How to write a male character?

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Deleted member 4963437

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I'm creating a game (with a male protagonist of course) but I find myself stuck sometimes. I feel as if he's not "manly" enough. And I don't mean manly as in some sigma male gigachad, I mean manly, as in a man. Obviously if I were a guy I wouldn't have this issue, but I'm not a guy :cry:

So, how do men typically act? Are they self-centered narcissists? Are they closeted gays? Are they neckbeard gamers? The nice guys that finish last? Or... a sigma male gigachad? There are many types of men but I don't want to make the MC's dialogue seem like "This was obviously written by a woman >.>" and actually make an MC that people can relate to. How?
 
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Rafster

Rafster

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Depends on his personality... is he an akward and shy nerd-like character? a bitter and jaded middle aged guy? does he have past issues? hell, I'm a guy and I struggle writing the MC in my game. Just try to define his personality and stick with it, don't try to make him a giga-chad, or a perfect millionare ex-navy dude who knows 10000 martial arts or like the guy at 50 shades of grey.

Heh, I have this issue with women in my game, one happens to be a major character in one of my storylines, and sometimes I read her lines and she looks ah... manly. I would offer my game as an example, but I doubt you want to play a gay game.
 
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paust.alex

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Lewd Licorice said:
I'm creating a game (with a male protagonist of course) but I find myself stuck sometimes. I feel as if he's not "manly" enough. And I don't mean manly as in some sigma male gigachad, I mean manly, as in a man. Obviously if I were a guy I wouldn't have this issue, but I'm not a guy :cry:

So, how do men typically act? Are they self-centered narcissists? Are they closeted gays? Are they neckbeard gamers? The nice guys that finish last? Or... a sigma male gigachad? There are many types of men but I don't want to make the MC's dialogue seem like "This was obviously written by a woman >.>" and actually make an MC that people can relate to. How?
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If you want to write a typical spermotoxic jerk running after every skirt to prove to everyone that he's not gay, then your train of thought is running in the right direction.
But for me to be manly it's enough to be smart and responsible. Responsible for your future and the future of those around you, responsible for your girlfriend who should be your future wife, responsible for your future children and so on. Being an insolent and arrogant asshole is not the same as being manly.
It should be a character you can rely on, who can help in a difficult situation or give competent advice.
 
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Pretentious Goblin

Pretentious Goblin

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Have you decided what background the character is going to have?
Is this set in modern day, historical or some fantasy or sci-fi setting?

Might be best to decide how the MC grew up and what experiences he had, and then write him accordingly. A hikikomori isn't going to be some buffed-up charismatic alpha pussy-slayer, but could vary from good-natured awkward nerd to Fat Ugly Bastard. I think just by giving these things some thought, you'll be ahead of the pack when writing a male MC. Which isn't saying much in a world of boyish incestuous rapists that exist solely to advance a lazy incest harem plot.
 
Meaning Less

Meaning Less

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Write the male as you wish he was, probably the most interesting male character are created this way by female writers.
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gingisep

gingisep

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Lewd Licorice said:
I'm creating a game (with a male protagonist of course) but I find myself stuck sometimes. I feel as if he's not "manly" enough.
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My two cents: hire (or find) a collaborator reviewer, and review the things together.

I agree with most of the answers already given: it really depends on the character you're building up, how is this role and if player has a choice.

Just by the post content it seems like you wanna create a post-modern Duke Nukem on steroids,
at the same time it seems you're compensating for your own fear of 'being busted non-male'.

Its just my take on it, as amateur writer, but character consistency is more meaningful than respecting stereotypes.
 
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OsamiWorks

OsamiWorks

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Lewd Licorice said:
I'm creating a game (with a male protagonist of course) but I find myself stuck sometimes. I feel as if he's not "manly" enough. And I don't mean manly as in some sigma male gigachad, I mean manly, as in a man. Obviously if I were a guy I wouldn't have this issue, but I'm not a guy :cry:

So, how do men typically act? Are they self-centered narcissists? Are they closeted gays? Are they neckbeard gamers? The nice guys that finish last? Or... a sigma male gigachad? There are many types of men but I don't want to make the MC's dialogue seem like "This was obviously written by a woman >.>" and actually make an MC that people can relate to. How?
Click to expand...
They have the same motivations as any other character lol. Writing a male character for a male audience that people can project onto is a little different I feel like. Its mostly make him non threatening, like try to make sure his beliefs don't shame or put off the reader, their personality can be whatever but they should have generically neutral motivations that anyone might feel. If you try to write them in as an actual character, someone with strong views and a lot of depth to serve a purpose, I think they lose that relatability. I dont think you need to worry about that since most writers probably arent thinking about making standout characters, but its just something to be aware of.
 
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Deleted member 4963437

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Thanks everyone for their input! Honestly, yes I agree, it depends on the character's background, the setting of the game, such and such. I don't want to make the MC a self insert and give him some personality so he's not a "blank slate" but basic enough for someone to relate to.

Maybe I should've thought of a different name for the thread because, I'm not making a post-modern Duke Nukem on steroids, I'm just trying to make a cute wholesome game >-< but honestly I wanted to know, how do men typically act? :unsure: Because I feel as if I'm making my MC a bit too stereotypical and basic. Like, TOO basic. Anyways, thanks people (y)
 
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Deleted member 4963437

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Meaning Less said:
Noone is the same, and that is the thing that some writers fail to grasp.

You shouldn't go for "typicals" in the first place when writing, create your own unique characters as they "should" be individually instead.
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I'm not using "typicals" for the sake of using typicals, I just use it as a general idea so I can build onto the idea. A lot of games on here use DAZ for their character assets, obviously you wouldn't use the basic Genesis assets by itself, you'd want to customize it to your liking. That's what I'm doing.
 
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OsamiWorks

OsamiWorks

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Lewd Licorice said:
Thanks everyone for their input! Honestly, yes I agree, it depends on the character's background, the setting of the game, such and such. I don't want to make the MC a self insert and give him some personality so he's not a "blank slate" but basic enough for someone to relate to.
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lol what I posted is still relevant, a strong personality isnt the same as strong views and neutral motivations. You can write the MC however you want, thats part of your creative freedom, the constraints are just there for the readers entertainment. You can ignore it and write your MC in a variety of ways but a character that the player can project onto is the most prevalent in porn, most writers just didnt give them a personality which seems to be your gripe and youre taking steps to change that
 
Meaning Less

Meaning Less

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Lewd Licorice said:
I just use it as a general idea so I can build onto the idea.
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But the general idea is just that, it never reflects internal struggles or why someone is acting that way even if they feel the complete opposite.

We are all human first, leave stereotypes for jokes, afterall most of them are incorrect and if you create a character based on stereotypes they will most likely be hollow and unrealistic.
 
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Deleted member 4963437

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Maybe I'm making things seem more difficult than they actually have to be.

Everyone isn't perfect and I don't think there's a specific way a man tends to act. Sure, you'll have the occasional self-centered narcissist, the closeted gay, the neckbeard gamer, The nice guy that finishes last, or even the sigma male gigachad. There's just no perfect way to write a guy :( A guy can be anything. But still, thanks for your inputs, everyone! And I didn't expect to see so many replies so quickly :oops: Thank you!
 
aura95

aura95

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Jun 8, 2020
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Well, here's one fact about the inner workings of men that probably isn't surprising, but could still be good to keep in mind for an adult game and is very much indipendent of their character:

Men are extremely visual and simple creatures when it comes to sex.
Never underestimate how quickly they can decide whether they want to sleep with a woman (or other man, I guess) and be (mentally) ready to have sex with her. 1-3 seconds are more than enough.

If and how they act on that depends on the circumstances and who they are, of course.
 
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