24 réponses à ce sujet

[Linkenski]

Apparently I cannot do a poll, so it'll be text-based instead:
 
A) His writing
B( Because I could define him completely with my input
C) Because we had him for 3 games
D) Because Mark Meer
E) Because Jennifer Hale
F) Because he was a static brick
G) Other (please specify by posting)

[BabyPuncher]

Although he wasn't perfect and had his share of groan inducing lines, in general Shepard was an incredibly well written character.

[Madcat 124]

I'll get flak for this, but by the end of Mass Effect 3 I hated Shepard. They began to feel too much like a mary sue and less like the character I had created. Everyone loved me and saw me as the last hope for the galaxy, even though there was no guarantee for victory.

 

Mass Effect 1 had us play as the underdog, the first human specter and the only one who originally believed Saren was a threat. Mass Effect 2 had us play as a ghost, someone who had been missing for 2 years, and when we finally came back, we came back spouting "nonsense" about the end of the world. Mass Effect 3 had us play as space Jesus, where most of our actions were waved off as doing something to save the galaxy thus doing no wrong, single-handedly changing major parts of the universe, and sacrificing ourselves to save all organic life. 

 

Personally, after Shepards previous ordeal with the Batarians and the arrival of the Reapers on Earth, I think it would have been better to have the galaxy see Shepard as a terrorist, or something like Saren. Blaming him for leading the Reapers to Earth and the game being about redeeming yourself while also bringing the galaxy together to fend off the Reapers. 

[Linkenski]

I thought he was too inconsistent to be a proper character in many ways. I enjoyed the simpleness of ME1 and ME2 where he was simply my avatar and my means to immerse myself in the world and connect with the wonderful cast of aliens and human characters but when they tried to write him as a proper character in Mass Effect 3 it stopped being good to me. Like you mentioned, too many groan-inducing lines, also too much moralizing and being the one to set an example... it characterized him as a good leader, which is good, but at times I just stopped up and thought it was way overdone and too much how everyone looked up to Shepard. It was refreshing to see Ashley/Kaidan go against him but that wasn't handled very well either because they were needlessly bitchy about it. He was overly melodramatic in ME3 but the best moments are when you're bro-ing out with Garrus, like the sniper-challenge or when Garrus tells Shepard to remember to come up for air and stuff like that.

 

Though, the best moments for me are the ones in ME2, like when you enter the prison to recruit Jack and you renegade/intimidate one of the guards even though it doesn't make sense for it to work. I just loved hearing some really silly badass renegade shepard lines inbetween all the seriousness, and that goes for the rest of ME2 as well. Such a nice balance of dark gritty edgy main story and campyness from the renegade dialogues.

 

To me, from a literary standpoint Shepard as a character is bonkers but from a personal perspective he's a good character IMO because of B: He was my character and I defined him through all he wonderful dialogue options that I had available. I'd go renegade in the moments where I felt it was fitting, sometimes I'd roleplay to make my Shepard a war-torn anti-hero who turned soft because he good seduced by the lovely Normandy crew, sometimes he was a heroic figure who'd lose his way as he faced his biggest challenge yet and most of the time I would just play him the way I personally imagined I would tackle the struggles thrown at me.

 

+1 to Madcat 124: Exactly my opinion as well. This was a huge issue with Inquisitor as well. The "How do you do it?" dialogue that all companions start saying halfway through either ME3, DAI and sadly Witcher 3 also, just reeks of the writers licking the player's feet. I don't want to be the best human being alive in these games. I wanna be right in there with the others who have character flaws and other lacking traits.

[Sion1138]

My avatar, Meer and I got used to him rather easily.

 

B,C,D.

[Linkenski]

Meer is kickass too. I want him to be the voice of my Mass Effect protagonist forever even when it isn't Shepard lol.

 

Imagine if he'd play a companion in NME. Would be so jarring.

[dreamgazer]

Meer is kickass too. I want him to be the voice of my Mass Effect protagonist forever even when it isn't Shepard lol.

I think it'd be pretty cool to have both Mark Meer and Jennifer Hale back as the protagonists, only with different vocal performances.

[Sekrev]

Apparently I cannot do a poll, so it'll be text-based instead:
 
A) His writing
B( Because I could define him completely with my input
C) Because we had him for 3 games
D) Because Mark Meer
E) Because Jennifer Hale
F) Because he was a static brick
G) Other (please specify by posting)

 

A) Nope

B( To a small extent, it's nice to have some input though it could've been much more. it certainly makes it more involving

C) I felt involved since ME1, and the same way in 2 and 3, but it started right from the first game

D) No, but then again I never played a full playthrough of any of the three games with broshep

E) Yes

F) Sadly she was at times

G) Because of the interactions with the other characters through Shepard, and all the experiences. Shepard itself is not all that interesting or great to me, but as a conduit to experience the ME universe through, and its characters, it became personal and involving

[Mister J]

Because of two reasons: in large parts, Shepard is whatever you want them to be, and because they are a hero of herculean proportions, literally saving people by the planetloads.

[azarhal]

I'll get flak for this, but by the end of Mass Effect 3 I hated Shepard. They began to feel too much like a mary sue and less like the character I had created. Everyone loved me and saw me as the last hope for the galaxy, even though there was no guarantee for victory.

 

Mass Effect 1 had us play as the underdog, the first human specter and the only one who originally believed Saren was a threat. Mass Effect 2 had us play as a ghost, someone who had been missing for 2 years, and when we finally came back, we came back spouting "nonsense" about the end of the world. Mass Effect 3 had us play as space Jesus, where most of our actions were waved off as doing something to save the galaxy thus doing no wrong, single-handedly changing major parts of the universe, and sacrificing ourselves to save all organic life. 

 

Personally, after Shepards previous ordeal with the Batarians and the arrival of the Reapers on Earth, I think it would have been better to have the galaxy see Shepard as a terrorist, or something like Saren. Blaming him for leading the Reapers to Earth and the game being about redeeming yourself while also bringing the galaxy together to fend off the Reapers. 

 

^This

 

The Space Jesus thing was just bad, unfortunately looking at BioWare "modern games", they seems to believe that is the only thing players want...

[Vazgen]

A) His writing - mostly in ME3, minus a few avoidable lines

B( Because I could define him completely with my input - kinda yes though I had trouble with this in ME2

C) Because we had him for 3 games - yes, it played a big role

D) Because Mark Meer - definitely

also 

G) Other (please specify by posting) - because I could customize his looks and skillset to my liking

[Linkenski]

I think it'd be pretty cool to have both Mark Meer and Jennifer Hale back as the protagonists, only with different vocal performances.

I'd be happy with that. I might even play female for once if Hale doesn't have to sound so airy and deep in her voice.

 

I liked how in Metal Gear, Kojima just said f*ck it and reused David Hayter as Snake when it wasn't Solid Snake in MGS3, but it worked really well. it could be cool to see the same happen to ME just where the new protagonist is a different character but is shed in the light of good old Shepard by being voiced by Mark Meer or JenHale.

 

@azarhal Yes, you're right. I saw red lights blinking at some panel or something where Bioware said something like "The player has to be the most powerful character" and I think it's a response to all the fan rage when ME3 removed too much player agency, but now they're going too far in the other direction. I don't want it to become flattering to play a Bioware game.

 

 

 

A) His writing - mostly in ME3, minus a few avoidable lines

B( Because I could define him completely with my input - kinda yes though I had trouble with this in ME2

C) Because we had him for 3 games - yes, it played a big role

D) Because Mark Meer - definitely

also 

G) Other (please specify by posting) - because I could customize his looks and skillset to my liking

 

How could I forget. That's also the big redeeming factor for Inquisition, plus I could actually make my character look somewhat human this time. I hope they make the character creator awesome in NME.

[Quarian Master Race]

They weren't. S/he is merely the vaugely defined avatar I control to interact with the setting. Don't have any particular attachment to them because A) they aren't a clearly defined character that I can relate to and B ) they aren't so customizable and definable by player choice that I can essentially make them a stand in for myself.

So I guess answer F with bits of G is how I see the character. The setting and narrative carries me, not so much the protaganist.

[N7Jamaican]

Shepard is great to me because, my Shepard is my OWN and no one has the same Shepard that I do.  I named him after myself (my 'best' save import) and my second (as a female) after my deceased grandmother.  I made my male Shep look as close to me as possible (I am black male, and try finding a hairstyle with Dreadlocks in Mass Effect -- or even an afro) and I made my femShep look as much as my grandmother as possible.

 

And the fact that I could believe that Shepard is a black man (or black woman) saving the galaxy and there's no canon telling me what gender, race, ethnic background, sexuality, or how Shep even looks is why Shepard is so great to me.

[KaiserShep]

Shepard's basically a superhero with badass powers and an arsenal of scifi weapons, traversing the galaxy and mopping up the uglies one system at a time. Corny as hell, but the kind of corny as hell I can live with. 

[Teddie Sage]

Paragon Male Shep, Soldier, Lone Survivor, Earth Born was simply my hero. I loved how he united so many races and was open-minded to the rest of the universe, always doing his best to make everyone happy... only for him to meet such a tragic and anticlimatic ending... 

[KaiserShep]

Anticlimax is bad for us but not always so bad for the protagonist, but I guess it depends on how you look at it. If your Shepard survived, whether or not it's anticlimactic doesn't change the fact that it's gonna hurt, but, well, stayin' alive, and all that. 

[Golden_Persona]

I can't really describe it. S/he was a badass, and the games never failed to play up how much of a badass they were. A good action hero protagonist makes you feel the adrenaline pumping up before a good fight, and that's what Shepard's life was about. On a meta sense Shepard was the first RPG protagonist to handle a voiced protagonist that could still be unique depending on choices one makes. At the very least it made it popular. I've yet to play an RPG with a voiced protagonist be as dynamic and free as Shepard. DA's 2 voiced protagonists have yet to hit the high notes with most people that Shepard did (although Hawke definitely had her wonderful moments).

 

I know people don't want another messiah, and neither do I... in the beginning. In ME1 Shepard was already a hero and a badass. I'd like the new MC to be an equal amongst the squad, who goes through those Elysium, thresher maw attack, Torfan moments that make them into a hero and a badass. Eventually I'd want them to be somewhat close to Shepard.

[Kappa Neko]

A+B+E = magic

 

Jennifer Hale's outstanding performance played a huuuge part in why I love femShep so much. I cannot give her credit enough. I never got into male Shepard because of Mark Meer who rubs me the wrong way. Way too emotionless.

 

I played paragon and loved Shep's crisis in ME3, it was a perfect fit. It was exactly what I wanted for the third game. ME2 Shepard was way too terminator. ME3 made her human like everyone else. At the same time Shepard has to be the most badass, fearless, admirable savior ever in gaming history. There will never be another Shepard to me. But that's ok.

Mass Effect as femShep will forever remain the video game love of my life. Not even that ending could destroy the magic.

 

What makes Shepard special to me is how the character was introduced. We meet Shepard when she is already an outstanding soldier who gets selected for the job in ME1 by reputation, not because she just happened to get mixed up in events like the lame as hell inquisitor. It's an extremely lazy storytelling device to make a character special by giving them mysterious powers out of the blue. I played DAI for 90h and never really understood why everybody admired the inquisitor who mostly just did what the advisors told her...

Shepard didn't need a magical hand to be cool. Shepard was just one hell of a solider and leader. She EARNED her reputation. Shepard as a character is believable. The game shows you over and over why Shepard is the best soldier in the galaxy. None of that is due to a weird anchor or any other kind of special glitter. Shepard embodies a PERSONALITY to aspire to, combined with insane combat skills.

Shepard united the galaxy against the reapers by smart diplomacy. The inquisitor was a lame copy who had so little personality that a magical hand was necessary to drive the story.

Shepard was all that Mass Effect needed as a driving force. Shepard made everyone follow her into hell and back. And there was no question, no doubt about why.

[StealthGamer92]

G.) He was great in ME1 for being human, and me choosing his personality. BUT in ME2 I had a shock seeing him die then be reborn as a almost "Super Shep" in the sense "only you can stop galactic threat's(insert bear pointing if you wish )" then in ME3 it just felt like he wasn't my Shepard at all so I was actually a little glad he died and is being replaced.

[Iakus]

Apparently I cannot do a poll, so it'll be text-based instead:
 
A) His writing
B( Because I could define him completely with my input
C) Because we had him for 3 games
D) Because Mark Meer
E) Because Jennifer Hale
F) Because he was a static brick
G) Other (please specify by posting)

A) Yeah, to some extent

 

Barring some cringeworthy moments, like Horizon, most dealings with TIM, and the sheer amount of autodialogue in ME3

 

C) Yes

 

D&E Yes

 

F) I prefer "blank slate" I like to be able to impress my own ideas onto the character.  Which of course means having access to those tools.  SoMething Bioware sadly took away from us by the end.

 

G) In ME1, exceptional human at the right place and the right time.  Unfortunately reworked into the more "Artistic" Space Jesus who dies for the galaxy's sins and redeems us all.  

[fraggle]

A) His writing - ME3 was my turning point for Shepard, I liked the character before, but loved him in 3, he felt more like a person
B( Because I could define him completely with my input - not completely, but to large parts. It helps knowing what's possible with what's given to us
C) Because we had him for 3 games - YES, by 3 I was completely attached to Shepard
D) Because Mark Meer - definitely. Got better and better and I loved him in ME3
E) Because Jennifer Hale - partially. She's quite good in ME1 and 2, but 3... nah. Also the flirting is HORRIBLE imo

[L. Han]

He's the galaxy's best therapist.