BioWare Exec "Blown Away" By Support for Mass Effect's FemShep

[Logan Westbrook]

BioWare Exec "Blown Away" By Support for Mass Effect's FemShep

FemShep's appeal isn't just about what she is, says BioWare's marketing boss, it's also about what she represents.

Back in May, BioWare marketing director David Silverman asked fans on Twitter if they wanted to the female version of Commander Shepard, lovingly referred to as "FemShep," in the marketing material for Mass Effect 3 [http://www.amazon.com/Mass-Effect-3-Xbox-360/dp/B004FYEZMQ/ref=sr_1_2?s=videogames&ie=UTF8&qid=1311072805&sr=1-2]. The response was overwhelming positive [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/111077-BioWare-Adding-Female-Shepard-to-Mass-Effect-3-Marketing ], and Silverman says that he is "blown away" by the level of passion and support that fans have demonstrated.

Silverman said that it was "amazing" to be able to connect with fans on a one-to-one basis via social media, adding that it probably wouldn't have been possible a few years ago. As for why FemShep's moment in the sun has been such a long time coming, Silverman said that it would have made it very difficult to market the game effectively had BioWare given equal attention to both versions of Shepard. "When creating a rich sci-fi epic like Mass Effect," he explained. "You need to keep a certain level of consistency so people unfamiliar with the property can clearly identify who the hero is that they get to become ... had we released images showcasing both a male and female Shepard, people wouldn't be able to identify who the hero was or what was going on."

While he praised Jennifer Hale's vocal performance as FemShep and the strong script created by the Mass Effect's writing team, Silverman thought that a big part of the character's appeal was what she represented. "I think it's more about people celebrating and rallying around the fact that BioWare gives people the choice to step into the boots of a hero of their own creation and escape into an epic adventure," he said. "We want to make sure that we allow people to have full choice as to which gender they make their hero, what they look like, and even who they choose to have intimate relationships with."

"It's one of the key things that makes a BioWare game unique and why we have such a passionate fan base. Everyone at BioWare is engrained with that mission and it's why we make the games we do," he added.

While that "full choice" Silverman speaks about has occasionally been a little elusive in the Mass Effect games until now - homosexual men have had no romantic choices other than celibacy, for example - it's certainly true that BioWare as a company makes an effort to be inclusive. Dragon Age 2's lead writer David Gaider made the point rather nicely when he slapped down [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/108722-Dragon-Age-2-Lead-Writer-Blasts-Homophobic-Fan] a homophobic fan complaining about being hit on by men earlier this year. "The majority has no inherent 'right' to get more options than anyone else," he said. "The very best we can do is give everyone a little bit of choice, and that's what we tried in [Dragon Age 2]."

Mass Effect 3 comes out for PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 on March 6th.

Source: VG247 [http://www.vg247.com/2011/07/19/loving-femshep-biowares-first-lady-finally-steps-forward/]





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[Woodsey]

Can't say I "get it" myself (beyond looking at a woman's arse for 30 hours).

Jennifer Hale just sounds like she's doing an impression of a macho guy - I've not seen anything with any more range than Mark Meer (who I also thought stepped up a fair bit from the first game to the second), who sounds much more natural when ManShep is speaking.

Hale was infinitely better as Bastila in KotOR.

 

[BabyRaptor]

Meant to say this here, said it on the FB comment thing instead...

Guys like to stare at tits. Story at 11!

 

[Daystar Clarion]

While it's great that Femshep is going to be represented in some form, I already have a very clear image of what she's supposed to look like.

Relatively short auburn hair, high cheek bones, and green eyes.

She has a very, 'vixen' look to her. She's also 90% renegade.

 

[Imre Csete]

Hale was infinitely better as Bastila in KotOR.

Yeah, I can't stand her FemShep impression either, it just sounds like a bored killing machine after amazing performances like Fall-From-Grace.

 

[ethan22122]

I tend to play as male shepard, I personally prefer the voice acting and can relate to it more :/

 

[SL33TBL1ND]

Well, she certainly has a better voice than MaleShep, can't says I think anything else of it though.

 

[Krantos]

About. F-ing. Time.

"We have two people doing the voice acting. One is a guy who barely has a resume, the other is one of the most prestigious female voice actor's in the industry. Why don't we completely exclude her from the advertising? That's a great idea!"

:|

I actually heard that Hale asked BioWare to consider using FemShep as part of the advertising for the first game and they refused. Good to know the fans have finally set the company straight.

Edit: Rereading it, I'm a little put off by how they treated FemShep up to this point, but now their trying to take all the credit for her popularity.

Of course, it's not the Stellar voice acting or writing, it's the fact that you can even be a female in BioWare games. That's the important thing right there.[/sarcasm]

My question is if they're so dedicated to being inclusive and providing an "escape into an epic adventure," why did it take them this long? I read his excuse about providing an character for people to identify with, but that goes directly against what he said about having a "hero of their own creation." How can we have a hero of our own creation if you're telling us right out the door who you think the hero is supposed to be.

Honestly this looks like damage control. They finally realized people weren't happy about them ignoring FemShep and are backpedaling.

 

[Zeraiya]

I love my FemShep. I actually think the story is more meaningful by having FemShep, simply because it's rare when you find a really heroic female character that isn't just sad -_-

I played a Female Shepard and then a Male Shepard... and then made two more FemSheps because honestly Jennifer Hale is an amazing voice actress. She brought across emotion that truly made FemShep feel like a person. To me the Male Shepard doesn't seem to... care about much. Obviously he does - he's saving the universe for crying out loud - but I never get much emotion from him. I like how easy it is to identify with the Female Shepard.

I'm glad that the Female Shepard is going to get some face time in the mdia as well. Well deserved.

 

[Adzma]

Hale was infinitely better as Bastila in KotOR.

Yup. As far as I'm concerned Shepard is, was and always shall be male. Jennifer Hale has done so many better performances than female Shepard.

 

[008Zulu_v1legacy]

Yeah, manShep didn't emote very well. He either talked normal or loud, at least femShep gave some emotion when she delivered her lines.

I think the initial advertising just came down to the fact that due to the canon, Shepard is male.

 

[Sentox6]

I think the initial advertising just came down to the fact that due to the canon, Shepard is male.

Shepard does not have a canonical gender. When will this misbelief die?

 

[BrotherRool]

KotoR 2 did romance options better!

Sorry I'm trying to choke it back but it still comes out every now and then. I thought FemShep was brilliant though and somehow the female dynamic just made her far more interesting (partly because she was obviously not designed to be eye candy) and I really hope it'll open up the range of protagonists in other games

 

[008Zulu_v1legacy]

Shepard does not have a canonical gender. When will this misbelief die?

When there is an adequate explanation as to why in both ME games, the Shepard in the video sequences is a male, why the default character in both games is a male and why in the ME3 teasers, Shepard is a male.

 

[Knight Templar]

I like Hale, but thats mostly for the voice and not the acting (Not saying the acting is bad), but I get why only one gender was used for the ads, I disagree and think people are smarter than that, well I hope.

Hale was infinitely better as Bastila in KotOR.

I think Bioware wants them to be bland, it can't be by accident given the talent involved.

EDIT:

Shepard does not have a canonical gender. When will this misbelief die?

When there is an adequate explanation as to why in both ME games, the Shepard in the video sequences is a male, why the default character in both games is a male and why in the ME3 teasers, Shepard is a male.

None of that constitutes canon, and therefore even thought there is an explanation it wouldn't change anything.

 

[IBlackKiteI]

A lot of pointless news articles lately, though I guess this would be one of the most reasonable of those, since some massive geeky group of people seem to give way too much of a shit about shit not worth giving much of a shit about.
You're gonna see a chick version of the same character in a trailer or two. I'm completely missing the part where this actually means something.

And, "It's about what she represents"? The fuck? Wait, is this the same guy who said that a Mass Effect MMO would be a smart idea?

 

[Sentox6]

When there is an adequate explanation as to why in both ME games, the Shepard in the video sequences is a male, why the default character in both games is a male and why in the ME3 teasers, Shepard is a male.

There is. It's called marketing.

 

[GLo Jones]

Bollocks to all that, I'm only interested in Jennifer Hale's voice.

 

[Eiv]

i play femshep due to playing a male irl. Games are a break from reality, yes....we have space....yes our chars apparently do exercise, but that pales in comparison to the virtual sex change.