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Relating to an opposite sex protagonist

C

CrowdChant

Member
Do any of you have this problem?

Recently a friend of mine came over and when he arrived, I was in the middle of playing Horizon: Zero Dawn. I told him how much I enjoyed the game and recommended that he give it a shot. He responded that he wasn't really interested because he has trouble relating to a female protagonist.

I was really surprised by his statement. I thought he was joking at first. Not that this necessarily makes a huge difference, but he lives a pretty diverse personal life and is very open to different people and lifestyles. His live-in girlfriend is vocal about equal pay and standing for women in the work place. He has several friends that are openly gay and some that are transgender. He is known as an individual that is quite accepting of others.

I was taken aback by the fact that he has difficulty relating to a female protagonist. I even tried to convince him that I believed Aloy was a strong female character and not a generic video game female meant to be ogled by teenage boys.

Can anyone else relate to this?
 
M

Manu

Member
"I can't relate to a woman. I can, however, relate to Kratos, son of a God, General of the Spartan army, who killed his own wife and child, became a god himself, and literally crawled out of hell before killing the entire Greek God Pantheon.

Having a vagina though? Too far, man. Too far."
 
L

Lord of Ostia

Member
Personally, I find this to be absolutely absurd. Does he also not watch films where the main character is a woman, or refuse to read books with a female main character? That's a lot of great media he's missing out on
 
S

Spring-Loaded

Member
Manu said:
"I can't relate to a woman. I can, however, relate to Kratos, son of a God, General of the Spartan army, who killed his own wife and child, became a god himself, and literally crawled out of hell before killing the entire Greek God Pantheon.

Having a vagina though? Too far, man. Too far."
Click to expand...

yup

This example reminds me of the user who couldn't play as women because of his high levels of testosterone. Had Kratos as his avatar
 
C

CrowdChant

Member
Lord of Ostia said:
Personally, I find this to be absolutely absurd. Does he also not watch films where the main character is a woman, or refuse to read books with a female main character? That's a lot of great media he's missing out on
Click to expand...

He loves Rey from Star Wars. I think it has something to do with his desire to get "lost" in the world of a video game. He generally prefers games in the first person as well, which I think is for that very reason.
 
B

Bahorel

Member
As a female gamer I've mostly not had a problem with the countless male protags, save for the ones that are specifically pretty grossly over the top like Kratos, and even then I've still played every God of War game.

I've loved playing with Aloy because there are a lot of scenes that are true to the female perspective and her navigating that reality, like the way people belittle her or invalidate her when they talk to her and she is absolutely not taking that bullshit.
 
B

BocoDragon

or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Realize This Assgrab is Delicious
I really can't relate to it. I'm fine with either gender and if anything, playing as a stylish female is even more appealing.

I suppose there are payers about there who view the player as someone they identify as themselves. And if they have a rigid sense of male identity... I guess that's a barrier.

When I play as 2B I don't think "that is me". I think "look at that stylish character, it's fun to make her do cool things". And even if I did think of it as me, I don't think of my inner persona as being gendered at all... but to each their own.
 
N

Nostremitus

Member
Manu said:
"I can't relate to a woman. I can, however, relate to Kratos, son of a God, General of the Spartan army, who killed his own wife and child, became a god himself, and literally crawled out of hell before killing the entire Greek God Pantheon.

Having a vagina though? Too far, man. Too far."
Click to expand...
Yeah, this is always what it comes down to, lol.
 
C

CrowdChant

Member
Bahorel said:
As a female gamer I've mostly not had a problem with the countless male protags, save for the ones that are specifically pretty grossly over the top like Kratos, and even then I've still played every God of War game.

I've loved playing with Aloy because there are a lot of scenes that are true to the female perspective and her navigating that reality, like the way people belittle her or invalidate her when they talk to her and she is absolutely not taking that bullshit.
Click to expand...

That is why I loved her character so much. Because she shut people down that tried to talk down to her. And because she got shit done.
 
M

MegaSackman

Member
"Your whole life was a failure and soon no one will even remember you. Turn your face to the sun and think about that"

I relate.
 
P

PK Gaming

Member
"I have trouble relating to women" is code for "I'd much rather play as a male protagonist."

Which isn't inherently a bad thing, but the dishonest is pretty obnoxious. Like seriously, the vast majority of the time i'm not "relating" to the protagonist when playing. I'm not "relating" to Nathan Drake when he's jumping around and being a badass. I'm not "relating" to the Persona 5 protagonist when he's living the ultimate power fantasy, etc.

Women who play games don't even have the luxury of choosing, haha.
 
D

Deepwater

Member
As a black guy I've been forced to relate to white male protagonists for the last two decades. Playing as a woman ain't so bad.

I also don't treat video games as self inserts (unless that's the purpose of a game)
 
T

Tagyhag

Member
I always thought that was stupid. I relate to the situation that the character finds himself/herself/itself in, not the character themselves.

When someone says they can't relate to being a different gender I'd ask if that means they don't play any game that doesn't have a human with their gender and race.
 
R

R00bot

Member
I don't get it, but you can't really force someone to enjoy playing as a female character. I guess they're just not into it, and that's their choice. They'll be the ones missing out on games like Horizon.
 
V

Vicetrailia

Member
There are so many characters I don't really relate to but like them anyway. There are other draws to characters, and you don't have to "relate" to them to give them respect or give them the time of day.
 
2

2blackcats

Member
I prefer playing as the opposite sex. Or anything that's out of my personal norm.

Games are about escapism for me.

Do people like this not read books written by women either?
 
R

Reset

Member
Not really. I mean I can't think of a single game where a character of my race is the main protagonist or even plays a major role lol. Different gender, meh who cares. And I played games where animals are the main character haha.
 
J

J_Viper

Member
I don't understand why this person needs to relate to the character. It's ridiculous.

I can't relate to Max from Life is Strange any more than I can Geralt of Rivia, and yet I still care for them both as characters because they're well written and excellently performed.

That's all that matters.
 
C

culafia

Member
I used to think like this, but I realized that I was just having trouble putting my thoughts into words.

I think I can relate to any character.

However, if you make me choose between a straight white male protagonist and someone who is none of those things, I choose the one that is like me, the former, every single time. I won't ask any game to ever cater to this, and I will give a good game a chance regardless, but if you gave me a choice, I choose the protagonist that looks like me. Not talking about games as a whole. Just for me personally.

TLOU 2 is a bit different. I thought both characters were very strong in the original, but I liked Joel's story and character more. Is it a bias? Maybe, but his relationship to his brother hit close to home in a way Ellie's narrative didn't. Will I give it a chance? Sure, if it's top notch like the first. Am I way less excited? Totally.
 
K

Kyou

Member
Eight foot tall muscle bound dude ripping apart gods and fucking beautiful women - Yeah, I can relate to this

Person without a penis - I just can't get into this story!
 
M

MechaX

Member
Deepwater said:
As a black guy I've been forced to relate to white male protagonists for the last two decades. Playing as a woman ain't so bad.
Click to expand...

This is pretty much my mentality. I have spent near close to 25 years out of my life playing mostly as white dudes or Japanese dudes, so I never could truly relate to them from a pure physical standpoint.
 
M

mieumieu

Member
Manu said:
"I can't relate to a woman. I can, however, relate to Kratos, son of a God, General of the Spartan army, who killed his own wife and child, became a god himself, and literally crawled out of hell before killing the entire Greek God Pantheon.

Having a vagina though? Too far, man. Too far."
Click to expand...

I now realize why I never got into God of War. Thank you!
 
T

Tinfoilhatsron

Banned
I have the same response to anyone who can't relate to some of the opposite gender/race/sexuality, etc. An overexaggerated eyeroll, because that's what they deserve.

I don't think they are secret misogynists or misanderists or homophobic or whatever, unless they have a history of that stuff, but come on. Come on! Relating to someone via a medium isn't that hard.
 
S

Syysch

Member
If it's a specific character and not a character creator situation, i feel no need to relate to them. I'm playing as that specific person in their story, it has nothing to do with me.
 
ULTROS!

ULTROS!

People seem to like me because I am polite and I am rarely late. I like to eat ice cream and I really enjoy a nice pair of slacks.
... This got me thinking. Won't it be cool if Bayonetta got a character creator (like the Mass Effect) but retains the voice and actions.
 
ivan.k

ivan.k

Member
R00bot said:
I'd honestly say she's okay, nothing too special. She's written without any obvious sexism (no objectification) but I don't think that's the measure of a good character tbh.
Click to expand...

From what I've seen she is very boring character.
 
D

Dremorak

Banned
TBH I dont give a shit about relating to a character as long as the story is good. I relate to some characters more than others, and I think it can make me like it a little more, but a good story is a good story
 
O

oneida

Cock Strain, Lifetime Warranty
i gravitate towards male characters but i don't have any problems playing female characters
 
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