Do you prefer the male protagonist to be faceless, or with a character image?

[Kodra_Dev]

Some games, like Rance X, have a clear image for the male protagonist:



In some hentai anime, the protagonist is "faceless":



And in many other games, the player never knows what the protagonist looks like. For example, Hime no Boin's CG are always from the protagonist's POV:


and never shows his face or even body (except dick obviously).

Which kind of game do you prefer?

 

[Catapo]

I voted for clear image since I prefer the main character to be an actual character rather than something for the player to self insert into.
It also allows freedom for designing CGs and better show emotions, especially if it's a story heavy game.

 

[Meaning Less]

Faceless characters are mainly used for victims or villains.

When you don't want the viewer to relate with the character in question you remove the door to his soul, which are the eyes.

 

[baneini]

Anime/hentai tropes dont belong in porn games
They're silly, cartoony and take you out of the experience. If you even consider shit like that then you're not gonna make a good game.

 

[doku99]

Anime/hentai tropes dont belong in porn games
They're silly, cartoony and take you out of the experience. If you even consider shit like that then you're not gonna make a good game.

Lol... You realize this is just your opinion right
Why state it like some fact of the universe?

Tons of popular games use anime/hentai style, both in plot and art. Just because you don't like something doesn't make it objectively bad

 

[Eagle1900]

clear image then if you can also give it a minimum of customization even better

 

[Deleted member 5189987]

I show the main character in my game, because she is female and she has nice boobs. A lot of people like to see nice boobs! If I were working on a male protagonist game, I would not show the main character. But that's just my own preference.

 

[♍VoidTraveler]

Depends.
If he looks like some human ugly bastard then i'd rather go with faceless/never shown.
I'm game for ugly bastards if they're non-human though. Like goblins.
But if he looks like Kratos, i'm game any day.
There are really a lot of factors, you never gonna please vast majority of players unless you create a really elaborate character creator.
Which let's face it, you won't. Because vast majority of indie devs are unwilling to put in THAT much effort into their game.

And how they look like is not even everything, i care a lot about their character as well. I dislike bitchy attitudes in girls, for example, and no matter how hot she is i likely won't tolerate a bitch as my representation in a game.

So then you may as well stick with what you want them to look/be like.

 

[The Rogue Trader]

I definitely prefer to have a well defined male character, even if he looks very different from me. I do it all the time in...educational material... XD
Even if he's an ugly bastard: if your story needs the MC to be ugly, you either show him or you have to drone about how ugly the MC is all the time. Boring.

Always POV sounds way too limiting, especially in sex scenes.
But different people have different tastes. If your players want to self-insert, or if the character is customizable in stats and background, but not in the graphics, the faceless/never shown option would help a lot.

 

[Ophanim]

I definitely prefer the protagonist to be a character in their own right, even for roaming/sandbox games, so I'm all for seeing them if it reinforces them as a character separate from the player. Doubly so if their appearance is in some way plot relevant. Like, the blank slate self insert thing never worked for me because they either still have some level of implied characterization and react in ways that alienate me, or are so blank and sex-crazed that it's honestly just creepy in an uncanny valley sorta way. If they must be a self-insert blank slate, however, I'd rather not look at their canonically rubbery, undercut Daz body because odds are they'll look nothing like me and still act in ways that feel horribly alienating because the writer is doing a terrible job of writing me into the game lol

Interactions between characters and self-inserts never feel like they can be natural and funny the way they can character to character, and this includes anime with weird faceless dudes who're clearly meant to be blank slates (I call them 'protagonist-kuns'), but that's just my gut feeling there

 

[MyGirlsNowYoink]

Some games, like Rance X, have a clear image for the male protagonist:

View attachment 2014282

In some hentai anime, the protagonist is "faceless":

View attachment 2014289

And in many other games, the player never knows what the protagonist looks like. For example, Hime no Boin's CG are always from the protagonist's POV:
View attachment 2014284

and never shows his face or even body (except dick obviously).

Which kind of game do you prefer?

Honestly me personally I'm neutral to both views. I understand having no face or STRICTLY only mc POV makes it easier for guys to imagine themselves in the MC's footsteps. But having a face is also nice. Please add Neutral to the poll. Cause I don't love/hate either.

 

[Fluidmind23]

Tell you what, they can make some fucking amazing women faces... but all the dudes look like the bully in toy story. Or a version of that. No idea why that is but it bugs me. I'd rather everything but the relevant bits was just translucent.

 

[Yngling]

Kodra_Art I find it a bit strange that you take Anime/Hentai as an example in your OP because there the face of the MC is already heavily stylized.

But anyway. I don't need to see the male MC all the time (e.g. next to the text box) but in my opinion, only POV is too limiting. Sex scenes often look better from different angles. Not to mention kissing scenes because they just look weird in POV. Scenes which are not POV but just crop the image so the MC's head is not in the screen also look weird to me.

Besides, not showing the face is one thing, but the MC most likely also has a different body type, skin tone and penis then me, so...

 

[lina22g]

In male protagonist it's better if they are faceless, in female protagonist I like them to have a face.

 

[dexter111]

Faceless protagonist is usually an anime schmuck, so that's a no-no for me. Other two options are fine.

 

[kristijanEX]

I like both faceless and clear image, but I hate POV and ugly protags.

 

[shadowstar765]

Depends on who the MC is characterized as and the level of story.
If he's obviously intended to be a self insert of the player, like having little in the way of personal dialog, then faceless or never shown is the way to go. Bonus points if he is translucent or shadowy.

If the MC has a defined personality with varied and colorful traits not intended to be my own or has characterization that makes it impossible to self insert (obese, irredeemably evil, an idiot with no common sense, or Rance-like). Then it's fine for him to have a face. I just don't want to see it want all the time in CGs, just only once in a while.

Really it all depends on what the story needs him to be. How important the plot is (if any) often defines how much the MC needs a face for me. Deeper plots without self inserts greatly benefit an MC with a face since this his story and I want to associate my game time and sexy times with him. Games with plot shallower than the kiddy pool don't need an MC with a face because it's not worth the effort.

 

[sonhot]

Faceless characters are mainly used for victims or villains.

When you don't want the viewer to relate with the character in question you remove the door to his soul, which are the eyes.

I can only relate to faceless and silent male protagonist even better if he always wear a helmet and rarely take it off like Goblin slayer. When he isnt faceless or talk too much he'd be his own character and most of the time he'd do or say things i cant relate to.

 

[Vlbc]

Most devs have a hard time making a good looking woman, with male characters are even worse.
Most Mc are stupid or ugly, or even stupid and ugly lol

So i always prefer a faceless male protagonist. 100% POV

 

[Gashka]

1. 'Always POV',
2. Obscured face (face is either never shown (i.e. PC is shown from the back), or is not detailed (i.e. has face covering upper part of the face, or the face is shadowed, etc.)),
3. Visible face.

In this order. If 'always POV' is not an option, I can settle for 'obscured face'. But I don't mind visible face too much either.