Gender Roles in MMORPGs versus MUDs
Anyone who's played an MMORPG has seen certain stereotypes in video games. The “tank” is a dude, the “healer” is a chick. It doesn't matter what gender the toons, or even the characters behind them, are. That's the stereotype most players start with and its clear the real world perceptions of gender roles bleed into what people automatically assume in gaming.
Studies have been done to investigate what motivates male gamers versus female gamers. One of the most common results found is that women prefer socialization and communal achievements, while men aim for competition and direct victory over opponents. Beyond that, evidence suggests that females will actually lose interest in games that lack interaction or engagement beyond just the gameplay and mechanics.
Perhaps this is why the “nurturer” roles like healers are often assumed to be feminine roles, while PvP is considered a male domain. In fact, in a study done on EverQuest II players, levels of aggression showed a distinct impact from who gamers played with: men actually demonstrated more aggression, and females less, when they gamed with significant others.
However, unlike MMOs, MUDs are far more encompassing of what one's “role” means and is defined by. PvP and PvE are not isolated scenarios divorced from the rest of the game itself, but are intrinsically intertwined with core gameplay. In Lusternia, for example, you might hunt creatures or quest to increase your city's power levels, or jump in and help fight at a revolt to increase your commune's influence in the world. Under Aetolia's Ylem system, cities group up for team combat every few hours to secure precious resources for their factions, and in Achaea you may find yourself called upon to defend your house's icon from attack.
Each of these situations listed yield all types of participants as the effects from victory are tangible rewards for both the individuals and the characters' organizations. Combat and PvE participation is both about competition and socialization. A player can fight for the sake of fighting and aim to crush their opponents; but they are just as likely to be driven to join in out of a desire to help make their organizations stronger.
But MUDs are not just about PvP and PvE. They are complex, with many other facets to the roles available. Players can design and craft clothing, jewelry and even alcoholic beverages, run shops as merchants, be a priest for an all-powerful god, or deftly manipulate political alliances as a government official. You'll find intrepid economists, shadowy spies, philosophers, scientists, artists, because the mechanics of MUDs tie all of these elements – roleplay, combat, PvE, PvP, politics, economy - together to weave who a character is.
However, even with this depth to character that MUDs offer, do gender roles still echo through? In Aetolia, for example, there is a guild called the Druids which is focused on a defensive, supporting role, with the ideals based around protecting nature and communicating with plantlife. Membership in this guild has shown a far larger proportion of female characters than male, with all of the current leadership being women. Is this the MUD equivalent of an MMO's “healer” role?
So, what do you think? Have MUDs found a magical balance in incentive and motivation, making things appealing to both genders, a goal MMORPGs are still struggling to reach? Or are things still largely defined around real world gender roles? Weigh in with your comments!
Author: Moirean of Aetolia
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Comments
Yes
Graphical MMOs reinforce stereotypes more because many of us want to play idealized versions of ourselves, and sex appeal definitely sells.
MUDs have many avenues of progression, so they'll appeal from all genders and walks of life, but for the most part, the aggressive PvPers trump what others want to do.
Maybe. I find that I'm pretty
Maybe. I find that I'm pretty hostile and aggro as a fighter in MUDs though, far more than I am in MMOs. Why is that?
Maybe because the XP loss on
Maybe because the XP loss on death makes it more realistic and your survival instincts kick in? I've only done spars but I've found I play agressive on MMOs as well, just differently. Death doesn't matter so much (unless it is a game like EVE Online) so I take on a more suicidal playstyle. Going to be interesting to see how I fare in 'live' combat.
Descriptions!
Have you seen them? They're all either super hot or super ugly. I don't believe I've seen someone ordinary looking yet. That, or they're blank.
descrip
He is a mhun of average height. Lean and lightly built, he moves with swift economy, grey eyes constantly assessing and re-assessing his surroundings. Framed by short-cropped dark hair, his features are thin and youthful, lined by hardships and weariness rather than age.
Don't know if that's ordinary or not, but I don't think it's extreme either.
Balanced Opportunities, Not-so-balanced participants.
In my experience playing Avalon and Aetolia both, I would say that PVPing and other offensive type roles, read: War Minister/Minister of Justice type positions, are definitely accessible to female characters as well as male. I have known several city-leaders who were females and at the same time very aggressive/violent characters who indulge in wars and PVP. Even at this time, Moirean of Aetolia is the leader of the Carnifex; a guild of vicious soul-thieving knights.
That being said, while I feel that every role is accessible to every player, I think that willing participation in these roles by females is generally lacking (in the games I have played.) I have indeed known female Ministers of War, female characters who are as violent and aggressive as any male could possibly be (even moreso in some cases.) However in my experience, these seem to be the exception rather than the norm; the majority of female characters I know personally, prefer to indulge in PVP only when necessary, and lean more heavily towards the builder/development roles rather than aggressive destructive ones.
Agreed, at least in part
It seems like most of the more famous PvPers in Achaea are male, or at least playing male characters.
Yeah....
There are always exceptions to steriotypes and also people who fit into the stereotypes. I personally like non super combative roles, but I know plenty of women who like combat. Likewise with male healers etc....
Clothes?
Just hazarding a guess that females like to wear nice dresses and cloths more than men, on average.
agreed
with that guy ^^
Online
Has always been a place where people could explore various facets of themselves, less confined by many social mores.
Not bad of with this article
...and I found that while combat is exhilarating, I don't have an overwhelming sense of the need to dominate others. I liked the macro-vision (all facets) in mid-sized or large scale engagements and what goes into planning, preparation, and execution. Hyperlith as a character has been more lucky than good to beat others in combat but is better in supply, transport, planning, etc. of the combat goings-on.
While often overlooked or sometimes taken for granted, most people do appreciate the role taken on to heal and supply from other players.
definantly mud pvp
theres no comparison
Boobs
Boobs
I sometimes wonder how
I sometimes wonder how different it would be if I had a male character. Maybe if I'm bored one day, I'll try making an alt.
I am a female
I always play female characters and have rarely felt like I was expected to fill any gender role. Although I did make a Bahkatu character in Aetolia and the alpha was a complete misogynist. But I don't think I've ever made a male character, so I can't really compare.
Surely there are no women on
Surely there are no women on the internet......
none, we keep them inside and
none, we keep them inside and veiled.
More of a role in muds
because of the higher rp rates.
Not to say you do still get
Not to say you do still get the random person with perfectly rounded breasts >_>
mmhm
mmhm
I wish male players would
I wish male players would stop playing female characters and perpetuating demeaning stereotypes.
Maybe start with the woemen
Maybe start with the woemen who play demeaning sterotypical female characters?
I dun care much
I think for a woman named Toot I act rather rough...
I do whatever
beacuase I can? Ok I am not lying this is seriously just fr the credit.
double
double
Umm
A bit confusing
Me too
Me too
unfortunately, it is seems to
unfortunately, it is seems to me that it is hard to accurately tell what percentage of the playerbase is what gender, making it hard to tell where the balance is
True.
True.
Agree
Agreed
+
+
there are, I believe, far
there are, I believe, far more female priests then Knights in Achaea
There are a lot of factors
There are a lot of factors playing into that, though, based on only 2 factions having priests, while all 6 can have knights, but the factions that have priests are a bit soft. Knight combatants do tend to be male though.
I find it intresting looking
I find it intresting looking at Mhaldor's gender demographics
how come?
how come?
Paperwork etc
There was a mention above regarding the fact leadership roles generally equate to paperwork and willingness to nurture, spending time fostering the growth of other characters - this is all true, and is why I tend to find more females involved in the higher echelons of orgs. Likewise, over the last decade in Achaea there has been a noticeably higher ratio of men to women heavily involved in PvP.
Really don't agree. You don't
Really don't agree. You don't have to nuture to be a good leader, you simply have to not undermine others.
Hrm...
I really don't have much to contribute to this, so...credit? Still a good read.
In Mhaldor...
I find there are roughly equal numbers of female and male characters. And the females can be scary there... As for combat: I'm learning equal amounts from both male and female characters. The balance is interesting, and not so skewed that it stands out.
I used to play achaea, and I
I used to play achaea, and I honestly never noticed any stark difference between male and female... influence(?), on the game itself.
That was my experience when I
That was my experience when I played there.
d
d
Men
are better
how so?
how so?
of course, people playing
of course, people playing opposite gendered characters make the accuracy of any analysis hard to judge
Everything is an illusion.
Everything is an illusion.
Never really noticed any
Never really noticed any gender roles of significant importance.
I agree
I agree
are there
some?
The "tank" is a dude... and
The "tank" is a dude... and the dude is Jeff Bridges.
+1 But I think you need to
+1
But I think you need to take note of the people being studied, Everquest fans are crazy after all!
ddd
ddd
yep
still a credit
Yeah I agree and all that.
Yeah I agree and all that.
Bikini armor ftw?
Bikini armor ftw?
Yes
Though I wouldn't call it armor. Battle clothing maybe.
Meh
Meh
Meh
Meh
@Till Meh?
@Till Meh?
hmm
hmm
duh
duhduh
absolutely
best
Fun fun article
Fun fun article
Collar
Collar
Still waiting on that sex
Still waiting on that sex change artifact.
Hah
We already have one in Lusternia, it's called the Bubble of Gender Switching, costs 100 credits (there is also another artifact that costs more that lets you switch genders once per weave)
For those that are on a more limited budget and take up some Dramatics training you can Genderbend for 5 aetheric power =p
^
Would be..no, let's just not have that o.O
One of them has graphics
One of them has graphics
Lusternia
They have something like a sex change thing in Lusternia :P
Permanent as well as
Permanent as well as non-permanent, even. And a Divine who blurs the lines between genders, as well as certain aspects in Gaudiguch RP seem to revolve around this. I think it is quite refreshing to see a game embed such things which may be seen as controvercial or taboo.
do girl bahkatu like the
do girl bahkatu like the extra hair in bear form? i've always wondered...
Still do to some degree, I'm
Still do to some degree, I'm sure.
Is it bad I look forward to
Is it bad I look forward to the day a ritual backfires so hard it causes a temporary gender change? That's gonna be some fun RP.
There once was an april fools
There once was an april fools event in guildwars which changed the gender of every character for the day. It'd be pretty amusing to see that in a mud 'Divine mishap' or something.
Girls
I can't RP as a girl :<
Many...
valid points were made by all
I agree
With the point I said here.
Just checked
I still want to be a guy.
I am curious to see what
I am curious to see what percentage of players roleplay a gender other than their own
I would too
That number probably wouldn't surprise you nearly as much as you would think.
Just checked again
Can't be a girl still
Interesting
Interesting
something like that
something like that
Shinji is a bit of a girl :P
Shinji is a bit of a girl :P
The only class in Achaea I
The only class in Achaea I have seen consistently be less female are the knight houses - but even there its not like the leadership has been untouched by them (look at the Runewardes/Wardens after all, which most of the HL/GMs I've been active to see there HAVE been female). I think the thing about MUDs is that they really offer more room for this diversity in role because it is so much more then game mechanics.
Though lately
There have been several active female characters in the Maldaathi. Which is interesting. I wonder how many of them are actual females IRL.
I've never had a problem with being taken seriously in games as a female, beyond the rare, 'there are no women on the internets' joke.
Hmm
I thought men just went where ever the ladies were at and felt enticed to do things more so than gameplay mechanics allowed? Even sometimes against basic physics, stuff comes out of the hole but stuff does not go into the hole...
that's what you think!
that's what you think!
+
+
hehe
1400h, 900m - touch penis
You have no penis.
1400h, 900m -
That one never gets old! :D
Cutting edge of comedy.
Cutting edge of comedy.
How...
Original.
The good thing about the
The good thing about the world of Midkemia online is that along the way in the lore there were quite a few strong willed women characters. MKO Has a mix of genders fulfilling different roles in each city. Elvandar has historically been run mainly by female characters and some of the best soldiers I have played with have been women too.
achaea always been pretty
achaea always been pretty well balanced, imp
Yes
Still agree
!
!
yep
yep
dd
dd
Can I have my credit?
Can I have my credit?
I don't really understand the
I don't really understand the purpose of this article.
It seems pretty balanced in Imperian.
There's usually a good balance in Imperian as far as politics and roleplay seems to be concerned, though I've mainly had characters in Kinsarmar on and off. Combat also seems pretty balanced, but I haven't participated in many raids (though I'm always on defense) and shardfalls simply because I find it hard to follow all the combat messages going back and forth.
Keep trying, combat "slows
Keep trying, combat "slows down" eventually.
Being able to create your own
Being able to create your own system helps to an extent. You can gag all the unimportant crap, replace many of the messages with easy to read stuff and basically 'slow' the combat down artificially by filtering it.
That being said, it's still hard to follow, lol.
You'll
get used to skim reading it eventually, and be able to keep up, at least one on one.
no such thing
no such thing
Interesting
I tried playing a guy once, It was annoying.
No gender roles, really in
No gender roles, really in any mmorpg. Knights, thieves, combatants, leaders, blah.. Just don't be a novice girl in the Sentaari. Unless you're into that.
Into what? This sounds bad :(
Into what? This sounds bad :(
Men
=better
Yes
Yes
:D
credit.
Noticing that...
As I get further into the Maldaathi (Evil Knight house, for non achaeans), there really is a huge lack of gender roles in the house. Male and female are expected to be strict with themselves and others, curt with any comments, and obey orders without question. Kind of interesting. Before I joined, Katz favoured study, art, crafting, and merchanting over combat, (was origionally bard for a few years before going infernal) but since, combat has taken a large role in her character.
Amusingly, my partner IRL (male, I am female) plays a gay, Hashani (neutral) runewarden, who loves to dance, and snuggle... we couldn't really have gone in much different directions while still both being knights.
Credit comment.
Credit comment.
you certainly do see more
you certainly do see more males in Mhaldor, which is an intreting reflection of this
and of course they used that
and of course they used that siren picture for this. Way to go, guys
Going to try
I'm planning on trying to get into PvP, though it is a little scary. Never done anything like this before.
It's actually really fun when
It's actually really fun when you get into it.
credit
credit
Yeah
^
Gender is kinda irrelevant
While common 'stereotypes' exist, in the end a female could easily do as much damage as a male, in certain roles you'd expect them to do more (such as monk based roles like Tahtetso/Ninjakari where a female would generally be more flexible, limber and agile which fits into the fact that most of their power comes from dexterity)
not much difference in roles
not much difference in roles based on gender in muds, as far as I can tell. Except for in "brothels".
Stats can be used a million
Stats can be used a million different ways.
In saying that I wouldn't be surprised if males are more PvP orientated
Good Article
Good Article
i bet the male characters are
i bet the male characters are more likely to have that visible flaw in their description. Scar across the face or what-have-you.
More likely?
Maybe. I know my Imperianite character is riddled with scars that are intended to show off that she's not what one would consider a "lady", everything from animal bites to knife wounds to carvings of amazonian tattoos. Half an ear missing... And I've noticed a lot of others in the guild doing the same thing, though granted there are those who continually describe themselves as "flawless". I've always considered it poor roleplay to describe oneself like that.
it's intresting that in
it's intresting that in Mhaldor the most female-dominated house is the monk house
of course they used that
of course they used that siren pic for this article
many aspects of the game seem
many aspects of the game seem fairly balanced
Gender vs. Occupation
I'm a girl who's only ever played girls, but I've played many different classes. I had a magi for a year and a half-ish, and I've had a few alts (that almost all got deleted) of the various classes. Jester, Paladin, Serpent, Druid, Sylvan, Sentinel, and I currently have a Runewarden.
I hate PvP because I don't have a cure system (getting one soon though), and besides, my Magi used to participate in raid defense- and being Shallamese, there were a LOT of them- and I could never keep up with all the messages flying across my screen. After about two seconds, my eyes hurt, and three minutes in, I'm like, 'Screw this. (PT: I gotta go, sorry)' and left. I COULD NOT fight. Ugh.
So really, the only reason I dislike PvP is that my eyes can't keep up with everything that's happening... And I kept getting afflicted, and dieing, losing like, 10 levels. :P
Women r 4 mudsecx
Women r 4 mudsecx
Sigh.
Sigh.
Tentatively...
I think roles for both genders are significntly supported, to a point. That being said, there's still a few things that could use tweaking, but in instances when you've had these worlds going for as long as they have, there will alawys be something that has hit a rut for way too long, things that need to be changed somewhat to encourage new or returning players to give it a second look.
Still, I don't think that these gender roles are the issue, or at least not as they've been traditionally portrayed.
Non issue
It's like pointing out theireare more female teachers than males. Certain classes and races tend to appeal more to certain demographics. Some people like to RP themselves with a bit of fantasy and some people like to use it as an outlet to RP someone completely the opposite of themselves in real life. To each his own.
Yeah
!
Absolutely too
!
Credit comment.
Credit comment.
Never really noticed this.
Maybe I will now...
f
f
Wow
I can't believe people comment just to get a credit.
Oh
credit
credit
Smart
!
Yep
!
Hmm
We need a new gender in Imperian a third one...(trolololololll)
// classlead..
My long post on a random
My long post on a random message board used primarily for credit farm will SURELY change how genders are viewed in a game!
meh
meh
We all know every single
We all know every single female in a game is played by a fat ugly dude.
An illusion about an illusion
An illusion about an illusion
Credit comment.
Credit comment.
Genders
Achaea has done a great job for both genders. I have known a few women who love playing this game.
opinion
On MUDs it all depends on how in depth the roleplay is. if its shallow then gender is not noticed
MUD's...
allow for more interaction beyond just gameplay mechanics so whatever role you want is more free but such roles still exist.
Gender Roles
I've found that the gender roles in Achaea at least have been incredibly varied and potentially very far from what may be considered "traditional".
I can't really say anything
I can't really say anything one way or another in regards to "gender roles", all I know is that I, as a MALE, prefer the social and PVE aspects versus the PVP, and total combat mechanics of Achaea...
Gender roles in Achaea
Seems like there are more male combatants in Achaea, as a rule, but there are some great female fighters too.
Gender is just a state of
Gender is just a state of mind...or a flag in a character file.
It's not the games that
It's not the games that enforce stereotypes. It's the human being, armed with the internet.
Roles
I think it's more that people have created the character the way they "perceive" to be a legitimate role, be that a male or female. If the woman want's a mighty combatant who kills everyone and eats kittens for breakfast. Then she will go with what she knows (Although there are a few of cases) which being in the Genre of fantasy, tends to be male. Whereas if a male wants to play a manipulative seductive healer who likes to tickle puppies for lunch, he goes for a female character.... Generally just genere stereotypes, rather than real world.
(That being said IRE has a healthy dose of originality in this regards... as well as run of the mill.)
I don't even
I don't even
Seems like everyone's hunting
Seems like everyone's hunting on Achaea regardless of gender - but then again, I'm relatively new and resistant to a proper role in city/house politics just yet. :)
Eh
They're all dudes.
ohh
ohh
doesn't exist
doesn't exist
That Siren says it all.
That Siren says it all.
Druids
Most of the active Druids in Achaea are female, much like in Aetolia, it seems.
What are Mhaldors gender demographics?
Anyone know?
interesting
this is something that I have not considered
Credit comment.
Credit comment.
no idea
no idea
Males rule.. Of course, isn't
Males rule.. Of course, isn't it obvious?
Credit
Credit
right
Males do rule and I need a credit too. Zaeel is on the right track.
Credit
Credit comment
even if these exist a bit,
even if these exist a bit, there are definitely some unstereotypical females
ugh, topic discussed to death
ugh, topic discussed to death
Credit comment.
Credit comment.
Sex
Gender is what you do to languages, but as far as roles of the two sexes, I think it would matter more if females actually played! All of you are just dudes!
They are tedious at times
They are tedious at times
It'll be interesting to see
It'll be interesting to see how they play out in Midkemia.
+1
+1
cr
cr
+1
+1
None
There are no gender roles in MUDs.
I've noted none what-so-ever
I've noted none what-so-ever in all honesty.
Women > men
Women > men
one thing that's rare is to
one thing that's rare is to see a player role-playing the opposite gender WELL.
still the same
Still seems that toons are too "beautified" regardless of medium
And article about gender
And article about gender roles, bascially asking, "How are you feeling." Sigh.
Credit comment.
Credit comment.
An interesting insight as to
An interesting insight as to females versus males.
I think this post is hooblah
I think this post is hooblah in mmo's I often play a stalwart female warrior or paladin type. It is one of my favorite tropes that I don't think we see nearly enough of in gaming today.
seems a bit thin.
seems a bit thin.
+1
+1
+1
+1
+1
+1
Gender roles do not exist in
Gender roles do not exist in mmorpgs
Do too!
Gender roles exist everywhere. People just like to pretend they don't.
Credit comment.
Credit comment.
+1
+1
Credit comment? Or did they
Credit comment? Or did they stop that?
Credits.
Credits.
in the end..
I guess it comes to deperation.
Hrm.
This article has made me think a lot about the subject; I find it quite fascinating that you can frequently find a lot more diverse people in a MUD rather then an MMO; and I'm not going to say that there are no male healers, and female tanks. I've actually made both characters; yet to my knowledge with Graham here, I based him solely on me. I would hardly think I'm the mannliest man, who eats steaks, and punches bears in the face; kind of difficult when you're a Paladin I'd think.
Don't
mean to sound sexist or anything... but in Achaea most people who engage in combat are male, even as "support" or "healing", not saying everyone is a guy but women really don't seem to find combat either 1v1 or team combat fun, I have tried to teach what I know about fights to some women but they all end up losing interest
Gender
Opens you up to all sorts of stereotyping. Not that it is always wrong, or course, but it does pidgeonhole some into one type of roleplay.
agree
agree
There is nothing wrong with
There is nothing wrong with gender 'roles'.
just like in the real world
gender roles in MUDs and games in general are changing. You can be whoever you want to be.