Cantr II Discussion Forum

Sorta cantr related but I can see this going off topic, so I'm putting it here.

So I have a question that's been on my mind the past few days: do women make better roleplayers?

I realise that 'better' is highly subjective, but I guess I'm referring to a more sensitive, creative and perhaps bold, role-play 'style'.

I'll break it down into a few questions. Assume I am talking about female players' characters unless stated otherwise.

Do they pursue interaction (or role play) more readily than male players' characters?

Do they develop more, closer or more complicated social relationships - be that romantic, platonic or otherwise?

Do they tend to hold positions of power in Cantr? (in a business, Govt, army, pirate ship, etc.)

Do they tend to take on a nurturing role (providing life support or other critical functions to towns, groups or other characters)?

Do they tend to play male characters, and if so, how successfully?

Food for thought... opinions?

NB: I have many more questions that would probably better answered in an in-depth survey of Cantr players. Has one of these ever been done by the PD? It would obviously be invaluable data for their promotional efforts.

NB #2: I'm not trying to bag the male RPers, I love you guys too. I'm just curious as I love to know what makes women gamers tick - myself included!

My short answer would be "No." My longer answer would be: I'm not female so I can't compare my style of playing with a female style. The same goes or female players.

Just out of interest, are you asking this because you noticed female characters tended to fit the properties you gave, or do you feel that your style of RP differs from other male player(s) you know?

My opinion is that Sex is irrelevent! My hyper active imagination makes me a 'good' RPer nothing more. Because I can think of, quite literally, several hundred things to say or do in responce to something it makes me a 'good' RPer and I have proof that is not Cantr.

Also I'm not sure what your questions where asking. Are female characters steryotypes when played by males? Well for me thats probablly ture... ask Mikki. Its out of my 'area' to play female and can be awkward sometimes. I don't however force RP like EWWW Cooties! So I don't have to RP certain things. However I would like to avoid them because I don't feal I could RP them correctly. See Seko's post on something similar. You want the link? Nah find it yourself.

Thats a thought or two for ya. Oh and not offended just incase it sounded as such. *smiles*

I guess I am mainly asking the female players, but trust the males to jump straight in!

joo wrote:Just out of interest, are you asking this because you noticed female characters tended to fit the properties you gave, or do you feel that your style of RP differs from other male player(s) you know?

Well, I can't really answer those yet.. I'm talking a very small pool to study, hence throwing the questions open to other women to answer, based on how they play.

No, not characters. I'm talking from my experience and from my observations of the few female players I know of on Cantr.

If I were to answer my own questions (how sad!).. yes, my chars do tend to follow some stereotypes, but that probably relates more to my extreme inexperience as a role-player. Most of my chars pursue social interaction over any other goal (that's my player type - socialiser - coming through). Many of my chars would be classified as nurturers, and tend to be good rather than evil. They are all too young to be in any position of power, although a few seem to be on their way. I have one male, who I find extremely difficult to play and follows a clear stereotype.

and Dudel.. of course sex is irrelevant when playing an anonymous game, but I am curious whether it does have some effect on playing styles or not.

Nah. But I must say female characters have more possibilities, though. At least... somehow, for my chars, the female ones always end up in fun situations. (Pushed against the wall and raped, given lots of good stuff) And my male ones end up in sleepy towns. Or dead ones. Or on neverending roads.

Buh. BUUUUT I have one fun male char... Lol.
Luckily I practise loads so my female chars don't look like some kind of mixed person... (I heard there are actually people on this forum that do stuff like that )

Hmmm.. Sooooon I'll spawn another male character. And if it sucks I'll make it steal all the notes, hit everyone and steal lots of stuff and then wait for him to die. (Just kidding :O About the waiting... I'd spam a lot, too. :3)

Maybe I'm secretly a guy acting like a female. *gasps in panic and then runs away* Just kidding. I'd never do such a thing. ._.

Soooo. No, I don't think female players are bettah roleplayahs. I think they're equal... Sometimes... Most of the times... *shrugs* I do think that it's easier to play someone of your own sex though. So yes, they are better female roleplayers... :3

*Wiro wrote:Nah. But I must say female characters have more possibilities, though. At least... somehow, for my chars, the female ones always end up in fun situations. (Pushed against the wall and raped, given lots of good stuff) And my male ones end up in sleepy towns. Or dead ones. Or on neverending roads.

XD Thanks for the LOL.

I think women are more often better roleplayers than men, but not always. Some girls are good at playing male characters although they might do it in a bit sentimental way sometimes, and some guys are good at playing female characters. Dudel was pointing to that post where I said that men's style of playing female characters is often kind of wooden. I think it was on the suggestions forum, and no, I'm not going to dig it up either.

It's true that female characters (no matter if they're played by a man or a woman) tend to get more attention than men, maybe because they are so much rarer. If a town only has one or two women then it's pretty likely that guys will notice them. Some might flirt, some might just be friendly and give them stuff. It's kinda like in chat rooms and dating websites. Is it because guys are ready to accept any woman while women have specific standards, or because there are so much more guys that they must compete of the attention of women?

One time I had a deranged character named Jonas, who hit a lot of people and did naughty things with a couple of women. One time he was on a road and there was a group of three women, and he started talking to them, staring at them hungrily like a wolf stares at a flock of sheep. Well one of the "women" said OOC "I am a man you fool!" And I don't remember what he said after that but that's an awful thing to say. Like seriously, if the player was a woman, would it make it any more justified if my character had ended up raping that character? What does the player's gender have to do with the character's untouchability? This Jonas also randomly attacked a young man and chased him when he ran, and grabbed his balls before killing him, so having a male character doesn't necessarily protect him from sexual violence, it just makes it much less rare.

I think women might encounter more violence and sexual harassment because they are raised to be weak and carry the guilt of what happens to them. On TV, if they show a rape victim, her face is blurred or pixellated or in shadows and her voice is changed. Only one time I've seen a woman coming out with her own face and refuse to take the blame because it's the assailant who ought to be ashamed, not to victim. Women are taught to take the blame, they are taught that if someone grabs her, she must've been provocative in some way. While if a guy grabs another guy's balls then the attacker is considered gay, not the victim. Although there have been cases in real life of a man getting raped by another man and gotten told by the police that he must've "wanted it", especially if the victim happens to be gay. But it's harder to make a man feel humiliated or ashamed. If a woman tried to rape a man then in most cases the man would just laugh and refuse to think of it as rape. He would tell himself that the woman couldn't resist him. Am I making any sense here?

hmm.. interesting topic.

Well, despite the fact that I don't know the sex of the player behind the characters my own characters meet in the game (though I will, for this post, simply assume the egregious assumption that most male characters are played by males and most female characters are played by females) and despite the fact that I would like to pride myself as being part of the male species who can supposedly RP "better" than the women, I simply cannot vouch for the male characters. Do not get me wrong, I have met a handful of really great male RP'ed characters (though some of those were played by females lol).

I suspect that females are more willing to fully commit to their characters emotionally and focus on the complexity of the character's deep thoughts and behavior instead of the material gains and intangible power motivations most males drive their energy towards. Then again, you're right - "better" RP is highly subjective; and you can clearly see where my bias lies in what I personally constitute as "better" RP.

P.S. And it doesn't help the fact that all the characters I thoroughly enjoy RP'ing with happen to be all women. Good job, ladies

Yes Seko you are making a lot of sence.

I would like to add that not all males infact think an agresive female is hot infact I've had this happen to me in the past and I did report her. Although I was later labeled as gay because I rejected her. High School is retardted I thought for about a year then I got a job and boom a friend of mine was in a familure situation. I said it was okay and her behavior was NOT COOL but othr coworkers called the two of gay.

It's an annoying double standard. Males can't even say you have a cool shirt without getting charged with sexual harasment. Lucky for me my boss agreed that it was stupid and had the harasmnt charge burried and they are not on my recod. She was a female so nothing is wrong there... I think.

A Note On Topic:

There seems to be a lack of femles but the ony reason females get any attention. just like in real life is because the male has an overly active sex drive. This is no sterotype it is science. Some of us do our damdest to surpress this behavior. I do because it is instinctual and makes you look and sound like an animal.

About famles being better at RP. If that is true it is only because females pay more attention to detail then males. Also not sterotype it is science but of the mind. Males are usually more big picture then females. Resulting in a lack of and no need for details.

I know this is a difficult topic to comment on without getting into stereotypes, so I hope I'm not offending anyone.

SekoETC wrote:It's true that female characters (no matter if they're played by a man or a woman) tend to get more attention than men, maybe because they are so much rarer.

It must just be the towns I'm playing in, but the gender split doesn't seem that unbalanced to me.. maybe 60/40 male-female at worst, that I have noticed. Do they get more attention because they are rarer though, or is it because the female characters are seeking social interaction (socialisers) more than the males, who often seem quite goal oriented (achievers/explorers/killers)? I'd love to know if the goal oriented male characters are played by male players or not, though!

Tangential wrote:I suspect that females are more willing to fully commit to their characters emotionally and focus on the complexity of the character's deep thoughts and behavior instead of the material gains and intangible power motivations most males drive their energy towards.

Yes, that is what I'm assuming, too.

Tangential wrote:P.S. And it doesn't help the fact that all the characters I thoroughly enjoy RP'ing with happen to be all women. Good job, ladies Wink

Absolutely, I've neglected all my characters except one recently, who is RPing with a female player's char. The experience has taken my appreciation of the complexities of RP to another level completely, partly the reason why I have started this thread.

Dudel wrote:About famles being better at RP. If that is true it is only because females pay more attention to detail then males. Also not sterotype it is science but of the mind. Males are usually more big picture then females. Resulting in a lack of and no need for details.

I think this is a great point - and something I am trying to learn to do better. I do value this highly in RP, as it seems to help with the level of immersion.

Tangential wrote:P.S. And it doesn't help the fact that all the characters I thoroughly enjoy RP'ing with happen to be all women. Good job, ladies Wink

Chase02 wrote:Absolutely, I've neglected all my characters except one recently, who is RPing with a female player's char. The experience has taken my appreciation of the complexities of RP to another level completely, partly the reason why I have started this thread.

I find this to be absurd. Eithor your characters are no fun to interact with and they are RPing with you out of pitty or you just ignore other comments. (Those made by male characters) I interact with as many characters as possible male or female.

The only time I am ignored IG is when I FAIL with spelling but, I use smaller words and use my dictionary when possible so that is limited. I'd use my dictionary more often if I wouldn't be stocked ticks for it.

In forum there is no need for me to be a perfect speller. I does not harm anything. It may annoy some people. *cough* Seko *cough* But that is something that, sorry for Seko, does not bother me.

The only reason to RP more with a female character then any male character is if you have a male character in a relationship with a female one. Otherwise it should be, in a way, neutral.

Chase02 wrote:Absolutely, I've neglected all my characters except one recently, who is RPing with a female player's char. The experience has taken my appreciation of the complexities of RP to another level completely, partly the reason why I have started this thread.

Dudel wrote:I find this to be absurd. Eithor your characters are no fun to interact with and they are RPing with you out of pitty or you just ignore other comments. (Those made by male characters) I interact with as many characters as possible male or female.

I think you've misunderstood what I wrote. I'm a pretty active player, but have concentrated on one character recently. The others are still interacting, just I have been preoccupied by one, recently. I'm sure this happens to most players at some time. None of my characters are being ignored, although that would make for an interesting RP opportunity, maybe I wish they were!

Dudel wrote:The only reason to RP more with a female character then any male character is if you have a male character in a relationship with a female one. Otherwise it should be, in a way, neutral.

and that IS what I have! Although, I disagree.. two female characters can interact very closely without seeming out of place - in either a close friendship, a business partnership or a lesbian relationship.. just as some examples.

chase02 wrote:and that IS what I have! Although, I disagree.. two female characters can interact very closely without seeming out of place - in either a close friendship, a business partnership or a lesbian relationship.. just as some examples.

One of my female characters was a lesbian. She was in love with her best friend -- her friend loved her, but not in the same way, but when she suddenly expressed her feelings one day, her friend didn't understand. It created a little tension between them, but I don't think the friend was reflective enough to give much thought to it... i wouldn't have minded RPing lesbian sex though. It would be interesting.

joo wrote:i wouldn't have minded RPing lesbian sex though. It would be interesting.

why am I not surprised to read this, coming from you?

chase02 wrote:I think you've misunderstood what I wrote. I'm a pretty active player, but have concentrated on one character recently. The others are still interacting, just I have been preoccupied by one, recently. I'm sure this happens to most players at some time. None of my characters are being ignored, although that would make for an interesting RP opportunity, maybe I wish they were!

You seemed to be saying that female characters are the only ones RPing with you. This is not much diffrent then what I was saying. I give my characters time equal to there involvemt in the area around them and for most of them is a lot. I don't check my chars every 20seconds but I do check them once an hour or so. If anything is happening right then and there then sure I use that character more but I make them sleep before I use up more then 1/4(50ticks) my time on one char.

chase02 wrote:

I wrote:The only reason to RP more with a female character then any male character is if you have a male character in a relationship with a female one. Otherwise it should be, in a way, neutral.

and that IS what I have! Although, I disagree.. two female characters can interact very closely without seeming out of place - in either a close friendship, a business partnership or a lesbian relationship.. just as some examples.

You were implying that your male character interacts more with female's ALL THE TIME! I found that to be bogus. This does not change what you said before hand nor my opinion of the situation.

Wait do you whisper everything. The more you whisper the less others can RP back. If you don't need to whisper it I.E. sex and secrets, then PLEASE talk out loud! More people can RP and there is less chance that people will sleep to death.

You don't need to whisper if you kiss somone on the head. You don't need to whisper just because you wana get a little close. If others have a real problem with you being 'gushy' outside then move indoors. I still would rather have actual RP to read and maybe interact with then

You see Person X whispering to Person Y <----That in my brain is bad RP!

If you infact do not need to whisper then DON'T! Blah!

This may not have made much sence but I'm done and do not feel like spell or gramer checking.