Males playing as females??

[Omegaforce]

It varies for me with multiple factors....

1. What class am I going to be?
2. How do the two sexes look wearing the same armour?
3. How popular is the class + sex combination.

1. I usually play priest and when I think priest I think of a female. (Though in Aion I like how they make the males look so I'll be a male priest)
2. WoW is the perfect example of this, gear looks different on each race and sex. Taruens looked badass when they had shoulderguards and helms on. Comapre it to a gnome and it was "meh!"
3. Way back when in FFXI, I played on Ragnarok server and i only knew one person who was a Taru Monk, that was so unheard of back in the day I just thought it was a cool idea to be a little bit different from everyone else. In WoW I had a female undead warrior and because back then not a lot of people did it.

So that is what i consider when I make my class+race combination. Though like I said I'll be a male priest. On a side not when I did make female toons I never onced acted like a female and always let people know I was male behind the toon.

[karlek]

Whats wrong with playing with opposite gender character? Why does it concern you what characters other people pick? I really wouldn't want some moronic children or some no-life 40-year-old unmarried dude harassing 16-year-old girl thanks to the system you've suggested.
For me the gender matters depending on the game I play. If I RPG with somebody I do act like a male (which I am). But if I am just playing the game and the look of the character shouldn't concern anyone besides myself then I don't see why can't I pick a character with a nice *** to look at throughout the game.
MMORPGS are not myspace. If you want to find a girl I suggest looking irl or the sites appropriate for that matter. Not MMORPGs.

[Teshput]

I agree with Karlek here.

Gender shouldn't be an issue when choosing a character model.

It's a game, for playing. You should be able to play it and enjoy it as long as you're not deliberately making life hard for other people. So, if you're making a female character to scam money and goods off people in game, it's not acceptable whether you're male or female in RL. If you're rolling a character because you like the looks of it, there is no problem at all.

I played a mithra main in FFXI (a cat girl for those not familiar with FFXI) and in WoW my main is a male tauren. (Have you seen how horrible the model is for female tauren? UGH...what were they thinking?) I really hope people don't think I'm a 9 foot tall bullman in RL just because I look like that in a game. If they assume my character is an accurate physical representation of me in RL, then the psychological issues definitely don't belong to me.

[BlackPeaceNow]

I'm a REAL girl and I must say, in FFXI since I played a Mithra (female only catlike race) I was always considered a boy. They had a name for those men who played the female-only Mithra. Manthra. To about 85% of the general Vana'Diel population, I was a Manthra. And I met a lot of them, too.

It is rather disturbing to befriend someone thinking they're one gender, then them turning around confessing.
But, I do like playing guy characters because for some reason I got a lot of respect from the other guys!

[Ecronyte]

Originally Posted by Caineth

I'm really glad that guys are allowed to play girls. I can't imagine how the actual girls would be treated in a game where every immature guy could be 100% sure that the girl is actually a girl. By having a lots of in-game girls being guys IRL, you can only hope that some people actually stop themselves for a moment, to think of that possibility, and thus saves someone the bother. Obviously, that's not always gonna happen, and it doesn't kill the real problem (which is immature guys) but those are always gonna hang around anyways. Cheers for a free world. Two cheers for a free cyberworld.

Yeah thats the biggest issue. Girls would never get a moments peace.

I don't care what you choose. I don't think there is anything morally wrong, or odd about choosing a female character. It can cause small amount of confusion and awkwardness at times. But it is hardly enough reason to avoid playing a character of the opposite sex.

I personally choose male characters in almost all cases. Since I don't really role-play, I feel that my character should be a representation of myself. If not how the toon looks, then at least by gender.

[Marchosias]

I still think the problem here is that people are all assuming that your character is either a) a representation of yourself or b) a person you want to be. I mean, I may play an orc or a tauren because I like the way they look but that hardly means I want to be an orc or a tauren... or a galka, or an L2 orc (tried to mix it up off just WoW... come on... I tried). I've never thought of my character as a representation of who I am. It's a character. I may like the character without wanting to be them. I can grow attached to them and feel a drive to develop them as my character, but that's all it is. It's not me.

Because of this there's a certain detachment associated with real life and the game, while maintaining a deep connection to the character. I mean, in vent I'm me. In chats I'm me. I don't try to pass myself off as a female because it's just a character. The key is making the distinction between people and computers. To the computers I may be a female but as soon as other people are entered into the equation I make no attempt to maintain the facade, and actually prefer that people know I'm a guy.

[Orphaned]

KY

so........... female

[Ecronyte]

Originally Posted by Marchosias

I still think the problem here is that people are all assuming that your character is either a) a representation of yourself or b) a person you want to be. I mean, I may play an orc or a tauren because I like the way they look but that hardly means I want to be an orc or a tauren... or a galka, or an L2 orc (tried to mix it up off just WoW... come on... I tried). I've never thought of my character as a representation of who I am. It's a character. I may like the character without wanting to be them. I can grow attached to them and feel a drive to develop them as my character, but that's all it is. It's not me.

Common March, you know you are a female orc trapped in a man's body.

jk, I understand what you mean. I was just giving my personal reasons for choosing predominantly male toons.

[AsuraRichar]

i have played males and females it depends on waht i want to play. if you cant take a woman playing an guy or a guy playing a girl that is your porblem. No i dont want free stuff from guys, or other girls either. I want to get what i get on my own thake you very much.

[Unforsaken87]

Originally Posted by Etra

However, no offense or anything, but in my opinion, you deserve to get "scammed" for thinking the other player is a girl and giving "her" free stuff. I have so many girlfriends who cannot stand when guys think they need to help the girls because they are apparently helpless for some random, inconceivable reason. Seriously, you are not going to "score" with a girl online. So, stop trying to be the e-macho and treat them like the guys. Everyone will be better off.
As for guys pretending to be girls, that's your perception.
I find it silly that people really care if the person controlling that avatar has a ***** with six-pack abs or some ****s and a ******. Who really cares? We aren't here to hook up or date, but to play a game. It's sad when I have girlfriends who play as male characters just to get away from guys "helping" them.

I agree

Originally Posted by GrandKamikazi

Is it just me, or are a lot of the "female" characters in MMORPG's actually men? Ya see, I've had some bad experiences in MMORPG's where I find out that the people playing the female characters are...boys. Should this be allowed? Its kind of socially awkward when your talking to somone in a game and you either have to live with not knowing their gender, or ya have to ask them outright, which is also awkward.

The only reason I can think of where people would want to play the opposite gender in a game is either, they want a sex change, or they're bored out of their minds and want to pass a few hours with a 'drunk' female char dancing on a table in a inn in Stormwind. If theres any other reasons, please postem.
So, I'm wondering if Aion should have a system where when you sign up, ya choose your gender, and then in that account you can only play as your ACTUAL gender. Preventing lots of socially awkward instances.
The only downsides to this that I can think of is that now, your little sister/brother will have to create a new acount to play a gender correct char, OR it will alienate a lot of people from buying Aion.
So, do you agree with me? Or do you think people should be able to play both female and male characters under one account?

I think this post is ridiculous. Whats the piont of limiting the gender you can play? The only word that comes to my mind when I read this was, Bigot. "People who play the opposite sex want a sex change?" Preventing social awkwardness, are you socially retarded? How does this complicate anything in the social aspect of the game? If you have trouble asking someone their gender you need some social skillz. The only reason why I think this would bother people is if they are looking to find a girlfriend/boyfriend in the game. Sad.

Originally Posted by Midgarsormr

It's not funny to pretend to be a female and then try to seduce online geeks (lol) for equipment, and money, etc. That **** ****es me off sooooo badly. So, most men actually make female characters just to have advantages like this and it sickens me.

Going through that much trouble is the part that sicks. Whats even more sick are the guys who look for woman online in a game and vice versa. I think if you fall for it, good you deserve it IMO.

Sorry if I seem like a ****, but this thread is stupid. I play both male and female toons, I am a guy IRL. I usually dont tell people my gender unless they ask and I usually dont even ask. I do make some really good friends in game and I end up finding out through vent or jus conversation. The gender behind the toon shouldnt matter. A friend is a friend.

[N0rdic Ninja]

That's the way to do it Unforsaken, if there's anything I've learned from the internet it's bashing someone's opinions always convinces them they're wrong. ô¿~ *shakes head*

I agree with Unforsaken's general mindset, although I have a slightly less bloodthirsty/in your face/I'm right you're wrong stance on it. I don't like the fact that people make female toons to take advantage of people either, but completely restricting everyone to there RL gender is kind of redundant and besides the point.

If someone wants to role play a Female, more power to them, this is a Role Playing Game after all. If a guy wants to pretend he's a women on the internet I really don't care, doesn't effect me any. But everyone else who is playing has just got to remember that this is a fantasy world, not everything that you see/hear online is going to hold true IRL. Whether it's about the persons gender or about there dog, you don't know any of this is %100 truth and you have to remember that.

If a guy wants to Role Play a girl online does it mean he wants a sex change? No, that's a ridiculous statement to make, you're just trying to belittle someone cause they're doing something that's not "socially acceptable." I love playing Modern Warfare type FPSs, but the LAST thing I want to do is join the military and go fight in some war. Role playing is fun, you get to do things that you wouldn't normally be allowed, or even willing, to do IRL. And the only reason why a lot of guys keep the fact they play female toons secret is because they will get jumped for wanting to do it.

Just let people do what they want to do, you don't have to agree with it, you're more the entitled to your opinion. But I don't think restricting others to your moral code is the correct way to do things, people will have different opinions then you. Everyone deserves to have fun the way they see fit... as long as it doesn't bring harm to others of course. =P

[zalvador]

I always play a male character.

It's nice to have some females characters in the game, and I really don't care if it's a boy or a girl behind the character. So it will not be only dudes running around in the game.

[Matsuke]

Im a male myself, and i rarely play with male-characters in MMO's. Reason is pretty simple for me, i think females are Sexy and, well, thats all. I always like to make pretty characters in MMO's and i personally think females are WAAAYYY more hotter than males (hehe)

Gzzzz

[zalvador]

Originally Posted by Matsuke

Im a male myself, and i rarely play with male-characters in MMO's. Reason is pretty simple for me, i think females are Sexy and, well, thats all. I always like to make pretty characters in MMO's and i personally think females are WAAAYYY more hotter than males (hehe)

Gzzzz

Yea. Some ppl go for the pretty look, and that would definately be the female. I rather go for the coolness, and that would ofcourse be the male.. :P

I just don't hope u flirt with other dudes. :/

[Fayeth]

I personnally can't play a male charater, it feels odd to me. Even more so with teh game sounds turned on. It's just very odd to me.
Games where you have to be a male i generally stay away from. Some rts games require to you play a male for a little bit then switch to somethhing else and im always findign that i enjoy playing teh female campiagns more, i suppose it is subconscience thing.