Collider wrote...
UsagiVindaloo wrote...
Collider wrote...
Rod, we already said it has nothing to do with him being black.
To be fair on Rod, I think he's referring less to people pointing out his "blandness" and more to those that make fun of his appearance? Like all the posts with him in weird expressions or pointing out his teeth or putting sunglasses on him or whatever. I suppose one could argue that a few of those are a bit overly antagonistic and possibly borderline racist.
But no one is saying "olooololo look at Jacob he's black," they are just saying that there are animation problems, which there are. He has most the animation problems of all of the squad mates.
As for sunglasses, that does have to do with him looking like Kanye West, but if both Jacob and Kanye were white, would they do anything different? I doubt it.
True... I took those pictures to be more general riffs on A) odd animation and
taking screencaps at moments of blinking or talking, which tends to make any character look odd (the Motivationals thread has a great one of Samara looking stoned, and I posted one of Morinth that could only be described as an "O" face)
Unfortunately, this is probably also one of those cases where, although the joke itself may be meant in an innocent fashion, there's a history of non-innocent mockery behind similar comments, so it all gets very muddied and can come over as cruel or racist. Hence why I get where Rod is coming from as well as what you mean.
Rod, did you read my post? I pointed out that the issue is not that we like mass murders better but that we like characters who have something "standout" about them. That could be their mass murdering, or that could be the fact they like to cook, or that could be their habit of singing Gilbert and Sullivan... whatever. Jacob is a nice guy, but if you asked me to define him in a few sentences... really, "he's a nice guy" is all I'd be able to say, with perhaps a bit of, "he's a soldier."
It's a good litmus test if you're a writer to test yourself and other people to see how much they can describe a character. With Jacob, you're right, you pretty only got he's a nice guy. He's conflicted sometimes, and horribly creepy in the romance.
You're right about how making a character stand out. If Jacob talked about his adventures as a corsair and his saving of the Citadel and his thoughts about that, it'd make him a beter character.
Heck, even just giving him some sort of hobby would be a start. Take Mordin; oh sure, he was already a totally awesome character, but how much more awesome did he become when it turned out he was into art and singing? And not only that, they were able to actually incorporate it into the plot somewhat (discussion of Collector culture). Or how about the books in Kasumi's room? Sure, something small like that doesn't totally negate the need for general character development, but it makes a character feel more real. So I'd love a conversation like:
SHEPARD; What are you up to?
JACOB: Umm, nothing commander. Just... checking some readings. *shifty eyes*
SHEPARD: Jacob? What are you hiding?
JACOB: *sigh* Well, it's a bit embarassing to admit, but... I was watching some zero-g football. I'm a big fan, and I don't get much free time to catch a game, so... was just watching it while things were quiet, you know.
SHEPARD: Who's playing?
JACOB: *grin* The Krogan Battlemasters vs. The Volus Clanbusters. It's a great match.
SHEPARD: I wouldn't imagine volus would be good at football.
JACOB: You'd think that. But those little bastards can put up a good fight when they want to.
(from here, some Investigate conversations about Jacob's favorite team, zero g football, whether Jacob played any himself, etc. before ending the conversation. You get some of the info in your Codex as well).
Obviously you could give him some other hobby (I chose sports because we already have bookish and artistic sorts galore) but I think some scenes like this would be really neat and make him feel like he's a fully realized person instead of NICE GUY, SOLDIER, and PRIIIIIZE.
Retour en haut
), and of course, the priiiiiize. On the other hand, he apparently does say he loves you, and after seeing a few of the romance conversations, he does seem remarkably considerate and "normal" as far as relationships go. As you said, asking Shepard how she's feeling is really a nice touch... I wish there was more of that, and I'll give Jacob props for being the only one who takes the time to ask. (though that's less on him and more on Bioware <_<)
