…I always choose a girl character to play?
When I first started up Resident Evil 5 I was rather disappointed that, from the get go, I was unable to select Sheva [my new video game crush] to play as. Instead I had to pick stinky Chris Redfield and be unhappy. Luckily that changed when I did co-op, beat the game and unlocked her for my consumption at any time I wanted. This got me reflecting about every time the option is available to chose an avatar in a game, I either create a girl or pick the girl character [if possible.] Is something wrong with me? Does this make me any less of a gamer? WTFUX!?
For the most part I feel that this isn’t anything to frown upon since I’m still playing the game as it was intended to be played, except now I have some virtual eye candy flashing her shit! There have been plenty of studies that analyze all this data to show that people don’t go the Neo route and, instead, make a visually appealing image rather than look like their boring selves. When I make my womens, I don’t even make them as my ideal girl [though I may hint at her in the name ;)], I just make her as something I wouldn’t mind seeing walk around for hundreds of hours and not get annoyed. Being a different sex in game does grant rewards besides visual stimulation though…
Sheva, for instance, says some pretty lame one-liners throughout the game that wouldn’t be the same if they came from a male character. Her accent also makes it all the more lovely too. These quips about tankers being huge, herbs, and being notified about the same tanker being the the only visible object in an ocean make my day. Enough about my Sheva-Crush. The real joy of choosing a girl is that seeing this little fragile being kick a sack-wearing, chainsaw-wielding freak’s ass is always a satisfying moment. Knowing that my little feminine level 80 Prot. Paladin takes a fuckload of time to kill breaks through all the stereotypes that movies have created. People say that Scarlet O’Hara or Mulan are strong female roles, but did either one of them tank Cyanigosa or destroy Albert Wesker? No. Warding off hunger? Saving a dynasty? Stabbing the Witch King in the face? Shit, video game females call that a Tuesday.
Choosing to either make or a be a female in game does not mean that I secretly want to be a girl, it just feels more rewarding to me. Being a 25 year old male [that means I’m a man…right?] I feel that, being something I’m not in a world with no consequences, is always the way to go. The reason why I pick girls is that I love boobs. Analysis over.