It would seem BioWare's progressive bone is twitching.
Following the announcement that a Shepard of either sex will be allowed to pursue a romantic relationship with a character of his or her own gender [https://twitter.com/#!/CaseyDHudson/status/69833443067969536], Director of Marketing at BioWare, David Silverman, recently tweeted that a trailer showcasing Jennifer Hale's incarnation of the Mass Effect hero(ine) will be released [http://twitter.com/#!/dsilvermanea/status/75280820184694784], if not in time for the developer's E3 presentation in early June.
Furthermore, he's invited fans to vote on what visual characteristics the iconic FemShep will have, such as hair and eye colour. [http://twitter.com/#!/dsilvermanea/status/75265617749483520]
Personally, I'm very happy with these news. While I respect Mark Meer as a voice actor (his bit part in Dragon Age 2 as the camp elven prostitute Jethann [http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Jethann] was absolutely glorious!), I always thought his Shepard rather lacking, bordering on dull.
Jennifer Hale infused that character with so much life and tenacity, I think it's absolutely wonderful that her performance finally gets the public recognition it so duly deserves.
Not to mention that there is a staggering shortage of female action heroines in the public eye in any media, so that one so deliberately and believably molded as FemShep is added to that short list is a definite improvement in my eyes.
I'm less happy about the vote on FemShep's appearance, however, as it might imply the character model won't be nearly as detailed as the infamous Sheploo. [http://ui23.gamespot.com/2166/ewwwtf_2.jpg]
That's all speculation, though, and it might turn out they are simply allowing the fans some peripheral influence in the design; a rather generous bone to throw considering the support for FemShep has been something of a grassroots movement over at the BioWare forums [http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/128/index/3171265/1]
Granted, this might seem like fairly trivial news, but considering the fact that the male render has been the marketing favourite for both of the previous games in the franchise, I think it considerable that they seemingly opt for inclusion so wholly in this final installment.
Any thoughts on your end? Reactions? Is this a gross exaggeration of its importance, or a noteworthy event?
[UPDATE:]
Well, according to another illuminating tweet by BioWare's director of marketing David Silverman, the female incarnation of Shepard will also be featured on the tin of the N7 Collector's Edition of Mass Effect 3. [http://twitter.com/#!/dsilvermanea/status/81370996879273984]
This information was already in circulation as evidenced by the contents of the package [http://www.geek.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/n7_ce_vignette-en-p.jpg] was released during the 2011 E3 convention, but has now obviously been officially confirmed.
Following the announcement that a Shepard of either sex will be allowed to pursue a romantic relationship with a character of his or her own gender [https://twitter.com/#!/CaseyDHudson/status/69833443067969536], Director of Marketing at BioWare, David Silverman, recently tweeted that a trailer showcasing Jennifer Hale's incarnation of the Mass Effect hero(ine) will be released [http://twitter.com/#!/dsilvermanea/status/75280820184694784], if not in time for the developer's E3 presentation in early June.
Furthermore, he's invited fans to vote on what visual characteristics the iconic FemShep will have, such as hair and eye colour. [http://twitter.com/#!/dsilvermanea/status/75265617749483520]
Personally, I'm very happy with these news. While I respect Mark Meer as a voice actor (his bit part in Dragon Age 2 as the camp elven prostitute Jethann [http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Jethann] was absolutely glorious!), I always thought his Shepard rather lacking, bordering on dull.
Jennifer Hale infused that character with so much life and tenacity, I think it's absolutely wonderful that her performance finally gets the public recognition it so duly deserves.
Not to mention that there is a staggering shortage of female action heroines in the public eye in any media, so that one so deliberately and believably molded as FemShep is added to that short list is a definite improvement in my eyes.
I'm less happy about the vote on FemShep's appearance, however, as it might imply the character model won't be nearly as detailed as the infamous Sheploo. [http://ui23.gamespot.com/2166/ewwwtf_2.jpg]
That's all speculation, though, and it might turn out they are simply allowing the fans some peripheral influence in the design; a rather generous bone to throw considering the support for FemShep has been something of a grassroots movement over at the BioWare forums [http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/128/index/3171265/1]
Granted, this might seem like fairly trivial news, but considering the fact that the male render has been the marketing favourite for both of the previous games in the franchise, I think it considerable that they seemingly opt for inclusion so wholly in this final installment.
Any thoughts on your end? Reactions? Is this a gross exaggeration of its importance, or a noteworthy event?
[UPDATE:]
Well, according to another illuminating tweet by BioWare's director of marketing David Silverman, the female incarnation of Shepard will also be featured on the tin of the N7 Collector's Edition of Mass Effect 3. [http://twitter.com/#!/dsilvermanea/status/81370996879273984]
This information was already in circulation as evidenced by the contents of the package [http://www.geek.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/n7_ce_vignette-en-p.jpg] was released during the 2011 E3 convention, but has now obviously been officially confirmed.
