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Should we finally see the Quarian?
October 8, 2011
Among the many mysteries of the Mass Effect universe, perhaps none has
inspired as much curiosity as the Quarians. The race that created the
Geth, they have been driven from their homeworld and exist as the
Migrant Fleet.
Without their home planet's atmosphere, they require the constant
support of their enviro-suits lest they fall prey to an extraordinarily
weak immune system. This obscures their faces, creating an aura of
strangeness. Their concealed faces and affiliation with the Geth have
led to mistrust of Quarians throughout the galaxy.
One, though, has become resident among Commander Shepard's team. By the
end of Mass Effect 2, Tali'Zorah vas Neema is a full-fledged member of
Shepard's crew, adopting the name vas Normandy to signify her new home.
In fact, a male Shepard can even engage in a romantic entanglement with her, adding to the mystery.
Despite Tali's prominent role, we still have no idea what she looks like.
Some players are fine with leaving her appearance a mystery. After all,
with the majority of female characters in Mass Effect sexualized to
often ridiculous degrees, Tali's obscured appearance has helped her
stand out as one of the better developed personalities among the
franchise's cast.
Quarians seldom remove their face mask, even among the Migrant Fleet,
but the game's writers managed to find a good excuse for Tali to reveal
her face in Mass Effect 2. If players pursue a romance with Tali, she does exactly that, but only to Shepard; not to the player. This is a crucial disconnect.
For many players, it creates a problem for the game's narrative. The
Mass Effect series is all about choice and making players feel like they
are playing a role, not merely witnessing one from a third-person
perspective. It's called a Role-Playing Game for a reason.
Shepard is a catalyst for players to enter the story. Shielding the
player from Shepard's experiences breaches the player's sense of
immersion.
The resulting disconnect between the player and their on-screen persona
can be jarring, briefly reminding players that it is all just a game
rather than the organic experience it strives to be. Few events create
more disconnect than when your in-game character is privy to information
you are not.
With Mass Effect 3,
Bioware has an opportunity to rectify that disconnect, and create a
potentially powerful moment in the process. As awkward as it was for
Shepard to see Tali's face before the player, it was the right move for
Bioware. The "sex" scene in Mass Effect 2 was not the right place for
such a reveal, especially when an already established side-plot provides
a more in-character solution.
During Mass Effect 2's Shadow Broker DLC, if Shepard has a romance with
Tali then Liara asks what he is fighting for, and whether it is a new
homeworld for Tali. Let's say, hypothetically, that the answer is yes.
Picture the scene: after a hard-fought battle across a new planet,
Shepard and Tali stand victorious over a cliff, beneath a sunrise, or
some equally dramatic backdrop. Tali takes off her mask and the player's
first view of her face sees her breathing in the planet's sterile air.
In that moment it won't matter what she looks like. Her face isn't the
reward, her expression is. The reward is an expression of joy, freedom,
and most importantly, hope for her species' future; emotions that can
only be fully expressed through body language, and have therefore been
denied to Quarians since their exile.
If Tali's face is revealed in Mass Effect 3,
there is no doubt that some fans will inevitably be disappointed. Some
will say it ruins the mystery while others will complain that she
doesn't match what they had envisioned. The safe choice would be for
Bioware to keep Tali's face shrouded. The bold choice, however, would be
to reveal her face, and to do so in such a way that the actual
appearance is irrelevant. After all, players can already see the outline
of Tali's face behind her visor, giving us a vague sense of what she
looks like.
What players want to see isn't just Tali's face, but the expressions it
can make, adding yet another level of emotional depth and complexity to a
fan favorite character.
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Modifié par RussianSpy27, 09 octobre 2011 - 01:36 .
Retour en haut
... sorry, not trying to be hostile.. justs seems everything you post is done in very ill temper.
