Which gender do you choose to play in-game and why?

Elsonso · December 2016

Both

... but not in the same character.

VeriusNox · December 2016

Both

Both, because I enjoy character designing.

Sengra · December 2016

Both

Humans (or human-resembling) chars - female
Beast races - depends, but here I find male chars more interesting than human males (and in some cases even prefer them to females)

(I'm a woman)

captainwolfos · December 2016

Both

Both, because I share a brain with several different characters.

Dark_Lord_Kuro · December 2016

Male

Male cause im a guy and i like to prject myself as the character (even if they dont look like me at all) and make ingame decision as i would have done them myself

Sigtric · December 2016

Both

I've never really been able to connect with and enjoy female characters in MMO games because I prefer using some semblance of myself. My main ESO characters are male.

That said, I made a Dunmer Dk and I made it female. I REALLY like that character.

svartorn · December 2016

Female

All female.

I used to play all male toons till I had a gf once that played all female toons because, "if I have to stare at an ass for that many hours, I want it to be a nice one." That logic really clicked with me. It's not really sexualizing the characters, but if I'm gonna look at one for that many hours/days/years, might as well be a pretty one, eh?

newtinmpls · December 2016

Both

Both.

Depends on the idea I have for a character

Riptide · December 2016

Male

Male because I'm male. Khajiit because this one is Khajiit at heart

KingofAnnwn · December 2016

Female

I've clicked female only because it happens to be the sex of my character. I have no preference on which one I play unless I prefer the style of one of the other, Assassin's Creed Syndicate for example where I preferred Evie's stealth approach over her brother's more direct one

Rouven · December 2016

Both

Because I can.

altemriel · December 2016

Female

female, I am male in real life, females are pretty to look at

DigitalShibby · December 2016

Male

I think it's so weird when guys play female characters, but hey that's just me.

DHale · December 2016

Both

6 males 6 females.... gender equality. That said, I have to say I play the female toons more. As my wife of twenty plus years said... so you play in third person who's back end would you rather follow around. I had to admit yours woman...

Elsonso · December 2016

Both

DigitalShibby wrote: »

I think it's so weird when guys play female characters, but hey that's just me.

I am confused by this statement. Are you saying it is just you that thinks it is weird, or you accept that you are a guy playing as a female?

Dakrana_Thrazvoth · December 2016

Female

I'm a khajiit in real life.

Resfeber · December 2016

Both

I'm more interested in playing my favourite races.

The gender doesn't matter so much to me.
I've got 50-50 male and female.

Iselin · December 2016

Both

I tend to make my healers female, tanks large, brutish males and DPS either.

What I do stay away from is creepy Lolis and I'm so glad ESO doesn't have them. I also hardly ever play races with tails although I did make an exception here with one Khajiit NB.

Osteos · December 2016

Both

11 women and 1 handsome devil

Julianos · December 2016

Male

Male because im a male also female hips distracts me while running.

lagrue · December 2016

Both because the sex of a fictional and virtual character has never stopped me from playing any of the 100s of games I have completed to 100% completion. I love stories, and games - and it really doesn't matter what sex the hero is to me. Even though I'm a male - there are some game series; Pokemon, Mass Effect - being two examples, where I play exclusively as female. But that's not because of sex, it's because their characters simply look cooler in my opinion.

In ESO I only have two characters, one is male and one is female, but I don't think this is a question really even worth asking at the end of the day.

The real question is why should it matter? No matter how much of a nut for immersion you are, you will never be that person in the game and they will never be you - so why do you feel the need to "relate" to their sex? I'll never be opposed to people having the choice - but I think people who will only play what they are in real life have a hard time blurring the line between fiction and reality and feel the need to extend their gender/sexual identity to everything.

Gender Dysphoria is a wonderful thing, isn't it?

Messy1 · December 2016

What can I say, I'm a guy IRL and don't feel comfortable playing females. Well, it's not that I'm uncomfortable imagining myself as a female or RPing elements of both sexes, but I can do a more convincing job from my male perspective although I certainly have regard and respect for both sexes.

menedhyn · December 2016

Both

DigitalShibby wrote: »

I think it's so weird when guys play female characters, but hey that's just me.

It's an interesting point. Some people do find it strange, unnatural, weird or whatever to create and then play a character that is the opposite of their sex, and that's fair enough.

One of my distractions from working and studying is writing bits of fiction now and again. I'm not very good at it, but I still enjoy it nevertheless. By chance and coincidence, I happen to include male and female characters in equal measure. I appreciate that writing is a different medium, and therefore not directly comparable, to playing video games. But I can say with confidence that I put just as much effort (if not more) into the character I transcribe to paper as I do creating it and playing it in ESO. I think carefully about their appearance and attire, their personality, stance and views, actions and reactions, etc. Granted, it can be much more difficult to write about the opposite sex, but often I find it more interesting and challenging because of it.

It seems perfectly acceptable for a male to both create and then write a story about a female character (and vice versa), taking them on a journey in the way we are able to do with our characters in ESO if we so choose. I guess I see ESO as just another story, one that is part-written and with the rest left for me to complete.

FLuFFyxMuFFiN · December 2016

Both

My characters have transcended beyond your silly little gender classifications. They are both male and female but also neither male nor female.

phairdon · December 2016

Female

Only male. Never going to be part of the MMORPG brigade (many men online role playing girls). Wonder from time to time how guys are hit on, while in game, using female characters

Frig it. Hit the wrong button on the vote

- heads back to bed.

Nestor · December 2016

Both

I play both. It all depends on back story and role. Aesthetics have little to do with the decision but I do like seeing different armor styles on different genders, and even races.

Integral1900 · December 2016

Female

Female because they make more interesting hero's, every lead character since the year dot, with a pitiful handful of exceptions, has been male, it's been done to death, they just bore me rigid.

Also, being a rather lucky little fellow, I'm married to my very own amazon, a wonderful lady who does medieval sword play with a replica English great sword on the weekend, I try to make in game characters look like her, the nord is the only one close but even with physique maxed out I have to be very choosey about what armour styles I use as I need to make the character heavier set.

There is something about the love of your life with seventeen inch biceps spinning a forty pound great sword like a chear leaders baton that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside

WalksonGraves · December 2016

Both

Both, I like to come up with a cool/hilarious theme. Fat naked hobo, pink princess, Prince Argonian (rip), shrivelled old hag in wedding dress. I wish it wasn't so damn expensive to change appearance because I love switching things up.

Artis · December 2016

Male

I play my own gender mostly. But I do have a female character too.

If I had no choice like in some single player games - it wouldn't matter and I'd play whichever gender I have to. It doesn't matter, in the end it's all about gameplay.

But OP, your poll is missing 58 options.

TheShadowScout · December 2016

Both

For me, it depends entirely on the character idea I am having.

Some of my characters are male, some female. Some follow traditional gender roles, some are tomboyish assassin girls or feminine sorceror boys, and if a setting I like has races that went outside the usual gender roles (like, non-gendered droids or golems or monogendered alien races), I'd make characters for those as well if I had an interesting idea!