Female avatars are not a new game feature. Some of the older 8-bit single-player adventures let you choose to play between a guy and a gal. Gamers will play with the character they think is best to play as. Some of the coolest RPG games for men let you tinker around with what you want to look like to other players.

So, what makes men play as female characters in MMOs?

Easier on the eyes

If you’re playing old-school or Korean MMOs, expect a lot of grinding to keep pace with competitive power levels. The longer you play, the better chances to get more powerful gear and more items to take them to further levels. If you’re not the type to go AFK for a few hours and only come back when your character is dead, you’re most likely not going to enjoy looking at a male character who works his stuff for long hours. Female avatars are better to look at, and game developers tend to add cooler design concepts to them.

Better conversation starters

Believe it or not, female avatars have a better tendency to put down a player’s wariness. You get better chances of finding a friend on the server. Couple this with ‘proper or expected online behavior’ and you’ll be amicable to a wider range of players. This doesn’t mean that you’re fooling most MMO veterans anytime soon, but using male characters tends to say you’re strictly into playing the game and are going for the tryhard route.

A slight advantage in dealing with game mechanics

There are action-adventure MMOs that need more input from players. Some games are more than simple ‘skill and kill’ and may need positioning and/or dodging enemy attacks. Default female sprites are usually made thinner and smaller. That means fewer chances to get hit and a wider space to effectively dodge whatever attack that knocks out most male avatars. Some older games have traits and modifiers that are exclusive to specific characters. Players who are more focused on stats and playstyle will choose the most suitable way to play regardless of appearance. Let’s not forget: the newer the MMO game, the less likely can this happen. This is because you can customize your character’s body size, meaning smaller hitboxes can be achieved as easily as sliding a ruler bar on the character creator.

Another factor here is some games feature interactions that are different depending on the character type you are using. NPCs have dialogue exclusive to the avatar you are playing as at the time. Some enemies act differently when faced with certain characters. Monsters and other aggressive creatures may use an extra skill or attack – and this is because you are using an avatar that is more likely to draw that pattern.

A different immersion

Some of us find playing the same role in a game like what we do in real life boring. We like to be known in another world as someone else. Some probably want to feel differently from how we do offline. That’s the fun of MMO games, particularly in their RPG subtypes. You can act how you think a character should act, have fun, and people at worst won’t mind. In case you find a little social circle where you can be ‘in-character’ to the fullest extent, the fun factor in playing will be more than what the game’s content can provide.

That’s a wrap on why men like using female avatars for MMOs. To browse some of the coolest RPG games for men, be sure to check Games 4 Dudes.

Beoordeel dit Artikel

Why Do Men Like Using Female Avatars in MMOs?

Easier on the eyes

Better conversation starters

A slight advantage in dealing with game mechanics

A different immersion

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