Does anyone else hate that you can't choose your pronouns?

[seliph]

it's much better than tying pronouns to your style but having a pronoun option would be nice.

then again i haven't seen that option in literally any game, usually it's boiled down to ArE yOu BoY oR gIrL

 

[thegunpowderincident]

Yeah it does feel kind of odd for me to be referred to as 'they'. I probably notice it more, since most of my interactions with my villagers involve me butting into their conversations lol, and they will refer to your villager in those conversations sometimes. I guess it just seems impersonal to me, since absolutely no one refers to me as 'they' irl, unless for some reason they don't know my preference.

 

[dino]

one of my pronoun sets is they, so i'm quite spoiled by it. sometimes i play and wonder - is this what cis people feel like in real life?? haha!
oh, how the turntables!!
but i agree, the idea of creating an avatar in a game is always going to be a fraught one, because the developers truly do bring soooo much implicit bias into the game with them. personally, i wonder why they don't just get rid of prounouns in conversations in AC. you can, and should, in situations where you can't know someone's pronouns, replace using pronouns with using their name! it functions just the same and feels so much better.

 

[Zane]

I only notice it occasionally if it's in a sentence where it seems kind of off (particularly when villagers are talking about other villagers). It does not bother me at all.

 

[axo]

I think using gender neutral language is a step in the right direction, but it could still be improved.

 

[Alienfish]

I think using gender neutral language is a step in the right direction, but it could still be improved.

Yeah I think they used the most neutral options for good reasons, mostly to avoid the most rabid hate from either side of the discussion and I don't think it's necessary to pressure kids to choose or reflect too much over it either. As much as it is a simulation it's not real world and the game is aimed a definitely younger audience originally than on this forum. Also to avoid conflicts in countries where lgbtq+/pronoun issues are not as open as in the West.

 

[Bulbadragon]

I use they/them pronouns anyways so I'm very happy with it. I feel like if there was a choice it would only be between he or she. Nintendo games aren't too progressive so I can't imagine they'd give the choice of they/them pronouns along with he and she. I like that in this one there's not gendered language since in the past games villagers constantly refer to the player being a boy or girl.

 

[Hobowire]

no idea.

 

[milktae]

I don’t really mind being called they/them, but I understand why you would prefer being called by your actual pronouns

 

[Soigne]

no, it doesn't bother me. i don't even really pay attention.

 

[loveclove]

Whoa, never noticed this

 

[Nicolette]

Yeah I think they used the most neutral options for good reasons, mostly to avoid the most rabid hate from either side of the discussion and I don't think it's necessary to pressure kids to choose or reflect too much over it either. As much as it is a simulation it's not real world and the game is aimed a definitely younger audience originally than on this forum. Also to avoid conflicts in countries where lgbtq+/pronoun issues are not as open as in the West.

I think a lot of people tend to forget this when it comes to criticizing the game.

 

[Alienfish]

Also I'll add I definitely don't mean they should *never* add it or sorts, I just want to say I understand why they haven't added it plus they would probably want to avoid misrepresentation as well.

 

[ceribells]

I think being able to choose would enevitably still exclude someone though. Especially as new pronoun choices and preferences arise over time, or an individual's identity changes. It's not perfect, but maybe still a gentler option than what we'd probably get; picking between he/she/they.

I mostly see this when the villagers talk about my S.O.'s character: "Do you know what kind of movies Maturin likes? Oh, I should get to know them better!" So I feel like we see other peoples' pronouns more than our own? I guess people have multiple player characters though.
I personally don't get why we still pick a "style" with a neutral pronoun and zero difference in clothing and hair/eye options. It felt arbitrary to pick one or the other.

 

[Alienfish]

I think a lot of people tend to forget this when it comes to criticizing the game.

Yeah. I'm also not saying you shouldn't teach kids about these things but I don't think it's necessary to absolutely have it in animated fiction game, even though I can understand why people want it. Also yeah Nintendo is a world-wide family-oriented target company plus I don't think they want sues from countries where you can't be open about these issues but they still want people to enjoy games.

I don't game a lot these days nor follow news about games well but I'm sure there are other games that handles this better.

Also to add, I definitely think they are good with not making gender specific design/clothes eg. if you wore a dress it would turn into a suit on a male(yes they exist .-.) etc. I personally mainly use the male body because I think most clothes and designs look better on it, and I like doing gender-bender characters.

 

[NatsumiSummer]

I have no problem with being referred to as they/them, but I'm sure gender-conforming pronouns would also be beneficial to trans people.

As a trans woman playing this game I have to say I agree. I prefer to go by she/her and never they/them IRL, and being referred to as they/them really seems puzzling. Like I am always dressed more-less in a highly feminine way (I wear a crapton of dresses and skirts, hair is always of the longer type). So I never understand why they HAVE to think of me as a they/them.

I mean, if you are going to push for more equality then giving more options would be the best way to do it. Just taking away the he/him and she/her pronouns and replacing BOTH with just they/them is just steps back. Sure it is great for non-binary folk, but at the end of the day it doesn't make it more welcoming to different people. It is in some ways worse than just having the gender binary, since then we would have a choice of pronoun... instead you take it away for a "style." just either force us to choose between he/him and she/her OR give us complete freedom and allow us to input our own pronouns.

Gosh this is a really bad design choice in a lot of ways.

 

[Alienfish]

I kinda think they would want to avoid being accused of misrepresentation/excluding also, that's why they wouldn't add. Also I'd avoid free typed in fields in such games, some audiences are quite immature and would probably put in dumb stuff just to troll and show disrespect.

 

[Solio]

Not all languages have a way to adress someone in a gender-neutral way akin to "they/them". For example French and German. So it wouldnt translate well to other languages.
Besides, I cant think of an instance where I was referred to in 3rd person.

 

[Cosmic-chan]

I'm kinda bothered,, I want my animals to acknowledge that my character is a boy wearing dresses. ://

 

[TheodoreCottontail]

It's been nice not having everything so strictly gendered in this game, including the villagers. It makes the game feel more carefree. But if your pronouns are strictly female, I can see how this would give you the opposite feeling.