BioWare Still Unsure About Tali Reveal

[JakobBloch]

Let's see the face. With ME coming to a close, we won't see Tali again anyway, so we might as well get rid of 'the mystery'.

I have a feeling Mass Effect will have endless spinoffs.

I want a Contra style game with Garrus as the main character. The story would be about when he was in charge of his own merc group.

Actually I am hoping for this. It is a rich universe with hundreds of stories ready to be told.

OT: I say let the mystery stand.

I like the idea of being allowed to see another quarian or perhaps have an old asari describe them. Another one would be to have Tali's face mask become damaged. It would give a quick flash and e few precious moments of time to see things as skin tone and texture but little else, before her suit would close up the hole.

As for what quarians look like. I am pretty sure they will have a roughly human facial structure. Not only can this be seen through the masks, but seeing as a rather inexperienced quarian could fall in love with a human despite their isolationist ways, suggests even more similarities. In the first game there was also the hints of antenna like things on her forehead (again through the mask so hard to see). The cut of their suits and the cloth they use to decorate them seem to suggest that they have hair. This is most prevalent in the female suits. The male suits do have what could be the vestiges of a formal or traditional way to wear your hair. How important their hairstyle is to the quarians these days (presuming they have hair) is debatable.

 

[Andy Shandy]

I'm surprised nobody has posted this link yet

http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/105/index/931488/1

My personal favourite is the Stephen Fry one.

In all seriousness, I believe she should remain a mystery, it's built up so now it's just going to be a disappointment to most of the fans if it is revealed.

 

[Aureliano]

Hiding Tali's face just to please the fan(fiction) community that sprung up around her is counterproductive from a character development standpoint. All that leads to is more design-by-committee rather than actual writing. To make an interesting character, people need to be able to connect with her and that means that she needs to be a complete person.

And frankly, if people could consider romances with Krogans then there is seriously a wide range of acceptable faces for Tali. Even anemic possibly-official psoriasis Tali from the first page of the thread.

 

[Sehnsucht Engel]

I want her face to be revealed and I want her to be so hideous, in an alien way, that the people who romanced her almost puke.

 

[Hristo Tzonkov]

I think they should avoid revealing.A) you can't please fanboys,B)

Spoiler

the romance scene when she reveals her face to Shepard was to me first a major disapointment by the fact that I was trolled to hell but now I view it as a highlight of the game because it managed to evoke a strong emotion in me - one that few games can do

and C) because you can't please fanboys.

Also on the speculations bit I think she looks like a duck under the helmet.

 

[natster43]

I am fine with them either showing her face or not. They are both good decisions.

 

[Kizi]

Tali is by far my favorite character in the ME universe, I just love everything about her and the Quarians. Do want to see her face!

 

[WanderingFool]

If they have a reveal, it shouldnt be made part of the main story. It should be more like the romance from ME2, with Shep having romanced Tali, and she removes her helmet like in ME2, but this time we can see her face.

*Edit*

Also, I want Tali to have a face, period. I want to see Bioware give her a face, despite all the fanboy rage that would be generated. Mass Effect is a Bioware game, not a Fan game. If fans are unable to handle the fact that their dream girl doesnt look like what they want,they need to grow up and learn about disappointment. I think the same way about characters like Link having a actual voice. People hate the idea because it ruins their perception of the character, not sounding like what they wanted (also the CD-i has alot to do with this.) But the way I see it, its not their (the fans) character(s), its the developers character(s), and if they want to give Tali a face like an angel... or a Krogan's ass... than dammit, they should be allowed to do it.

 

[Invader_Ace]

Honestly, it would have been very interesting if they had kept Tali's romance strictly platonic. Sort of like "the girl you love but you will never have" kind of thing, where you could stay dedicated to her despite it being a non-sexual relationship or find others due to your needs. That is actually a moral choice, you numbnuts, so long as you don't slap on a pointless "paragon/renegade" option!

Then maybe at the end, have an easter egg where the do the tango or whatever, still keeping it a mystery what she looks like.

Best idea ever.
Well done, sir.

 

[Alex the Pally]

I'd rather her mask stay on, but if it DOES come off, don't show us the whole face- maybe her eyes framed in shadow or something. I'm trying to think of an example, but I'm drawing a blank here.

I want a Contra style game with Garrus as the main character. The story would be about when he was in charge of his own merc group.

I'd rather it follow Wrex; it's more his style. Garrus would be more stealth- and sniping-based than all-out assault, assuming their tactics/fighting styles in ME get reflect in spinoffs. Plus there's just something about the idea of charging head-first into a horde of squishy mercs as the Galaxy's toughest angry space turtle-dinosaur that is inherently awesome.

 

[Sarpedon]

On the one hand, it'd be nice to see what she looks like and have something concrete to picture. On the other hand, though, if Bioware leaves the helmet mystery in place, then it will leave Tali up to the players imagination, and i think that's part of what makes her so appealing. No one really knows what she looks like (Though you can catch glimpses through her helmet, mind you), and so players use their own minds to fill in the gaps, and Tali becomes whatever the player wants her to be simply because we don't know for sure.

 

[The Hero Killer]

I always pictured Quarians looking like WoW's Draenei minus the horns. I could see them with the same skin colors, blank white eyes, and smooth flawless skin.

 

[Pinstar]

tali's face = schroedinger's cat. everyone knows what they'd like her to look like, and those who don't have still gotten to know the mask. leave the mask on, some will be annoyed, but they'll get over it. but take the mask off, the waveform collapses, you are garenteed to please some, but piss off many others. and they'll never be able to unsee it if it makes them unhappy. this way, nobody can be dissapointed by her appearance, while the mask is on, her appearance is in a quantum state of both satisfactory and unsatisfactory.

I disagree with this. When Bioware was first creating this game and they inveted the "Turians" or the "Krogan" they decided right then and there what those races would look like. They are then presented in game. We can like them or hate them, but we have what we see. Nobody was up in arms about what the other races looked like.

This is no different than the Quarians. Sure they've been hidden behind masks, but I feel that if they reveal what they look like, it'll be no different than the first time showed us What a Salarian lookes like. Some will go "eww" some will go "cool!" others will go "ehh" but regardless, you carry on.

I think the best solution is to have the ability to see Tali/the other quarians without their masks but be able to decline it without any signifigant in-world effects.

Tali: "Shepard, thanks to you, we can now decontaminate a whole room. That means we can co-mingle in controlled environments without fear of getting sick! We are throwing a party to celebrate, would you like to come?"
A: "Sure! It'll be great to see everyone face to face" (See Tali's and other quarian NPC's faces)
B: "I've got other things to do, don't be too late at the party, I need you in top shape for the mission tomorrow"(Decline, don't see tali's or any quarian's face.
C: "I'm not sure about a party, but maybe we can get this installed in your quarters on the ship" (You see tali's face only, and only when visiting her in the ship)

 

[-Dragmire-]

I'd rather her mask stay on, but if it DOES come off, don't show us the whole face- maybe her eyes framed in shadow or something. I'm trying to think of an example, but I'm drawing a blank here.

I want a Contra style game with Garrus as the main character. The story would be about when he was in charge of his own merc group.

I'd rather it follow Wrex; it's more his style. Garrus would be more stealth- and sniping-based than all-out assault, assuming their tactics/fighting styles in ME get reflect in spinoffs. Plus there's just something about the idea of charging head-first into a horde of squishy mercs as the Galaxy's toughest angry space turtle-dinosaur that is inherently awesome.

I think Wrex would be more suited to a hack n slash or fighter granted he'd fit a contra game as well.

I would go with Mordin for stealth during his trips to tuchanka to check up on the genophage.

 

[JackandTom]

Take It Off!

Seriously, I don't mind either way.

 

[Geekmaster]

I found the idea of romancing the purple, female Master Chief idiotic to begin with to be honest.

 

[Wakefield]

Im so sick of never revealing a helmeted characters face. Man up, take the heat and reveal them. If its not what people were hoping for then tough.

 

[Rad Party God]

Inside her hemlet... is another helmet!!! :O