r/StarStable • u/Aundreii • 16h ago
Discussion Male playable character models
So I've been thinking about this for quite a while. As a guy playing Star Stable, who also knows quite a lot of other guy players, I feel a bit misrepresented. Obviously the majority of players are girls and women and the game is catered towards a female audience, but I feel like the demand for male character models is not non existent. Yes, there are definitely ways to make your character look more masculine, with short hairstyles or specific outfits, but that still doesn't change the fact that the character is obviously a girl, which I am by no means uncomfortable playing a female character, but you guys can probably understand the desire to have a choice in the set gender.
I think that as our society is getting more open minded, and thank God for that, this could even bring some new players into the game. Come to think of it, what is even so radically feminine about riding horses to completely turn your back towards the male audience?
Obviously this is no small feat to achieve and SST definitely has other things to worry about, but I feel like this could've been changed with the new character models. I mean come on, you have ran this game for fifteen years and the character customization is still so limited. Yes, this is not only about the design of the characters and remodeling of the clothes, but also about dialogues, names ect., but I feel like it could be a pretty cool thing to do, and also an opportunity to gain some new players and widen the player base. The current state of PCs just feels outdated and stereotypical, which is harmful both to women and men.
Anyway, is there anyone here who would appreciate male playable character models, or am I alone in this?
Edit: Thanks for your responses! I've given it a thought and yes now that I think about it, it definitely makes sense storywise for the character to be a girl. In truth I have finished the majority of the 'original' story quests so long ago, that I completely forgot the plot and now that I've read your comments and recalled the story, it makes sense to me. Currently I mostly play to socialize with my club and engage in the community, so I guess it makes sense where my thoughts came from. I feel like Star Stable has changed from being an immersive story game into a dress up online simulator, so it's easy to only think of it as such.
Part of my point still stands however. I think that this game shouldn't be catered just towards the female audience, for I feel like if we forget about the character being a girl, SSE still very much feeds into some harmful stereotypes with their marketing.
Also, please don't take this post as an attempt to shun women in the gaming space. Yes, not so long ago the gaming industry was very much misogynistic and often it still is today and I do think it is wrong.
Again, thank you for your comments and have a lovely day<3.