Poll: Should Tali's face be revealed?

[Undead Dragon King]

With all the recent hubbub from Talimancers that Tali was confirmed as a main party member in Mass Effect 3, the debate over whether her face should be revealed when she is a romance option has begun again. Should BioWare show us the face behind the visor?

Some have said yes, saying that it would be cruel to have a love interest whose facial features you never see from a player perspective, and whose personality and general body features would have to suffice. They were disappointed in ME2 when they didn't get to see what Quarians look like as a species as well.

Others have said no, saying that part of what makes Tali so appealing is that you can imprint your own version of what she looks like onto her, and that makes her a more versatile and appealing love interest than most. Also, they worry that if BioWare does decide to reveal her, she might not be what many people wanted her to look like, and would catch flak for it.

So, what do you think about Tali's face? Should they reveal it or not?

EDIT 1: The poll has been updated with the last option, from reading what a lot of the posts said.

 

[scorptatious]

I personally think they should reveal her face. But only if you are romancing her.

I can kind of see why people wouldn't want her face to be revealed though, it adds to the mystery and appeal of her character.

 

[Blindrooster]

I'm not the biggest Tali fan, but she is a member of the squad. I feel like her removing her helmet would hurt the character she's built around.

 

[GiantRaven]

As a fan of the character, I really really don't care.

 

[Gralian]

Some have said yes, saying that it would be cruel to have a love interest whose facial features you never see from a player perspective, and whose personality and general body features would have to suffice...

Surely this enhances the connection the player has to the character? It's a relationship built on more than a physical level, and in an interactive environment where physicality is not really taken into account (pixels and polygons are no substitute for a living, breathing person) emotional connection to a personality and characterisation are the best, most meaningful ways to convey a relationship between the PC and NPC, in my honest opinion.

I think of it like this; they say when you lose one of your senses, the others are enhanced. Blind people, for example, may develop more acute hearing and / or taste. Well, it's like that with character interaction and romance. Because we are denied her physical features, we grow more attached to Tali through less shallow and rudimentary aspects and focus on her as a person. I grew attached to her most of all because of what i learned of her life and culture about the Flotilla in ME2, whereas i didn't care about her so much in ME1, as aside from one or two conversations in the engine room you didn't get to know much about Tali and really had her strange appearance as a Quarian to go on in terms of endearment.

I'm not the biggest Tali fan, but she is a member of the squad. I feel like her removing her helmet would hurt the character she's built around.

What does being a member of the squad have to do with revealing her face and her character? My Shepard wears a helmet that covers the entirety of his face. Does it remove a part of his character when it's removed? What about other party members that wear rebreathers and faceguards in combat situations and hostile environments?

 

[Dana22]

No they should not, all her mysterious alien-charm would gone.

 

[Wolfram23]

Her tits should be revealed.

....


Sorry, sorry. But sure, why not? I mean it's not like all the Tali lovers don't have their own perfect image of her, so there's no chance of shattering their attraction.

 

[plugav]

I don't think they should reveal it. The mystery is a big part of the Quarians' appeal and Tali's a unique example of a female love interest whose characterisation is more important than her looks.

 

[Legion]

I swear this topic comes up once a month.

Anyway, same answer as always. Yes, it'd be nice to see what she (and Quarians) look like, but at the same time no, because it will not only ruin the mystery, but also ruin the image people have in their own heads of what she looks like.

It is one thing I despise about movie adaptations of books, they always make the characters look and sound completely differently than how I imagined and it can ruin the enjoyment.

 

[Taham]

Part of her intrigue is that the player has no idea what she looks like. I already have my own vision of her, and I don't want Bioware to change it. (Though I suppose it wouldn't ruin the game)

 

[Undead Dragon King]

Some have said yes, saying that it would be cruel to have a love interest whose facial features you never see from a player perspective, and whose personality and general body features would have to suffice...

Surely this enhances the connection the player has to the character? It's a relationship built on more than a physical level, and in an interactive environment where physicality is not really taken into account (pixels and polygons are no substitute for a living, breathing person) emotional connection to a personality and characterisation are the best, most meaningful ways to convey a relationship between the PC and NPC, in my honest opinion.

I think of it like this; they say when you lose one of your senses, the others are enhanced. Blind people, for example, may develop more acute hearing and / or taste. Well, it's like that with character interaction and romance. Because we are denied her physical features, we grow more attached to Tali through less shallow and rudimentary aspects and focus on her as a person. I grew attached to her most of all because of what i learned of her life and culture about the Flotilla in ME2, whereas i didn't care about her so much in ME1, as aside from one or two conversations in the engine room you didn't get to know much about Tali and really had her strange appearance as a Quarian to go on in terms of endearment.

That's similar to my own thoughts about it. But on the other hand, there is the argument that not being able to see what Tali looks like really breaks the immersion of the Shepard experience. You are RP'ing as him, after all.

 

[Mark Flanagan]

I'm on the fence about this, It would bring some closure to the games but at the sacrifice of what makes Tali Tali (mainly the Quarrian mystery).

If she just whipped it off and was all "sup Shepard?" it'll be lame even in a romantic context but if say she died (like actually died) maybe the camera could swing around her tumbling body before coming to rest on her cracked open visor?

 

[Geo Da Sponge]

It was quite funny when I realised that everyone in the Mass Effect universe must already know what a Quarian (in general) looks like under their suit, as they have internet connections. Try and convince me that no Quarian ever uploaded a photo of themselves naked. Obviously there's still the mystery of what individual Quarians look like, but Shepard must have known roughly what to expect if he planned to sleep with Tali.

 

[Undead Dragon King]

I swear this topic comes up once a month.

True, but it has greater impetus now that it was just confirmed that she would be a main party member. There were quite a few doubters that she would, since it was hinted in ME2 that she would fill her father's role as an Admiral.

 

[Armored Prayer]

I say don't reveal her face, but at least show another Quarian's face.

Might ruin the mystery and piss a lot of fanatics off, but... uh.... Dammit I just want to see their faces.

 

[steeple]

they should never show tali's face, but they could show another quarian's face...

it wont show what tali looks like, but we could get a vague idea as what it could resemble...
I think its the best of both worlds...

 

[Legion]

I swear this topic comes up once a month.

True, but it has greater impetus now that it was just confirmed that she would be a main party member. There were quite a few doubters that she would, since it was hinted in ME2 that she would fill her father's role as an Admiral.

I can honestly say that I never saw that possibility occurring, it makes no sense considering the possible outcomes of her loyalty mission in Mass Effect 2. Not to mention the fact that she is only just an adult.

 

[steeple]

I say don't reveal her face, but at least show another Quarian's face.

Might ruin the mystery and piss a lot of fanatics off, but... uh.... Dammit I just want to see their faces.

great minds think simultaneously, I see...

 

[Internet Kraken]

At this point Bioware is kind of screwed no matter what they do. If they don't reveal Tali's face, they'll get a bunch of people crying about it. If they do reveal her face, they'll get a bunch of people crying about her not being a pretty space elf or something dumb like that. So no matter what they do there going to get a bunch of whiny fans. It's really their fault though; in Mass Effect 2 they constantly taunted the player with the mystery of the Quarians and what they look like. They have intentionally been building up to the reveal, or the lack of it, even though it will only lead to dissapointment.

Honestly I don't care if we ever see what Tali looks like. What I do care about is knowing what quarians look like, both before and after they were exiled. It's getting kind of ridiculous at this point that despite seeing dozens of dead quarians we havent seen a single torn suit or smashed helmet.