Why I Think There Should Be Male And Female Versions Of Each Warframe...

[silencekyo]

True there is more pressing matters to look at, but this suggestion is something I would like as well. A male Mag is fine too.

[ValhaHazred]

In this case I sorta realized that it MIGHT be a lore reason? In the end, the male Warframes are mostly combat based (Excalibur, Frost, Rhino, Loki, Ash), whereas the females are more of "caster" type Warframes (Ember, Nyx, Saryn, Mag, Trinity, Banshee), who use less strength and more 'energy' to deal damage (weapons aside). So, I am kinda good with that in the end.

I don't like that at all. I should be able to mix it up in combat just as well as the boys rather than having to stand back and lob ninja space magic from afar. It's just a tad sexist.

[Johnnymhb]

I totally agree with you, please! Dev Team! make this happend!

[Matric]

Agreed 100% with OP... hope they will look into this :)

[RainDreamer]

I always think of warframes as robots (even though they are not). So it feels basically like playing a mech game. Doesn't matter what design of the frame is, I would be fine being the pilot.

[Ronyn]

For me its a simple matter of wanting gender to be lore appropriate.

Option1-

If I am playing as a robot or each frame is a specific champion then the gender can be locked to each frame.

Anything robotic could have been built in a specific gender and a specific hero would reasonbaly have a locked gender.

Option2-

If I am playing as a character who is just changing suits then I should pick a gender and remain that same gender regardless of which suit I put on.

I don't want any gender bias involved where females are casters and males are warriors or any such stuff.

So as soon as the lore tells me which it is I will be pushing for what I feel is the lore appropriate set up.

[ValhaHazred]

+1 for Ronyn. If they go with Option 1 I hope they give the Frames some personality beyond looks. So far they are just blank slates, wich implies that they are intended to be player surrogates. Also a few of the Bosses call out your name and comment on your frame choice, so Option 2 seems more likely.

[Aizeol]

The 'frames aren't just suits of armor. Right now, they are archetypes or specific characters. You aren't controlling an avatar, and from what I can tell you may not even be controlling the same person inside each 'frame.

What if there are different corps of 'frames. Like the Excaliber Corps or Trinity Corps.

I don't see why gender is an issue. The frames are basically the champions from DotA or LoL. Sure it's nice to see fanart that has a gender-swap (if it's tasteful) but I don't want that in Warframe.

[Mrydeen]

I want a M/F type warframe too...

I like the abilities, but I really just prefer to only play one gender.

Surely the techno that equips the warframes have genders too..

[ValhaHazred]

The 'frames aren't just suits of armor. Right now, they are archetypes or specific characters. You aren't controlling an avatar, and from what I can tell you may not even be controlling the same person inside each 'frame.

What if there are different corps of 'frames. Like the Excaliber Corps or Trinity Corps.

I don't see why gender is an issue. The frames are basically the champions from DotA or LoL. Sure it's nice to see fanart that has a gender-swap (if it's tasteful) but I don't want that in Warframe.

I don't see any indication the frames are specific characters, unless there is some Dev quote I haven't seen. If you want to compare it to LoL, all those characters have their own unique lore, animations, and voice acting. So far the Frames don't and there is no indication they are going to. I'm fine if they go down that route as long as there are more female front-line combat Frames and they don't get into fanservice (they probably won't, but still).

Even though I'm on the pick your sex side, I'll propose some fluff I thought of for the specific character folks. Each Warframe type is actually a series of clones lead/parented by a Prime. So Excalibur Prime would be the progenator of all Excaliburs. The Grineer dug up the cloning tech from an old Tenno base and began using it to spread their Empire. Unfortunatly they missed an important part of the puzzle and blame the Tenno for their degredation, thinking it was sabotage. The Tenno could cure them, but won't because they would be a larger, harder to get rid of foreign power.

There; specific but multiple characters, and some moral greyness for both the Grineer and Tenno.

[Zeruel104]

I don't see any indication the frames are specific characters, unless there is some Dev quote I haven't seen. If you want to compare it to LoL, all those characters have their own unique lore, animations, and voice acting. So far the Frames don't and there is no indication they are going to. I'm fine if they go down that route as long as there are more female front-line combat Frames and they don't get into fanservice (they probably won't, but still).

Even though I'm on the pick your sex side, I'll propose some fluff I thought of for the specific character folks. Each Warframe type is actually a series of clones lead/parented by a Prime. So Excalibur Prime would be the progenator of all Excaliburs. The Grineer dug up the cloning tech from an old Tenno base and began using it to spread their Empire. Unfortunatly they missed an important part of the puzzle and blame the Tenno for their degredation, thinking it was sabotage. The Tenno could cure them, but won't because they would be a larger, harder to get rid of foreign power.

There; specific but multiple characters, and some moral greyness for both the Grineer and Tenno.

an interesting idea, I kinda like it. though I kinda feel that if all the tenno are clones it just strips them of their individuality even more

[PiggySaysWhat]

Well, how I understand it is there are Tenno and then Warframes...right? So the Warframe doesn't actually have a gender. It's just the model that it's being built that happens to look either male or female? (Edit: For people saying it doesn't make sense you're not controlling an avatar. Well--It sounds like the LoL thing to me. You are a "Summoner", in this case a Tenno, who is using his "Champion," his Warframe. So your screenname is your Tenno. Mine is the proud, ageless hunter PiggySaysWhat with a code of honor made of steel!)

So, alright---I think that's totally acceptable in the pure build, instant release of Warframes to give them a certain gender and that's that. But, let's be honest---Gender choice of Avatars are the new wave and getting on board would be a new revenue source easy. Skins can break "accepted" lore pretty easily. So, make them a purchase only skin and bam--you've made people happy while giving yourself more cash. People who are asking for it because they won't play a Female/Male avatar aren't the sort that I would suggest pandering to. It's got no real effect on gameplay so that it should be a "required" feature of all Warframes I agree is an unrealistic goal. The sort of player who is going to say "Ugh, boobs on the front of my avatar that I really don't see 90% of the time, "Never playing!" aren't the sort you can count on for the sort of open-minded love it feels like you want from your players in this game.

Still, I'd suggest getting the team on board. It is a great cosmetic feature that people happily pay for and it also gives artists the opportunity to explore different body types. What -would- a male Ember look like? Would he be thin and sleek or short and stout. Would a female Rhino be a beefy momma or a deceptively svelt juggernaut? It is an opportunity for creativity that I think people would appreciate. Obviously it is low, low, low priority---but I would hope your team doesn't discredit its merit just because it has a time constraint. It would be a lovely reward to your dedicated player base if they manage to give you enough starting cash/continued revenue to say--widen your team :D

And personally I would enjoy this over a "pure" swap option. I get I'm prolly in the minority on this one---but I like the warframes acting as "Calling Cards" of the artists that designed them. They are all so excellent that I think just having a button that will shrink their waists, give them breasts, and widen their hips would be a disservice to the little gems that they are.

Edited April 5, 2013 by PiggySaysWhat

[jalthi]

Even if the devs agreed 100% how is it hard to understand that additional character models = more work.

Let's look at this:

1. Game isn't even released yet.

2. Dev team is limited in the amount of work they can do.

3. Choosing gender of existing warframe = purely cosmetic additions.

4. (assumption) Dev team wants to continue building content that actually affects gameplay.

Result? The devs might be 100% on board with this, but it boils down to spending your time wisely. Having 20 gender-locked warframes vs 10 gender-selectable warframes isn't really a choice at all.

[Zeruel104]

Well, how I understand it is there are Tenno and then Warframes...right? So the Warframe doesn't actually have a gender. It's just the model that it's being built that happens to look either male or female? (Edit: For people saying it doesn't make sense you're not controlling an avatar. Well--It sounds like the LoL thing to me. You are a "Summoner", in this case a Tenno, who is using his "Champion," his Warframe. So your screenname is your Tenno. Mine is the proud, ageless hunter PiggySaysWhat with a code of honor made of steel!)

So, alright---I think that's totally acceptable in the pure build, instant release of Warframes to give them a certain gender and that's that. But, let's be honest---Gender choice of Avatars are the new wave and getting on board would be a new revenue source easy. Skins can break "accepted" lore pretty easily. So, make them a purchase only skin and bam--you've made people happy while giving yourself more cash. People who are asking for it because they won't play a Female/Male avatar aren't the sort that I would suggest pandering to. It's got no real effect on gameplay so that it should be a "required" feature of all Warframes I agree is an unrealistic goal. The sort of player who is going to say "Ugh, boobs on the front of my avatar that I really don't see 90% of the time, "Never playing!" aren't the sort you can count on for the sort of open-minded love it feels like you want from your players in this game.

Still, I'd suggest getting the team on board. It is a great cosmetic feature that people happily pay for and it also gives artists the opportunity to explore different body types. What -would- a male Ember look like? Would he be thin and sleek or short and stout. Would a female Rhino be a beefy momma or a deceptively svelt juggernaut? It is an opportunity for creativity that I think people would appreciate. Obviously it is low, low, low priority---but I would hope your team doesn't discredit its merit just because it has a time constraint. It would be a lovely reward to your dedicated player base if they manage to give you enough starting cash/continued revenue to say--widen your team :D

And personally I would enjoy this over a "pure" swap option. I get I'm prolly in the minority on this one---but I like the warframes acting as "Calling Cards" of the artists that designed them. They are all so excellent that I think just having a button that will shrink their waists, give them breasts, and widen their hips would be a disservice to the little gems that they are.

I'll admit that I dislike the LoL analogy you have put forth but I agree with the buisness model idea you have proposed, I'd be fine with choosing a gender option when you aquire the warframe, but if you wanted the other you'd have to pay for it, or treat the entire process as like a reskin and charge people for it.

[Zed0]

Wouldn't want a female rhino tho.

[Dasmir]

This thing is like the tf2 discuss...

[ValhaHazred]

Wouldn't want a female rhino tho.

I emphatically dissagree. DO WANT.

[Strac_CRO]

Oh God, why have I clicked on this thread !

[__Kanade__]

Quite honestly, I don't care if I'm using a female or male warframe, all I care is how they perform. Gender is at the bottom of the list.

If Excaliber was a female, then so what? if Frost was a female, then so what?

Edited April 5, 2013 by __Kanade__

[kiwicanfly]

+1 i agree.

Though, the problem is that it will cut into DE's time in designing new Warframes. But if they have the spare time, then :)

[zelklen]

This suddenly makes perfect sense.

Make new alternate gender skins that cost like... ??? plat, and require you to already have the warframe unlocked.

It is perfect! DE gets money, stays in business, makes new content, we get alternate gender warframes, free to play players can continue to play for free.

Perfect.

+2

[ValhaHazred]

Works for me, Zelken. I think it can wait, but I hope the Devs keep it in mind.

[lncarnation]

Honestly I kind of just think of it as wearing a suit and if wearing that certain suit changed my gender... that would be very strange and promote me into not wearing that suit..sometimes....a little..not always... okay..SOMETIMES I JUST WANT TO FEEL PRETTY....aaaanyways it would be really convenient to just be a male with male suits and for females to have female suits. Regardless I will not degrade the developers feelings on this topic only for the fact that it has been more than proven that they do care about how this game is turning out overall.

[DoomBlackDragon]

I was thinking about this too! I don't really mind that my excalibur prime is male, but I prefer to play female whenever possible. I picked Mag as my starter specifically because she was a woman. I hope the choice is offered eventually, but I can wait until after all the bugs are fixed and they can afford more artists.

I also picked Mag because I perfer playing a female. It just seems more epic watching a female character cutting male soldiers two times her size in half. I guess I am just one who likes to root for the under dog. While the feature would be nice to have post launch. There are enough female characters for me to be happy for awhile. I rather them add content and fix bugs over adding cosmetics to the game. If the devs are to busy making costumes for their character and we run out of things to do. The game will die. Edited April 5, 2013 by DoomBlackDragon

[11.11.11]

I also picked Mag because I perfer playing a female. It just seems more epic watching a female character cutting male soldiers two times her size in half. I guess I am just one who likes to root for the under dog. I rather them add content and fix bugs over adding cosmetics to the game. If the devs are to busy making costumes for their character and we run out of things to do. The game will die.

You're not the only one.

This thread again.

I'm going to restate what I've said before, but in a new, fun, educational, numerical list fashion! :D

1) Choice is always good. Like freedom. Dosn't mean people will use or abuse it, but the ability to make a choice is to my mind, always inherently good.

2) Being able to choose your frame's "gender" - remember frames are bio-mechanical armor from what little lore we know - independant from their powers. Would be good.

3) As a female gamer, I have more respect for a game that has an equal or near equal representation of women folks. That means, there has to be women, and they can't all be sex objects. The less objectified they are, the better. Warframe is so far acheiving a good grade in this respect.

4) I understand DE's position, both in terms of their game's state as a beta, and their limited staff and resources.

So my basic conclusion on this topic. No matter how many different thread titles get pasted onto it is:

We've got female frames.Yay.

They're not bimbo's. Yay.

Maybe we'll have a "gender" / power unlocking in the future. Yay.

But in the meantime, whenever I play a 'male' frame, I'll just remind myself that it just a suit of armor. And kick my armorers backside when I get back to base.

Edited April 5, 2013 by 11.11.11