Gender Selection?

[Katie]

I am a girl. I pick female in every game I play. I am kind of surprised that I couldn't select my gender in this game. Maybe there's a purpose - I have yet to play it - but I think playing as male characters is weird.

[datguy13]

The premise of the game is that you play the son of the infamous monster hunter Abraham Van Helsing. Basically, it's only because you're not playing a generic-hero style character like you would be in most RPGs.

[Katie]

It could not have been gender-neutral? I can't wait for the scenes where my mass amounts of body hair and penis come to the rescue!

[DigikalGorgon]

It's a depiction of Abraham Van Helsing. Gender-neutrality is no option when it comes to depicting a male person. Marie Curie wouldn't be depicted gender-neutral either.

[Katie]

Excuse me? You can replace the avatars and every instance of he with she and would the story not make sense? Maybe it wouldn't but most would be fine, unless of course, the story has a big focus on his penis.

[Eezak]

I think Katie is right. The developers could surely have made it an option for the main character to be Van Helsing's daughter. Take the ghost avatar and make her the human character and take the current Van Helsing and make him her ghost companion. I know it's not that simple and, at this late stage, not likely going to happen but hey, I generally don't care to play female characters if I can avoid it.

[XExarKunX]

Originally posted by Eezak:

I think Katie is right. The developers could surely have made it an option for the main character to be Van Helsing's daughter. Take the ghost avatar and make her the human character and take the current Van Helsing and make him her ghost companion. I know it's not that simple and, at this late stage, not likely going to happen but hey, I generally don't care to play female characters if I can avoid it.

i dunno this seems to be more work and trouble that its worth in most games in this genre. it took how many years for blizzard to put in oppasite sexs for each class?

most games like this have certain classes as males and some as females. but this game seems to be based on one person. much like the majority of games with a main character. i dont get this, i never had a issue with playing as the female in perfect dark for N64, or many other lead characters where i couldnt choose. i prefer male as i like to see it as myself in the game, but when a female is the only option then so be it.i mean i dont get upset because i cant be a male sorc in sacred 2 lol. being diverse is nice while being a whiney and ingnorant spoiled brat is not.

i realize its nice to have options but at the same time its kind of rude to always want your way in every game you pick up. as i have said many times before if you want to play as a protagonist thats something else then make your own game.

sorry just always tired of these stupid threads for every game crying about wanting to play a female or a male character. or people trying hard to push there way of life or other things into a game where it has no room or makes sens or just isnt what the creators envisioned. just play the game as it was made with the creators vision and there world.

/end rant

[Katie]

Having even 1 of the classes be female would have solved this problem too. Diablo 2 was fine. I played amazon and sorc all of the time in that game. I don't want to play a brute force barbarian anyway.

[Johnny]

I dont understand. Is it too much of a problem?

[Sunfane]

It's clearly not a problem, it's a preference. Anybody who criticizes you for just asking a question about a game you already bought should probably find something better to do with their time. There is nothing in the game (yes, including storyline) that designates the character to male. Gender diversity is usually a feature in this genre of games.

To Katie, I wouldn't worry about the overwhelming testosterone too much. It's not really that sort of game. Also the classes aren't quite as defined as other games. For instance a melee hunter will still have quite a few spells.

[datguy13]

Let me establish two things first before commenting at length on this topic:

1) I play female characters whenever I have the option. So I'm perfectly happy with a female protagonist---when it's available and appropriate.

2) I'm not a chauvanist, misogynist or 'homophobe'. I don't do labels.

With that said:

This is not an issue until someone self-importantly assumes it needs to be an issue. The story is written with a male protagonist for a character. That's what the writer chose as part of his way of expressing his creativity. It really is as simple as that, and doesn't really need to be examined for any socio-political or gender-diversity agendas. It's a game. A form of entertainment. That's all. It's not a statement of sociological dominance or gender inequality or patriarchal oppression. Just some dude who scratched out a story about a guy with a big sword and a smart-aleck ghost for a sidekick.

My suggestion is to just play the game for what it is, look at the cool graphics and textures and not try to impose some misguided agenda on it.

[XExarKunX]

was my opinion as is all of yours. i was merely stating that its tiresome to constantly see this for every game. even though the minority for this complaint is so small it doesnt matter.

[Sunfane]

While I appreciate you writing such an extensive reply, I found it to be rather unnecessary. Nobody mentioned anything about feminist agendas or stifling artist creativity until you brought it up. Personally, I generally play male characters but sometimes I like to switch it up. I would like to reiterate that this game is quite shallow in terms of story, and that nothing would really be changed at all with an option to play as female.

[tak]

A game that doesn't allow gender selection especially for a Diablo clone is instantly ♥♥♥♥ in my book. I swear this is the only Diablo-esque game that does this, too. Would have regretted my purchase if I didn't come across this thread, so thanks.

[MeetYourNanny]

i am a sheep so i stopped buying games cause there are no sheep characters i can pick... so yeah i can feel your pain

[Katie]

Originally posted by DeathbyFood:

I dont understand. Is it too much of a problem?

It is. I am not really mad or anything, but I guess you just have be a girl gamer to empathize. Being true to one's identity is pretty important. The incongruence is really off-putting. And every modern rpg solves this problem: borderlands, diablo, mass effect, fallout, skyrim, and the list goes on and on. It is so rare not to have a gender option.

A lot of guys can play as girls because they are attracted to woman, and a lot of the women in video games are beautiful. So it's like looking at what you're attracted to. You're not identifying with it at all - you're probably getting aroused or drawn to it for other reasons, and you sense no disconnect at all.

But just imagine the girl who's gay. Playing as a dude doesn't even give me the satisfaction at looking at a 'hot bod'. It's just gross in terms of being attracted, and it's just weird identity-wise.

To game developers: Take this post to heart and use this information when designing your game.