Comments on SeriousGamer: Mass Effect is one of the best game series out the...

Reading again, I actually don't agree complete...

2011-08-12T17:39:07.566-04:00

Reading again, I actually don't agree completely, for good or ill on the design we need one official Shepard. The goal is to have a consistent look and feel in the marketing and if there are five different looks and feels for the character in the marketing you lose that impact. While I don't like the blonde I want all the trailers and commercials to have the one consistent look. I mean as much as I hate the generic buzzcut square jaw male Shepard I recognize and identify him as Commander Shepard because he was consistent from the start.

I agree completely actually, if you look at their ...

2011-08-12T17:36:19.902-04:00

I agree completely actually, if you look at their actual characters Bioware is very good as showing diversity and original looks for characters (that cross gender and racial boundaries), this being a mass market game the humanoids are going to be attractive but at least they show that they are not just barbie dolls. I think if they were choosing the 'official' FemShep on their own it would have been pretty close to ideal

...but...

At the same time Bioware is now owned by EA which is a massive company and wants even more mainstream people playing the games, so they had this contest. And they promoted it in places that typical players of the series do not visit, hence the publicity, the voting pattern and in the end, more attention on the title.

They got what they wanted, some of us hate it, but mostly everyone who is interested knows about it. Fir good or ill the public has spoken and given us what every sitcom seems to have, a formulaic blonde, but at least she will still have Shepards personality and not Kelly Bundy's!

I understand why the primarily male and north a...

2011-08-12T17:07:56.933-04:00
I understand why the primarily male and north american audience picked her.

Yeah, no one's disputing that -- I think we all understand it. The thing is that when Bioware sets up that sort of "There Can Be Only One" scenario, and then asks the web to vote, we're inevitably going to get whatever the straight (white) male audience picks. Those with alternate backgrounds and preferences are drowned out, as usual, basically making blonde, blue-eyed Shep a poster child for the larger issues facing the game industry. :) That's why multiple "canon" Shepards (both male and female) would be -- to me -- so much more inclusive. I think Bioware's moving in the right direction; I'd just like to see them shift another inch.

The Blonde, blue eyed female choice is not a surpr...

2011-08-12T15:42:45.832-04:00
The Blonde, blue eyed female choice is not a surprise to me as the game is the most successful in North America (70% of sales are there for the game).

From my perspective I don't like the blonde barbie version (look at mine she is scarred and angular, but with some eye makeup :)), but I understand why the primarily male and north american audience picked her.

I agree with you that the reasons you've cited...

2011-08-12T13:48:07.606-04:00
I agree with you that the reasons you've cited for people disliking the new Shepard are infuriating (‘She looks more like someone who would do her nails instead of saving the galaxy’ ‘Being blonde there is no way she could command a team’, etc.); I also agree it's great that Bioware is finally putting a female Shepard on any promo merchandise at all.

There may be an element going unaddressed here, though, which is that the Shepard chosen (pretty, blonde, etc.) is also what you've described wanting in your own games: a Shepard that the presumed straight male audience likes looking at. A lot of the arguments, both pro and con, assume that the new FemShep should be pleasing to that audience. What I'm hearing from some women (& gay male) gamers is: "Why must she look like a Barbie doll? Why do we keep advancing the same white-privilege images over and over again? Must this American blonde-haired, blue-eyed ideal always prevail?" Personally, I'm just going to keep playing with my own custom Shep (who has no makeup at all, thankyouverymuch!), and I'll be happy to see some publicity material that doesn't star the same dude as always. The suggestion I've seen that I liked the best, though (and I can't remember where I read this, sorry) is for Bioware to produce promo materials that feature a range of different Shepards, rather than just picking a white hero for each.