Male or Female lead?

[SonnyBlaze]

Today I started writing a game that I've had in mind for quite a long period of time.

I'm gonna try to develop this game in QSP because I think that it would be the best platform to enjoy the story that I'd like to share; either QSP or sugarcube (html) should work but I prefer QSP by a lot since it looks more organized and more performing for the grindy action that usually take place in QSP games. It will probably take me a shitload of time to finish this game because I have no idea on how to code in QSP and all the tutorials and stuff are in russian so I'm just trying to extrapolate from other games.

But anyway the story is probably going to be related to a pretty famous movie but I'm not sure if the main character should be a male or a female.
So far I've played every QSP game out there and I've enjoyed more playing as a female protagonist because you have more freedom in terms of exhibinionism and whoring out as a whole and if I wanted to have the same fetishes with a male lead I should probably turn the story into some kind of transformation/sissy stuff that I don't think is super appropriate for this kind of story.
But in the film the main character is a male so I'm not really sure whether it's worth to change the main character just for the sexual stuff.
I'm basically sure that with a male lead I could write a better story but with a female lead I could have more/better sex scenes all around.

What do you guys usually prefer?

 

[revan335]

I vastly prefer male leads in the games that I play. However I don't really like transformation/sissy stuff so I don't know what to tell you.
Though I do prefer a better story over having random sex scenes everywhere. I mean sex is important but if the writing is bad it just gets bland.

 

[Shocker]

If it's a game that really tries to put you in the MC's 'shoes' so-to-speak I prefer a male lead for obvious reasons but I have no problem with a female lead also. An example could be Elanor from the LOP titles, I like the way those games play with a female lead. Honestly, now that I'm thinking about it, I would really like to see a game where you play the outlaw Male lead. There are tons of games with female leads that are corrupted/abused by the men around them. Where are the games where I can play as a mob-boss with some hot college chick who owes me money blowing me under the desk while I take care of my mob-business. Whew got off topic. Ok, male lead then haha.

 

[toolkitxx]

The gender is usually not really an issue as long as the character itself is a believable one.

 

[Justanx]

I prefer male leads, so I can play as I would (porn aside). Too many female leads are dumb boxes of rocks. They are tricked into a situtation that ends up having their virginity snatched away. If I play a female lead, then make her smart. If she wants the dick then make the dude be manipulated. I mean seriously a lot of women use that pussy to get what they want. Its easier for woman to use it than a dude trying to give it away.

 

[Sam]

I can only get into male protagonist games. With games in the first person I try to put myself in the situation the MC finds themselves in, try and get absorbed into the story etc. I can't relate to being a woman (and all the tropes that come with it), so I can't help but be immediately disengaged.

And even if I could relate, I wouldn't want to be constantly taken advantage of, play the dumb bimbo etc as is required with the majority of female protagonist games.

However I'm not into transformation or sissy either, so it's unlikely I fit into your target market anyway. I think its important to note that you can't please everyone, and trying to will just be setting yourself up for failure.

 

[EsotericBanana]

100% prefer male leads, I can't enjoy a game unless I can imagine myself as the MC which is quite difficult with a female MC. I also don't much enjoy transformation or sissy stuff. I'd say do whichever you feel is better though as there's always going to be people torn between the two.

 

[stoper]

I find myself enjoying the games with a female lead much more. There's just more room for variety there, in terms of sexual encounters. Been playing Girl Life the last few days and it's so cool. Not only are there multiple opportunities with various types of partners, but when I immerse myself in the game and the character I'm playing, all those sex scenes have an impact. I'm not just rushing through the game, trying to fuck everything I meet, like I would do if the MC was male. I'm protecting my girl, I'm picky. I would often say "Fuck this guy, my babe would never sleep with him." And when I choose to engage, it's just more meaningful. You can date a cute boy from your school, or have sex with the corrupt police chief. Seduce a teacher, or dominate a sissy boy. Go for a lesbo action with a ginger girl, or a drunk orgy with some punks. If the game was from a male POV, there would be - sexy teacher, sexy nurse, sexy neighbor... and all those encounters would largely play the same way.
It probably has to do with me being a guy. I mean, do I need to read how the water tastes, when I can just drink water and find out for myself?

 

[TCMS]

I used to prefer male, until I played girl life (which is also a qsp game). Breath of fresh air and it still played out beautifully in terms of story and appeal. So I'd say any of them is fine.

 

[nuclearnemo]

This is the eternal question and honestly there is no right or wrong answer for. Some people can only play a meal lead because they invision themselfs as the lead, others (like me) see it more as reading/playing the story of somebody else and that way can play both but usually play females given the chance. Honestly it is up to you what to do, but look mostly at which one of the two gives you the most amount of room within your story. I honestly believe that you should see foryouself what fits your story the best and not let your opinion be influenced by other people, since like i said, you can't please everyone. There is no right solution.

 

[stoper]

...Some people can only play a meal lead because they invision themselfs as the lead, others (like me) see it more as reading/playing the story of somebody else and that way can play both...

This is a good point. I was thinking about it myself, when I saw the comments above, where people say they cannot play as a female, because they're men. And I understand it can feel uncomfortable if you think you're the character on screen. It would be like watching a porn video made from the woman's POV. But I never think that way. Even in games where you make your own character. That's probably why I don't like 2nd person writing (I remember it from old CYOA books).

 

[kokotheworm]

Well to each is own , thought what have I have seen lead me to think male is definitely better and that for a simple thing female PoV always lead to a game where you either play a victim or at best guide a female toward corruption.
Not only it is not my thing , some do have the opportunity to play it "safe" and there are some great one , lilith device by Captain, with protagonist that are not punching ball to be abused but most of the time there is an undertone of misogyny specific to the "corruption" and "NTR" genre that quite a bit annoying. No I don't want to start a debate about the whole Female are Slut , Men are Don Juan , but stop me if I am wrong you don't have to choose between enjoying the sex spectrum and not being degraded/Shamed for it constantly by the game.
That being said I tend to identify with the protagonist, as ridiculous as that sound, and most female game are rather tailored for the omniscient manipulator who abused the protagonist, and after a few minute I simply quit those game.

 

[SonnyBlaze]

I wouldn't want to be constantly taken advantage of, play the dumb bimbo etc as is required with the majority of female protagonist games.

With a female lead I would kinda do the opposite. Yes probably it would require her a lot of sexual favours to climb the social ladders but after that I would try to keep everyone under her spell or blackmailed them and stuff. Probably not everyone, for a good story you need variety so there could be some character that's able to take advantage of her but not everyone. I like your point tho and I'll keep it in mind.

If the game was from a male POV, there would be - sexy teacher, sexy nurse, sexy neighbor... and all those encounters would largely play the same way.

That's mostly what I'm afraid of with a male POV

I used to prefer male, until I played girl life (which is also a qsp game). Breath of fresh air and it still played out beautifully in terms of story and appeal. So I'd say any of them is fine.

That's exactly why I was thinking about a female lead, lately I've been playing way too much of Girl Life, Big Kuyash and Stundentgirl, it just seems that with a female lead you can explore more sexual content while having a good and entertaining story.

Maybe I'll just try to write out two story for a male lead and a female lead and I'll see which one will turn out better. Right now from this thread feedback I'm leaning towards a male MC but we'll see down the road. Thanks to everyone for now!

 

[ThorMcBalbo]

This is totally from my point of view and not an objective statement
I say it depends on the fetish you intend to show, cause if the game is strictly eterosexual a male protagonist in an exhibinionism and whoring out setting is really hard to portrait. example "you are serving tables and a female costumer start touching you butt" 99% of the man in the world wouldn't care at all or laugh about it. while if was the other way around 99% of women would punch you in the guts.
NTR setting could work either way woman side whoring herself and male side more on the voyeur side
INCEST can work either way :daughter seduce father and viceversa, mom seduces son and viceversa or any other combination
VOYEUR is predominantly a male settings, it's hard to immagine a woman peeping on others as a male would
Dom and sub also could work either way
bimbofication in an eterosexual setting works only for female and gay settings for both
exhibinionism and whoring out for male can be achived only in an gay setting (perverted education doesn an amazing job in it) while for female can work both in etero and non environment

But as i always state in multiple conversations a good story and the writing can do miracles and male or female MC can become secondary

 

[Olivia_V]

Adult games tend to produce fairly dumb rote archetypes for main characters of either gender. Female protagonists are often face-to-desk stupid and seemingly incapable of saying no to the disgusting perverts hovering around them, while male protagonists are often such simplistic dicks that they might as well run around in a penis costume.

Although, when one contemplates this question, one must focus on the characters done well, as well as your own personal tastes. I prefer all-girl scenes, so that automatically gravitates me to female protagonists (although some games with male protagonists have surprised me on that front with some decent girl-girl scenes), but even that aside, when I think of all the protagonists I've played of both genders, the good female ones simply stick with me longer than the good male ones. Somebody mentioned Girl Life, which is one of the best porn games I've ever played and the redeeming light of an otherwise shambolic QSP games line-up, and I absolutely love Sveta and keep coming back to the game because of her. Celeste of "Drunken Cowboy" is another. While, for me, even the well-made male protagonists all sort of blend in together, and I hardly remember them once the game is finished. I'm actually more likely to remember the crappy ones, just because I like ragging on them. Which probably makes me a Tumblr chick, lol!!

 

[Tp]

I prefer female protagonists for many of the reasons listed above by other posters that like female leads. However, I also agree, that many female centric stories are just awful with the degree of stupidity/vapidity that most female leads are a party to. I am willing to suffer some dumb stuff for female main characters as I like rape/revenge stories or abuse/revenge stories so there is some room for stupid stuff going on.

Unfortunately for me, many of these kinds of games (most story centric ones) just don't allow for enough payback against abusive npcs. At least in the fantasy/sci-fi games there tends to be fighting so you can kill off would be rapists, etc, however, these later kinds of games get a little grind heavy with combat.

To get back on track the type of story you are going for, good writing, and well made npcs are all as important as the gender of the main character. I'd suggest you go with what you muse is telling you - if you want to write for female characters then do so. Making games, particularly good ones, takes time and commitment, so work on something that is driving you as the creator and don't worry too much about other people and what drives them.

 

[Meesteres]

100% prefer a female lead (female/futa). Especially if she doesn't have shit for brains. A dominant female lead really gets me going. Unfortunantly there aren't many games that have this trait.

Or

A dominant male protagonist with other male NPCs.

Idk why but those two are my main interests in games. Femdom (straight, futa, lesbian, idc) or gay shit.

 

[LewdCatgirl]

I tend to prefer female leads. Preferably ones that are smart (not bimbo types) but also super lewd/slutty.

 

[9thCrux]

Male lead.