190 réponses à ce sujet

[Golden Owl]

PandoranSark wrote...

 I'm working on a series of essays about feminist issues in videogames, and there's going to be a couple pieces on the Mass Effect series.  One thing I'd like to discuss is how the voice acting of Jennifer Hale and Mark Meer has effect players' choice of gender.  If you've got a minute, please post to tell me if the voice acting has effected whether you play as a man or woman, and why.

Please don't let this degenerate into an argument over which actor is better - feel free to express your opinion in your post, but don't post just to argue.

Yes, it did....I tried both when I first picked up ME1 and Meer's voice just got me, I liked his voice so much, it's what led me to google ME in the first place...wanting to put a face to the voice, I googled Meer, which inevitably led me to the Forums....Is the first time I noted a VA for PC's in a game....I just really like his voice, I am female, I just find his voice very attractive....

I also very much like Meer's miltary professional delivery (I think one of the added appeals to begin with) and Hale's harshness just doesn't appeal, thus why never a femShep.

Modifié par Golden Owl, 17 octobre 2011 - 10:32 .

[The Spamming Troll]

i pick manshep over femshep because i dont want to make a character that only stays in the kitchen.

[Golden Owl]

The Spamming Troll wrote...

i pick manshep over femshep because i dont want to make a character that only stays in the kitchen.

So you chose the lower IQ instead.......

Modifié par Golden Owl, 17 octobre 2011 - 10:37 .

[Zakatak757]

The Spamming Troll wrote...

i pick manshep over femshep because i dont want to make a character that only stays in the kitchen.

Too easy, man, too easy.

[sael_feman]

In my opinion the female Shepherd has a better voice than the male Shepherd. Though I think the choice of voice is very good for both genders, I would have preferred different vocal tones in my male Shepherd.

Also, the female Shepherd seems to have a lot more fun than her male counterpart. (I'm male in real life if you can't already guess)

S'F'

[Carfax]

You know, until I joined this messageboard (or the old Bioware boards to be more precise), I had no idea there was a "War" over which voice actor best represents Commander Shepard.

Voice acting to me always seemed such a trivial part of game development. Unless it is unusually good or bad, most gamers aren't likely going to notice or comment on it.

That said, the quality of voice acting has no bearing on my choice to exclusively play as a male Commander Shepard.

Any character that I create and invest a portion of my own personality into, is going to be male, because I am male, and my sexuality is an inextricable part of my identity.

[Hathur]

I suppose it has for me. If a game offers me choice of gender I always pick female first as there aren't enough games that allow you to play a female, and I find it nice to play as what I'm familiar with.

However, I have switched to male characters before simply because the voice acting was very poorly done.. or at least not to my liking. Divinity 2: Ego Draconis being a good example... the voice acting was atrocious on both genders but the male voice actor irritated me less... so I ended up playing as the guy.

However in a game where the voice acting is on par regardless of gender, I'll stick to female always.

I should maybe also add that the voice actress (or actor) also plays a very important part for me.... I will often buy a game partly based on which actress / actor is voicing the role.... (I.e. in Swtor I plan to play the female trooper... a class that doesn't appeal to me really... however, because it is voiced by Hale, a woman I have great admiration and respect for, it will be my first class story that I play through. If Claudia Black voiced a character class, I'd play that one as well for sure).

Modifié par Hathur, 17 octobre 2011 - 10:59 .

[robarcool]

I prefer playing as male shepard simply because I am a guy and also that Meer's VA sounds better to me at most of the points in the game.

[AquamanOS]

I'm male, but I'll almost always opt to play a female character first, both because 95 percent of games have you play male anyway so it's nice change, and because I have a thing for strong female characters.

I never actually see RPG mains as myself, since it's always somewhat restricted by the game anyway, and you never really have complete freedom, so I just see them as a player character I have more control over than usual.
My massive crush on Jennifer Hale's voice doesn't hurt either.

I do play Male shep's though, as I like some of the romances exclusive to him.

Modifié par AquamanOS, 17 octobre 2011 - 11:06 .

[mopotter]

Voice acting does not make a difference in which sex I play. I'm female. I always play female first in every class and if the game is good, I'll play a male character later. I do not usually have more than one or two male characters. Example I have 7 Fem Hawkes and 2 Male Hawkes.

Like happy_daiz, (and apparently a few other's)  I'm tired of no choice in which sex I play in a game. I now buy ones where I have a choice first and maybe pick up other games when they are cheap.

Modifié par mopotter, 17 octobre 2011 - 11:11 .

[KenKenpachi]

Noooooooooooooooope

[Neria Rose]

No, VA had nothing to do with it. In fact, I rather disliked Hale's delivery of several lines in ME2.

I strictly play female characters in games that give me the option because I am female and lack the desire to experience any environment as a male. If the voice were painfully annoying, though, I'd either mute or simply not play the game.

Looking back on my gaming history, since I started playing Bioware games I have neither bought nor played a game without a female PC.

[Blue_Shadow_021]

When I first began playing Mass Effect, I knew I would play both genders at some point simply because the option was present. To this day, I play both genders in equal amounts (alternating, like Zakatak757 does), and I'll admit that the romance options are a big factor for me rather than other considerations. There are some lines I think Jennifer Hale delivers better than Mark Meer and vice versa. I like them both equally, so I can't really say that the voice acting has any bearing on which Shepard I choose to play at any given time.

[Zkyire]

Male. Play male characters in every game where the choice is given, regardless of whether or not there is VA, and regardless of the quality of the VA.

[Sesshomaru47]

Nope, Kaidan has though...then again he does sound like Carth....ooooh Carth.

[wizardryforever]

It didn't affect my initial decision to finally make a FemShep instead of doing another MaleShep runthrough, but it did affect my decision to ever replay as FemShep.  Most of it was simply because it was a different person reading the lines I had become so familiar with, but in a different way.  The voice also reinforced the emotional distance between myself and FemShep.

It's a funny thing about gender in RPGs.  Playing as one's own gender helps with the immersion (especially if they're voiced), because you can increasingly see yourself as the character, or the character is an extension of you.  Likewise, playing as the oppostie gender distances you from the character because then it is simply a character, and not part of you.  It's the difference between "I'm the character," and "That's a cool character."  Sometimes this emotional distance is helpful, like if you are going to play a personality radically different from your own.  But for pure immersion, it's so much better to play one's own gender.

That said, Hale's acting is good, but only if you consider Shepard pre-defined.  The amount of emotion that is poured into every single line of dialogue may very well clash with your own conception what you actually wanted to say.  It's not the line itself, it's the emotion.  What if I want Shepard to say something snarky, and she does, but the emotion in her voice doesn't suggest playful, but rather rudeness?  Another immersion breaker there.  Infusing emotion into lines sets in stone how Shepard feels about what she's saying, even if you wanted something completely different.  Meer on the other hand, leaves how he is feeling open to interpretation.  He puts a hint of emotion into his lines, but that hint could be taken several different ways.  It's the difference between being offered a plate of food from which to choose, and being battered over the head with that plate (which now only contains one kind of food).

Oh and a random nitpick: Hale's reading is too breathy.  It sounds like she's sighing into the microphone with every line. 

[jeweledleah]

not for me. eventually the voice just merges into the character for me, becomes part of it and I don't really pay attention to it other then to hear what's going on in general. I prefer to play femshep becasue I prefer to play female characters, to a point of limiting my choices of class in certain games (Amazon/Rogue in Diablo, Siren in Borderlands, Zealot in Warhammer, etc - despite being interested in other classes - just like playing females better, I can related to them better).

I play male characters mostly to experience male specific romances and for an occasional change of pace.

[Computer_God91]

I play male shep because I'm a male and I like creating characters that are a representation of myself in its universe. That said, I can't stand playing Femshep because her voice acting is horrible. No disrespect to Jennifer Hale, because she has voiced alot of female characters I love, but it's just off in Mass Effect.

Modifié par Computer_God91, 17 octobre 2011 - 11:37 .

[Computer_God91]

wizardryforever wrote...

It didn't affect my initial decision to finally make a FemShep instead of doing another MaleShep runthrough, but it did affect my decision to ever replay as FemShep.  Most of it was simply because it was a different person reading the lines I had become so familiar with, but in a different way.  The voice also reinforced the emotional distance between myself and FemShep.

It's a funny thing about gender in RPGs.  Playing as one's own gender helps with the immersion (especially if they're voiced), because you can increasingly see yourself as the character, or the character is an extension of you.  Likewise, playing as the oppostie gender distances you from the character because then it is simply a character, and not part of you.  It's the difference between "I'm the character," and "That's a cool character."  Sometimes this emotional distance is helpful, like if you are going to play a personality radically different from your own.  But for pure immersion, it's so much better to play one's own gender.

That said, Hale's acting is good, but only if you consider Shepard pre-defined.  The amount of emotion that is poured into every single line of dialogue may very well clash with your own conception what you actually wanted to say.  It's not the line itself, it's the emotion.  What if I want Shepard to say something snarky, and she does, but the emotion in her voice doesn't suggest playful, but rather rudeness?  Another immersion breaker there.  Infusing emotion into lines sets in stone how Shepard feels about what she's saying, even if you wanted something completely different.  Meer on the other hand, leaves how he is feeling open to interpretation.  He puts a hint of emotion into his lines, but that hint could be taken several different ways.  It's the difference between being offered a plate of food from which to choose, and being battered over the head with that plate (which now only contains one kind of food).

Oh and a random nitpick: Hale's reading is too breathy.  It sounds like she's sighing into the microphone with every line. 

I think this guy/girl has the right idea.

[Fiannawolf]

I usually play as my own gender if given the chance. Espcially if I can see them on the screen. I feel more attachted to a pc if I get to make changes.

Unless a character is well written ( IE Jensen from DE Human Revolution) or First Person ala Half Life or Portal 1/2.

What I mean is if a game offers the player the chance on input on how a character acts, looks, and what they are skilled in, it matters more if I can play female. PCs that are established with a set look ect must be interesting to me personality wise or I wont play the game at all unless it hits the bargin bin.

As for the question of VA work, my inital playthru wasnt influenced by it, as stated above: Choice in reguards to how I can customize avatars is my main factor.

Modifié par Fiannawolf, 17 octobre 2011 - 11:48 .

[Golden Owl]

wizardryforever wrote...

It didn't affect my initial decision to finally make a FemShep instead of doing another MaleShep runthrough, but it did affect my decision to ever replay as FemShep.  Most of it was simply because it was a different person reading the lines I had become so familiar with, but in a different way.  The voice also reinforced the emotional distance between myself and FemShep.

It's a funny thing about gender in RPGs.  Playing as one's own gender helps with the immersion (especially if they're voiced), because you can increasingly see yourself as the character, or the character is an extension of you.  Likewise, playing as the oppostie gender distances you from the character because then it is simply a character, and not part of you.  It's the difference between "I'm the character," and "That's a cool character."  Sometimes this emotional distance is helpful, like if you are going to play a personality radically different from your own.  But for pure immersion, it's so much better to play one's own gender.

That said, Hale's acting is good, but only if you consider Shepard pre-defined.  The amount of emotion that is poured into every single line of dialogue may very well clash with your own conception what you actually wanted to say.  It's not the line itself, it's the emotion.  What if I want Shepard to say something snarky, and she does, but the emotion in her voice doesn't suggest playful, but rather rudeness?  Another immersion breaker there.  Infusing emotion into lines sets in stone how Shepard feels about what she's saying, even if you wanted something completely different.  Meer on the other hand, leaves how he is feeling open to interpretation.  He puts a hint of emotion into his lines, but that hint could be taken several different ways.  It's the difference between being offered a plate of food from which to choose, and being battered over the head with that plate (which now only contains one kind of food).

Oh and a random nitpick: Hale's reading is too breathy.  It sounds like she's sighing into the microphone with every line. 

This is an interesting read...Thank you Wizard...though essentially I disagree on a number of points, this is still an interesting take....As to what I disagree with, as a female gamer I feel much more in tune with manShep over femShep and have bonded embarressingly strongly with my manShep...I don't think it's as black and white as being more in tune with your own gender, your paragraph on Va'ing is much more to the point I feel....It's the emotions portrayed that I personally either relate to or not....Meer's 'Speak quietly, carry a big stick' is much more in tune with the who I am than Hale's obivious aggression...the obvious aggression I find jarring and very out of character for me, whereas the quiet approach I find much more immersive.

[AdmiralCheez]

Meh. The different voice actors lend a different personality to each incarnation of Shepard. There are lines all over the place that one nails perfectly while the other completely bombs, and the ratio of awesome to fail is about even. For what it's worth, I like both and am fairly comfortable with either one, but it "feels" better as a FemShep, probably because, as so many have stated, it's easier to get into a character when you're the same gender.

[Valdrane78]

AdmiralCheez wrote...
it's easier to get into a character when you're the same gender.

Sorry I only want to get "into" female character


Sorry couldn't help myself, it was shameful I know.

[MrDbow]

The voice acting or actor has no influence on what gender my avatar is. In 2007, I had no idea who Mark Meer or Jennifer Hale were. As a male, I play a male character 99% of the time in my games, because I "assume the role" as if I am the avatar, even if I am using a pre-created character. I do not have a great imagination to "roleplay" as a female avatar.

Now, we can discuss the performance of the actors (I myself finally completed a FemShep playthrough and feel Hale's performance to be better in ME1 than Meer's), but I feel that if I had known about the nuances of their respective performances, I still would have chosen a male avatar over the female one.

[YouthCultureForever]

I'm female, but I've always played as male Shepard. I made one female Shepard in ME1 but deleted her soon after starting the save file. Hale's voice didn't match my avatar at all. Far too gruff. I found Meer's voice to be much more universal sounding. The only game I've really wanted to play as a female character was DA2. I like FemHawke's voice, the way it sounds, and also because MaleHawke's voice sounds too old for my character.

It might be worth mentioning that I usually always play as male characters in RPGs. Hair style, facial feature construction, and other character creation option factor into my choice as well. There are few options to make a decent looking avatar, but even fewer for female characters in most games.

And I like RPing. Makes things more fun, opens up new perspectives and other such things.

Modifié par YouthCultureForever, 17 octobre 2011 - 11:54 .