You've seen the Mass Effect: Andromeda E3 2016 trailer by now, right? If so, then you may or may not know that around the 1:30 mark, we get our first real glimpse of the game's customisable main character, Ryder. Much like Commander Shepard, Ryder can be male or female depending on your preference, but unlike Shepard's last-gen trilogy, BioWare has decided to lead with a female hero instead of a male one. Given that male Shepard's recognisable mug was plastered over countless marketing materials, putting a female protagonist into the spotlight may seem like an unusual choice to some, but in an interview with Eurogamer, BioWare explains why it made the decision.
"When we debuted male Shepard back in 2006, 10 years ago, it was a time when we drew inspiration from traditional entertainment marketing [...] We need a iconic main character. We need an iconic everything else," says studio boss Aaryn Flynn.
"But I think the whole industry, us included, have moved beyond that. Our games let you choose your main character, I think everyone gets that nowadays," Flynn continues, adding: "You don't need to see a character to identify with, in the same way you might on a movie poster. People want to create their own characters, customise them, and we're embracing that." Fair enough we reckon - we're always up for some good character creation.
So we have to ask: did you play as a male Shepard or female Shepard in the original trilogy? Do you think it matters that BioWare decided to debut with a female Ryder at E3? Spend hours getting your character's face just right in the comments section below.
[source eurogamer.net]
Comments 28
I'm all for this. As always I will playthrough as Paragon as one and a Renegade as the other.
not to mention it's a good foil to the advertising for the previous games so you know your dealing with a completely new story in the franchise
I went with a Femshep in Mass Effect every single time because when given a choice I'll always play as a heroine. Besides, Jennifer Hale's voice was much much better than male robot Shepard, in my opinion.
I reckon I could create a prettier Ryder than BioWare's. It still gives me shivers what they did to Ash in ME3. Scary.
I played with Male Shep but it wasn't the standard one...it's good they are focusing on variety though.
As a male I generally play with male character specially in a game like Mass Effect, where you feel like THE Comander Shepard, and I used the standard one since looks good and the character creation in ME1 was disastrous, at best. That said, I'll play as male again in ME Andromeda, but don't mind if the game's face is a female one. But again, Bioware is very bad at female design (Liara was an exception) and the first look at Ryder doesn't look much better than ever.
@Neolit The best one is from Mass Effect 1....kkkkkkkkkkkkk
@Splat I really hope the Paragon and Renegade system is either removed or completely overhauled. They can keep the action indicators but locking you out of judging each situation according to it's circumstance and context in order to accrue enough points in the respective column for future actions or decisions seems ill-suited to a post Witcher 3 world.
When I created a character in Mass Effect 2 it ended up looking really weird so I used the deafult character. Could not stand to look at his face any longer. It certainly was not a face that deserved to save the galaxy.I always played as male Shep I guess because I liked the romance options more for a male shepard than female shep.
@ShadowofSparta From what I understand BioWare's getting rid of the Paragon/Renedage system, or at least making it deeper. Pretty sure it's said that it's going to be much more grey rather than good/bad.
Do female equals not iconic?
@ShogunRok That's good to hear. The ambiguous choices were always the best (i.e. when they were't highlighted in Paragon/ Renegade). I still find myself hesitant to get hyped for the game.Maybe I need a full gameplay reveal as I was disappointed with ME3 (not simply due to the ending) and DA:I (I know, different teams) but it's good to see they're working with feedback
The main thing I'm getting from this is EA wants a pat on the back for making a Mass Effect game a Mass Effect game in terms of character creation.
I went with both. I only beat the third game with the male as I only played that game once. My female Shep used to do this weird eye glitch thing that would unnerve me though so I dunno if I would have finished it with her even if I wanted to play through the third game again.
@NintendoFan4Lyf
Uhm, wrong.
Shepard was chosen because the first American in space had that last name.
Same with Ryder, though don't remember what exactly.
After getting annoyed about male Sheps voice after a few hours, I wanted to try fem Shep....never went back. Much more emotion in the voice acting.
That, and well....with the skintight suits the N7 soldiers wear, I just preferred to look at a female butt.
ALso, Always played pure Paragon....I Always do in games, I just can't play renegade, feels wrong.
Wasn't even aware there was a trailer at E3...
I played as femshep from the very first game and just imported my same character throughout the trilogy. I really don't care what character they choose to showcase - its not exactly relevant anyway as you get to create your own. It was a bit weird when ME2 and then 3 was revealed with a different Shep to mine - didn't seem much like a follow up but that's to be expected when they offer character creation and you take advantage of it. It didn't help the games were a direct continuation but it doesn't affect the game.
@BlaBlaBla Had to always go renegade in this bit though.
https://youtu.be/ikLlZPrVYHc
@ShogunRok I hope they do that with Infamous if they make a new part. I just hate the Black and White choices.
I played with the female shepard but a non standard one so I didn't care what they had in the posters
The character is customizable. They shouldn't have to "explain" anything.
Anyway, I always play as FemShep.
I created my own male shephard and stuck with that, couldn't really warm to femshep on second playthroughs.
Oh I saw that trailer, wasn't much of a trailer though.
@Utena-mobile
Customization is the way to go these days otherwise you have everybody crying to developers to cater to their whims. You give people the option and they can't complain... Unless the game sucks, then complain all you want.
Mass effect is my fav serious played it thousands of times and I am 90% femshep to 10% male
I find it funny for a company so forward looking with there games with LGBT chacreters that they say they followed the norm and went with a Male in the first 3
I remember being on bioware.com. And having this very chat in the forums years back and most were not happy about them ignoring femshep in there marketing
I went as FemShep as most of other games I play have an identi-kit male grunt as your character.
@chiptoon Apparently not. jk I dunno. They wanted to market the game to dudes 18-30 so they went with a dude character. Makes sense. But at the same time if you can make men and women enjoy a game you're the real winner. The game doesn't have to be full of pink glittery ponies for women to enjoy something. People, most people, understand that now. If you think it's worth your time why not make a playable female and male in your game. There doesn't have to be as many differences between them as some would suggest. In the case of these games, for an example, a commander is still a commander. They went through the same tests and got the same education. It's not insane to suggest they are about as equally though and professional. No matter what gender they are. Well, duh right?
FemShep voice was the best. She was so badass. I wonder which will be the best this time round. Voice acting makes all the difference.
@LieutenantFatman So true. I genuinely loved Mark Meer as Shepard, though. My wife and I generally play opposites and watch each other's playthroughs so either way I'll see both performances the whole way through!
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