Queering Character Creation: Player Perspectives on Choosing Characters' Gender and Sexual Orientation in Role-Playing Games

Paper Title

Queering Character Creation: Player Perspectives on Choosing Characters' Gender and Sexual Orientation in Role-Playing Games

Publication Info

• Topic area: Representation of gender and sexual orientation in role-playing games.
• Keywords: Role-playing games, character creation, gender representation, sexual orientation, queer players, TTRPGs, CRPGs, diversity, inclusion, player perspectives.

Background and Problem

• Problem / challenge: Role-playing games (RPGs) often lack meaningful representation of gender and sexual orientation, particularly for queer players. Digital RPGs offer limited customization compared to tabletop RPGs (TTRPGs), and poorly executed representation can alienate target communities.
• Significance: Representation in games allows players, especially from minority groups, to explore their identities, feel included, and connect emotionally with the medium. Improving representation benefits all players by fostering empathy and inclusivity.
• Motivation and related work: Previous studies have shown that minority groups value representation more than majority groups. While some games have introduced diverse characters, these efforts are often criticized for tokenism or poor execution. This study builds on prior qualitative research by adding quantitative insights and exploring differences within queer subgroups.

Solution

• Proposed approach: A mixed-methods study combining a survey of 464 participants and 31 follow-up interviews to explore how players approach gender and sexual orientation in RPG character creation.
• Novelty:
  1. Quantitative analysis of group differences in the importance of character gender and sexual orientation.
  2. Thematic analysis identifying four shared approaches to character creation across player groups.
  3. Comparison of TTRPG and CRPG character creation practices.
  4. Insights into subgroup differences within queer players and their implications for game design.
• Procedure and key techniques:
  • Surveyed participants from diverse demographics via Reddit communities.
  • Quantitative analysis using logistic regression to identify predictors of character gender and sexual orientation importance.
  • Qualitative thematic analysis of survey responses and interviews to identify shared themes in character creation motivations.

Results

• Concrete findings:
  • Gender was more important to women (cis and trans) and non-binary players than to cisgender men. Homosexual players valued gender representation more than heterosexual players.
  • Sexual orientation was most important to homosexual players, followed by bi-, pan-, and asexual players. Heterosexual players placed the least importance on sexual orientation.
  • Four themes emerged in character creation: the character as a shield (safety), a guide (self-exploration), a portrayal (representation), and a creation (artistic expression).
• Advantage over baselines: The study integrates quantitative and qualitative methods to provide a nuanced understanding of player motivations, addressing gaps in prior research that focused primarily on qualitative insights.
• Experiments / evaluation:
  • Survey (N = 464) with demographic and gaming habit questions.
  • Interviews with 31 participants, selected for diversity and detailed survey responses.
  • Quantitative analysis using logistic regression; qualitative analysis using thematic coding.
• Limitations and future work:
  • Underrepresentation of certain demographics, such as transgender men.
  • Sampling bias due to recruitment via Reddit, which skews Western, young, and male.
  • Future work should explore subgroup dynamics further and develop theory-informed scales for statistical testing.

Summary

This study investigates how players approach gender and sexual orientation in RPG character creation, highlighting differences between queer and non-queer players. Quantitative analysis revealed that minority groups value representation more than majority groups, while qualitative analysis identified four shared themes in character creation motivations: safety, self-exploration, representation, and artistic expression. The findings suggest that RPGs can better serve diverse players by offering more inclusive and flexible character creation options. This research provides actionable insights for game developers to improve representation and enrich player experiences.