so pissed at Obsidian

[HoonDing]

Am I weird because I always play RPGs as a female when possible?

 

Insert Freudian crap here: ________________________

[Purkake]

All psychology is Freudian

[Tel Aviv]

I only play beefcakes.

[alanschu]

All psychology is Freudian

 

 

That very link demonstrates that not all psychology is Freudian...

[Slowtrain]

I think it's totally understandable why some women would be less than interested in playing a male character.

 

I also think its unfortunate that the western crpg market is such a male-orientated market. I think its one of the reasons why there are so few female posters on message boards such as this.

[Purkake]

All psychology is Freudian

 

 

That very link demonstrates that not all psychology is Freudian...

 

Which is why I didn't just post a statement, but made the statement sarcastic by adding a link to it.

 

I think it's totally understandable why some women would be less than interested in playing a male character.

 

I also think its unfortunate that the western crpg market is such a male-orientated market. I think its one of the reasons why there are so few female posters on message boards such as this.

 

There are a TON of female posters on the BIO boards and there's probably more here by percentage than in most other gaming forums.

Edited October 2, 2009 by Purkake

[Oner]

There are a TON of female posters on the BIO boards and there's probably more here by percentage than in most other gaming forums.

Aren't most of them yaoi fangirls though?

[Purkake]

Does that make them less female?

 

My point is that mr Trainman was exaggerating.

[Raithe]

Of course, you never can tell when one of those yaoi fangirls is actually a 300lb canadian hell's angel who just likes to be called "mandy" on the weekends...

But that's just the nature of the internet

 

In an in-depth game with serious story, yes, it can be interesting to go back and play a character of a different sex or race (if applicable) just to see exactly what does change, what other options there are, and at times see what new and funky dialogue options there are.. But it doesn't have to be the be-all and end-all to have those options.

 

Being able to tweak your character at the start is nice, but having a story that pulls you in is better. I'd rather have a storyline that pulls you in deep and makes the character feel immersed then have an amazingly wide variety of choices as to what a character is like ... but then have no real meaning or consequence for those choices of character customisation within the storyline. Which is what usually happens with games like that.

[Purkake]

Of course, you never can tell when one of those yaoi fangirls is actually a 300lb canadian hell's angel who just likes to be called "mandy" on the weekends...

 

Watch out, Maria, your secret is finally out.

Edited October 2, 2009 by Purkake

[alanschu]

All psychology is Freudian

 

 

That very link demonstrates that not all psychology is Freudian...

 

Which is why I didn't just post a statement, but made the statement sarcastic by adding a link to it.

 

 

It's not a judgment on you, but rather the link itself.

[Purkake]

Then TVtropes fails.

 

The tropes have finally failed us, the end is neigh!

[Oner]

We must appease the Trope Gods with a sacrifice! Fast, we must capture the DoomBringer Alanschu!

[Maria Caliban]

Looking back, the thing that I think really stands out is just the sheer hostility in the OP's post. She really could have stated her piece in a fraction of the words. She would have spared herself the confusing Deus Ex paradox, and just stated her piece and moved on.

 

From her post, I gather that since this was an Obsidian game, she assumed she would be able to make a female character. Moreover, the comparison with DX suggests she thought it would be an excellent game.

 

She got excited about the game, and just found out that she couldn

Edited October 3, 2009 by Maria Caliban

[Purkake]

I thought you frequented this board, apparently I was wrong.

 

So care to give us a little female perspective on this? Does playing a male character bother you?

[Maria Caliban]

What about games built around a female protagonist? There's lots of game where you are forced to play a female character, games like The Longest Journey, Syberia, Beyond Good & Evil, Portal, No One Lives Forever?

 

I don't have problem playing them, but should they have also offered a male option?

 

90% of the time, if a game has a fixed protagonist, it's a white dude, and that's only because we're including adventure games. We might make it 75% of games if we agree that characters like Kretos, Crash Bandicoot, and Zelda don't count as white.

 

I think that trend is changing and will continue to do so. This is because more women are playing games and expect female characters, more women are in the game industry, developers are seeing more games with female characters, and I'd suggest that as male gamers grow older they are less turned off by playing female characters who aren't overtly sexual fantasies.

 

I will likely pick up Alpha Protocal, but I buy a relatively large number of games in a year. While games that let me play as a woman always have higher priority, I still tend to pick up a number of titles where I can only be a guy. The RPG is hardly the world offender in this front; try finding first person shooters where you can be female.

 

Does having to be a guy decrease the quality of the game? Usually not.

 

Do I understand why Obsidian is going the route it did? Sure. VO is standard in Triple-A games, but it's expensive and takes up space. Also, a predefined protagonist is good for branding. Someone else said that Micheal Thorton reminded them of defaultShep, Drake's Fortune, Doom Guy, etc. Of course he does, that look is something gamers are used to.

 

I thought you frequented this board, apparently I was wrong.

 

So care to give us a little female perspective on this? Does playing a male character bother you?

 

Depends on how you define 'bother.' It tends to irritate me if there's no female option and if there is that option, the majority of the time I'll choose it.

 

At the same time, I have never found a game unenjoyable or been unable to slip into character because the PC was male.

Edited October 3, 2009 by Maria Caliban

[Patriot1]

You can't envision yourself as an in-game character when he/she is voiced, really.

 

So true, if the game is great, and have multiple choice and endings, who care if you play as a men or woman? All i want from a game is freedom of choice, great storyline and gameplay, i don't even care if i can't customize the character, as long as the game have what i said, im happy

[alanschu]

Looking back, the thing that I think really stands out is just the sheer hostility in the OP's post. She really could have stated her piece in a fraction of the words. She would have spared herself the confusing Deus Ex paradox, and just stated her piece and moved on.

 

From her post, I gather that since this was an Obsidian game, she assumed she would be able to make a female character. Moreover, the comparison with DX suggests she thought it would be an excellent game.

 

The comparison with Deus Ex, a game that had only a male protagonist, is a blatant juxtaposition to her point and undermines it.

 

Deus Ex is an example of her enjoying a game without having to play as a female character.

 

 

If she's upset for assuming something that Obsidian never said, while at the same time in light of Obsidian stating (repeatedly) that the game was going to be about the protagonist "Michael Thorton," I think she was setting herself up for disappointment.

Edited October 3, 2009 by alanschu

[Musopticon?]

Nevermind the bollocks on what kind of idiot clusterluck of sexism and rampant "no waii" this thread has been since the second page, I could bet my left testicle that the OP was referring to Invisible War with "Deus Ex". I can't imagine anyone as having such a bad case of double standards like almost everyone in this thread seems to be implying that she has. Furthermore, my personal opinion is that Invisible War did different genders and the choice in between affecting gameplay very well for it's time, so the OP has every right to argue her point. She has come to, if not expect then, favor that kind of reactivity and choice in her titles.

 

People, please. This isn't 4chan.

Edited October 3, 2009 by Musopticon?

[Oner]

You can't envision yourself as an in-game character when he/she is voiced, really.

For the record, personally I don't want to.

[Raithe]

From my perspective.. with the majority of crpg's... I find that I invest more in the storyline, immersing in the world and the background more then in whatever character I'm running through the world...

 

The character just become the means to exploring the storyline and any potential subplots / sidequests that turn up... and VO from the protagonist can help immersion in the world.

 

When it's pen and paper, then I crawl into the head of my characters and pick up all their neuroses.

[Jae Onasi]

I've brought up my disappointment at being limited to a male character in this game, as others have. I do feel like it's a bit of a slap in the face at females (or anyone wanting to play female characters) after great games like TSL and NWN2. It's not going to keep me from buying the game and enjoying it, but I won't be able to enjoy the full immersion of role-playing like I have with female characters in TSL and NWN2. I'm hoping Obsidian keeps this in mind with future games. There are a lot more female gamers now than there used to be, and it's going to require leaders in the industry to re-think their marketing and story-writing strategies if they want to expand their sales to this expanding market.

[alanschu]

I can't imagine anyone as having such a bad case of double standards like almost everyone in this thread seems to be implying that she has.

 

I prefer to keep my assumptions to a minimum.

[J.E. Sawyer]

I can't imagine anyone as having such a bad case of double standards like almost everyone in this thread seems to be implying that she has.

She forfeited the benefit of the doubt by making a drive-by complaint.

[Board Dumb]

Michelle Thornton's perspective can be done in sequels or DLC. Obviously it'd revolve around more seduction based gameplay since chicks don't like getting dirty and getting their fingernails broken.