Post #1175944

2026-04-15 22:34 UTC

The player's character in a game may feel like a temporary identity you assume or it may feel like a proxy you control, depending on the game or the character. But also depending on the player. I wonder how much it depends on the decade. Specifically, are male teenage players any more likely to pick a female character in a game today than in the 90s? Especially when in the presence of their peers. What about older players that were teenagers in the 90s? I certainly am. #retrogaming

Replies (5)

@Robavince@vmst.io 2026-04-16 00:33

@carlosefr@mastodon.social I tend to go for the faster characters, and those often tend to be women characters.

Open ##1175943
@TheZeldaZone@mastodon.social 2026-04-15 22:39

@carlosefr@mastodon.social I used to prefer picking a girl, but then it turned out I was a girl. So 🤷‍♀️

Open ##3178763
@irgndsondepp@gts.da-miez.de 2026-04-16 08:56

@carlosefr@mastodon.social That's an interesting question. I never really had any second thoughts playing a female character in games. However, I did tend to specifically pick female characters in RPGs and it took me a while to get rid of the "people might think this is weird" feeling when I had friends watching.

Open ##3178767
@vinnyboiler@oldbytes.space 2026-04-16 09:45

@carlosefr@mastodon.social I grow up in a very male dominated household but the idea of playing as a female character wasn't really a thing that got brought up. I think it depends on type of game though? We were more likely to pick Chun-li in Street Fighter then Peach in Mario Kart for example.

Open ##3178768
@jake4480@c.im 2026-04-16 13:47

@carlosefr@mastodon.social I play female characters all the time, even though I'm a straight cis male. No idea why. But it's a blast. Hahaha. And yeah, I was a teenager in the 90s.

Open ##3178769