tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-886868484666652260.post348091551196102633..comments2024-03-09T03:49:50.699-05:00Comments on Your Critic is in Another Castle: O Commander, my Commander...K. Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06554183349391372039noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-886868484666652260.post-45013465514467566582011-08-05T11:01:30.898-04:002011-08-05T11:01:30.898-04:00One idea I played with (and ultimately cut from th...One idea I played with (and ultimately cut from the post, because it didn't fit) was the realization of how important the voice acting has become to me. The appearance of Marketing FemShep feels more important to me than anything Marketing DudeShep because my Commander's voice is going to be coming out of that mouth, and that's just weird.K. Coxhttp://www.your-critic.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-886868484666652260.post-40739612896232009902011-08-05T10:58:26.390-04:002011-08-05T10:58:26.390-04:00Yeah, cosign. I'm actually not worried about ...Yeah, cosign. I'm actually not worried about the game at all at this stage and pretty much drool on my keyboard at the thought of getting to play it. And the concerns I do have actually revolve much more around their replacing Jack Wall with Clint Mansell for the score than around anything to do with Shepard, heh.<br /><br />But the marketing, and all of this... still gives me a big ol' *facepalm* day.K. Coxhttp://www.your-critic.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-886868484666652260.post-7857751683627350902011-08-05T10:57:12.921-04:002011-08-05T10:57:12.921-04:00I've actually seen a lot of people mention tha...I've actually seen a lot of people mention that, in various articles and posts and tweets and comments. It just doesn't matter all that much, to me. *shrugs* If it does matter, it's in the requirement that a certain kind of leading lady fit a certain kind of physical profile that they both share, which puts us right back here where we are.K. Coxhttp://www.your-critic.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-886868484666652260.post-63701483558890446602011-08-05T10:17:43.010-04:002011-08-05T10:17:43.010-04:00Interesting points. I had no idea about the things...Interesting points. I had no idea about the things you said about Dan Silverman, if that's all true (and I don't doubt you a bit), then it's a shame that the fanbase has been laying most of the blame on Casey Hudson. <br /><br />The writers definitely Get It. Patrick Weekes and others have given me hope that FemShep will remain FemShep in game, even if marketing takes her someplace completely else.Bianconoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-886868484666652260.post-39614540615302903722011-08-05T06:09:43.850-04:002011-08-05T06:09:43.850-04:00Why does everybody just miss the fact that she loo...Why does everybody just miss the fact that she looks like Samus Aran from Metroid?jonhttp://twitter.com/yamstersgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-886868484666652260.post-23849981812781534582011-08-04T20:57:07.230-04:002011-08-04T20:57:07.230-04:00blonde commandress shepard makes me say "ewww...blonde commandress shepard makes me say "ewww", and not because she isn't smoking hot (because she clearly is and clearly is designed to be, though personally i think she looks a little creepy with that sultry leer on her heavily made-up face). it's because, in all of those pictures, my first thought is "commandress" and not "commander"--like you said, she's absolutely not default, in any way. whereas in the game, my female shepard (which i'm about to import to <i>me2</i> and run through it, once <i>f:nv</i> is finished with) is hardly sexualized at all (way less than my male shepard, who is kind of a flirtatious horn dog now that i think about it...).<br /><br />i'm really irked by the whole fan voting idea, and equally so by the results of it. again, like you, i really enjoyed being able to play through <i>my</i> shepard's story. and i still will. but it's weird to have her canonized as <i>that</i>.enstarstarstarnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-886868484666652260.post-62543131327299950572011-08-04T14:54:34.822-04:002011-08-04T14:54:34.822-04:00 I have the same unprovable feeling that you have.... I have the same unprovable feeling that you have. It's exacerbated by the attitude I've seen from Dan Silverman over Twitter, in an E3 interview about the femShep campaign in which he appeared not proud about femShep, but *embarrassed*, and so on. Until May, it seems, he had no idea femShep had a fan base--but the devs knew, and tweeted about it frequently. Then he was surprised, and then he took over the cause as if it were his own idea, and...held a beauty pagent. Silverman was also behind the decision to market only male Hawke for Dragon Age 2. (http://twitter.com/#!/dsilvermanea/status/72860007858831360). <br />I feel like the BioWare writers mostly Get It. The devs mostly do as well. And marketing? Well, there really is no BioWare marketing--it's run by @dsilvermanEA and @EAGamer, and they're so far out of touch with BioWare that it's incredible.Herpderpnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-886868484666652260.post-47972419731999311172011-08-04T14:51:51.862-04:002011-08-04T14:51:51.862-04:00Shepards 1,2,5,and 6 all have the same face, the o...Shepards 1,2,5,and 6 all have the same face, the only differences are the hair color and the eye color. <br /><br />"Instead, we have this supermodel."<br /><br />They all are supermodels. Everyone of these women fit the idea of being "conventionally" beautiful.Elizabethnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-886868484666652260.post-48855841771047120802011-08-04T14:34:54.729-04:002011-08-04T14:34:54.729-04:00Nothing brilliant to say here, just a thank you fo...Nothing brilliant to say here, just a thank you for your eloquence in highlighting this. I'm on the same channel. The vote thing was... you know... <br /><br />I miss you more then Michael Bay missed the mark<br />When he made Pearl Harbor<br />I miss you more than that movie missed the point<br />And that's an awful lot girl<br />And now, now you've gone away<br />And all I'm trying to say is<br />Pearl Harbor sucked, and I miss youAndyhttp://onefinemess.rhinopanda.net/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-886868484666652260.post-84700712870952754272011-08-04T14:13:20.522-04:002011-08-04T14:13:20.522-04:00Hmm, that Williams looks the same to me. She's...Hmm, that Williams looks the same to me. She's just casual - hair down and no armor. I mean, if they have her fighting in that outfit, that's stupid (and I wouldn't put it past them). But it doesn't look like they redesigned her face much.Linehttp://linehollis.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-886868484666652260.post-82960176315621429292011-08-04T12:16:02.165-04:002011-08-04T12:16:02.165-04:00 Although I am not thrilled about the whole "... Although I am not thrilled about the whole "vote on character appearance" aspect, I just can't get too excited about the ultimate result. 'Cause, whatever the result was, it wasn't going to be the Real Commander Shepard (i.e. mine), anyway. <br /><br />As it is, it seems fitting that Marketing FemShep is just as blandly conventional as Marketing ManShep. Yay, equality?Pamhttp://desdenova.livejournal.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-886868484666652260.post-11822907896187868942011-08-04T11:28:34.699-04:002011-08-04T11:28:34.699-04:00I think this quote from Dennis Scimeca's piece...I think this quote from Dennis Scimeca's piece is the most relevant here:<br /><br /><i>This is not to suggest that Bioware is disinterested in social justice, but it's entirely possible that the same kind of projection which is applied to the female Commander Shepard by the social justice community is being applied to the company that created her, as well.</i><br /><br />Or to put it in the context of your last paragraph: Chances are it was always just a single step forward. Yes, they could have been more daring and just chosen something very different, but I'm pretty sure the huge potential for some super-progressive statement through the FemShep box art was illusory from the start. Bioware is as Hollywood as any video games company ever has been (even moreso since being bought by EA) and <i>Mass Effect</i> is their most Hollywood franchise. It doesn't make any sense that they'd designed that particular FemShep to win since I am pretty sure that if they had developed one on their own it would simply have been based on the default redhead hairstyle from ME1+2. Letting a vote happen probably made it more likely that there would be a more progressive FemShep, not less, even if it only raised the chances from 0% to 20%.Stephen Winsonhttp://goodbadawesome.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.com