Gender you play as most?

[SM-Dreamer]

I've almost always played as a female (that being my own gender). When I first started playing games, I was almost always male because there was no other option; when I was given, I rebelled by being my own. As I got older, it became an aesthetic thing: I prefer the way females look mostly than males, especially in games. There's never an option to make a fairly androgynous male, or even a feminine one; you always get bulky, manly-men. Which is fine unless I want to RP as a slender, thief-y male that gets by on looks and brain, not brawn.

I do make characters of both gender, but my first playthrough is always female.

Regarding marriage in game (which I haven't gotten to yet but am aware of) it depends on the particular character that I'm playing. My current character is straight, but I've played m/m and f/f oriented characters.

Finally, the one thing about females in this game that irritate me is the walk. Yes, the sexy sway can be powerful - for that type of character. What if my character is a rough and tumble badass? What about a confident swagger? A hunter's lope? A calm and casual amble? No, I'm stuck with "I'm so sexy, watch me ass sway!" *goes off to wonder if this is why she never walks in character*

[Snail's Pace]

OK, I'll admit that the eye-candy factor is another reason I play female characters. Though I play mostly in 1st person, sometimes I switch to 3rd person to view my characters in their surroundings. I predict that when I try playing a male character again, I'll never switch into 3rd person by choice.

Finally, the one thing about females in this game that irritate me is the walk. Yes, the sexy sway can be powerful - for that type of character. What if my character is a rough and tumble badass? What about a confident swagger? A hunter's lope? A calm and casual amble? No, I'm stuck with "I'm so sexy, watch me ass sway!"

I remember reading another post somewhere on the forum earlier in this thread in which someone asked why female characters walk like they just graduated from charm school? I don't mind (actually, I kind of like it as a default walking style), but you're right that it doesn't suit every character, probably not even most. Changing the type of walk would be a nice customization element for future games.

Off-topic:

Spoiler:

IIRC, there are different walks for female NPC's. For example, I'm pretty sure Iona does not walk the same as Brelyna. Maybe it depends on the NPC class? Or am I remembering incorrectly? Note to self: Pay attention to this in the future.

Edits: The charm school reference was earlier in this thread. Also, changed the reference from a quote to a paraphrase.

[CBR JGWRR]

Some women have male walking animations, and vice versa.

[Snail's Pace]

Thanks. I thought I might have been imagining things. Now I'm going to be paying attention to how everybody walks. /off-topic

[BetaB17]

Mmm... ultimately it differs to which race I will play. Personally, such races like orcs or dunmer really don't matter with genders, however I almost always play as an argonian male.. why you may ask? For starters I just have always preferred the appearance options in argonian males over females. Just that hint of masculine view helps add to my attempt for a dark, savage aspect that is rare for such a race. At least with an orc, the gap between is more easy to manipulate.

2nd, I'm not a fan of many female armors or the clothes<_< yes some armors I do like, but they seem less direct to a gender than designed as eye candy.. personally>_> I prefer armor and clothes to fit well with either gender. Hell if I want to be a male and wear a skirt with my armor like in morrowind, then damn well I will! If I want to be a female sporting pants with my leather gear like in oblivion, who's going to stop me?

So in final conclusion, which gender do I play most? Male

[Leckan]

Not to mention every time I make a female character she has to be the most attractive person in Skyrim. I'm not weird like that. <_< , >_> , <_<

I'm like that when I make female characters. That said, I also try to make my male characters fit my idea of what a handsome man looks like.

[matt314hew]

I just started playing (I know a little late) and I have only created 1 character so far. I have a male Imperial character at the moment, but I think I may think about playing as a female and make her a Khajiit.

[noobishlord]

Male, all the time.

Nothing against female characters, but, being male myself, I can "get under a character's skin" much easier if the character is the same gender I am. It's like putting on a shirt. Sure, you can squeeze in one that's a size or two too small, but it's much easier with one that fits right.

[Rook]

Male, all the time.

Nothing against female characters, but, being male myself, I can "get under a character's skin" much easier if the character is the same gender I am. It's like putting on a shirt. Sure, you can squeeze in one that's a size or two too small, but it's much easier with one that fits right.

This.

I'm considering making a female, though. I'm just not sure if I could make it work.

[Dark Heart]

Male, all the time.

Nothing against female characters, but, being male myself, I can "get under a character's skin" much easier if the character is the same gender I am. It's like putting on a shirt. Sure, you can squeeze in one that's a size or two too small, but it's much easier with one that fits right.

I'm female, and I always play as a woman for the same reason. The roleplaying aspect of the game is particularly important to me, and I need to be able to really get into the character, feel what the character would feel, etc. I'm just not sure I could pull that off with a male character.

[Retrotation]

Male.

But sometimes I like to make a female character, just to see her naked...

[ichigo2862]

Female for my main powergaming character. If I'm gonna look at someone's ass all day, might as well make it a nice one. Roleplaying character is male, since I can more easily identify as one, being male myself.

[ElderSkillz]

I'm a guy so I make male characters. I never understood why someone would use the opposite sex. Even though I'd never make use of the option, I love playing games that give the choice just for the reason that I know if I was a chick, I'd probably be sick of playing as dudes like most video games feature. It the nice thing for developers to do.

[VelothiConservative]

Male, for the simple reason that I'm a male myself and that I want to be tied somewhat to my character.

[Sirocco]

Man in real life playing female in skyrim. Main reason is I refuse to stare at a man's ass the whole game.
Though I admit I always marry a female, always have female stewards, and only adopt daughters.
Dunno why all my games are lesbian fests.

[ElderSkillz]

Honest question; Are all of you guys playing as women playing the game in third person all the time? I've never once found myself staring at my character's ass before. I play with first person and only ever switch to see how badass I look.

[Witchery]

Honest question; Are all of you guys playing as women playing the game in third person all the time? I've never once found myself staring at my character's ass before. I play with first person and only ever switch to see how badass I look.

Well, no matter the type of character I'm playing, I tend to prefer to travel in third person. I only ever use first person when I'm in combat. I play both male and female characters.

It seems a bit insecure (and kind of odd. . . it is a game, you shouldn't be playing for that kind of reason lol) to say "I play females to stare at them." As if females can't be compelling characters and it somehow degrades your masculinity to play a game that features a female protagonist. (or read a book, watch a tv show, movie, etc.)

Male, for the simple reason that I'm a male myself and that I want to be tied somewhat to my character.

I always have a problem with this kind of rationalization. This isn't necessarily at only you, VelothiConservative, just in general:
You can't sympathize with or understand a female character? I mean, if you need to be tied to your character, I hope you're not making any Argonians or Elves, or Dark Brotherhood, Daedric quest-doing or Thieves Guild characters. Just a pet peeve of mine. . . I can have fun with most any kind of character I create -- some are more like me than others, admittedly, but I've never made a character simply to be "tied to" them.

I have no problems with those who just play male characters or just female ones, but when you have to explain it in ways like "I'm a male so I play males" (not you, but others have said things along these lines), I just find it kind of strange. Some people don't seem to understand that they're just characters. I know a lot of people don't play the games for roleplaying aspects, but still. . . they're characters. You don't necessarily have to agree with their actions to enjoy playing them, right? So why do you need them to look like you? And people who say that they won't play characters that are different than you (lol, this is what it boils down to), can you not read books with female protagonists (or any protagonist that is at all different than you)? I just don't get it.

Again, I have no issue with how any one person plays the game. . . if you don't roleplay at all and just go with the default Nord and play every quest, that's fine. Not how I do things, but fine. I don't care if you do roleplay, either somewhat or a lot, and only play as females, or Argonians, or priests of Namira -- but don't say you can't "relate" to other characters, as if there is something wrong with those who can. I know, this isn't always the intention, but some people say it like that. I think you should be able to relate to other types of characters. . . if it is just a preference or that you can relate more to those who are more like you (I definitely understand that haha), that's fine. Just. . the way you word things can change their meaning, lol.

[ElderSkillz]

Lol, you put some pepper on that one. It's nice to hear something other than "If I have to look at a character's ass it may as well be a female one." It seems like that's the universal reason people do it and I never felt like it was enough of a reason since there's no way someone could be playing Skyrim specifically to look at a rendered ass.

I myself play for immersion and I simply can't put myself in a woman's role unless I had no other choice. Metroid Prime was one of my favorite games of all time, but thinking about I can't think of even one other game that forced me to play as a female, that also happens to be an exceptional game. I've always played video games for the immersion factor and made choices that represent what I would ideally do, knowing that they might not be the most tactically sound. I've got a couple favorite perfect movies. A couple of them Tarentino. (I think he puts more heart and badass-ness into his movies than any other director. Not all his movies are good, but the ones that are, are literally perfect.) Kill Bill I would say is probably among my top 3 favorite movies if you count both volumes as one movie. I don't mind relating to a female character, I just can't do it as strongly as I would relate to someone who's supposed to represent me in my mind. So I've never got how other people only ever do it because of a crappy looking ass, seeing as that's what everyone seems to always say.

[Zephyr]

Honest question; Are all of you guys playing as women playing the game in third person all the time? I've never once found myself staring at my character's ass before. I play with first person and only ever switch to see how badass I look.

I do, but not to stare. I find it more comfortable in terms of gameplay, and more appropriate for roleplaying -- to me, first-person is like using a close-faced helmet.

Whenever I consider playing a male character, at least one of the human races, they end up too much like me. Maybe if I were playing for the first time, I could play as myself, but not now.

[Finn Wolfshorn]

Honest question; Are all of you guys playing as women playing the game in third person all the time?

Nope. I play in first person most of the time whether I'm playing as male or female because I identify with my characters, although I'll switch to third occasionally when I'm just running around but go back to first as soon as anything interesting is happening. Even in third person I rarely stare at my characters' posteriors* because most of the time they'll be wearing cloaks or robes or other not exactly skintight armour. I do however undress for swimming or sleeping, and I'll admit I'm not above delighting in some nice UNP curves once in a while. And of course I'll go into third person to check how I look in a new outfit and such (think of it as looking in a mirror). Maybe I'm sort of a roleplaying drag queen, or maybe all this is about getting in touch with my anima, I don't really care. Ultimately my characters are always different from myself, and the more different the more fun for me, whether I'm playing as another gender or another species or just another kind of guy. Witchery's said it all much better already, wholly d'accord with his post.

(*If I stare at anything in 3rd person it's mostly their faces which, unlike their upper or nether hemispheres, I've put some effort into customizing so as to fit their personality.)

[ElderSkillz]

I guess the best way to put it is the brain is a complicated thing. I role play, but I do it on a personal level close to my comfort zone, and close to myself. I don't think I'll be able to relate properly to people that prefer to play as female characters; which accounts for a sizable percentage of players in general. (Not just the Elder Scrolls games.) Role playing in that fashion I guess is more about the story than the player who is guiding it from I can tell. It requires a little more imagination, and is just a little bit more creative I guess than playing as a character which represents an extension of your fantasy self. It's working with material that isn't there in the first place and you build your own foundations from scratch.

Like I said in my previous post: It's nice to hear something other than "If I have to look at a character's ass it may as well be a female one."

[Witchery]

I guess the best way to put it is the brain is a complicated thing. I role play, but I do it on a personal level close to my comfort zone, and close to myself. I don't think I'll ever be able to relate to people that prefer to play as female characters; which accounts for a sizable percentage of players in general. (Not just the Elder Scrolls games.) Role playing in that fashion I guess is more about the story than the player who is guiding it from I can tell. It requires a little more imagination, and is just a little bit more creative I guess than playing as a character which represents an extension of your fantasy self. It's working with material that isn't there in the first place and you build your own foundations from scratch.

Like I said in my previous post: It's nice to hear something other than "If I have to look at a character's ass it may as well be a female one."

Very well put. Everyone has different preferences when it comes to games. Though, I do think you're wrong about the "working with material that isn't there" line -- a lot of it is there, we just see it differently. Vanilla Skyrim has a lot of roleplaying opportunities put there -- but you're right, it requires both creativity and imagination to fully utilize them in that way, two things that those of us who like to roleplay aren't lacking haha. Nothing wrong with playing "as you." What I was trying to get at earlier when I kind of ranted was that there's only something wrong when you look at the way other's play as somehow too strange to understand. (because, honestly, players roleplaying in a roleplaying game isn't really that strange! heh)

I don't see anything wrong with playing as any kind of character in Skyrim/TES. Females or males, catfolk or elves, wizards or warriors, ruthless killers or idealistic paladins. . . that is just part of the fun for me. It has very little to do with aesthetics, at least for me. (though, I admittedly spend an incredible amount of time getting my character's face to be 'just right.') Hopefully that answers your question!

[ElderSkillz]

I keep wanting to make a khajiit, but I make a Nord every single time. I always feel like it fits the storyline better.

Aside from that, I always try to make the most generic character possible. If I'm forced to make a character I'll usually got for bald or very short hair, with strong regular facial features. I prefer melee soldier types, always apting to make a generic melee if it's available. I've only recently started using bows to compliment melee.

[Dohva.]

I play only females and its not because being one in real life makes me connect more to them. I am not a mage or skooma addicted assassin so...the reason I play females is because, as a lover of all things fantasy, I am tired of seeing mostly men in lead roles. Sorry. And kick ass female leads in fantasy stories seem to come at a cost of "look, she's wielding a blade so she must be strong. And sexy."

My Skyrim characters all have quirky personalities and jacked up problems. I think fantasy genre and video games in general could use more females in starring roles. Skyrim lets me do that.

[Witchery]

I play only females and its not because being one in real life makes me connect more to them. I am not a mage or skooma addicted assassin so...the reason I play females is because, as a lover of all things fantasy, I am tired of seeing mostly men in lead roles. Sorry. And kick ass female leads in fantasy stories seem to come at a cost of "look, she's wielding a blade so she must be strong. And sexy."

My Skyrim characters all have quirky personalities and jacked up problems. I think fantasy genre and video games in general could use more females in starring roles. Skyrim lets me do that.

+1

Their personalities and problems are what make them interesting, Dohv! And I agree with that. Skyrim lets us have whoever and whatever we want in the lead. Women, priests, antiheroes, killers, mercenaries, etc. Things you wouldn't normally see as the starring role in a fantasy (or most things, really) -- one of the reasons Skyrim is so great.