Please, for the love of all that is holy, no Cerberus.
Of all the things we should leave behind when we get out of the Milky Way, Cerberus takes pretty much the top spot. I don't want to see even see an hint that reminds me of TIM's plot device-y goon squad.
The reason for the bolded part is because the political climate nowadays is OK with the sexualization of men but totally offended by the sexualization of women. It's hypocritical I know but that's how things are now. Eventually one day people will ask too to stop doing that also for men.
I realise that, and i'm not complaining that people didn't take offense to Iron Bull. I don't think either needs to change! I think both the way IB and Miranda were presented are both fine, and both should be allowed.
I don't know why people point at Miranda as the worst offender when it comes to a questionable portrayal of a female character. Ass cam aside, she was intelligent, competent, independent and many other things that any person would aspire to be. Liara, on the other hand, is meek and subservient and by far the most sexually available female in the games. Even when she gets tougher as the series goes on, it doesn't ring true and seems like an act. To me, she seems like she only exists for Shepard. Even as the Shadowbroker, her whole universe seems to revolve around Shepard.
Also If you've never heard Ali Hillis switch from her regular speaking voice to her Liara voice, you should try and check that out. It's disturbing.
The reason for the bolded part is because the political climate nowadays is OK with the sexualization of men but totally offended by the sexualization of women. It's hypocritical I know but that's how things are now. Eventually one day people will ask too to stop doing that also for men.
And here I was hoping everyone would just grow up and stop caring about something so ridiculously petty, regardless of gender. One can dream, right?
And here I was hoping everyone would just grow up and stop caring about something so ridiculously petty, regardless of gender. One can dream, right?
Exactly!
And here I was hoping everyone would just grow up and stop caring about something so ridiculously petty, regardless of gender. One can dream, right?
Sign me in for that but the realist in me keep thinking this is not something it can be achieved soon. We shall see but I don't hold any hope in the foreseeable future.
Liara's an introvert that prefers her solitude, but she's not meek or subservient.
I'm an introvert who thoroughly enjoys the pleasure of his own company. I still think that with Liara they were shooting for "innocent, virginal college undergrad with a nerdy streak and a huge crush on the protagonist." If that's not fanservice I don't know what is. Not that there's anything wrong with fanservice, per se, but it's kind of funny how everyone focuses on Miranda's outfit when the likes of Liara and Tali (who is pretty much Liara 2.0) are around.
The dissonance between her character and the camera is exactly what makes her portrayal so questionable.
She is in fact a strong, competent, independent woman. And we get treated to butt-shot and eye candy fan service of her at virtually every opportunity. It's freaking juvenile.
I get where you're coming from but my take is that Miranda had all these positive qualities and the game was trying to say "But look! She's sexy too!" in case men might be put off by a woman who doesn't really need Shepard. On the flip side, the game kept trying to convince me that Liara was more than a blue space geisha by making her the Shadowbroker and showing her skillz with but I don't buy it.
All that being said, I don't think Miranda was some shining example of female empowerment just that she wasn't the worst offender when it comes to being defined by her sex-appeal... like Liara... or even Tali (don't even get me started on Tali and her little girl voice). I guess my favourite ME woman is probably Ash in ME1 and 2 before they stripped her of her personality and any interesting storyline. Also Dr. Chakwass... and Bakara... although she only cares about having babies (under the circumstances, she can be forgiven).
I don't have any strong feelings about Ash's look in ME3. I don't hate that blue outfit because it's sexy, I hate it because it's ugly. The heavy make-up makes her look older but she is older. I know she's in the military but I know plenty of women that won't leave the house without eye-liner or mascara. My sister who is in the RAF wears it every day (although not heavy). The lip gloss and blusher were a bit much.
A mesh is a mesh and was created in some third-party 3D modelling software such as Maya or ZBrush and converted to the Unreal Engine format. Assuming they have the original assets, which they do unless there has been some catastrophic hardware failure, they would just do the same thing for FB3. So yes, it's entirely possible that the Cerberus shuttle is a place-holder.
The same goes for textures. Not everything we see in MEA will be 100% new although most things probably will be. There's no point in a 3D artist spending a day crafting a potted plant or a chair when they have all these ME-themed assets ready-to-go. A sensible amount of recycling is good for the game as it frees up time for artists to craft new stuff that players actually care about and we won't have to wait 6 years for the game to be made.
All that being said, I'm not clinging to the idea that it is a place-holder. If Cerberus show up in MEA, so be it.
Absolutely true. A mesh is a mesh. I can take a mesh from a totally different game (DEHR) and put it in ME which uses a totally different engine (I am putting Natanya Keitner as a replacement for Allers and may make Jensen's head the default for Shepard). It is almost nothing to take one mesh and paste it into any other game. They could just as well have used meshes from Doom.
The reason for the bolded part is because the political climate nowadays is OK with the sexualization of men but totally offended by the sexualization of women. It's hypocritical I know but that's how things are now. Eventually one day people will ask too to stop doing that also for men.
The difference is that men are rarely reduced solely to their body parts whereas a nuclear physicist with a great rack is just a walking pair of t1ts as far as some men are concerned. On the whole, men as a gender haven't been and are still not oppressed, abused or ignored based on their sexual appeal.
We use words nowadays like himbo or man-wh0re but no man is reduced to just his looks or his sexual availability although that is beginning to change. I don't think we're in any danger of men being seen as sex objects while Beyoncé and the rest of the girls run the world however.
The explicit sexuality thing is fine to me in small amounts here and there when appropriate. I do NOT want my main female characters to be big boobed, swaying hips chicks. I want them athletic and trim. Functionally feminine, not pin-up non-functional. You will never see a worthy gymnast fem with big boobs or major hour-glass shape, big ass. You wont see a sprinter or long-distance runner like that either. Nor a uber-fit military girl. That stuff is contrary to high-function on a physical level.
Plus, I'm not a hormone-addled teenager anymore.
As do I, but I was speaking generally. Those aren't usually seen as sexy feminine traits, and when people are complaining about overly sexualised female characters those have traits have never once come up as something that needs to be toned down.
So we both like a thing which generally isn't being emphazied in female characters, and people who complain about overly sexualized female characters are not objecting to that thing but are objecting to what is emphasized. Meanwhile nobody is generally complaining about how male characters are sexualized.
I would suggest maybe we can learn some things from the differences in how men and women are portrayed, and possibly better portray both using that knowledge.
The explicit sexuality thing is fine to me in small amounts here and there when appropriate. I do NOT want my main female characters to be big boobed, swaying hips chicks. I want them athletic and trim. Functionally feminine, not pin-up non-functional. You will never see a worthy gymnast fem with big boobs or major hour-glass shape, big ass. You wont see a sprinter or long-distance runner like that either. Nor a uber-fit military girl. That stuff is contrary to high-function on a physical level.
Plus, I'm not a hormone-addled teenager anymore.
Indeed. Which is why this "buxom blonde" thing has me facepalming if true.
Mass Effect. Mass Effect never changes.
Well, okay it does change. But not for the better.
So we both like a thing which generally isn't being emphazied in female characters, and people who complain about overly sexualized female characters are not objecting to that thing but are objecting to what is emphasized. Meanwhile nobody is generally complaining about how male characters are sexualized.
I would suggest maybe we can learn some things from the differences in how men and women are portrayed, and possibly better portray both using that knowledge.
I woudn't mind being a lot more sexualized by the women around me, personally.
@Getorex: I logged in from my work PC just to give you a like.
Not much, but it´s something. 
The explicit sexuality thing is fine to me in small amounts here and there when appropriate. I do NOT want my main female characters to be big boobed, swaying hips chicks. I want them athletic and trim. Functionally feminine, not pin-up non-functional. You will never see a worthy gymnast fem with big boobs or major hour-glass shape, big ass. You wont see a sprinter or long-distance runner like that either. Nor a uber-fit military girl. That stuff is contrary to high-function on a physical level.
Plus, I'm not a hormone-addled teenager anymore.
I should be clear that I don't have a problem with sexy women in video games. I don't even have a problem if characters exist that are nothing but their sexuality. Such women do exist*. I don't have to like said characters however and if that's all there is, then I probably won't like the game.
I don't think ME is particularly guilty of doing this. I might roll my eyes sometimes but if I pick up another game like GTA I'm reminded that the characterisation of women is actually one of Bioware's biggest strengths (on the whole).
*Scratch that. I think that there are women that appear to be nothing but their sexuality.
The difference is that men are rarely reduced solely to their body parts whereas a nuclear physicist with a great rack is just a walking pair of t1ts as far as some men are concerned. On the whole, men as a gender haven't been and are still not oppressed, abused or ignored based on their sexual appeal.
We use words nowadays like himbo or man-wh0re but no man is reduced to just his looks or his sexual availability although that is beginning to change. I don't think we're in any danger of men being seen as sex objects while Beyoncé and the rest of the girls run the world however.
Nuclear physics hold no interest whatsoever to me. Biology, on the other hand, is a universal language 
In all seriousness, are you so sure it's Beyonce who's running the world? I thought the likes of Emma Watson and Jennifer Lawrence were all the rage these days. You cannot tell me that there is not charisma that goes beyond sex appeal at work here.
Indeed. Which is why this "buxom blonde" thing has me facepalming if true.
Mass Effect. Mass Effect never changes.
Well, okay it does change. But not for the better.
I think ME, and any Bioware game really, is about the worst place to go looking for realism. What's up with the masochism?
I woudn't mind being a lot more sexualized by the women around me, personally.
I wouldn't mind, but I don't really care too much either way. Most women don't interest me, so it's only to be expected that most won't be interested in me. They'll write those words in my lonely, lonely grave
Just because Bioware don't seem to do many blonde women. And IIRC there actually is lore in Mass Effect books which suggests that blonde hair is getting rarer, though I'm not sure that was good science.
I doubt that blonde hair dye is getting rarer as well.
In all seriousness, are you so sure it's Beyonce who's running the world? I thought the likes of Emma Watson and Jennifer Lawrence were all the rage these days. You cannot tell me that there is not charisma that goes beyond sex appeal at work her
AAAAAAAAAHHH!!! MY EYES!!!
*breathes on bag*
That was uncalled for, sir!
Pathfinder = Specter.
AAAAAAAAAHHH!!! MY EYES!!!
*breathes on bag*
That was uncalled for, sir!
You're obsessed with her and you know it.... So does she
Manually flying the ship would be stupid.
Now we've got talk about destructible covers again. I know it's a work in progress but something tells me that they won't bother.
Think of what makes women (generally) attractive to men. It's pronounced curves (breasts, hips, butt etc) and the camera focusing on those parts of the body. Seductive movements, way of talking etc. Basically anything that emphasises femininity. These are generally what people are talking about when people are complaining about overly sexualised female characters.
Now think about what people find attractive in men. Signifiers of strength, security. Instead of curves, the arms and chest are usually the areas that are focused on, and you'll rarely come across a weedy/fat male squadmate (that isn't there as comic relief) in a BioWare game. Courage, humour, rebelliousness, honour. All traits that make a man attractive, all good guys in videogames tend to have these qualities in abundance. It's hard to have an unsexualised male (human) character because the traits that make them a hero/anti-hero are inherently attractive traits for a man to have, and they are hugely exaggerated in male videogame heroes. The only way to avoid them is to make them really old or ugly and/or have a serious character flaw. Like Zaeed.
It was more than just camera angles, though having her butt fill the screen in several scenes certainly didn't help.
It was her painted-on outfit that showed every fold and crease. Seriously, you can see her navel in her "loyalty" outfit in ME2. And she wore stiletto heels worn in combat, though she wasn't unique in this.
And sadly, they didn't learn a darn thing for ME3, which put bad-@ss marine Ashley Williams in a "Mass Effect Barbie" look. Instead of a proper Alliance uniform like other human officers, male and female alike, she got the tights, tin-foil miniskirt, thigh-high boots, and V-neck treatment.
Seriously, what the HELL were they thinking? Or were they thinking at all?
The difference is that men are rarely reduced solely to their body parts whereas a nuclear physicist with a great rack is just a walking pair of t1ts as far as some men are concerned. On the whole, men as a gender haven't been and are still not oppressed, abused or ignored based on their sexual appeal.
We use words nowadays like himbo or man-wh0re but no man is reduced to just his looks or his sexual availability although that is beginning to change. I don't think we're in any danger of men being seen as sex objects while Beyoncé and the rest of the girls run the world however.
Actually it seems to be the people railing against characters being sexy that reduce them to a few body parts, not the people that enjoy them. The people who only see a pair of boobs are generally people saying "Ugh, look at those breasts, she's only there to satisfy the male gaze."
Take Miranda as an example, the only people reducing her character to an ass and a catsuit, are the people constantly complaining about it, a great many of whom are not men. The people who like Miranda as a character realise there's far more to her than that.
Again, some people only seeing the boobs or ass of a character doesn't mean there's anything wrong with the character, but with the person who can't see past that aspect of a character.
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