Do you play characters of your same gender?

Franchise408 · September 2021

Yes

Zuboko wrote: »

Franchise408 wrote: »

Zuboko wrote: »

Franchise408 wrote: »

Yes, I play same gender. I identify with my characters more when they are the same gender.

For me, I have to create a backstory for my character that is compelling before I can really get into the character. My Sorcerer is actually from another reality, but he does not know that. He is starting to figure it out, but that is another story. He was attacked by a mage as a child and scarred on his face and chest, and was determined to master the arts his attacker used, but when his father refused to let him, they had a big fight and he left home. When he tried to get back after cooling off, he could not find home. He has been looking for it ever since.

For my warden, she witnessed the brutal murder of her whole family as she was hiding in a bush in the Valenwood. She wanted to help but was unable to because of how weak and pathetic she viewed herself as, so she has been on a quest to become better ever since. She has developed quite the attitude over the years and has little tolerance for anyone who reminds her of the person she left behind.

The Templar I just started was attacked as a child and saved by a wandering healer, and now has chosen to follow his same path. I will likely flesh out his story a little more, but that was enough to get me started.

I, too, have backstories for all of my characters. Together, all of my characters are in a "guild" of Tamrielic heroes, and each one has a chapter that they are responsible for in "canon"

My original character (Nightblade stam DPS) is my Vestige, an orphaned Wood Elf who was kidnapped by the Worm Cult. While captive by the Worm Cult, he learned certain dark arts (summoning shades, teleportation, invisibility) before he was sacrificed by Mannimarco. Upon encountering Lyris Titanborn in Coldharbour, he began his quest to defeat Molag Bol and restore his soul.

My main (Necromancer tank) is my Elsweyr character, a Breton from the Mage's Guild who is fascinated by necromancy and death. He traveled to Morrowind and Skyrim, intrigued by the tombs and crypts that dot the territories. Upon his journies, he heard tales of the Vestige, the one who restored his soul from Coldharbour. This piqued his curiosity, as the possible height of arcane talents he had been seeking out. In seeking out the Vestige, he came across Abnur Tharn in Elsweyr. After defeating the dragon threat in Elsweyr, Abnur Tharn told him where to find the Vestige, and together, the 2 formed a guild to gather Tamrielic heroes to defeat evil forces that threaten Tamriel

I have a number of alts with backstories that also join up with this group, my Warden tank is my Morrowind character, my Sorc healer is my Summerset character, my Necro healer is my Greymoor healer, and I'm thinking my Necro mag DPS will be my Blackwood character. They all have backstories that tie them to the ESO storylines, tie them to each other, or tie them to other TES characters of mine.

My Warden hates my Sorcerer ... a lot. She finds him insufferably positive, and wants to bash his face in.

I have a rivalry in my group of characters as well.

My Necro healer is a former Worm Cultist, the one who kidnapped my Vestige to take him to Mannimarco. My Vestige doesn't have a clear memory of what happened, but senses some sort of malicious history with the necro, and doesn't trust him. The 2 don't like each other and creates a rift in my group of heroes.

TheImperfect · September 2021

Both

I play both, I like as much variation as possible.

Tornaad · September 2021

Both

Franchise408 wrote: »

Zuboko wrote: »

Franchise408 wrote: »

Zuboko wrote: »

Franchise408 wrote: »

Yes, I play same gender. I identify with my characters more when they are the same gender.

For me, I have to create a backstory for my character that is compelling before I can really get into the character. My Sorcerer is actually from another reality, but he does not know that. He is starting to figure it out, but that is another story. He was attacked by a mage as a child and scarred on his face and chest, and was determined to master the arts his attacker used, but when his father refused to let him, they had a big fight and he left home. When he tried to get back after cooling off, he could not find home. He has been looking for it ever since.

For my warden, she witnessed the brutal murder of her whole family as she was hiding in a bush in the Valenwood. She wanted to help but was unable to because of how weak and pathetic she viewed herself as, so she has been on a quest to become better ever since. She has developed quite the attitude over the years and has little tolerance for anyone who reminds her of the person she left behind.

The Templar I just started was attacked as a child and saved by a wandering healer, and now has chosen to follow his same path. I will likely flesh out his story a little more, but that was enough to get me started.

I, too, have backstories for all of my characters. Together, all of my characters are in a "guild" of Tamrielic heroes, and each one has a chapter that they are responsible for in "canon"

My original character (Nightblade stam DPS) is my Vestige, an orphaned Wood Elf who was kidnapped by the Worm Cult. While captive by the Worm Cult, he learned certain dark arts (summoning shades, teleportation, invisibility) before he was sacrificed by Mannimarco. Upon encountering Lyris Titanborn in Coldharbour, he began his quest to defeat Molag Bol and restore his soul.

My main (Necromancer tank) is my Elsweyr character, a Breton from the Mage's Guild who is fascinated by necromancy and death. He traveled to Morrowind and Skyrim, intrigued by the tombs and crypts that dot the territories. Upon his journies, he heard tales of the Vestige, the one who restored his soul from Coldharbour. This piqued his curiosity, as the possible height of arcane talents he had been seeking out. In seeking out the Vestige, he came across Abnur Tharn in Elsweyr. After defeating the dragon threat in Elsweyr, Abnur Tharn told him where to find the Vestige, and together, the 2 formed a guild to gather Tamrielic heroes to defeat evil forces that threaten Tamriel

I have a number of alts with backstories that also join up with this group, my Warden tank is my Morrowind character, my Sorc healer is my Summerset character, my Necro healer is my Greymoor healer, and I'm thinking my Necro mag DPS will be my Blackwood character. They all have backstories that tie them to the ESO storylines, tie them to each other, or tie them to other TES characters of mine.

My Warden hates my Sorcerer ... a lot. She finds him insufferably positive, and wants to bash his face in.

I have a rivalry in my group of characters as well.

My Necro healer is a former Worm Cultist, the one who kidnapped my Vestige to take him to Mannimarco. My Vestige doesn't have a clear memory of what happened, but senses some sort of malicious history with the necro, and doesn't trust him. The 2 don't like each other and creates a rift in my group of heroes.

I like it. I try to keep my backstories in a place that is not affected by the story but will still drive it and the character.

L_Nici · September 2021

Yes

I have no male characters at all. A character of mine, should transport as many of my traits as possible.

Eccentric_Vampire · September 2021

No

I meant to vote for both. I should really stop voting on polls with a touch screen.

Kadraeus · September 2021

Both

Mostly no. I have 9 characters and 3 are male. 1 of those (my 2nd character in this game ever) I'm just not super interested in playing anymore, unfortunately. Another was created just as a little joke and I intend to delete him eventually. The 3rd was just created recently so only time will tell. It's a similar thing with most games. If I have a choice, I'll choose a female character 90% of the time.

My characters are never meant to be me. They're just characters I'm interested in playing as just like Captain America and Frodo Baggins are characters I enjoy watching because they're interesting. Doesn't matter how different they may look compared to me or how different of a life they might have. I tend to be most interested in characters who are different from me in general.

Kalik_Gold · September 2021

Yes

Currently yes.

CaffeinatedMayhem · September 2021

Both

BomblePants wrote: »

@Franchise408 Phew…. It’s not just me

I play both genders, but a majority of my characters are female, because I am female. From my casual observations, men seem to play "other" gender more and women tend to play "same" gender.

It's never a good idea to assume anyone's gender online, especially in an MMO.

Sluggy · September 2021

Both

As a dev I've often found this question to be interesting and I often ask it of people. It's actually quite interesting to me how many people see their character either directly as themselves or perhaps some idealized version of themselves for the given setting even when the game chooses what character they will play. I can at least understand a little more for a game like ESO where they can create their own characters, though.

Personally, I do not see myself as my character. Like, ever. In any game. They are a separate entity from me with their own history, personality, thoughts, judgements and action. So as a result I play both genders and simply see it as an extension of who that character is.

Iccotak · September 2021

No

I accidentally voted No...

———————————

I’m a guy who like reptiles, dinosaurs, Skyrim & Morrowind.

So naturally 5 out of my 7 characters are argonians.

I have 1 nord and 1 dunmer

I play males, though my Argonian necromancer was once female in their backstory. (Life finds a way)

Nightowl_74 · September 2021

Yes

Given a choice I always play female characters. They're my conduit to experience the game, so it feels more natural for me to see through their eyes. Playing a male character is ok, but it's a bit detrimental to my immersion.

Lady_Sleepless · September 2021

Both

Most are male and my main is male but I play as both.

Gaebriel0410 · September 2021

My characters are fairly evenly split between the two. My main character is a man, my 2nd most played character is a woman.

I have personalities and backstories for each of them (none is a vestige or anything like it). Of course I don't actively roleplay all of them except once in a blue moon, since well.. time. But I'd never make a character without fitting him or her somewhere in the world, as that's half the fun, especially with such a rich and detailed setting.

I never ever ever see myself as my character, since as a roleplayer (which is basically like acting) that's a very unhealthy practice and a major red flag. And half the fun of roleplaying is playing someone completely different with a very different perspective from your own. Besides, I already play myself irl.

MJ202 · September 2021

Both

I try to fit the gender to the role and persona for the character created. I have a split of 50/50.

aipex8_ESO · September 2021

Both

I have about a 50/50 split, I even have a couple non-binary characters.

dem0n1k · September 2021

Both

I have all male characters except the wood elves... male wood elves look super creepy. So I have 2x female wood elf characters. Smol & not creepy.

NotaDaedraWorshipper · September 2021

Both

Both, which are quite evenly split.

Being a massive roleplaying nerd who roleplays both in games and with tabletop I like making various character with their own personality, background etc. Their gender among many other things are not related to my own at all.

Sylvermynx · September 2021

Both

I should perhaps have stated that I don't actually invent characters - they show up in my head, complete with name, race, class, backstory, and what they want to wear (which btw can be a royal PITA - because I don't own every motif in the game yet).

And once I make them in Character Creation, then they tend to go off on me if they don't like their mounts and non-combat pets.

This is how characters in my books happen as well. I started writing when I was 2 (by telling my mother my stories which she wrote for me since I wasn't able to write at that age) - so it's lifelong tales of many many people over the decades.

NotaDaedraWorshipper · September 2021

Both

Sylvermynx wrote: »

I should perhaps have stated that I don't actually invent characters - they show up in my head, complete with name, race, class, backstory, and what they want to wear (which btw can be a royal PITA - because I don't own every motif in the game yet).

And once I make them in Character Creation, then they tend to go off on me if they don't like their mounts and non-combat pets.

This is how characters in my books happen as well. I started writing when I was 2 (by telling my mother my stories which she wrote for me since I wasn't able to write at that age) - so it's lifelong tales of many many people over the decades.

That sounds exactly like inventing a character.

Sylvermynx · September 2021

Both

Well, I consider "inventing" to be messing around in Character Creation without any real direction. I'd have a hard time coming up with a character I liked if they didn't poke at me to create them.

theyancey · September 2021

Both

My first two toons are always Yancius and Yancina. All of the subsequent begin with Y and are mixed breeds as well. Been this way since the dawn of MMOs.

TheImperfect · September 2021

Both

A couple of my characters although they come as gendered by default are pretty gender neutral in themselves - sort of like daedric princes.

Tornaad · September 2021

Both

Sylvermynx wrote: »

I should perhaps have stated that I don't actually invent characters - they show up in my head, complete with name, race, class, backstory, and what they want to wear (which btw can be a royal PITA - because I don't own every motif in the game yet).

And once I make them in Character Creation, then they tend to go off on me if they don't like their mounts and non-combat pets.

This is how characters in my books happen as well. I started writing when I was 2 (by telling my mother my stories which she wrote for me since I wasn't able to write at that age) - so it's lifelong tales of many many people over the decades.

I find it interesting to see how many people view their characters as having a life and mind of their own.

Soulshine · September 2021

Both

Not here to identify as my character; in fact prefer the opposite in most respects. A fantasy by definition is based in the improbable and not grounded in reality, so why would I want them to be like me?

I have chars of both genders. Depending on my mood I play different ones. I also like to envision specific backstories about them to mix things up, so their outfits and such tend to reflect that.

TheImperfect · September 2021

Both

I've found my characters sometimes start with the intention of being a certain type of person but they get away from my original intention on their own and evolve themselves sometimes in ways I didn't remotely anticipate. It's like they take on an independent life from me and have their own existence beyond my control.

Saxhleel · September 2021

My one singular character is male because I am tired of seeing the Bosmer females. Why specifically Bosmer? I don't understand.

NotaDaedraWorshipper · September 2021

Both

Sylvermynx wrote: »

Well, I consider "inventing" to be messing around in Character Creation without any real direction. I'd have a hard time coming up with a character I liked if they didn't poke at me to create them.

In roleplay and writing inventing a character is simply making them, using whatever method you prefer. To some the character concept just comes to us unexpected. What race they are, where they grew up, their background, their moral views etc. Others might get something more vague and they only get parts of that and have to ponder the rest or the inspiration comes later.

Or the person only haves an idea and pokes around with stuff and the concept comes to them when they do that etc.
There are many ways and one person might not use the same one every time, I for one don't. But no matter which it's still inventing or making a character.

Slyclone · September 2021

No

Sarannah wrote: »

As a male myself, I only play with females! Females have way more outfit and characterization options which look good on them, and they just generally look better in my opinion.

Exactly this.

Sluggy · September 2021

Both

theyancey wrote: »

My first two toons are always Yancius and Yancina. All of the subsequent begin with Y and are mixed breeds as well. Been this way since the dawn of MMOs.

Haha yeah. I'm the same way. My first two are always Ana and Argos. At least it makes it easy to come up with a concept right away without having to spend ages in the character screen.

Sheridan · September 2021

Yes

Yes, always. My character is me.