What do you think about gender selection in otome games?

[Arisara]

I played a lot of games on itch with otome tag and most of it have gender selection.

For me otome game is a game where you play only as a girl who romance guys.

But the biggest problem is that even if I chose the female gender,portrait and even a female voice but MC can have male futures like

chest , CG or mini portrait. Personality is alosy blurred. Sometimes idk i play fem or male.

On picture below i play as girl with set female voice. But when she take off her clothes turn to male.

She is also naked and 3 naked guys are swimming in the river around her. How she is ok about it??? lol But still MC call urself is "she".

I often come across this in Western otome games.

What do you think about it?

 

[nerim-w]

Im open to the idea in theory because even though otome is female oriented it doesnt mean only girls can enjoy otome. But at the same time, otome is used by alot of women to escape mainstream media which is usually more male dominated - so it would really feel like a slap in the face when you play otome (to escape that) only to be met with poorly matched gender cgs and your supposed female mc being depicted as a guy...

 

[Stella123]

I get vexed when authors of otome or female MC games are pushed to add different MC portraits, pronoun options, or more customization. I do appreciate the inclusivity Western games often provide, but I notice this expectation is usually placed on female MC stories, not the other way around. People rarely ask BL games to include a female MC, or ask male MC games to center female MCs too and studios changing it.

 

[Stella123]

I wouldn't mind it if it didn't affect the quality of the story or my enjoyment of the CGs. But a lot of the time, it does. The MC ends up feeling flat, with no real background, no face, and no presence in the CGs. It takes me out of the immersion. At that point, I'd rather read a Twine story.

 

[Arisara]

Im open to the idea in theory because even though otome is female oriented it doesnt mean only girls can enjoy otome. But at the same time, otome is used by alot of women to escape mainstream media which is usually more male dominated - so it would really feel like a slap in the face when you play otome (to escape that) only to be met with poorly matched gender cgs and your supposed female mc being depicted as a guy...

I like Bewitching sinners so you can play male or fem but Cg is different. Also Dating crush similator coz when I chose to play as a male some Lis dislike it. Or mushroom oasis i can easly imagine myself girl. But many "otome" games by default MC is male... It's sad. Thats why i dislike it.

 

[myfrral]

When I play otome games, I definitely choose female players to play. I prefer playing otome games from Japan because its art style is very exquisite, and the female lead looks like a girl, which gives me a sense of immersion.

 

[lilycadence]

that's the pretender's guild, right? i didn't remember experiencing that issue when i played it, but it must be a glitch because i don't think that's supposed to happen TT

i like an immersive experience and visuals are important for that. that means either MC has a set appearance (like in most otome games and some amare games like bewitching sinners, burn the midnight oil), or that you can customize the way MC looks and it appears that way in CGs (reanimated heart, tailor tales). it's not a dealbreaker but i don't usually like when MC is faceless or has no skin color, among others.

at the end of the day, western "otome" is usually actually amare, since they tend to allow MC's gender to be chosen, but developers don't really differentiate it and bunch it all together.

 

[Arisara]

that's the pretender's guild, right? i didn't remember experiencing that issue when i played it, but it must be a glitch because i don't think that's supposed to happen TT

Yes. Idk glitch or no . Other ppl had same problem. I just don't see any option when creat character change her sex. Also on CGs she have male chest . And her mini portrait even with clothes still male + have adam apple everywere. Sometimes I come across same problem in other games. So idk male or fem.

 

[lilycadence]

Yes. Idk glitch or no or creator just used mini portrait + cg for both male and fem. . Other ppl had same problem. Also on CGs she have male chest . And her mini portrait even with clothes still male + have adam apple everywere. But this is not first game like this. Sometimes I come across same problem in other games.
View attachment 108215View attachment 108221

wait, what option did you press on this screen?

 

[Arisara]

wait, what option did you press on this screen?

View attachment 108231

Never saw this option when creat character. Choose race => continue=> voice=> she => yes and game start.

 

[lilycadence]

Never saw this option when creat character. Choose race => continue=> voice=> she => yes and game start.

it's the screen right before you choose race/appearance. if you choose the right option on that screen, you will have a fem appearance. this is what it looks like for me after that screen

 

[winterkitten]

I've seen some people calling romance games with a choice of gender "amare" games instead of otome, to create more of a distinction which I personally think is nice because I (like most people, I'd assume) only associate otome games with female MCs and male LIs.
I'm definitely in favor of more gender and orientation diversity in games as it creates space for more people to comfortably enjoy romance games, but I can see how the labeling might be a bit of a sticking point and I feel like that's still being figured out a bit ^^

 

[Arisara]

it's the screen right before you choose race/appearance. if you choose the right option on that screen, you will have a fem appearance. this is what it looks like for me after that screen

View attachment 108233View attachment 108232

I found it! I was able change sex in the end of the character customization by clicking "no".
How was I supposed to know that the most important button was there? And seems not only me can't find it at first lol Thank you so much! <3
It was a weird and funny experience playing as a heroine with male chest & behavior + female voice/female pronouns and not shy at all. Now at least she cover her OO in text.

 

[lilycadence]

I found it! I was able change sex in the end of the character customization by clicking "no".
How was I supposed to know that the most important button was there? haha And seems not only me can't find it at first lol Thank you so much! <3
It was weird experience playing female mc with male chest and not shy at all. Now at least she cover her OO in text.

i'm glad you were able to figure it out c:

 

[Arisara]

i'm glad you were able to figure it out c:

Thanks a lot again! You are first person who told me there is choice of gender. Usually is enough just choose female option. A couple of months ago I asked about this on itch and other site. But nobody answer or didn't know and had same issue. I will play agn game :3 Coz its still my favorite.

 

[O cha]

Wow, I personally don't consider games with a gender-selectable MC to be otome games. To me, an otome game is one where the MC is a woman and the LIs are men.

If the MC is male and the LIs are also male, I'd consider it a BL game. If the MC is female and the LIs are male, it's an otome game. If the MC is female and the LIs are female, it's a yuri game. If the MC is male and the LIs are female, it's a galge.

If you can choose the MC's gender, I'd classify the game as either male-oriented or female-oriented based on its overall direction.

I used a translator, so some of the phrasing might sound a little awkward.

 

[nerim-w]

I wouldn't mind it if it didn't affect the quality of the story or my enjoyment of the CGs. But a lot of the time, it does. The MC ends up feeling flat, with no real background, no face, and no presence in the CGs. It takes me out of the immersion. At that point, I'd rather read a Twine story.

Its because part of the realism and expression of an MC is linked to their gender. When an MC can be any gender you lose out on the unique gender dynamics with other characters and you also lose out on the unique gender experiences that an MC might experience if theyre a man or woman. Usually games will not bother to write different stories for a female and male MC so you're just stuck as this blank slate and you lose out on the realism of how your gender impacts the way LIs treat you, or how you as a man/woman just navigates through life, because it is VASTLY different!!!

This is one thing Stardew Valley did right, e.g. if you're a girl, Alex is honestly slightly misogynistic to you at first before he realises his feelings, but if youre a boy, Alex treats you like a bro and then gets confused when he realises he might be gay!!

 

[ruuuiii]

I don't know, i don't consider these types of games otome, they're amare games where your mc is usually customizable- to me otome games have to have a female protagonist, otherwise it won't exclusively be an otome.
Though if it was on the tags, i guess it was to have more people discover it? I guess it makes sense to tag them as otome and bl and yuri since you can technically choose to experience the game that way.
I'm not a big fan of customizable mcs especially in western games either, they're usually either really boring, or just have a bad personality. In my opinion, having a well written mc you can't relate to is miles better than a self insert that's too shallow. Though i guess there's a fanbase for these types of games, so I'm glad people who absolutely need to self interest are getting more games like this!

 

[dogiwall]

While I'm glad that there's more diversity in games, I don't really consider these as otome. But rather amare.

Also, it sometimes feel like a female MC in these are just afterthoughts tbh. And MCs in these won't be in my top 5 MC list anytime soon since they usually feel flat for reasons people here already mentioned lol. Maybe it's just budget and time constraint issues, or differences in genres since I don't mind gender selection in RPG games and do like their MCs such as Persona 3 Portable and the modern Fire Emblem games.

 

[SmallEagle]

I don't consider those games as otome, I just call them VN or amare.

However people do tend to use those terms as interchangeable just because they don't know or to tag them as such and have more visibility.

I do like how those games tend to be more customizable, but sometimes they feel like an afterthought.

Like I would play as a maleMC and the character would be giggling, so it just feels like it was written with a femaleMC in mind. An example of this is Andromeda Six, dunno why but the MC just feel written to be a woman, or maybe is just me.

 

[SmallEagle]

And although I do think inclusivity is very important, there is something to be said about how it is always expected from the women to welcome others into their spaces.

Which is why I think that it's important to make the distinctions between otome and amare. A new space for everyone, without sacrificing the female oriented one.

 

[shunira]

That sounds lke a bug ooohhhh you missed the selection, I prefer for them to use the tag amare because as a woman who romances women i rarely play otome games nowdays, i think they just use to get more attention as the games published there are indie games by small studios or single developer projects.

 

[Sphyixz]

Personally, I don't really see gender selection as something I want from otome games.
To me, otome has a female MC and male LIs. I have nothing against games with gender selection at all, I play RPGs and IFs too, so I do enjoy that kind of thing. I just wouldn't personally call them otome. Otome is kind of its own thing to me.

 

[yum2]

I dont mind games that have gender options, but this feel like a different genre, amare (?) i believe its called? personally, fl and ml are otome, if the mc is a guy and have a ml then definetly a a bl

 

[Arisara]

Also, it sometimes feel like a female MC in these are just afterthoughts tbh. And MCs in these won't be in my top 5 MC list anytime soon since they usually feel flat for reasons people here already mentioned lol.

In some games I really don't understand why they add female MC. For example "Where the spotlight lingeres" no otome tag but have gender selection. But even if I play as woman by default MC is male. Even creator asked the team of translators translate the main character as male. But at first they translate as a woman.