From personal experience of the game's i've played, most of the japanese games I've played mostly have incompetent women getting raped by creepy guys (or goblins and tentacle monsters and shit). And while I agree with the "naive" aspect, as in they're often virgins with no knowledge of sex (and probably saving themselves for their one true love or whatever), but I rarely see girls getting saved from rapists. If they're being saved, it's usually from death or injury, not rape, because that is usually seen as good from the game's perspective. And of the western games I've played, I don't play many with female protagonists, but those i've played seem pretty across the board in terms of naivete/incompetence. In terms of male MC, i'm sad to say it's much harder to find good male MC games that overlap with my gameplay interests and "content" interests. but, of those i've played, both western and japanese seem to generally have the guy pretty much a blank slate except for his sexual appetite. This isn't a bad thing, because the only thing you can be reasonably sure about a player of a porn game is that they have a decent sexual appetite (or are at least not naive), and thus that is the only thing you can put directly onto the character and still allow the player to project onto them, at least under the assumption that the players are male.
Female Protagonist vs. Male Protagonist
- Thread starter SAFFID
- Start date
I personally prefer Male Protag because female protag games often just have a naive and innocent woman getting raped (often by monsters). I just don't like the whole intense rapey stuff that kind of game does, and plus, this usually ends up with the dreaded syndrome of incentivising the player to lose the game via sex scenes, which wastes my time i could be using to progress, instead of giving sex scenes in a better way that doesn't actively sabotage your winning of the game. I mean, I always find myself wasting so much time just dying over and over to get defeat scenes, with no sex scene reward for doing the thing it seems that you're supposed to be doing, that is winning the level/fight/game in general. I much prefer the story style presented by male MC games, where a character I can project on (unlike the female characters who I can't project onto and don't really want to in the circumstances they're in) goes around and has sex with many different women, which is almost always the case in male MC games. As one might guess. This allows there to be multiple different women for there to be scenes with, allowing there to be more variance in body type, personality, and even fetishes, where in a female MC game, by definition, the thing changing is who is fucking the single girl MC, which I don't care about as much. And even if it might be easier to put monster sex in a female MC game, since otherwise your MC would need to be a monster, and only one type of monster can be represented. But, that isn't necessarily true, because the main character could be a male shapeshifter or monster summoner, or even a dark overlord who controls legions of monsters, or a trainer that brings them in, Pokemon-style. What I'm getting at is that male MC games can easily provide more of the desired variation of female characters in terms of body types and personalities, as well as letting the viewer project onto the MC, without sacrificing too much of the variation in male sex partners, which doesn't matter that much to begin with. And I just don't get why devs don't do more male MC games. maybe they all just like women getting raped and can't consider the male MC fucking downed adversaries.
Sorry for the long rant. TL; DR - male MCs get sex with varying women by winning and can be projected on, female MCs get sex with various enemies by losing and can't be projected on
Sorry for the long rant. TL; DR - male MCs get sex with varying women by winning and can be projected on, female MCs get sex with various enemies by losing and can't be projected on
- Jan 7, 2021
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I chose female. It's expected that male protagonists seem to have more range and freedom in these games, more ability to do what they please to anyone. Female protags tend to be static and innocent and when they do get sex it's noncon or forced corruption shit. Generally the female mc alignment falls into: good = innocent virgin or evil = dom-slut/succubi, there's no depth to it like with the males. Yes I can step into a male protagonist much easier, but unless they have a distinct backstory or personality, they are just generic and I don't care about them or their struggle so much. I find the struggle of a female protag is more appealing to me, I like getting into their shoes and navigating the world and enduring different sorts of problems and oddly enough as a straight man I actually find some scenes hotter from the perspective of a female character, but only if it's consensual.
I would like to see more games that don't rely too much on these H-game tropes - let the female MC have more agency and willingly choose who she wants to be, who she will sleep with and the ability to build herself up and face the same challenges a male MC would. Fortunately there a lot more games springing up lately like "Good Girl Gone Bad", "Kingdom of Deception", "Our Red String", "Female Agent", "Girl Life", with female MCs that let the player shape who exactly they are, dealing with real struggles and conflicts and at the same time not having that feeling of being an inept walking victim with no agency or fortitude.
I would like to see more games that don't rely too much on these H-game tropes - let the female MC have more agency and willingly choose who she wants to be, who she will sleep with and the ability to build herself up and face the same challenges a male MC would. Fortunately there a lot more games springing up lately like "Good Girl Gone Bad", "Kingdom of Deception", "Our Red String", "Female Agent", "Girl Life", with female MCs that let the player shape who exactly they are, dealing with real struggles and conflicts and at the same time not having that feeling of being an inept walking victim with no agency or fortitude.
- Jul 17, 2021
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I prefer male protagonists because I'm a male so it's easier for me to get connected with the MC ( duh ), and I think the choices of possible sexual interactions are richer for male protagonists ( many other women with different sizes, ethnicities and ages ) whereas for female protagonists you get to see your own character having sex with different guys ( as a dude who cares ) or girls ( i'm not into Yuri stuff ). I hope I could successfully conveyed my feeble minds' reasoning. 
Male MC for better immersion. Playing as a female is fine every once in a while but I always prefer male MCs.
- Nov 3, 2017
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Oh, I do care whether the sex partner is Prince Charming, Fat Ugly Bastard, Date-Rape Dave, Nerdy McGlasses or Tyrone.whereas for female protagonists you get to see your own character having sex with different guys ( as a dude who cares ) or girls ( i'm not into Yuri stuff ). I hope I could successfully conveyed my feeble minds' reasoning.
- May 10, 2017
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- 1,943
This thread still about.
It still mostly comes down to what does a guy want. There's someone who wants choice and romance, most guys aren't really going to care about the choices for a female character and yes that could change with good writing but good writing can make almost anything interesting. This should always be viewed from the perspective of equal writing quality.
Typical female focused game is about decent into whoredom, but an underused use of the female protagonist is a game where other women sleep around. You don't mind if they do if the protagonist is female, the same way you would if the protagonist was male.
It still mostly comes down to what does a guy want. There's someone who wants choice and romance, most guys aren't really going to care about the choices for a female character and yes that could change with good writing but good writing can make almost anything interesting. This should always be viewed from the perspective of equal writing quality.
Typical female focused game is about decent into whoredom, but an underused use of the female protagonist is a game where other women sleep around. You don't mind if they do if the protagonist is female, the same way you would if the protagonist was male.
- Apr 10, 2020
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He sounds dreamy.I play both, if I like the game I don't really care what I am in game. I like being a 'seasoned veteran' over a blabbering teen though, kinda tired of shouting at the screen and the idiot kid blundering about wondering if the other person actually said what they said blah blah.
I don't immediately prefer one over the other, but I do wish the different styles that have inevitably become associated with them would bleed into each other more often. Tales of Androgyny, very appropriately, does that. You get the vulnerability and creeping corruption aspect that's baked into female protagonist games along with the agency to pursue sexuality that's in most male protagonist games.
Way too often I'll hear an interesting premise, check which style of protagonist it has, and immediately deflate just because I thought it would've been more interesting the other way around. There are a number of things that annoy me about the styles of both (when male protagonist games haven't a shred of empathy to them and treat everything as a quick potential nut, when female protagonist games don't give the character any ability to engage with sexuality on her own terms &c) that don't get addressed if you simply pull a role reversal. I've seen that pulled off well before, but I'd rather see some of the well-worn treads get abandoned for new angles.
The sex of the protagonist shouldn't determine 90% of how the game will be presented but it often does.
Way too often I'll hear an interesting premise, check which style of protagonist it has, and immediately deflate just because I thought it would've been more interesting the other way around. There are a number of things that annoy me about the styles of both (when male protagonist games haven't a shred of empathy to them and treat everything as a quick potential nut, when female protagonist games don't give the character any ability to engage with sexuality on her own terms &c) that don't get addressed if you simply pull a role reversal. I've seen that pulled off well before, but I'd rather see some of the well-worn treads get abandoned for new angles.
The sex of the protagonist shouldn't determine 90% of how the game will be presented but it often does.
YES. When it comes to male protagonists the worst thing it can do is throw in some ""protagonist"" that doesn't even have eyes (or the more contemporary solution: shove his face in a mask). I especially hate this when one of the female characters is so clearly the actual protagonist. Just make that girl the main character!
This isn't even an ero game only thing. Anyone played Tokyo Mirage Sessions? That has a completely pointless dude-kun that exists for no other reason than they weren't sure if people would play it if they made the girl who is clearly the protagonist the player character.
I generally prefer female protagonist because it more often goes into corruption and change of character (personality wise). In a sense, it is there is "character development" in a pornographic way.
It is very rare for such development to occur in male protagonist. Honestly, I don't remember if I ever came across one yet. If I did, it probably wasn't memorable. Anyway, the main problem with Male Protagonist is, as I mentioned, the lack of character development. Whoever you start with in the beginning is exactly the same at the end of the story or game. It feels static and boring most of the time. It's just one guy, one line, and one dick doing the same thing over and over again with barely any personality changes or even personality at all.
The training genre is fine with male protag for me. Since again, I care more about the corruption and seeing the girls gradually succumb to their desire is the biggest turn on. I don't get that with male protagonist in the common RPG.
So it is not that I like playing as a girl. It's just that male protagonists suck harder than your average bimbo.
It is very rare for such development to occur in male protagonist. Honestly, I don't remember if I ever came across one yet. If I did, it probably wasn't memorable. Anyway, the main problem with Male Protagonist is, as I mentioned, the lack of character development. Whoever you start with in the beginning is exactly the same at the end of the story or game. It feels static and boring most of the time. It's just one guy, one line, and one dick doing the same thing over and over again with barely any personality changes or even personality at all.
The training genre is fine with male protag for me. Since again, I care more about the corruption and seeing the girls gradually succumb to their desire is the biggest turn on. I don't get that with male protagonist in the common RPG.
So it is not that I like playing as a girl. It's just that male protagonists suck harder than your average bimbo.
If you prefer female protag you're trans or gay, end of story.
- Apr 23, 2019
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Why on earth would a gay man want a female protagonist? One thing is tolerating it for the sake of a good story, but a gay guy always prefer a gay or bi male protagonist, for obvious reasons.
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- Sep 22, 2023
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I don't mind either protagonist as long as the story is good.
I think that in most cases of male protagonist games that SAFFID encounters they are simply poor games which the majority of all games probably are, if I'm honest it's rare that I come across a game, doujin or video that ticks enough boxes for me for it to be held in high regard.
For example, in Discipline you're a male protagonist but having sexual encounters feels like sexy torture, it feels like you're the one being taken, you're effectively a toy to be played around with so you pull back and try to avoid some situations, you can feel the exhaustion, your sore cock needing a rest, when the music kicks in you really feel it.
BGM.14
It's nice playing a game where you think about maintaining the character both physically and mentally.
I've recently played Noelle Does Her Best! and in that game you're a female protagonist but you play through on railway tracks, there's only one way to go and you whore yourself out, there's no development into "taking power over sexuality and making choices that changes the character or any of that stuff, you just get fucked relentlessly.
Usually female protagonist games feel more risky because there's consequences for women, they can get impregnated, you don't want a reputation as a cum sock because that invites trouble and ugly bastards.
With male protagonists usually, like with Makoto Itou from School Days, why wouldn't you fuck tight beautiful schoolgirls? It always makes me laugh a bit, the hatred for male characters, because they want to fuck, I find that men arn't honest and deny their true feelings and desires. Maybe it's just me but I find a lot of motivations strange, I can only believe they're disingenuous, things like "I fuck her for her intelligence". That to me is just plum dumb, I wouldn't fuck a female Einstein.
It comes down to the game and how cleverly it's written, most arn't and the majority are male protagonist, if the game was good then you could choose not to be a whore and the women would show a modicum of resistance. Give games a go, you might be surprised and something might fit.
I think that in most cases of male protagonist games that SAFFID encounters they are simply poor games which the majority of all games probably are, if I'm honest it's rare that I come across a game, doujin or video that ticks enough boxes for me for it to be held in high regard.
For example, in Discipline you're a male protagonist but having sexual encounters feels like sexy torture, it feels like you're the one being taken, you're effectively a toy to be played around with so you pull back and try to avoid some situations, you can feel the exhaustion, your sore cock needing a rest, when the music kicks in you really feel it.
BGM.14
It's nice playing a game where you think about maintaining the character both physically and mentally.
I've recently played Noelle Does Her Best! and in that game you're a female protagonist but you play through on railway tracks, there's only one way to go and you whore yourself out, there's no development into "taking power over sexuality and making choices that changes the character or any of that stuff, you just get fucked relentlessly.
Usually female protagonist games feel more risky because there's consequences for women, they can get impregnated, you don't want a reputation as a cum sock because that invites trouble and ugly bastards.
With male protagonists usually, like with Makoto Itou from School Days, why wouldn't you fuck tight beautiful schoolgirls? It always makes me laugh a bit, the hatred for male characters, because they want to fuck, I find that men arn't honest and deny their true feelings and desires. Maybe it's just me but I find a lot of motivations strange, I can only believe they're disingenuous, things like "I fuck her for her intelligence". That to me is just plum dumb, I wouldn't fuck a female Einstein.
It comes down to the game and how cleverly it's written, most arn't and the majority are male protagonist, if the game was good then you could choose not to be a whore and the women would show a modicum of resistance. Give games a go, you might be surprised and something might fit.
- Mar 9, 2018
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- Mar 9, 2018
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- Mar 21, 2023
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As a heterosexual man who prefers to, I guess the term is, "self-insert", I definitely prefer male protagonist when playing AVN's, especially those that allow the player to name the MC to further "personalize" the character. However, I would imagine this to not be the case if I were to play, say, the Horizon series games for example. I am a big fan of Horizon and Aloy, even though I've never actually played the game (YouTube playthroughs, I watch those like I watch movies, lol), but immersing in the story as Aloy, to me, will be difficult, mostly because I'm not a female. In fact, I wouldn't want to self-insert as Aloy, probably because I find her attractive and have developed a bit of an innocent crush of sorts (a computer generated totally unreal character, but it happens, lol).
Getting back to AVN's, I think that my approach to choosing those comes from my wish to experience something romantic where I get to be the guy pursuing his romantic interests and, with a female MC, I can't experience this. I don't really care about the "porn" side of the things, because sometimes I just click through those scenes to get them over with, just so I can get back to the actual story. The sex scenes are a plus when they are in line with my own preferences, especially when you can really form an emotional/mental connection with that particular love interest, in which case I will find those scenes nice and arousing. However, sometimes you get sex scenes that just aren't your cup of tea. When I play these games, my number one priority is to experience the story as a likeable MC who I can relate to, and/or respect/idolize.
Getting back to AVN's, I think that my approach to choosing those comes from my wish to experience something romantic where I get to be the guy pursuing his romantic interests and, with a female MC, I can't experience this. I don't really care about the "porn" side of the things, because sometimes I just click through those scenes to get them over with, just so I can get back to the actual story. The sex scenes are a plus when they are in line with my own preferences, especially when you can really form an emotional/mental connection with that particular love interest, in which case I will find those scenes nice and arousing. However, sometimes you get sex scenes that just aren't your cup of tea. When I play these games, my number one priority is to experience the story as a likeable MC who I can relate to, and/or respect/idolize.
I prefer playing female protagonist games mostly because like you said on your first few posts, male protagonists are usually more or less the same. A guy who was an antisocial virgin his whole life but always had a 20 cm dick, starts to seduce every woman on earth etc. At least most games i've seen were like this.
Female protagonist games on the other hand have a similar trope, a shy quiet girl who only had a few boyfriends and no sexual history becomes a bimbo etc. But at least some games have choices thrown into the mix.
However, my favourite game has to be The Last Sovereign, mainly because
So at the end of the day, it doesn't really matter but because of the abundance of low tier games with male protagonists, i usually prefer female mc games.
Female protagonist games on the other hand have a similar trope, a shy quiet girl who only had a few boyfriends and no sexual history becomes a bimbo etc. But at least some games have choices thrown into the mix.
However, my favourite game has to be The Last Sovereign, mainly because
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- Sep 27, 2017
- 2,756
- 3,475
I prefer to play lesbian protagonists. One unavoidable dick and i delete the game.
Since that limits the available games significantly, i also play male protagonists with harem tag...the hunt is the same, but the sex scenes are complete turnoffs. So i play those mostly to unhorny me at work. My standard rule also applies here, one unavoidable extra dick and i delete the game.
However, i play games for the story and/or for the humor, the best art is still useless if the text is dry like a desert or so dumb you just want to quit.
Since that limits the available games significantly, i also play male protagonists with harem tag...the hunt is the same, but the sex scenes are complete turnoffs. So i play those mostly to unhorny me at work. My standard rule also applies here, one unavoidable extra dick and i delete the game.
However, i play games for the story and/or for the humor, the best art is still useless if the text is dry like a desert or so dumb you just want to quit.