Wait, what’s this ‘originally’ nonsense?
Ten years ago this month, my very first anim test for Mass Effect. Yup, Commander Shepard was originally a woman: pic.twitter.com/FhC2E0FSrA
— Jonathan Cooper (@GameAnim) January 9, 2015
Commander Shepard’s always been a woman. Just because four out of five Mass Effect players disagree with me is not sufficient reason to make me change my mind…
More here and here:
Cc: @moelane https://t.co/JcVSxEWnDL
— Mad Dougs & Englishmen (@zamoose) January 9, 2015
…and, of course, there’s always the game itself.
My first play-through was MaleShep. Subsequent play-throughs have shown me how wrong I was.
I’m about 50-50 in my playthroughs. Typically my cerebral Paragons tend to be female, and my blunt trauma Vanguard Renegades go male. I also think that’s about how the voice acting best works too. Hale’s is much better for the Paragon, but some of the Renegade speeches feel stilted with her.
On the other hand, Meer just sounds…weak when he’s Paragon. He has to have the grimdark antihero in full bore to sound good. Which, when I listen to some of his other material, isn’t surprising. His “How to survive in Icewind Dale” series is hilarious.
Jennifer Hale’s voice acting sold me on FemShep, and I think that you may be onto something with the Paragon thing there.
Oh no doubt that Jennifer Hale sells it. She’s probably my favorite VA in gaming. My only real problem with FemShep in ME1 is that it’s all but impossible to make an attractive character in the old creation system. It’s *much* easier in ME2 & 3.
All I have to do then is install MEHEM to ignore the atrocious ending.
I tell they brethern, yea the femShep is a blight upon the face of gamingdom.
.
Though not nearly as annoying as the gay shuttlepilot who kept whining about his sex life. I wanted to lock him in a room with Wrex and Grunt. He does not deserve a place in my krant.
.
But back to the original topic, I’ve never had a fantasy of power that included me sprouting breasts. I don’t mind the option existing, girls play games too. But guys primarily playing with a female protagonist strikes me as weird.
eh, if I’m going to be staring at something for a 40 hour playthrough, I would really rather it be attractive…
Especially if you’re playing using an over-the-shoulder viewpoint.
No different than when I write a female protagonist. It’s a story. It’s not “me.” So I write/play the character that fits the concept I’m following. RPGs aren’t about self-identification with the character.