh yeah, forgot about the walking boobs games

 

haha, coming from the guy who mentioned FAKK 2 aka 'lets put Julie Strain in a videogame'.

 

Hell yeah, but next time... we should invest in some SERIOUS jiggly-tech.

[Morgoth]

As I wrote early in the thread, in Aliens I think that female characters are so important to the franchise that females should be the default for a player character.

Are you suggesting that we're gonna play a fix female character in Aliens RPG, or will you just promote a female PC when the game gets announced?

[Cl_Flushentityhero]

May I suggest cross-dressing as a happy medium?