I like to dress up girls up in sexy outfits...

If it comes to single player games ie Obvlion, Morrowind ect ect, I'll first create a male char, on once done, create a female just for differnt play. My males are usually Hunters/Warriors Females are usually casters/mages/rogues.

Online games (See: WoW) I always get a male to lvl 65 before I roll a female one. Like now I have a lvl 70+ Dwarf Male Shaman, and a level 28 Draenei Female Priest..

Usually, if I play a girl character, its so that the backside I will be watching sway back and forth for 60 hours is at least slightly attractive...but more recently, playing MH3, Ive been playing a girl character because it seems to make people more willing to help you :p

most will say cause many guys prefer staring at a woman's behind than another guys.

this doesn't really apply to me as i tend to alternate between male and female protagonists and i generally make the character as hideous and mutated as i can. it really amuses me when your romance choice gets all sweet and loving towards my freak of nature.

i also choose the female on occasion as the game can be a bit different from that context which adds replay value.

Female body certainly factors in for certain games, character image for others. Not to mention the option isn't often provided, so i take it whenever i can get it just for something different. Every so often, however, voice actor (looking at you, Mass Effect 2).

I like to see the voice acting and usually my characters are nearly polar opposites so what better way to differentiate them.

Sometimes I just make a female character to watch a nice ass.

I like seeing the differences, if any, between the male & female characters, plus I liek boobies! :P

Honestly it's not the norm and I feel that with a female character there is a greater sense of accomplishment because you are playing something that very few people ever play as. Also with characters like Terra from Final Fantasy VI, Shepard obviously, and a slew of others you get a really great character to play as.

If I were to create an original character that was female, well it's mostly because I feel I can do more with the character. I don't know why but I feel the limitations of what men do in games and mediums lifted if I play as a female. It's rather weird and I certainly don't have gender issues. It's just something that happens instinctively. I feel that I can do more with the female characters for some reason.

Also I am a dude so I guess it's just nice to see a different perspective and everything than what I'm used to playing as. In most cases, I play D&D and someone laughed at me when I created a female character and yet said nothing when I said a female friend plays a male character.

Two reasons one for whatever type of game it is, if it's third person I choose female for the same reason many do, if I'm gonna match an ass for the next few days might as well be a nice one. Second for a first person game, such as Fallout 3 and NV, It just seems to up the whole role-playing bit.

If you are going to be watching a characters backside for 60+ hours then the female form has advantages, though, I must admit, I do like looking at the back musculature and triceps of orcs in WoW. Anyway...

I've leveled a female toon only once to cap and that was a cyber cat girl in Champions Online. She looked pretty fine, and different outfits I chose made her look even better, and since a lot of people roleplay and try to find dates for real life encounters in these sorts of games, it led to no end of mirth convincing strangers I was woman in real life.

Women must have a lot of fun toying with men.

Well the last time I did that was when I was making my character for Fallout New Vegas and I decided to make the most evil character possible but unfortunately my damned conscience (and NPCs) always nag me having so much fun whenever I kill a defenseless homeless guy (I guess the game can be at leastt congratulated for being immersive), especially when the game punishes me for it and stops giving me all the good stuff. Therefore, I just have a character who I can't relate to so well so I can go about my business guilt-free and obviously I can relate to a man more than a woman.

im a guy and i always play female characters if i have a choice , because i like seeing my female shepard take names and kick ass , when the aliens are all like " look at the weak little scrawny human " i hear " look at the weak little girl " and then i later have them beging for their lives , it's awsome . I also play females in games like wow , my guild thought i was weird because i was a guy playing a blood elf female priest , and i was like why does it matter? My girlfriend told me this also , shes like "why do you play a female toon ? Guys are suppose to play male and Girls are suppose to play females "( my gf is 30 and i'm 22 ) i facepalmed.

I like to fantasize about women that I have something in common with. I know it's sad, but I figure it's better to use a video game character as a substitute until the real thing comes along than to sleep around with the various teen-age sluts in my immediate vicinity.

Only one reason.

It doesn't matter whether a character is male or female. The aesthetic changes don't 'matter'. I choose both.

Most people play a female because it looks sexy and (I've heard this a billion times).."it's better to look at a female's ass than a male ones if I'm gonna waste hours and hours on end of my time".

I usually play female characters after finishing the single player campaign if the game has replay value(i.e Mass Effect,Dragon Age origins etc).

Regarding MMO's,I will always play a male char.It's just feels "normal" to me I guess,even though it is a fantasy/sci fi universe.

Greyah:
Female characters tend to be smaller. I like playing a small characer.

Female characters also tend to have a ponytail as option for hairstyle, while male characters frequently don't. I like ponytals.

Those are two of my main reasons.

Sorry, I just can't resist.

I usually don't pick females, but F:NV I did. I made an asian assassin chick that was evil. It just seemed like a good idea too me.

busterkeatonrules:
The usual reason - I get to watch a woman's butt instead of a man's. Really. That's all the reason I need. I hit the "Female" - button instead of the "Male" - button when the game tells me to. Same effort, more enjoyable result. It's a no-brainer.

Haha same here! Can't help what you like.

I also find it often leads to some other interesting ways the story can unfold. I mean, you play a guy protaganist enough and most others will have some sort of tendency to follow the same cliches. Plus there's often enough differences to make me want to see how it would've happened as a girl.

1 more for the '50 hours looking at a but' case. Also in mmos usually the men look stupid and the women look better. (except draeni where its the other way round, and tauren women are just.. how about no.)

Because the female form is awesome... haven't you heard?

1:Because I like playing a character that seems 'cool', and I find the idea of a female breaking gender expectations and kicking ass to be 'cool'
2:I'd rather look at a females ass for the 20+ hours I play the game (more for good games)
3:Quite often, the character design for the female counterparts is just better.

That being said, I play male characters more often than female.

Female leads are more interesting because they're not the norm. I wouldn't describe myself as a feminist but many of my friends are. Some of those issues they raise are quite interesting and I like having a chance to explore them while gaming. Yes, I tend to make characters that I find attractive but if I get to customise the appearance of a male character, I'll make him attractive too.

That's for single player games. I don't play multiplayer a lot but I don't think I've ever even thought about creating a female character for an MMO. In a single player game I'm playing a role and it's generally more interesting if that role is something I'm not used to. In a multiplayer game I may have an avatar but I'm playing me, and I'm a dude.

I do it when the males are too ugly...

DJDarque:
Most of the time we're forced to play as a male character. When I play a female character it's simply for a refreshing change of pace.

This, pretty much.

Games that have no gender choice almost always have you play as a male. Therefore, gender choice games I pick female because outside of those games they're almost never heroes.

Female characters generally take up less of my screen so I can enjoy the designed environment for the game.

If it's 3rd person then it's because it's nicer to look at a girls ass for the duration of the gameplay than a guys.

Overall I do it because I find it far easier to make a visually appealing female character then a visually appealing male character.
There are also times where I want to make a rogue or something that requires agility, and it's a bit hard to take a character's agility seriously when they are shaped like a bodybuilder (which is how many male characters turn out despite my best efforts to make them slender).

Personally, I never see my character as me. They're just a character in a story that I'm controlling. Thus, it's just as easy for me to control a female character as a male one. More interesting too, since most set protagonists in games are male.

Everyday people gamers who create space marine characters: Explain.

Come on, seriously. The reality gap between male gamers' personas and their character personas, is just as wide, whether they play a woman, space marine, jedi or hardened special forces veteran. It's all escapism and needs no explanation.

Funny:

Want to play the opposite gender? OOOhhh, raised eyebrows!
Want to be a mass murdering psychopath? Cool! Can we co-op?

busterkeatonrules:
The usual reason - I get to watch a woman's butt instead of a man's. Really. That's all the reason I need. I hit the "Female" - button instead of the "Male" - button when the game tells me to. Same effort, more enjoyable result. It's a no-brainer.

Yeah, pretty much the same reason for me. I'd rather spend several hours looking at a woman's body than a male one.

Because, I honestly swear that video game companies make female characters better for customisation. Every time I make a male character (especially in Bioware games :S) he either looks too much like a default model or really strange (misshapen eyes etc.) I don't have this problem with female characters unless I really try to make a stupid looking character. I was one of the people who enjoyed Champions Online, if only for its customisation :P.

Also, some games have slight differences in dialogue etc. for female characters so you get a slightly different experience if you play as female instead of male.

Frankster:

Nudu:
There's the ass argument again. I don't get it. I don't find my gaze unintentionally fixed to Shepards male ass while playing Mass Effect. And I certainly don't think "Why is there nothing here I can masturbate to?"

As far as I understand it's about how much distance you place between you and the character.

Those who place themselves into their avatar are so connected to it that it becomes a 2nd skin and they dont notice their ass since its "themselves" whereas those who distance themselves from their avatar feel they really are controlling another person entirely, which makes it easier for roleplay i guess, but then the butt issue arises since you're staring at someone else's derriere rather then your own, hence the "id rather stare at a womans derriere then a mans" line.

I make females often and will echo this.

1. Distancing yourself from your avatar makes many games gain a little more individualization. If you put yourself into your avatar, you aren't having to put much thought into "What would my character do?" Because you are your character and the answer you prefer will probably jump out at you without much thought usually. I know it does for me. I think playing yourself takes roleplay out in a sense that "roleplaying yourself" isn't really roleplay as much as roleplaying a character other than yourself.

2. Making your avatar have a nice ass isn't so you can jerk off to it as you play. It is just about having something "better" to look at during slow moments of gameplay. Most of what you will see of your avatar is their ass. It's just the way it is. Now, do you want to look at a males ass, or a females ass?

Male characters tend to look ridiculous to me. Huge hulking manly men that have more in line with gorilla physiology than human. I tend to like my characters to be quick and agile and the female characters have a greater tendency to be suited to that.

And yeah, I like the female body more than the male one.

I usually play male characters because I like to get in character, but in cases where I don't expect a particularly in-depth story or am on my second play through (except in the case of Mass Effect. ManShep's voice acting bores me to skip-through status), I'll go and play a female character for visual appeal and game experience (if it changes all that much).