next »

[Codestar]

I'm considering doing gender swapping for the main character in my game and I've been wondering what's your opinion on the matter? Is it a good concept to put into a game if pulled off correctly or does it somehow take away from the story of a particular character?

Post your thoughts!

[Bree]

I think we'll need more context to understand. Exactly what does the gender swap do? Are you changing the protagonist's gender altogether, or are they going to be swapping genders throughout the game?

[s0]

Works well enough with silent protagonists. For anything else you'd have to rewrite lots of dialogue.

[Inanimate]

I think we'll need more context to understand. Exactly what does the gender swap do? Are you changing the protagonist's gender altogether, or are they going to be swapping genders throughout the game?

He's talking about the gender choice at the beginning of a game, methinks.

[Codestar]

I think we'll need more context to understand. Exactly what does the gender swap do? Are you changing the protagonist's gender altogether, or are they going to be swapping genders throughout the game?

I meant as just choosing your gender at the beginning of the game.

[edit]
bah, inanimate beat me to the punch...

[MaloEspada]

Interesting, but alternate dialogues should prolly be necessary.

[Codestar]

Really I'm not really caring about the extra dialog writing as so much the actual effect on the story. I mean do you think that it sorta disconnects the player with the main character when there's literally two personas of them?

[brog]

"You can choose your gender!" as a feature in isolation doesn't make much sense to me.

Character customisation is part of the draw of role-playing-type games (and could work in other genres too), and as part of this gender-selection would be good.  I can't think why anyone would want to only pick their gender, and not have a more full set of character options.

As for how character customisation affects the story, look at the difference between Planescape: Torment and, say, Neverwinter Nights.  In PST, they were able to craft a marvellous story which all revolves around the main character.  It's a personal quest, and that's why it works so well and why it's always being cited as a great game story.  In NWN, because the plot has to work with any character you choose - male/female, wizard/fighter, even good/evil - the story is forced to be absolutely generic.  But it's still a fine game; story isn't everything; you just have to be aware that when you allow full character customisation, your story will end up less personal than it could have been.  It's a trade-off between two things which are both 'good', and you have to choose what's right for your game.  But I'd definitely recommend going to one of those extremes - very personal (to the character) story, or very personal (to the player) character customisation - rather than aiming somewhere in the middle and doing neither thing well.

[moi]

Who needs justifications?
Gender swapping is especially good if it is gratuitous.
Please yourself!

[Xion]

I always play as the female.

Anyway I never even thought of having the option as any kind of issue. Do it.

[falsion]

@brog - Character customization is too broad. We're talking about two versions of the same character, not make your own character.

But as far as I'm concerned, it doesn't really create a disconnect in my opinion. And with this approach, it's still possible to have a story that revolves around the main character that isn't "generic."

Provided that they are just male and female versions of the same character and not two unique personalities, the only thing that changes is the gender of the character. I once played Deus Ex: Invisible War (don't play this game. it sucks. most disappointing ever) as the female version of Alex, and the story was the same for the most part. The only thing that was different was the voice of the character and people referring to Alex with female gender specific pronouns.

[Shade Jackrabbit]

Hah. Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force, also let you choose a male or female version of your character, who was also named Alex.

[Core Xii]

As long as you make the genders equal in all terms of gameplay. I hate it when the choices aren't balanced.

Also, I think it's relevant that you can see yourself. Gender-choosing in a first-person shooter doesn't make a lot of sense if you never see yourself. Especially on a mute character.

[alspal]

As long as you make the genders equal in all terms of gameplay. I hate it when the choices aren't balanced.

That's because men are generally stronger.

[mewse]

Being able to customise the player character is a really good way to get the player to identify with the character that he's controlling;  it makes it easier for the player to say "that's me", than if he's given a set, static character.

Whether or not that's a good thing depends upon what experience you're trying to give the player in the particular game.

RPGs try to put "you" into the action, and give you lots of detailed control over where to go and what to say to people.  On the other hand, most action adventures have very linear play styles and automated dialog -- those tell the player "this is a character that you're in partial control of -- it's not you."  And so being able to customise the character doesn't really end up buying you much for the amount of effort it takes to do.

In general, it's best to decide whether you want to have a strong character for the player to watch and partially control, or whether you want the player to feel that the character on the screen is actually them.  One option generally leads towards intricate storylines and tight dialogue, and the other leads more toward a open-ended game design and much less dialogue.

[brog]

@brog - Character customization is too broad. We're talking about two versions of the same character, not make your own character.

As I said, not interesting.  Add some meaningful depth to the customisation or don't bother.

[Movius]

Don't forget to include the intersexed.

[ஒழுக்கின்மை (Paul Eres)]

well it worked for ranma 1/2

[Radix]

Who needs justifications?
Gender swapping is especially good if it is gratuitous.
Please yourself!

Right on. When I'm going to have a muscular butt jiggling in the centre of my screen for eight hours I know what I want.

[derrickfreeland]

I think having a choice of gender is a fine idea.  There should be more female protagonists in games (and in genre fiction in general) that aren't centered around standard 'female qualities'.  The story can be just as good featuring a man or a woman.  I think simple act of making the gender choice arbitrary promotes equality in gaming and might even broaden the audience for a game.