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Relating to an opposite sex protagonist
- Thread starter CrowdChant
- Start date
Charlouie Jonesman
Banned
I did play a few games were you play as women, if the game itself was good, but whenever given a choice between multiple characters I would never choose the girl, it felt just weird for me to actively play as one.
...that was my mindset when I was like 6 years old...
...that was my mindset when I was like 6 years old...
Your friend sounds narrow-minded or maybe he just never gave much thought to playing as a female protagonist. But if you talked to him about it and he was still adamantly against the idea, then he probably has some unresolved prejudice in him.
I loved Samus as a badass female bounty hunter in a huge and dangerous galaxy and I played the ME trilogy as female shep, but outside of those 2 games, I can't recall other really memorable games I played as a female protagonist.
I loved Samus as a badass female bounty hunter in a huge and dangerous galaxy and I played the ME trilogy as female shep, but outside of those 2 games, I can't recall other really memorable games I played as a female protagonist.
Knuckle Sandwich
Member
I grew up on Buffy and Xena and Lara Croft so I don't have that problem.
A guy I work with wouldn't play Mafia III because of the main character. I asked about his favorite game GTA V and he said he only plays Franklin when he has to. He assured me that it wasn't a race thing but an immersion thing. Uh huh sure bud.
A guy I work with wouldn't play Mafia III because of the main character. I asked about his favorite game GTA V and he said he only plays Franklin when he has to. He assured me that it wasn't a race thing but an immersion thing. Uh huh sure bud.
demosthenes
Member
I don't understand how people can think like the OP.
Can they not read books from a different POV? Not enjoy movies? Is it just playing games? I don't get it.
Can they not read books from a different POV? Not enjoy movies? Is it just playing games? I don't get it.
boiled goose
good with gravy
What a silly stance. If you're ugly,you can't relate to a handsome character?
If you have brown hair, blondes?
It's just childish nonsense.
If you have brown hair, blondes?
It's just childish nonsense.
I haven't put much thought into playing as a female protagonist. I just do it. Thinking about it is why he wouldn't play it lol.
Massive Duck. C.M.
Banned
I always play as a woman in games with character creators because it's impossible to make someone who looks like me with most character creators, and I'd rather be aesthetically pleased.
With set protags, it doesn't matter
With set protags, it doesn't matter
Lord of Ostia
Member
Try one and find out. You probably wont have issues. Romance is universal in a lot of ways.
Primethius
Banned
Yes? I find her pretty good and interesting.
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I have no problems relating to any type of character so long as the dev put some effort behind them. Last year for example, Titanfall 2 did this really poorly. Some generic, non-existent bland white character as the protagonist. But on the other hand, I'm more than okay playing someone like Drake or Chloe in the upcoming Uncharted expansion.
Along those lines, I really hate games where you make a player avatar character. Cause the character creator is always limited as hell unless your white.
I'd rather play an interesting white protaganist than have to suffer through some shitty character creator creation.
PerfectFlaw
Member
Aloy is the best. She's tough as nails while still having a normal, genuinely nice personality. And a little sass. Haha.
I don't get the whole "relate" argument because I don't have to relate to fictional characters to enjoy their story. I've never
had my foster father killed in front of me,
Complicated
Banned
I like playing characters that are not like me on the off chance that I get to experience a meaningful look at someone else's perspective. Games could be really great at that, but writing is often too poor or you're playing a straight white male and watching side characters experience "the plight of the other".
Wrong. She has a lot of personality and shows many different kinds of emotion during the game, which is important and unfortunately not a standard for many games. But they pull it off well, she's quick witted and interesting to listen to. You know her well by the end.
F0rneus
Tears in the rain
Straight up. I talk a LOT of shit about male only games, and yet I platinumed RE7 and it's the 2nd best game I played this year.
ivan.k
Member
I've read Shades of Grey trilogy from Ana POV. Nothing can surprise me now.
Don't see why the gender should matter in most fiction like Horizon & such. I can understand if a man can't relate too much to, like, a story about women going through menopause, but let's say it's a story where a protagonists village gets slaughtered. Why would the gender matter then? How can't they relate to a tragedy of losing loved ones just because the protagonist is a woman?
Tyraniboah
Member
Doesn't bother me any. My Mass Effect, Sunset Overdrive, and Fire Emblem files are all female. I play Pokemon, Dragon Age, and pretty much any other games with character creators as male. As a general rule of thumb, I just want to like the character. They don't have to be like me and I don't need to be like them. I am capable of picking qualities I like about somebody, regardless of sex.
However, as a mixed male with black and white parents it's never been hard to find relatable characters in media. Most leads are white men and the few that aren't are usually black men, so I can only imagine how annoying it must be when somebody is looking for characters to relate to that don't fall into the white guy category. I like the shift towards diversity that gaming has been experiencing lately. It allows for more varied storytelling and, for those that do care, more characters that they can relate to.
All that said I do get what your friend is saying even if I don't agree with him, OP.
However, as a mixed male with black and white parents it's never been hard to find relatable characters in media. Most leads are white men and the few that aren't are usually black men, so I can only imagine how annoying it must be when somebody is looking for characters to relate to that don't fall into the white guy category. I like the shift towards diversity that gaming has been experiencing lately. It allows for more varied storytelling and, for those that do care, more characters that they can relate to.
All that said I do get what your friend is saying even if I don't agree with him, OP.
SolVanderlyn
Thanos acquires the fully powered Infinity Gauntlet in The Avengers: Infinity War, but loses when all the superheroes team up together to stop him.
It's less the gender of the protagonist and more how they're portrayed.
If gender plays a very obvious role I very obviously can't relate to (romance) then I can't personally relate to that, no. But it doesn't mean it can't be entertaining in a different way.
Aqua from the recent KH 2.8 is the best KH protagonist we've ever had, so there is that.
If gender plays a very obvious role I very obviously can't relate to (romance) then I can't personally relate to that, no. But it doesn't mean it can't be entertaining in a different way.
Aqua from the recent KH 2.8 is the best KH protagonist we've ever had, so there is that.
poodaddy
Member
Surely this wasn't a real thing. Tell me you're joking.
I've only ever heard the "but I can't relate" argument from straight white dudes about female, LGBTQ, and minority characters but never for literal nonhumans.
Personally I like having more variety in the characters I play as. Part of why I play games is to be someone else for a while.
Personally I like having more variety in the characters I play as. Part of why I play games is to be someone else for a while.
Jangowuzhere
Banned
Good characters will be good characters. Like someone else mentioned, Heather from Silent Hill 3 is fantastic. I can't imagine anyone else as the protagonist of that story and game.
Me hating the new Lara Croft has nothing to do with her being a woman. It's the fact that she has the worst voice actor ever, and all the writing about and surrounding her is atrocious.
Me hating the new Lara Croft has nothing to do with her being a woman. It's the fact that she has the worst voice actor ever, and all the writing about and surrounding her is atrocious.
lol no. If someone can't relate to a female fictional character, chances are they can't do the same for real life human beings that look different to them. I can easily put myself in my friend's shoes and see what she's going throught when she tells me her problems and she's a girl.
I mean, fictional characters are made to be liked by as many people as possible since they exhibit traits and emotions that the majority of people should theoretically be familiar with so it's easy for players to see themselves in them. The fact that some people can't do that just because of little things like a different skin color or gender is crazy.
I mean, fictional characters are made to be liked by as many people as possible since they exhibit traits and emotions that the majority of people should theoretically be familiar with so it's easy for players to see themselves in them. The fact that some people can't do that just because of little things like a different skin color or gender is crazy.
Not at all. And I find it kind of bizarre that people do, given people play non humans just fine.
bananafactory
Banned
It's a dumb argument.
People aren't just their gender. That's a big part of them, but there's so many individual things about anyone that you can relate to.
You can relate to everything about a character, the experiences they have. You can relate to the people they know, and how they interact with them. You can relate to the character's past, and their emotions. You can relate to a character who's feeling scared, alone, nervous, curious, brave. All of these things are traits that make them relatable. It's up to you what you identify with. Gender plays a part in some of this, but by no means is in invalidating any of that.
Unless a game is solely about topics and experiences exclusive to a specific gender or race, like about a girls adventures through her first menstruation, then I don't buy the issue with being unable to relate to a character because of their gender. It just doesn't make sense. Especially in your friends case, wherein Horizon has almost nothing to do with the fact Aloy is a woman, unless you want to talk about some of the themes involving motherhood/daughters that it explores. But even then, if you have a mother you can relate a LITTLE bit.
People aren't just their gender. That's a big part of them, but there's so many individual things about anyone that you can relate to.
You can relate to everything about a character, the experiences they have. You can relate to the people they know, and how they interact with them. You can relate to the character's past, and their emotions. You can relate to a character who's feeling scared, alone, nervous, curious, brave. All of these things are traits that make them relatable. It's up to you what you identify with. Gender plays a part in some of this, but by no means is in invalidating any of that.
Unless a game is solely about topics and experiences exclusive to a specific gender or race, like about a girls adventures through her first menstruation, then I don't buy the issue with being unable to relate to a character because of their gender. It just doesn't make sense. Especially in your friends case, wherein Horizon has almost nothing to do with the fact Aloy is a woman, unless you want to talk about some of the themes involving motherhood/daughters that it explores. But even then, if you have a mother you can relate a LITTLE bit.
Nope. Might have to do with age? Or maybe not. Some of the first games I played had controllable blobs of pixels as a protag. "Relating" just wasn't very important. And when it started to change it still didn't register. Pushing frogger across the traffic filled streets and Ms Pacmans little red ribbon just didn't matter enough to bother thinking about it.
Its one of the weirdest things to pop up in gaming in the last couple decades that I have seen. I don't recall anyone in arcades refusing to play Chun Li or Sonya Blade because "they couldn't relate". Shit is bizarre.
Its one of the weirdest things to pop up in gaming in the last couple decades that I have seen. I don't recall anyone in arcades refusing to play Chun Li or Sonya Blade because "they couldn't relate". Shit is bizarre.
I like relating to protagonists who are different than me in some way, be it via sex, gender, culture, species, etc. I think it's a pretty good way to experience narrative elements from a different perspective.
It's like when I read a book. I've literally never read one with a protag just like me, but I have learned a lot by reading stories from the points of view of others. To me, games are only marginally different because of the physical interactivity, but that physical input has nothing to do with my gender identity so it's a non-issue.
More to the point: I prefer games with female antagonists because, as an escapist, I would rather escape more rather than less.
It's like when I read a book. I've literally never read one with a protag just like me, but I have learned a lot by reading stories from the points of view of others. To me, games are only marginally different because of the physical interactivity, but that physical input has nothing to do with my gender identity so it's a non-issue.
More to the point: I prefer games with female antagonists because, as an escapist, I would rather escape more rather than less.
EekumBokum
Member
I don't understand why you have to relate to a character, not everything is about you.
Stead Fast
Banned
Well, the last four characters in gaming that I found myself relating to have all been female: An emotionally troubled cat, her enduring gothic crocodile friend, an honour student class prez turned biker, and a shut-in hacker.
I guess, to your friends standards, I'm pretty fucked up. In all honesty though it has never bothered me, partly due to games offering more to a player than narrative since they are an interactive media, and partly due to the staggering amount of games out there that do take the time to characterise their protagonists and cast well enough for me to enjoy my time spent playing with them - regardless of what shape/sex/form they take.
I guess, to your friends standards, I'm pretty fucked up. In all honesty though it has never bothered me, partly due to games offering more to a player than narrative since they are an interactive media, and partly due to the staggering amount of games out there that do take the time to characterise their protagonists and cast well enough for me to enjoy my time spent playing with them - regardless of what shape/sex/form they take.
It sucks because anyone that isn't a white male is expected to do exactly that by default all the time. I don't really get that attitude at all either if there isn't a big focus on romance honestly.
I'd be kind of put off if in Persona 5 literally every single romance option was male with absolutely no female choices, whether it be because you could only play as a heterosexual female character or only as a gay male. If I was gay, or female, I'd have to just shut up and deal, and that ain't right.
I'd be kind of put off if in Persona 5 literally every single romance option was male with absolutely no female choices, whether it be because you could only play as a heterosexual female character or only as a gay male. If I was gay, or female, I'd have to just shut up and deal, and that ain't right.
ZiZ
Member
What does it mean to relate to a character? Is it really necessary to enjoy the game? I don't relate to most characters. I still enjoy games. Yes, I'd enjoy them more if the characters were relatable. But it's never been a deal breaker.
Honestly, how a character acts is way more important than their appearance.
Honestly, how a character acts is way more important than their appearance.
I have no issue with female character (I liked
)
But I do feel uncomfortable playing Tomb Raider reboot when the bad guys are beating Lara mercilessly, something I never feel while playing Uncharted.
Seeing female protagonist getting that kind of abuse feel wrong somehow, its not immertion breaking though
A2 part more than 9S during C playthrough in nier:automata
But I do feel uncomfortable playing Tomb Raider reboot when the bad guys are beating Lara mercilessly, something I never feel while playing Uncharted.
Seeing female protagonist getting that kind of abuse feel wrong somehow, its not immertion breaking though
This is how I feel. I don't self insert into my games, even in games with character creators I never try to replicate myself. I like playing as a variety of characters, that's part of why I love fighting games.
I honestly don't care who the main character is. I don't really care if the story is good (though it's absolutely a bonus). As a black male I've had to just approach the protag in my games as something that I usually won't be able to immediately identify with on some levels. But a female main character that's even a little fleshed out can enhance a game for me. In the context of some games that can be a bigger departure from my world than the difference in race. It goes both ways too, I will admit that I tend to scrutinize games that rely on tired tropes when it comes to women. Much like I do with the "jive talking, over the top" black characters. I just want the game to be fun and if it features a less represented type of person I hope that it does the character justice.
Tl;Dr No, I dont need to personally identify with the player character. I kind of rambled on there.
Tl;Dr No, I dont need to personally identify with the player character. I kind of rambled on there.