Do Our Game Characters Mirror Our Personalities?

Do Our Game Characters Mirror Our Personalities?

Bit of an odd question this, but there is a reason.

As I may have mentioned before, I collect Chinese stamps and at a stamp fair this weekend I bought a small collection for £10 which had a few Chinese stamps inside.  I didn't look at it very closely until I was back home, but behind a larger stamp was a rather famous Chinese stamp called the "Golden Monkey".  It has its own wikipedia page here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Monkey_stamp (I have forgotten how to post images on the forum).  Anyway, this stamp seems to be synonymous with good luck, and as far as I can tell it is genuine.

It was issued to celebrate the Chinese Year of the Monkey in 1980.  Not knowing anything about such things, I looked up when the next Year of the Monkey is (2028), and noticed that each animal is assigned various different personality characteristics, so as a bit of fun I looked up when I was born and the characteristics assigned to that animal.   Apparently it is not just the animal, but the type of element associated with the animal in that particular year.

It turns out that I am a metal pig.     

The attributes of metal are: firmness, rigidity, persistence, strength, determination - which seems to fit in with my performance in G7.  The attributes of a pig are a bit more subtle: the natural element of a pig is water (perhaps this fits in with my interest in ships?); they enjoy sleeping and 'enjoying the sweet life'.  I don't understand any of the astrological stuff as to how the various characteristics are modified (Catholics rightly dismiss that as rubbish), but general characteristics suggest pigs are "emotional and intuitive, compatible with rabbits and goats" (which apparently are gentle and sensitive).  "When pigs work with rabbits and goats they strive for aestheticism, beauty, and a more philosophical, and intellectual approach in life" (which might well explain how I play Pope Clement in G10).  "Their calm nature gives them great leadership abilities. They are artistic, refined, intuitive, intelligent, and well-mannered. The Rabbit, Goat, and Pig have been bestowed with calmer natures than the other nine signs.  They are caring, unique, self-sacrificing, obliging, sensible, creative, empathetic, tactful, and prudent. They can also be naive, pedantic, insecure, cunning, indecisive, and pessimistic.  They are incompatible with Snakes."

I'm not going to pretend that all of these characteristics fit, but a surprising number seem to.  

So I'm now really curious.  If my allies in games just happen to be Rabbits or Goats and my enemies Snakes, perhaps I have unwittingly picked game positions and played game characters which happen to reflect the Chinese Year of my birth and the characteristics assumed to flow from the animal described.  Is this just a coincidence in my case?

All the information is on the various wikipedia pages, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pig_(zodiac) with links to the other animals so you can find the dates from there.

Yes to a certain extent, especially when I'm playing the sims computer game - I really must try an evil and diabolical sim just for the sake of it.

As a Water Rat, I'm not supposed to get on with my wife - 20 year anniversary recently, so there are bits that do not resonate. Looking at more recommended sites than wiki for the topic like https://chinesenewyear.net/zodiac/rat/ My personality is about 50/50 of what is described and I can see elements in my LGDR/TGOK characters over the years but I've only really had two long term LGDR/TGOK characters, including my current as Russia - kept dropping games due to restructures/redundancies, but keep coming back.

I try to look at the background of the character, even if not a historical known character and play out some aspects there. Once as Scotland I had played a Catholic chancellor / first minister for a Presbyterian government, and while the policies were in keeping for Scotland his individual behaviour was more Catholic - explains why my honour did not go much into double figures In the same game I was a bit inventive on how I got a £1,000,000 loan from the Bank of England to invest in trade - England and Scotland had the same King and currency at the time, so I would not have been able replicate the pressure applied to the Bank in other games.

Like a Rat I tend to be curious and investigate strengths and weaknesses and play my cards close to my chest unless I get verbose when writing in game letters. However I'm not sure other G10 players would describe the Tsar as timid and/or shy, which personally I have more of a tendency towards unless I know someone fairly well.

From the above link the following resonates best to me:

Men born in the Rat year are clever and adapt quickly to new environments. They are creative great at taking advantage of opportunities. ... Although they have great ideas, they might not be suitable for leadership positions.

Thanks for the link, Marshall ... all this stuff is new to me, if I hadn't found that stamp I would never have thought of looking all this up.  My sister is a wood tiger, but shares absolutely none of the characteristics described in that combination.

I suppose you are right that if we are going to be really accurate we should compare the actual birth dates of our game characters to see if they happen to be the same animal/element as in the Chinese New Year stuff.  The tables on Wikipedia only go back to 1900 - I'm sure there is a way of calculating it back, but this is only a bit of fun.

I can see that a Catholic Chancellor running a Presbyterian government in Scotland could cause a few honour complications  but most of the Scottish Highland Chiefs were Catholic and religion in Scotland is not as simplified as it might appear in games.  Presbyterians were strongest in the south west and central belt, but the Highlands were about as solid Catholic as they could be.  There were several attempts to try and enforce religious change on the highlands, but they all failed - Clan Chiefs jealously guarded their privileges.  It would have been very interesting if you had raised the clans and kicked the Presbyterians out, returning Scotland to the Catholic faith.  Would your honour have soared?  Don't know.  Changes like that are easier in a smaller country, whereas trying to manage the religious diversity in England/Ireland/Scotland in G7 is hard (especially when I have Muslim/Hindu subjects as well).  

It will be interesting to see if your Tsar character is brought out of his shell by friendly Dragons or Monkeys, or runs up against opposition from Horses.  Apparently 2020 is the year of the metal rat so perhaps things are about to get better for you?

Tsar Peter was historically clever and adaptable.  He also definitely took advantage of opportunities and was not short of ideas.  I don't think there are many in Russia who would dare to suggest he was not suitable for leadership, but perhaps the element which goes with the animal in your particular year modifies that part of it?

I think I'm getting the hang of this a bit more now.  King James (III) was born in June 1688 which if I've added it up correctly means he was an Earth Dragon.  Being a Dragon is supposed to be lucky (which of course he wasn't historically, but has been in G7).  "The Monkey has the most tacit understanding with the Dragon people. The cunning Rat can be a good partner with the Dragon to make something big. The Dragon people can live happily with the Snake, for the Snake can prevent the Dragon from behaving outrageously. People under the signs of the Rooster, Pig, Rabbit, Goat, Tiger, and Horse like to be friends with the Dragon, as they admire the Dragon's beautiful bearing and strength.  Two Dragons can get along well with each other. However, the relationship between the Dragon and the Ox people is usually tense, because both of them are majestic. The people whom the Dragon feels headaches with the most are the Dog people. They feel uncomfortable due to the Dog's close guard."

But ... Tsar Peter was born in May 1672 which makes him ... a metal pig (like the real me!)

King Louis was born in Sept 1638 which makes him ... a fire ox.  That is rather troubling for relations between him and King James.  An Ox needs a snake; ox and fire seems to be a particularly powerful combination.

Pope Clement was born July 1649 which makes him ... an earth rat.  So perhaps there is hope for an improvement in ecumenical relations between Russia and the Papacy in G10?

Papa Clement wrote:I suppose you are right that if we are going to be really accurate we should compare the actual birth dates of our game characters to see if they happen to be the same animal/element as in the Chinese New Year stuff.  The tables on Wikipedia only go back to 1900 - I'm sure there is a way of calculating it back, but this is only a bit of fun.

The Zodiac is 12 years and there are five elements so there is a sixty year cycle - which actually makes both Peter and myself Water rats!  Hadn't realised that before.  https://www.asia-home.com/china/zodiac/year/1672/lang/en.php

Papa Clement wrote:I can see that a Catholic Chancellor running a Presbyterian government in Scotland could cause a few honour complications  but most of the Scottish Highland Chiefs were Catholic and religion in Scotland is not as simplified as it might appear in games.  Presbyterians were strongest in the south west and central belt, but the Highlands were about as solid Catholic as they could be.  There were several attempts to try and enforce religious change on the highlands, but they all failed - Clan Chiefs jealously guarded their privileges.  It would have been very interesting if you had raised the clans and kicked the Presbyterians out, returning Scotland to the Catholic faith.  Would your honour have soared?  Don't know.  Changes like that are easier in a smaller country, whereas trying to manage the religious diversity in England/Ireland/Scotland in G7 is hard (especially when I have Muslim/Hindu subjects as well).  

True but at the time I was trying to learn how honour worked and not in a position to overthrow the monarch who ruled England and UDP at the same time.  It would have become messy, especially as France was NPC or just ignoring everyone.

Papa Clement wrote:It will be interesting to see if your Tsar character is brought out of his shell by friendly Dragons or Monkeys, or runs up against opposition from Horses.  Apparently 2020 is the year of the metal rat so perhaps things are about to get better for you?

That would be interesting but I suspect it would be based more for the game on the players zodiac sign than their historical persona. Do we have any players who are Dragon or Monkey?  

Looking up the person Peter is courting in G10 they are a Water Pig and another site referring to Rat - Pig compatibility https://www.zodiacsigns-horoscope.com/chinese-compatibility/rat-pig/ summarises the relationship as:
The Rat & Pig love compatibility is very complimentary. This is because you work well in all aspects of your lives. You can work as a team in the business, maintain a healthy friendship, or even connect on a romantic level. You look out for each other as well.
Whether you are concerned about their stress level or their spending habits, you can be open about your concerns and seriously think about what they worry about you. Even your disagreements and arguments are easy to resolve in a Rat with Pig compatibility. You feed off of each other when it comes to your strengths and weaknesses. Your complementary natures make your love compatibility very high.

Papa Clement wrote:Tsar Peter was historically clever and adaptable.  He also definitely took advantage of opportunities and was not short of ideas.  I don't think there are many in Russia who would dare to suggest he was not suitable for leadership, but perhaps the element which goes with the animal in your particular year modifies that part of it?

Usually you can work around issues like the above and learn how to do it.  It's just more my nature to prefer not to lead, though I've been in management/leadership for over 18 years and learn a few things along the way. It's the aspects you highlight above about Peter that caught my interest and is the way I'm trying to perceive him as when forming orders, that and his occasional angry outbursts.

Peter's second wife Marta Samuilovna Skavronskaya who became Catherine I of Russia was born 12 years after Peter and was a Wood Rat.

The rat is the first sign of the Chinese Zodiac. The rats manage to appear relaxed and well-adjusted but in reality they are edgy and tense. Rats are suited well for each other as they both crave the constant intellectual companionship. https://www.sunsigns.org/chinese-rat-rat-love-match/

The Wood element personality traits on the site https://www.yourchineseastrology.com/five-elements.htm are:
Born with the wind element, wood people are just like the wind, thus quick-witted and competent. Since wind is changeable, wood types generally have unstable personality: sometimes like the storm, sometimes like the breeze; sometimes mild, sometimes stubborn. They often offend and contradict the leadership, never obey others easily.

Wood people are wise and reliable and they can cooperate with others; at work, they are motivated, confident, earnest, generous, righteous, comprehensive, compassionate and good at diplomacy. In general, they are bold and sometimes audacious in the extreme and short-tempered. Some of them with poor self-cultivation may have the criminal mentality and certain aggressiveness.

The above seems to suit what I have read of Marta/Catherine.  The Water traits are a bit longer but generally the element of water nourishes wood, which seems apt for their relationship.

Eudoxia Feodorovna Lopukhina, Peter's first wife was an Earth Rooster and the following might partly explain why this marriage was not a match made in heaven, given Peter did not want to change to being a traditional Orthodox Russian. The rational roosters are more prone to conservative, proven methods. They will not likely approve of their partner’s more creative and looser methods. Because they are perfectionists, they are likely to fall into their typical habit of demanding their lover to change. https://www.sunsigns.org/chinese-rooster-rat-love-match/

Seeing your subsequent post try this website for entering birth dates for calculating the sign https://www.asia-home.com/china/zodiac/year/1683/delta/0/lang/en.php Don't worry about the year in the website address you can enter the required year and it sorts it. I was born in 1972 as a Water Rat at 300 years after Peter was born 300 divided by 60 is 5 complete cycles so I would make Peter a Water Rat. Louis would be an Earth Tiger and Pope Clement and Earth Ox.  Need to also watch out as the Zodiac year generally starts in February for approximately 12 month so that can throw calculations out. Otherwise yes you seem to be getting the hang of it

Animal order:
Rat
Ox
Tiger
Hare
Dragon
Snake
Horse
Goat
Monkey
Rooster
Dog
Pig

Element order:
Water
Wood
Fire
Earth
Metal

Hope this helps.

Marshal Bombast wrote:The Zodiac is 12 years and there are five elements so there is a sixty year cycle - which actually makes both Peter and myself Water rats!  Hadn't realised that before.  https://www.asia-home.com/china/zodiac/year/1672/lang/en.php and https://www.yourchineseastrology.com/five-elements.htm

Great ... I think I copied the wrong cell in the table I had made.  It works for King James, but not those I subsequently tried.  Sorry about that.

To summarize then,

King James III: Jun-1688 = earth dragon
Tsar Peter: May-1672 = water rat
King Louis: Sep-1638 = earth tiger
Pope Clement: Jun-1649 = earth ox.

Don't you think that's weird that 3 out of the 4 have earth as their element.  The elements site you found is really useful as the Wikipedia page on earth is poor.

Earth people are associated with Kindness, Tolerant, Honest, Leader, Peacock.  It doesn't seem to fit King Louis so perhaps with him the Tiger characteristics dominate, or would if that was at all meaningful.

Water people are associated with Sympathetic, Perfectionist, Coordinator, Chameleon.  That doesn't quite seem to fit Tsar Peter either.

It is odd, though that you just happen to have the same pairing as the character you play in the game.

I haven't really gone into the level of detail of checking the compatibility of their wives, but your analysis may be useful for you.

I particularly liked you reminding me that Tsar Peter did not want to change to being a traditional Orthodox Russian.  I'd forgotten that his first wife was dominated by a very oppressive religious outlook, whereas Peter had a rather stormy relationship with the Orthodox church.  Could be useful.

I'll wait a while before expanding the list to let players research their own characters.  We may indeed have some Dragons or Monkeys in there, who knows?

Marshal Bombast wrote:

Papa Clement wrote:I can see that a Catholic Chancellor running a Presbyterian government in Scotland could cause a few honour complications  but most of the Scottish Highland Chiefs were Catholic and religion in Scotland is not as simplified as it might appear in games.  Presbyterians were strongest in the south west and central belt, but the Highlands were about as solid Catholic as they could be.  There were several attempts to try and enforce religious change on the highlands, but they all failed - Clan Chiefs jealously guarded their privileges.  It would have been very interesting if you had raised the clans and kicked the Presbyterians out, returning Scotland to the Catholic faith.  Would your honour have soared?  Don't know.  Changes like that are easier in a smaller country, whereas trying to manage the religious diversity in England/Ireland/Scotland in G7 is hard (especially when I have Muslim/Hindu subjects as well).  

True but at the time I was trying to learn how honour worked and not in a position to overthrow the monarch who ruled England and UDP at the same time.  It would have become messy, especially as France was NPC or just ignoring everyone.

I don't think changing the religion of Scotland would necessarily have meant overthrowing the monarch.  Ireland was predominantly Catholic, yet still ruled by England.  You could have sacked a few Presbyterian ministers and put good Catholic nobles in their place, replacing jumped-up Presbyterian tobacconists with high ranking Catholic Dukes and Clan Chiefs should have boosted honour.  

In G7 I have a mixture: I wanted loyalty and ability, and was lucky I could find both in those William would never have trusted.  My Head of Government is almost certainly a Catholic, Treasurer and Lord Privy Seal are both Catholics, Chancellor was Anglican but may now have converted, and Chamberlain was definitely Anglican.  2 are English, 2 Welsh and 1 Scottish, so if anything the Welsh are over-represented, but after researching their back stories, it seemed unfair to deny them the chance of high office - all either followed King James II into exile or refused to accept William and suffered on account of their loyalty.

Aha... I had a busy week & just spotted this.

My wife is August 1980, and a Monkey, the year of your Golden Monkey stamp (although she is Malay/Minangkabau, rather than Chinese, she is fluent in ‘street’ Mandarin).

& I am May 1976, a Fire Dragon. I can confirm Monkey compatibility, as 17 years married, four children & still on the up.

Interestingly enough, the character I feel most naturally aligned to playing in game is Cardinal-General Giulio Alberoni, an Earth Dragon (May 1664).

My Doge is based on a very close, if dissolute, friend of mine. Of course, your own personality comes through, but I have to think far more. My Alberoni (& his cabinet’s speeches) are written in 20-30 minutes, while the Doge’s are generally an hour plus.

Allegedly, Dragons are born extroverts, imaginative and natural leaders. Fire Dragons tend to be more energetic and passionate.
Flip side, can be rash and aggressive, with a titanic temper.

My Mother was very Into Chinese Astrology. Went to China in 1979, as part of the second tour group into China. Big Sinophile.
So all my childhood, I was constantly reminded I was a Dragon, and what it meant. The power of suggestion?

Seems that I am a water rabbit. Which seems a bit different to my earth sign in Western Astrology

Does being a water rabbit mean I should be fast and fluid?

Stuart Bailey wrote:Seems that I am a water rabbit. Which seems a bit different to my earth sign in Western Astrology

Does being a water rabbit mean I should be fast and fluid?

Not quite - according to one of the sites, "The water Rabbit is a popular, intuitive and considerate person. They can be quite sensitive and get offended quite easily. They are extremely accurate and like to do everything thoroughly; they also have an amazing memory. The Water Rabbit tends to be quite quiet and can seem quite withdrawn at times. They express their ideas well and are very highly regarded by all their family, friends and workmates and is very successful with many aspects of their life. The Rabbit has many desirable qualities and is very careful in life. They are intellectual, polite and peaceful people. They dislike any sort of unpleasantness and will always try to steer clear of arguments and disputes. They will always be able to calm a bad situation down and maintain peace.

Rabbits have a great appreciation for art and the finer things in life; they also love to party, which will usually be at the upper class restaurants and nightspots in town. The Rabbit is a humorous and intellectual person who loves to be involved in a debate.

Their views and advice are always appreciated by others and are always portrayed as prudent and diplomatic people. They will rarely get angry and will turn a blind eye when there is something that displeases them just to keep the peace. They like to remain on good terms with everybody, but can get rather sensitive and will see any form of criticism as an insult aimed at them. They will quickly leave the area if there is any sort of trouble heading in their direction.

The Rabbit is a silent yet efficient worker and has an extremely good memory. They are extremely perceptive when it comes to business, but their level of accomplishment often depends on the conditions that prevail. They do not cope well when there is tension in the air or when they have to make a sudden decision. They will always try to plan everything that they do, if there is a busy week ahead at work they might make a list of jobs in order to get done etc.

Rabbits do not like to take risks and really don’t like it when a change is implemented. The Rabbit seeks a quiet and long established environment.

The Rabbit is meticulous and will succeed extremely well as a diplomat, lawyer, shopkeeper or priest as well as any other job where they can show their superb skills to big crowds of people. Rabbits will be very loyal to their employers and will never go behind their backs to rival companies.

They adore their home and will spend a fortune maintaining it and fitting it with the latest gadgets, they do however love to collect, and this means there may be a lot of antiques around their home. They will spend a lot of time making sure their home is constantly clean.

The Rabbit is usually very lucky in life and often is blessed with being in the right place at the right time. They are very talented and quick thinking. They may sometimes put pleasure before work but this will usually be fine for the Rabbit as they are usually expected to live a life free of problems and pain."


I'll leave it to you to work out if that fits with your game characters, but out of interest other water rabbits include Queen Victoria, Albert Einstein and Gordon Brown!

Thinks Papa Clement is about to be busted by the Spanish Inquisition .

Papa Clement wrote:

The Rabbit is meticulous and will succeed extremely well as a diplomat, lawyer, shopkeeper, Grand Wizzy Wizzard or priest as well as any other job where they can show their superb skills to big crowds of people.

Very interesting. You know, there really may be something in this...

Mike wrote:Thinks Papa Clement is about to be busted by the Spanish Inquisition .

Don't forget, I'm a metal pig ... no matter how much torture is applied, it just bounces off me.

Haha ... very good .