But this time I don't want to look at the female eye candy in computer games, I want to focus on their male counterparts. There are two reasons for diving in to this matter, firstly we are working on our next title, where we need some male game characters, who must be more than just the average muscle guy ( I'll try to write a sneak preview about this game in a couple of days ). Secondly there was a discussion a while back on the IDGA mailing list around this subject, called "The hottest guys in games" that brought up some interesting pixel guys. Guess it's time to see who's actually representing the male population in games these days, and see if they are differently, sexier and more diverse then before.

Dr. Gordon Freeman, Half Life
Finally a guy all "nerds" can relate to, adored by his counterpart Alyx, which makes him even more desirable. Interesting here is that the surrounding game characters, or general game's atmosphere, can add just that extra X factor you need.

Sephiroth, Final fantasy VII and the CGI film Advent Children
Nearly the archetype of a mysterious powerful man, even has his own fansites ( mainly Japanese ) celebrating his looks and complex character.

Prince of Persia
I guess this game character fits the description "warrior muscle guy" but with a little more detail and personality added.

Carth, Star Wars : Knights of the Old Republic
Carth could easily be replaced by similar game characters. This type of male is often used in games and animations movies as the clean & mean good looking average guy. His proportions follow the classical rules of symmetry and harmony.

Leon Kennedy, Resident Evil
A "real American boy" kind of a guy with a twist.

Max Payne
The film noir typical anti hero, lost all he loved, seeking revenge, a story we all can relate to and emphasize with. The second example where not only the good looking poly's count, but the depth of the story line creates just that little extra.

Final thoughts:
Although the game market is still heavily dominated by typical male ( if there is such thing as a 'typical male', but that's an other discussion ) computer games, we see some changes on the horizon. Women are increasingly playing computer games, especially online MMORPG's, adventures and social games like Second life. But there's
also something else emerging at the gamers front, a phenomena that's best to describe as "player identification", players want to see themselves reflected in their game character, or better, they want to see their better Alter Ego, their improved self. Something that's only possible if the male game characters change, from the 'Hulky' tough soldier kind a thing, to the more realistic, interesting and complex male characters.

Links to the mentioned game titles: