Have you ever gone against your IRL sexual preferences in a game romance?

[ZedClampet]

(Note: due to our small number of posters, all of whom seem like rational humans, I think we can discuss this topic in a mature and interesting way. If the mods disagree, feel free to delete the thread)

So, for instance, if you are gay IRL, have you pursued a heterosexual relationship in a game (or the other way around).

How about furry romance? I read a game description that concluded with "by the end of the game you will have a furry fetish". That seems highly unlikely. The only time I've ever done this was in the game Crush Crush when I was forced to romance a bear. Oh yeah, I also played a pigeon dating sim briefly. There was also one about dating tanks, but I didn't play that.

Back to legally more acceptable human/human relationships, I understand that a lot of heterosexual male players romanced Garrus in Mass Effect.

What if you are playing the opposite gender, though, like you are male and playing female Shep? If you tend to stick to your IRL preferences, would you then pursue a lesbian romance or pursue a male character? Does the presence of romance in a game make you more or less likely to play as the gender you identify as IRL?

Is it all just a game, and you don't care who you romance? For me, if I'm going to role play, I'm going to stick to my IRL preferences, but I'm a stick in the mud, as they say. I also shy away from evil playthroughs and even just any playthrough that differs too significantly from my IRL personality.

AHA! I JUST FIGURED OUT MY PROBLEM. I don't actually role play at all. I just play as myself.

But anyway, how do you handle these things?

 

[January's Ghost]

If I play a male character I only romance female characters. If I play a a female character (which I play more often) I will romance either. I have done heterosexual and lesbian romances, but never a gay (male/male) romance.

 

[Alm]

I haven't romanced in a game in a long time. When I did it was always heterosexual, but that's because I would play as myself. I think romance in games is one of the least important experiences for me though as it usually doesn't affect the main questline substantially.

 

[Pifanjr]

I pretty much always play as myself as well. I don't remember ever choosing to play as a female character or romancing a male NPC.

I also almost always avoid the evil options, at least for the first playthrough. I think Black & White is one of the few games where I was almost consistently evil, but that's mostly because it's much faster to convert villages by being evil than by being good. I did usually take good care of the people that worshipped me.

I did start a single-player Baldur's Gate 3 campaign with the Dark Urge after only having played a few hours in co-op, but it's honestly been too hard to be properly evil. I chose to give in to the urge a couple of times and sometimes it's just kind of funny, but there have been too many instances where it's just been horrifying. Outside of the times where there was a Dark Urge option I've been very helpful to the people I've met and I've decided I'm going to try to redeem myself and resist the urge from now on.

 

[Zloth]

If I play a male character I only romance female characters. If I play a a female character (which I play more often) I will romance either. I have done heterosexual and lesbian romances, but never a gay (male/male) romance.

Ditto this - though I think I'm somewhere close to 50/50 for whether I'll play as a male or female.

 

[Frindis]

The female romances in Cyberpunk 2077 were really good, especially with Judy Alvarez as she had a deeper questline. I romanced her as a female protagonist. In one of my Baldur's Gate 3 playthroughs my main was a bard who romanced a mind flayer. They are hermaphrodites that reproduce asexually and some of them have a sense of identity based on the gender they were before becoming mindflayer.

 

[neogunhero]

I generally try to avoid romancing if possible, but if I have to do it, I’ll just pick whoever I think would be the best to spend time with. Not necessarily who is the most romantic or suitable romantic partner, just whoever I think is the better character overall. I have gone against my IRL preferences but it doesn’t make me feel any different. It’s just a video game after all. I do always play as a male character if given the choice though, so there has been a lot of gay romance in my games lol.

 

[ZedClampet]

there has been a lot of gay romance

You have no idea how badly I want to make a (politically correct) joke right now, but PC Gamer is not the spot for even gay-positive jokes. I found that out on the main site

 

[Johnway]

Short answer, no.

I generally play as myself in games so its to my preferences and is Male and hetero. I don't generally play as female characters unless i have to.

 

[isleepinabed]

There is an old text adventure/simulator called Alter Ego that let you play as a man or woman from birth until death. It was designed or curated by a psychologist. I found it quite interesting but it's somewhat dated (some might say regressive - it came out in the mid 1980s).

Being able to play as characters from a different gender from yours can be an interesting experience - especially if the writer/designer is also from a different gender from yours.
Just like in other media like film, novels and music, male and female brains and sensibilities are different when writing female or male characters.

What specific games have you played that have handled this subject in a meaningful way?
Sure, some games trick you into thinking you are given at lot of different options but more often than not it doesn't alter gameplay or even storyline at all...

 

[Pifanjr]

What specific games have you played that have handled this subject in a meaningful way?
Sure, some games trick you into thinking you are given at lot of different options but more often than not it doesn't alter gameplay or even storyline at all...

Crusader Kings comes to mind as a game where playing as a woman does impact the gameplay, as women cannot become the ruler, sit on the council or own land depending on the laws of the country you live in.