Character Genders - do you, as a player, care?

[CrazyCrab]

Hi everyone,

this may be a strange question, but in my current project I'm wondering whether I should just keep the character generator random or if I should let the player determine the gender of the explorers. I know that some people prefer to choose it themselves, but does it actually matter to most of you? I've got separate battlers for males and females, same goes for over-world sprites. I just wanted to add to the variety this way ^^'. Just so you know, even though people will surely get attached to the characters (as we probably all do) you're not actually meant to win the whole game with them. They will probably die if you're not amazing and there isn't much customization outside gear and classes, so it's not the case of spending 45 mins in the menu picking hair color.

That said, it's a straight up 50/50 chance, so when experimenting I ended up with like 7 girls in the row etc. 

I know that this is mainly a matter of taste, but do you want to have a choice? Or just keep it natural and keep it random?

Thanks! 

 

[Ms Littlefish]

To me it entirely depends on the game.

In a game that is more about exploring and less about the individual character story I like to choose my gender because I will likely be a huge dork and do some make believe and craft a story around the character I created. If it's a game where each character is fleshed out and realized, in essence, you'll be playing as someone else really. Then it doesn't matter what gender I play as as long as I eventually play as everyone and consume the whole story.

 

[Warpmind]

Well, honestly, with JRPG-type games, I find that the gender of the character is less important than whether or not the character's been written well. If the character looks, well, blatantly male or female, but the dialogue is completely void of any semblance of identity or personality, it's simply off-putting.

If it's an MMO like World of Warcraft or something like that, I'm at least as likely to pick a female character, 'cause if I'm going to stare at an impersonal rump all day, it might as well be a cute lady's tushie.

For a game like Skyrim, I pick a female character due to, well, much the same aesthetic preference, plus a small mechanical advantage (pertaining to affecting the opposite sex) which makes it a mathematical question.

 

[EatYourBeetS]

If I actually had that kind of choice I would want to see interactions changing accordingly, even if just a bit, otherwise it does not make difference if it is random or not, at least from my point of view.

 

[CrazyCrab]

If I actually had that kind of choice I would want to see interactions changing accordingly, even if just a bit, otherwise it does not make difference if it is random or not, at least from my point of view.

Hmm I'd add something like that, but sadly the systems in place are just too weird for character interactions this way... instead of characters I have 6 ''actor slots'' that get filled with characteristics as they're generated, so it would be really uncomfortable to make all the if and whens for dialogue. Also, the characters don't have to be in the party whatsoever, you'll also have 10 premade character slots that may join your cause. With party size 4 it's really unlikely that anyone will be in the party at any given time. The premade ones will interact, but the generated ones are pretty much just there.

At the same time all your adventures are nothing but pawns, you're the one that decides what everyone is doing. Most interactions will also come from talking with other archmages who have their own pawns... it's pretty much a one giant chess game ^^'

 

[Kvich]

Well, honestly, with JRPG-type games, I find that the gender of the character is less important than whether or not the character's been written well. If the character looks, well, blatantly male or female, but the dialogue is completely void of any semblance of identity or personality, it's simply off-putting.

If it's an MMO like World of Warcraft or something like that, I'm at least as likely to pick a female character, 'cause if I'm going to stare at an impersonal rump all day, it might as well be a cute lady's tushie.

For a game like Skyrim, I pick a female character due to, well, much the same aesthetic preference, plus a small mechanical advantage (pertaining to affecting the opposite sex) which makes it a mathematical question.

I agree.

I personally don't mind the gender of the character I'm playing, if the story is well made.

For MMO's I wholehearted agree, if I have to staring at it for any length of time, better have some proper looking tail.

Regarding the question of the tread.

If it's either random or you pick a gender at start, it for me all boils down to writing.

I played a game once, can't remember the name, where you picked a gender, which didn't really matter - first person game, so no T&A - and everyone still addresses you as a dude, even if you picked female.

Having a game where you come in to a bad, and the bartender addresses you with either "Sir" or "Madam" really adds a lot, rather than the generic "How can I help you?"

 

[EatYourBeetS]

Oh, I thought you were talking about main characters, if they're just pawns randomness is ok, it would be nice to do something in style Etrian Odyssey though, with 4 premade characters per class to choose from.

 

[??????]

All characters in games should be female, wearing almost nothing ~ except the main character, who should be me.

Oh wait... you mean RM games... Duuhhh...

 

[Makio-Kuta]

For the purpose you're describing that really depends - can I name them? If I can name them, then the choice female or male would please me best. Because I'd sit there and try to put all my friends or characters into the game (and watch circumstance end their lives short or whatever) Like Final Fantasy Tactics or Class of Heroes.

If you don't name them, then it wouldn't matter to me about picking their gender. It'd be like the villagers in Age of Empires or something.

If you can name them and I don't get a gender choice, well it's no big deal, I'll just kill characters off until I have what I want Right? Right.

 

[Simon D. Aelsi]

To me, personally the gender of a protagonist or any character doesn't matter. If the story's good and the game's good, I'm no doubt gonna like what I see/play.

Of course, getting to choose the gender of your character is always nice. Just keep in mind that with that, you may also need to do quite a bit more work. The storyline may need to be tweaked ever-so-slightly to keep making sense.

 

[Wavelength]

If there are more and more characters making themselves available throughout the game, I'd say leave it random.  If it's a "pick your group once at the beginning and never again" thing, I'd say allow the player to choose their teammates' genders.

 

[Mage Heart]

Well, honestly, with JRPG-type games, I find that the gender of the character is less important than whether or not the character's been written well. If the character looks, well, blatantly male or female, but the dialogue is completely void of any semblance of identity or personality, it's simply off-putting.

If it's an MMO like World of Warcraft or something like that, I'm at least as likely to pick a female character, 'cause if I'm going to stare at an impersonal rump all day, it might as well be a cute lady's tushie.

For a game like Skyrim, I pick a female character due to, well, much the same aesthetic preference, plus a small mechanical advantage (pertaining to affecting the opposite sex) which makes it a mathematical question.

I usually make a female character in an MMO so random guys will think I am a female and give me free loot. And no I have never chatted with anybody who gave me loot.

 

[Warpmind]

I usually make a female character in an MMO so random guys will think I am a female and give me free loot. And no I have never chatted with anybody who gave me loot.

Hee, hee, while that's not *my* reason, it's a perfectly *good* reason. If a bit exploitive.

 

[Mage Heart]

Hee, hee, while that's not *my* reason, it's a perfectly *good* reason. If a bit exploitive.

Hey, it's not my fault they assumed I was a female.

 

[Clord]

It's odd if the main character talks and says the exact same lines no matter of gender choice. There is certain mannerism and gender specific words etc that need to be taken account.


Then other hand making character to act weirder just because she is female is a bit weird too.

 

[Nirwanda]

Warpmind nailed most of what I wanted to say.

Just wanted to add that Makio- Kuta makes a good point, in the end, the player who wants to pick genders is going to abuse the system until they get what they want. Is the randomly generated adventurer so integral to your game?

 

[Makio-Kuta]

Making them act weirder just because they're female? lol What?

If they are two-bit, throw-away, fodder-style characters, having them say "I did good, right?" or "We did it!" or "Help! I'm in danger." and other lines of that sort aren't really going to matter or change depending on their gender...

Once again, I bring up Age of Empires (because the villagers from that game came to mind first when I read this topic) - Regardless if you had a female or male villager, they had the exact same lines (just different voice over)  and there was nothing strange about that.

People keep mentioning a 'main character,' but that isn't what this topic was asking. Crazycrab made it pretty clear that these characters don't really have their own unique dialogue or stories and exist merely to be the expendable pawns of the player character.

 

[Onomotopoeia]

Crazycrab made it pretty clear that these characters don't really have their own unique dialogue or stories and exist merely to be the expendable pawns of the player character.

If this latter part is true, then choice of gender doesn't matter quite so much to the game itself; and only marginally for the player's imagination. Certain players may, as mentioned earlier, want to make up their own character stories, narrative, what-have-you. I've seen it done in countless Let's Plays and on Twitch streams, mostly for playing humorously to the crowd...
So, from that perspective, whether gender in NPCs and throwaway party characters is relevant, the fact that someone could be "playing to a crowd" gives the opportunity for comic relief, humour, all forms of mental exercise that the game itself does not infer. And gender in this case, along with perhaps name given the character (automatically or manually), would possibly be important, to dreaming up the back-story.


Edit: All the above being said, @Crazycrab, why not design a system that generates more than the expected or required number of characters for a given choice, and let the player select the character/gender diversity they want?


So if a player had to select two random characters and wanted both female, generate four miscellany characters and have the player select the two they want? Chances are, out of four temp characters, two may be female. It could scale up or down as much as necessary. Want one character -- generate two. Want five characters -- generate ten. (Well, maybe cap it at eight or so...)

 

[Makio-Kuta]

Edit: All the above being said, @Crazycrab, why not design a system that generates more than the expected or required number of characters for a given choice, and let the player select the character/gender diversity they want?

So if a player had to select two random characters and wanted both female, generate four miscellany characters and have the player select the two they want? Chances are, out of four temp characters, two may be female. It could scale up or down as much as necessary. Want one character -- generate two. Want five characters -- generate ten. (Well, maybe cap it at eight or so...)

Ooo I like this suggestion~ Then you can have different colour pallets and stuff too I guess it depends on how important these pawns are. (and if you're selecting up to hundreds of them in later parts of the game, a way to just select randomly rather than manually picking lol)

 

[KanaX]

Well first, I need to split my answer for two different types of games. The ones that I HAVE to play as one gender and the ones that I'm given a choice.

For the first ones, I don't have much to say. I never really cared.  But I'd have to say that I prefer playing with female characters on horror games. I don't know why.

As for the second one... I'd say that I do care, but in a more subconscious level. I replay my games a lot. In my first playthrough I always choose a male character (especially if I get to modify his appearance). It helps with the immersion. We need someone to project ourselves onto. From then on I'd say that I choose at random. There have been exceptions, though. Very near the beginning of Darks Souls 2 there is a sex-change coffin, that when you enter it, your sex changes (and the manly traits are replaced with the female equivalent, trying to keep the differences at minimum, like skin color, eyes, hair, etc.) I liked the little surprise and I finished the game as a female, without going back into the coffin.

As for your game, I'd suggest two things:

1. Give the option between choosing and having a random selection. Some people like playing with fortune, while others need to feel in control. If you only have random choices, there's bound to be someone who will be disappointed with the result.

2.Make the NPC respond different to males and females and also give them special (balanced) traits. Females won't be able to go to a male bathroom, males will be kept out of a conversation that some young women will have. The old rusty sailor will appreciate the stern male, but glare at the female. The female will have different romantic options than the male. Mix it up a bit.

That will give the player incentive to play as both sexes AND give the game replay value!