Mass Effect 3

Discussion in 'Gaming' started by PsychoPere, Dec 10, 2010.

  1. SPCTRE

    SPCTRE Badass Admiral

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    I can definitely see her point. So far, marketing chose the straightforward, easy way (same with DA2, BTW - MaleHawke only) to drive the Mass Effect protagonist home with people.

    Looking forward to seeing FemShep on that box <3
     
  2. Reverend

    Reverend Admiral Admiral

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    Well of course that's a pretty safe bet considering that even these days the majority of (non-casual) gamers are still males in that 16 - 35 demographic. Don't get me wrong, there are a lot more girl and women gamers now than there were even a few years ago, but it's still *mostly* a "boy's hobby."

    Still, i think it's a fair point that Bioware games (and RPGs in general) have a higher proportion


    Depends on how you look at it really. On the one hand, yes, a lot of the animations had a distinct "masculine" quality to them (especially the walking/jogging cycle) but on the other hand this person is a career soldier who's spent most of his or her adult life wearing armour and crouching in the mud while dodging hypersonic projectiles. In the case of my main soldier FemShep she's EarthBorn and so a former street rat and gang member. Not exactly a recipe for girly behaviour.

    In a way it was especially appropriate with the Kasumi DLC to see her trundle along in her mannish gait, looking very uncomfortable in a dress and high heels.

    Actually, in Dragon Age II, one of the things that completely took me out of the game was the female Hawk's idle animation. Here I was with my aggressive, great-sword wielding warrior, looking all tough an mean, but as soon as she stands still for a few seconds, she strikes this demure little pose that looks so completely inappropriate.

    You know I have heard some people complain that Hale's performance sounds "butch" (I'm assuming this is what you're referring to; if not then my apologies.) Personally, I just don't see it.
    Earnest? Certainly. Strong? Absolutely. But butch? Nah.
    See now I've known some proper butch types in my time (power lifters, bouncers, construction workers etc.) and Hale isn't even *close*. I wouldn't even call her performance tomboyish.

    Well they did and the didn't. It'd probably be fair to say that the character of Shepard was written to be mostly gender neutral. It just so happens that there are so few female "hero" characters in video games to compare her to that (combined with the MaleShep oriented marketing) tends to lead people to think of the male version as the "preferred" version.

    Either way, I think it's to Bioware's credit that they haven't gone out of their way to overtly distinguish between the two gender options, at least from a story point of view. More than anything, I like how it plays against one's expectations of how a female protagonist is normally characterised.

    Case in point, for a lark I used the gibbed save editor to set my last playthrough as a vanguard as a femshep in a relationship with Ash. I half expected it to break the game, but lo and behold, when I got to Horizon all the relationship stuff worked without a hitch. Granted it's because the same conversation with Kaiden is essentially identical, but the character dynamic for both the male and female Shepard with their (possible) respective paramours was the same, regardless of gender.

    ^Agreed
     
  3. SPCTRE

    SPCTRE Badass Admiral

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    QFT, that's exactly my interpretation of her character.

    She's a freaking Space Marine, she's supposed to be a tough gal with a very distinct military vibe to her.
     
  4. -Brett-

    -Brett- Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I always use custom Shepards, so it's sort of academic for me. They all look pretty good though.

    Seems blondie is the winner. Nearest competition only has half of her votes. I would have voted for Shepard's 2 or 3 myself.
     
  5. Saquist

    Saquist Commodore

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    I can go with her...but I create my own too.
    That seems to be the whole point.
     
  6. Reverend

    Reverend Admiral Admiral

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    Well I think they said the vote will run for a few weeks at least so it's not decided yet...but yeah, unless there's a dramatic shift or some big fan drive to get people voting for another one then it does look like BlondyFemShep will be the winner.

    I just hope that close shorn hairstyle will be available because it'd suit my infiltrator shep very well. After two games she's probably a little sick of the shaved head look. ;)
     
  7. SPCTRE

    SPCTRE Badass Admiral

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    I will cry tears of joy if that short haircut in my av becomes available in the editor, tears of joy I tell ya :lol:
     
  8. SPCTRE

    SPCTRE Badass Admiral

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    BTW, I feel that I've fixed* FemShep #1 by simply ever-so-slightly stretching the image vertically.

    *and when I say 'fixed', I really mean 'made even awesomer'

    To illustrate, here's my avatar:

    Original version:
    [​IMG]

    Stretched version:
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  9. Saquist

    Saquist Commodore

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    I do like that.
     
  10. SPCTRE

    SPCTRE Badass Admiral

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    Thanks :techman:

    I forgot to mention for reference, there's a bigger version of that image set up as my profile image.
     
  11. Saquist

    Saquist Commodore

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    One of the few times boyish looks sexy
     
  12. SPCTRE

    SPCTRE Badass Admiral

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    ^ Not everyone can pull it off, but FemShep totally can.
     
  13. SPCTRE

    SPCTRE Badass Admiral

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    In case you guys haven't seen Patryk's Mass Effect 3 art yet - that stuff is effing bananas:

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  14. Saquist

    Saquist Commodore

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    Looks like oil paintings...man does simple yet competent work. But they have a digital quality. Oil paint can't get the hairs on Sheppards arms that fine unless you work at an insane scale.
     
  15. PsychoPere

    PsychoPere Vice Admiral Premium Member

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    My only criticism of his work (which is otherwise awe-inspiring) is that his Miranda doesn't look quite right.
     
  16. Saquist

    Saquist Commodore

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    You're right...she looks like Kutty from House
     
  17. kirk55555

    kirk55555 Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I'm very excited for ME 3. Mass Effect 2 is my favorite game ever, I can't wait until ME 3 comes out.
     
  18. Reverend

    Reverend Admiral Admiral

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    Oh that's meant to be Miranda? For some reason I thought it was a FemShep. Yeah it doesn't look much like Miranda, but then most of the portraits don't look very much like the characters' in-game appearance either (Mordin especially.) They're just easier to identify because they're distinctive aliens.

    Not to knock it mind; the guy has an excellent technique and a real flare for detail.
     
  19. PsychoPere

    PsychoPere Vice Admiral Premium Member

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    ^ Yeah, it's Miranda. But, like you said, it's impressive work nonetheless.
     
  20. Saquist

    Saquist Commodore

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    these shots have me wandering why we haven't had battle in the rain yet in ME