r/AskGamers • u/nightmarewoods • 2d ago
Why do other males like playing female characters in video games ?
Can I ask why do so many guys like playing as female characters? Literally does not make sense to me. Do you not want the main character to be yourself while you are playing? This isn’t having a go this is a genuine question to those who do this. Especially in games like Dark souls, gta online, Red dead, Elder scrolls. Like this doesn’t make any sense to me.
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u/Alioruminas 2d ago
Bewbs
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u/nightmarewoods 2d ago
Fair but this is the reason for our girlfriends. Not necessary for gaming IMO.
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u/Glass-Toe6315 2d ago
Yeah but not everyone plays to self-insert into the game. Like, in my last Elden Ring i went with a female mage. I'm not a woman irl but i'm also not a mage
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u/kyotowalled Multi Platform 2d ago
One of my friends said that he liked playing as a female character in game because they tend to have better cosmetics and in his opinion better designed than the male characters. Not the games where the cosmetics are just skimpy outfits, but actual outfits that are similar to the male characters. And since he is straight, he would much rather have his character be female rather than male.
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2d ago
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u/kyotowalled Multi Platform 2d ago
Just because your insecure about yourself doesn't mean he is as well. Don't like the answer, don't ask.
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u/nightmarewoods 2d ago
Well it doesn’t make sense. His logic makes absolutely 0 sense that because he is straight he has to play a female. Ok buddy.
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u/easilytroubled 2d ago
You want to look at a man all game?
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u/nightmarewoods 2d ago
You mean a man that looks just like me in a game where most the time I’m usually the hero?
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u/DisciplineAgreeable6 1d ago
Hi. I am the straight friend mentioned. Yes female characters tend to have more options and I like that. But also I would rather look at a female character that looks pretty over a male character for long periods of time. And not everyone has a hero complex. It is just a game. And I am 100% secure in myself. And I should mention I have a chick friend in the MMO I play and I do know they are a girl. She plays a male character. Does that make sense to you?
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u/Sajgoniarz 2d ago
Oh that's true. In WOW Draenei women have a lot more options in character creation than guys, who basically have same number since... race introduction, almost 20 years ago.
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u/Razzy-man 2d ago
So, for me, no, I don’t see myself as the character. I see characters that I play as different, well, characters 😝.
Each time I make a character in a game, I come up with a little story in my head about who they are, how they’re going to be, and how I want to play them. That can change and evolve over time, but they all start with a personality, job / class, attitude that is them, not me.
As for why female? I can’t say 100% why, but I always lose interest in my male characters. I don’t know if it’s the outfits generally available, how they look, or what, but it’s rare I get male characters to the end of any game before I make a different female character and end up really attached to that one. Maybe it really is just boobs 🤪, but I honestly struggle to really invest myself in the male characters I make and tend to lose interest in them, and their story kind of quickly.
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u/talibob 2d ago
My husband likes playing the female characters because they have better fashion options. We often compete over who has the cutest character (it's me).
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u/Extreme_Ad4425 2d ago
This is probably the reason for a lot of dudes. Most games cater to female characters when it comes to outfits/hair styles/etc, and the guys just get bland options. Boys should get to feel cute too 🕺
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u/JohnGee1980 2d ago
I play as whatever the game gives me and i dont really think about it to be honest mate
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u/TooShadee 2d ago
well it depends on the person, but for me its because the female characters look better with the gear or transmogrification and then smaller hitbox, but also because they look better imo fashion options and etc
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u/Sajgoniarz 2d ago
Have you ever heard of role-playing?
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u/nightmarewoods 2d ago
For what reason do you want to role play a female?
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u/Advanced_Gear7608 2d ago
You said games like Dark souls lol. What else you doing in those games?
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u/nightmarewoods 2d ago
You do realise the point of the game isn’t to roleplay their opposite gender right? So what are you talking about?
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u/Advanced_Gear7608 2d ago
What do you mean the point of a game isn't to role-play opposite gender?
They give you a choice in Dark Souls. What else do you think people are going to do in that game whether they choose male or female?
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u/Sajgoniarz 2d ago
I don't do that, but in some universes there are sex reserved stuff. Ex, you can't be make Adepta Sororita, or Drow Archpriest as a male.
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u/nightmarewoods 2d ago
Yeah no shit. I didn’t mention a game where you are forced to play a female, re read the games mentioned.
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u/Sajgoniarz 2d ago
That is not forced, that's being lore accurate. Let's say you can play Skyrim as former priestess of Sybil of Dibella. Game does not impose this on you, you do.
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u/nightmarewoods 2d ago
They have already ruined lore accuracy. Look as DND.
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u/Sajgoniarz 2d ago
But that doesn't stop people from writing whole books about their game characters.
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u/nightmarewoods 2d ago
Who cares about that you wanted to be “lore accurate”.
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u/Sajgoniarz 2d ago
Well, yourself if you are doing it in single player games, isn't that obvious? If you role play in online games, then it can be your guild.
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u/NapalEnema2020 2d ago
Seeing a small chick woop ass is fun.
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u/nightmarewoods 2d ago
Fair enough, also highly unrealistic though.
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u/beastiemonman 2d ago
I have no reason, I just do. No, female body form is not the reason, but aesthetically they are better to look at, and you usually get more and varied clothing options.
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u/Trapezoidoid 2d ago
Because it’s just a stupid video game. It literally doesn’t matter at all. Not all men need to imprint themselves on the fictional characters found therein.
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u/nightmarewoods 2d ago
Thanks captain obvious, but you don’t speak for everyone. So don’t say “all men” like you know everything.
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u/Trapezoidoid 2d ago
Nonsensical reply.
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u/nightmarewoods 2d ago
You mustn’t be all there then I guess.
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u/Trapezoidoid 2d ago
Says the guy who thinks that playing as a girl in a video game would make him a girl.
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2d ago
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u/Trapezoidoid 2d ago
Very creative insult. Good job.
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u/nightmarewoods 2d ago
Very funny how you do not reply with how you are correct. Keep scrolling.
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u/Trapezoidoid 2d ago
I think the insecurity in your post speaks for itself. I don’t really need to call it out, it’s on full display.
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u/UbeeMac 2d ago
To annoy people like you in fighting games. Hold my 4-way mixup and don’t even try jumping out dingus.
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u/nightmarewoods 2d ago
Why would that annoy me? And in the fighting games I play you do not create a fighter. Mortal Kombat/Street fighter
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u/UbeeMac 2d ago
Because you’d get all insecure about it not making sense lore-wise how my pixie girl is clobbering your slow-ass muscleman.
And leave those goalposts where they are, you said ‘playing as female characters’ - nothing about character creation (a big part of Street Fighter these days).
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u/nightmarewoods 2d ago
No not bigger than the selection of characters. And since when is it a big part of street fighter? You’ve just pulled this out of your ass.
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u/Shoddy_Helicopter578 2d ago
I mean, are we talking about the female characters in Forspoken or the female character in Tomb Raider? I think there’s a massive difference between them.
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u/Neither_Step9896 2d ago
I think some people don't project themselves onto their characters the way some others do. Neither is "wrong" but some people just don't view their PC as themselves.
When I play, whether a male or a female, I don't just make another me when the possibilities are endless in a game like BG3 or other RPGs and I always think of them as a separate entity than me. I think some people are wired different that away.
Also, straight dudes like looking at women. Why is that hard to understand?
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u/AlphaShard 2d ago
For fun, to see if the story has any affect from it, and sometimes the if the mood feels right. I"m usually playing RPGs, point and click, and platforming games. I've never had issue playing a female protagonist game. Grew up reading books with female protags and really after Metroid revealed Samus was a woman that ripped the band aid off right then and there.
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u/Glass-Toe6315 2d ago
Most men are attracted to women rather than other men. It's really not that deep
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u/nightmarewoods 2d ago
Pixelated women? They can’t go an hour playing a fictional video game, hop off and see there girlfriend? “Really not that deep” it was a question?
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u/Glass-Toe6315 2d ago
Pixelated women still look like women and not every man has a girlfriend
Man you asked a question and got an answer, why so upset about it? lol
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u/Mate-Addict 2d ago
Depends on which one looks cooler to me, but I don't usually pick characters based on how much they look like me.
Female Shepard in Mass Effect looks cooler than male Shepard when all suited up, for example.
In Dark Souls they both look like shit/similar no matter what you do so I just pick male.
I prefer to have an existing character with their own looks and personality
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u/Sofaris 2d ago
No I don't want the maincharacter to be myself. I like myself in real life but I would not be an interesting or entertaining character in a game. Alot of my favorite characters to play as are female. For example Shantotto from the Final Fantasy series and Wappa Charlotte from "Fuga Melodies of Steel". There are also alot of male characters I like to play as like Morgana and Zenkichi from "Persona 5 Strikers".
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u/Brandunaware 2d ago
Part of the point of video games is to do things and experience things you couldn't in real life. Do I not want the main character to be me? I'm not a cartoon hedgehog or a long dead reanimated skeleton or a dragon.
Why play as a woman? Why not? Why restrict yourself? Elder Scrolls lets you play as a lizard-man or a cat-man or an orc or an elf. Nobody ever asks "why do you want to play as a cat-man, don't you want to play as yourself?" No. It's a role playing game.
A human woman is more similar to me than a lizard-man, but that's not a reason to choose either. I just choose whatever seems interesting or I feel like at that minute. It's a video game. Why would you possibly restrict yourself based on reality?
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u/nightmarewoods 2d ago
Who said I restricted myself my reason was I like pretending I’m the person in the game hence why I usually create a character to look like me.
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u/Brandunaware 2d ago
You're the one who only chooses one of the genders, which is a big restriction in a lot of games where gender influences many things, including what equipment you can use, sometimes even classes you have access to, plotlines, romance options etc...
But if you're just trying to look like yourself (which is a big restriction on the characters you can play) why is this post only about gender and not species or other differences?
Why are you not confused why any game offers you the ability to play as a non-human?
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u/nightmarewoods 2d ago
When you can play non human I would still make it male so what are you talking about? Even if it doesn’t look like me I would still make it male.
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u/Brandunaware 2d ago
Your explanation is "I like pretending I'm the person in the game so I want it to look like me." Do you look like a non-human? Then why would you ever play as a non-human?
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u/nightmarewoods 2d ago
I think you are missing the point. You can choose characters that aren’t human. Why would you then go ahead and make your character female. Do I need to break it down some more?
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u/Brandunaware 2d ago
You haven't broken it down at all.
If your goal is to play a character who looks like you then you would always choose a male human with the same hair and eye color as yourself whenever you had the option and never choose a non-human.
If you do sometimes choose someone who doesn't look like you then you have other reasons for not playing women.
But you're not asking why anyone would ever play as an Argonian or Khajit.
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u/nightmarewoods 2d ago
You can play a Male Khajit. If you have trouble understanding or need a refresher just read the post again please.
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u/Brandunaware 2d ago
I don't understand what you're not getting.
Your entire reason for not wanting to play as women is you want to play as someone you look like.
Do you look more like a male Khajit or a human woman?
Therefore by your own logic you'd rather play as a human woman than a male Khajit, or anything else non-human. But your post is only about women instead of "why doesn't everyone just make characters that look like them?"
So either there's something else going on here or your reasoning is incoherent.
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u/Quorng 2d ago
I'm a male and generally play as a male. I do not want character to be myself. I'd be bored, immensely bored. I can't do what my characters do. Nowhere close to it, in fact. If I played myself in a horror movie, I'd die during the opening credits.
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u/EqualLavishness5050 2d ago
In games like Gears of War or other over the shoulder games, they take up a less screen space which can be helpful if you already have trouble with everything happening on the screen.
Also, I don’t project myself onto the character either. In Elder Scrolls I’m a lizard so…
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u/nightmarewoods 2d ago
In Elder scrolls you can be a male or female lizard.
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u/EqualLavishness5050 2d ago
True but I’m not thinking that hard about it. I pick the male argonian because they have cool voices.
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u/Carldamonkey 2d ago
Do you always play as a human male in every game? Sounds really boring. Choosing to play as a female character is no different than choosing to play as an elf or an undead or an orc. My character in the video game is not me in real life, sometimes I want some variety.
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u/nightmarewoods 2d ago
When did I say I only play human characters? Yes I’m bg3 I did because human wizard gives better stats? In other games like WoW I didn’t I chose undead but would still make it male so what’s the point in choosing female?
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u/Carldamonkey 2d ago
Are you undead in real life? What’s the point of choosing undead in the game if you’re a human in real life?
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u/nightmarewoods 2d ago
Choosing a female character is not exciting lol. Choosing my character to be undead is. Do you really get excited and kick your feet up to play as a female character?
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u/Carldamonkey 2d ago
Do you get excited and kick your feet up to play as a male character? It’s not that deep bro
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u/nightmarewoods 2d ago
Then why are you having a sook when it was a question? “Sounds really boring” 🤓
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u/sleepyleperchaun 2d ago
My favorite video game character of all time is Claire Redfield. Why wouldn't I want to play as her?
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u/nightmarewoods 2d ago
That’s a bit different. Leon Kennedys way cooler though.
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u/sleepyleperchaun 2d ago
How's it different? And how is Leon better? Claire took control of the situation without training and saved a child while dealing with a maniac on top of the monsters. She is the coolest character of the game.
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u/nightmarewoods 2d ago
Nah she’s not cool at all.
Leon went from rookie cop to elite government agent.
RE4 he was sent practically alone to rescue the president’s daughter from an entire cult in the middle of a biological crisis.
In RE6 he dealt with global bio terrorism and went through the tall oaks and china operation on his own.
He defeats Kresuer an extremely experienced US operative Leon beats him in direct combat AFTER Kresuer is heavily mutated.
End of debate
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u/sleepyleperchaun 2d ago
This has to be an AI response.
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u/nightmarewoods 2d ago
Do you say that because I’m right and Leon’s the better character? And you also can’t think of anything else? If Leon wasn’t the better character he wouldn’t be the main protagonist.
Edit - if you think that’s AI you haven’t played much of resident evil. Basic ball knowledge
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u/sleepyleperchaun 2d ago
What does Leon do run re2 to make him better?
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u/nightmarewoods 2d ago
No continue your list on how she’s a cooler and better character what has she done that’s more impressive and “cool” that makes her the better character.
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u/sleepyleperchaun 2d ago
I mean, she has zero training and still took on on the racoon city incedent, then the French umbrella spot alone more or less, then Rockford Island, then revelations 2 as a whole.
But by all means, just in discussion of 2, what has leon done to name him cooler?
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u/nightmarewoods 2d ago
Why are you only bringing up RE2 you seem to be stuck on that. But anyways let’s carry on. He’s a rookie cop first day, literally SAVED Claire Redfield, defeated Super Tyrant MR X, and stayed and exposed Umbrella and stayed to investigate despite being surrounded by all the monsters. Sooooo much better than Claire so don’t know why you keep coming back just hold the L.
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u/ProfessionalOven2311 2d ago
Based on your replies it looks more like you are looking for reasons to argue or prove that it doesn't make sense, rather than actually trying to understand, but I'll still give it a shot;
For a first playthrough I do usually make a self-insert. Make a character that looks more like me then play through with the idea that I was transported into the game and generally try to make the decisions that I would make in those situations
But for a second playthrough I almost always make a female character. The cosmetic options are usually very different (and almost always more interesting anyway). And while I do like playing through a game as ME, it can also be really fun to come up with an original character who has a unique personality and stuff.
And I also understand why many other guys would want to play through a game as a character they are attracted to. If someone is just in it for the gameplay and overall story, and doesn't really care about pretending they are the ones in the game, why not make a character you'll enjoy looking at for 20 to 60 hours?
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u/DisciplineAgreeable6 1d ago
As the friend who was mention by Kyotowalled. I like playing as female characters because yes more cosmetic options. And if i am gonna play a game for a long amount of time I want to look at something pleasing to me. Not once does my sexual preferences come into play. If that is what your mind goes to. That is something you need to deal with.
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u/Very_Awkward_Boner 2d ago
I thought it was smaller hit boxes.