03-29-2004, 06:32 PM
It depends on the game type. In real role-playing, I play a roughly equal mix of males and females, because it increases the challenge and the variety. Can you convincingly roleplay an old dwarvish matriarch, a cleric, whose clan was wiped out because she ran away from battle?
In MMORPGs, people usually select their own gender. If they choose the opposite, they're either "really" roleplaying, they're using the game as a kink experiment, or they're meta-gaming. (Female meta-gamers play male characters to fit in, males play females to get preferential treatment.)
In behind-the-character adventure games (Tomb Raider etc.), people go through an interesting divergence. Some people feel they are controlling their character, so they don't care about gender; other people feel they *are* their character. Lots of interesting dynamics here in the middle-ground.
In forced-gender games (Diablo series), players often attach no significance to gender, because they are "forced" to play a male or female if they want a certain skill set. This encourages males to take female characters seriously, but it also depersonalizes the experience. (Many people think, "Yeah, whatever" and play an Amazon, but never, ever think of their avatar as a female representation of themselves.)
In MMORPGs, people usually select their own gender. If they choose the opposite, they're either "really" roleplaying, they're using the game as a kink experiment, or they're meta-gaming. (Female meta-gamers play male characters to fit in, males play females to get preferential treatment.)
In behind-the-character adventure games (Tomb Raider etc.), people go through an interesting divergence. Some people feel they are controlling their character, so they don't care about gender; other people feel they *are* their character. Lots of interesting dynamics here in the middle-ground.
In forced-gender games (Diablo series), players often attach no significance to gender, because they are "forced" to play a male or female if they want a certain skill set. This encourages males to take female characters seriously, but it also depersonalizes the experience. (Many people think, "Yeah, whatever" and play an Amazon, but never, ever think of their avatar as a female representation of themselves.)