It got a really good review! https://twitter.com/...362747836604417
But he was right.
Book was funny - I laughed so much during character description, action scenes, serious dialogues and scientific and lore explanations.
And Kai Leng in Deception was bad and ass.
Spoiler
A little exaggerated perhaps, but that's Sarkeesian "logic" alright.
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Again, I fervently hope that the writers learned what to avoid and what to do properly, from the mess with ME1-3. I anticipate another trilogy and since the setting is on a much smaller scale (Helius Cluster) the writers should be able to manage the story arcs without conflicts.
I hope so as well. What I see though is a real disconnect when people say they were forced into a one-sided position within ME1 when what it amounted to was a refusal on their part to take the "opposing" option offered - which, in most cases, did exist (but was awkward or clunky). In the example above, they player was not "forced" into insulting the Quariansi because their option was to not broach the topic with Tali in the first place. I firmly agree, there were far better ways for the situations to be written and, overall, the criticisms of the writing are valid... but it also cannot be accurately said that the player was "forced" to do anything.
I also believe it is not really possible to write anything that is complete apolitical because the readers will always interpret what has been written in a manner that reflects their own political slant and will usually exaggerate their interpretations to support their own opinions. They will "see" symbolism in things where the writer did not necessarily intend to insert symbolism and refuse to see symbolism in other things... and a writer just can't account for all the different ways a reader might interpret what they've written. Writers also subconsciously insert symbolisms and leanings. That doesn't mean that they're "preaching" a position... although some could be as well.
As for Jemisin's blog... it was a personal blog based on a first-time playthrough of the series... yet people here are expanding their interpretation of her comments to predict that her ME book will break with lore and be preachy about gender and racial issues... basically, the posters use her blog as a basis to "preach" about their own stances on writing about gender and racial issues.. I'd rather just wait to read the book and make my judgments then. At this point, I firmly regret posting the link to her blog here.
Yes. But the point wasn't to debate a specific example, otherwise I would have mentioned it specifically, the point was the principle of the matter.
Do you mind elaborating, then? There's not much point screaming about how "politics" is infiltrating Bioware's games if it's never actually happened.
Why there is not a book about the game and Shepard story?? i wanna read more about everything...i wanna know more about ME universe. Bioware wake up!! there is a market for you out there.
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Totally agree.
What I find interesting is why the push for gender politics? The answer could be that the gender politicos have taken over. As you say, good stories have no need to preach LGBT issues. Just look at the top 100 best sellers.
The premise for Andromeda is colonization not how Harry met Tom.
They aren't "preaching" anything - science fiction (especially sci-fi set in the future) will reflect modern society, and some people in modern society are gender- or sexually diverse. Not including LGBT people in media content, as was done for most of the last few centuries in the West, is as much a political agenda as including them.
Given the comments you've made in the past about wanting to see Miranda's nipples, I assume you are interested in the romantic aspects of Bioware's games.
If so, it seems pretty hypocritical to object to some romance content just because of the gender of the participants.
I mean, if the premise for Andromeda is colonisation, there should be - by your logic - no romance content at all.
Do you mind elaborating, then? There's not much point screaming about how "politics" is infiltrating Bioware's games if it's never actually happened.
I would take your response more seriously if you didn't just pick one line in a large post, personally I think that you want to obfuscate and distract from the main point of the post by engaging in a technical argument about a specific example, while disregarding that my point was much more general in nature, therefore I don't see the point.
...there should be - by your logic - no romance content at all.
I wish. Less petty drama and more actual story is always good.
Why there is not a book about the game and Shepard story?? i wanna read more about everything...i wanna know more about ME universe. Bioware wake up!! there is a market for you out there.
Because there isn't one Shepard?
You can't write about Shepard past because there are three of them. You can't write book set during game because you would have to avoid every single decision made in game. You can't write book set after game because it would mean one cannon ending.
Not to mention that Shepard can be both male ad female.
Because there isn't one Shepard?
Ah come on...just do not make them canon...its mandatory to be canon? are Star Trek Books all canon? or its the opposite?and why can not the Shepard "most played" to be portraited in book? is it a crime? 80% of players played a paragon male Shepard.
Because of that we fans are limited? pls.....
Writers are available to do it...i just transcribed some weeks ago an answer from one of ME writers. He said he would be available to write more books if he could.
Ah come on...just do not make them canon...its mandatory to be canon? are Star Trek Books all canon? or its the opposite?and why can not the Shepard "most played" to be portraited in book? is it a crime? 80% of players played a paragon male Shepard.
Because of that we fans are limited? pls.....
Writers are available to do it...i just transcribed some weeks ago an answer from one of ME writers. He said he would be available to write more books if he could.
Even if true (i think the renegade grup isn't that small), you forget that being 'Paragon' doesn't mean you made all the choices Paragon. Besides, the male Shepards you reference to all differs in term of name, a lot have different faces, they romanced different characters.
DA doesn't have books about the various PC. They simply wanted to explore more the universe of the games and not Shepards' story.
Ah come on...just do not make them canon...its mandatory to be canon? are Star Trek Books all canon? or its the opposite?and why can not the Shepard "most played" to be portraited in book? is it a crime? 80% of players played a paragon male Shepard.
Because of that we fans are limited? pls.....
Writers are available to do it...i just transcribed some weeks ago an answer from one of ME writers. He said he would be available to write more books if he could.
Actually, till Deception failure, all ME books and comics were planned and made as cannon. ME was obviously from beginning planned as universe with combined cannon lore sources. And Karpyshyn tried really hard to avoid all Shepards decisions in his books.
And as someone who wrote book from shared universe, I have to say that for good professional author lore continuity is alpha and omega of his work and you have to have damn good reason to change it and even then fanbase would most likely rage about it.
i didn t forget being paragon does not reflect all players made 100% paragon choices..i didn t too..and i m certain a big percentage of players were male and paragon type like me.
I love this characteristic of the game. Don t take me wrong. But this aspect is quite frustrating because the universe created deserves more development..and books are a great tool for it...Bioware should open the rights to do it..or make some choices or decisions about this.
There a lot of ways to write about ME universe...tell the story from a third persons view...so many...why should this be closed?
Open the universe to writers imagination (with limits ofcourse).
Its is perfectly doable.
i didn t forget being paragon does not reflect all players made 100% paragon choices..i didn t too..and i m certain a big percentage of players were male and paragon type like me.
I love this characteristic of the game. Don t take me wrong. But this aspect is quite frustrating because the universe created deserves more development..and books are a great tool for it...Bioware should open the rights to do it..or make some choices or decisions about this.
There a lot of ways to write about ME universe...tell the story from a third persons view...so many...why should this be closed?
Open the universe to writers imagination (with limits ofcourse).
Its is perfectly doable.
The books are expanding the universe. They just didn't and don't expand the PC's story. Which I'm fine with. I don't think it's a good idea to make the PC have more adventures in books, since it'll affect the PC in the games.
Its perfectly doable without the PC though. Expanding the universe does not mean expanding the PC's story.i didn t forget being paragon does not reflect all players made 100% paragon choices..i didn t too..and i m certain a big percentage of players were male and paragon type like me.
I love this characteristic of the game. Don t take me wrong. But this aspect is quite frustrating because the universe created deserves more development..and books are a great tool for it...Bioware should open the rights to do it..or make some choices or decisions about this.
There a lot of ways to write about ME universe...tell the story from a third persons view...so many...why should this be closed?
Open the universe to writers imagination (with limits ofcourse).
Its is perfectly doable.
i didn t forget being paragon does not reflect all players made 100% paragon choices..i didn t too..and i m certain a big percentage of players were male and paragon type like me.
I love this characteristic of the game. Don t take me wrong. But this aspect is quite frustrating because the universe created deserves more development..and books are a great tool for it...Bioware should open the rights to do it..or make some choices or decisions about this.
There a lot of ways to write about ME universe...tell the story from a third persons view...so many...why should this be closed?
Open the universe to writers imagination (with limits ofcourse).
Its is perfectly doable.
But for this you don't need Shepard.
Kahlee's series already did this, f.e. in case of biotic or life in Migrant fleet.
i didn t forget being paragon does not reflect all players made 100% paragon choices..i didn t too..and i m certain a big percentage of players were male and paragon type like me.
I love this characteristic of the game. Don t take me wrong. But this aspect is quite frustrating because the universe created deserves more development..and books are a great tool for it...Bioware should open the rights to do it..or make some choices or decisions about this.
There a lot of ways to write about ME universe...tell the story from a third persons view...so many...why should this be closed?
Open the universe to writers imagination (with limits ofcourse).
Its is perfectly doable.
I think, in part, this is the "role" that the developer leaves open for fan fiction to take on. The stories can still get written and universe can be added to in a zillion different ways and is completely open to the fan fiction writers' imaginations, but without any sort of "official" implications. Sure, the quality varies... but some of it is actually pretty good.
Its perfectly doable without the PC though. Expanding the universe does not mean expanding the PC's story.
It can even be a negative to make canon and expand on a character like Shepard, in my opinion but that may be bias on my part due to my own personal feelings about what happened to Revan and the Exile since I felt less interested in materials featuring or that were about the canon Revan or the canon Exile.
I enjoyed SWTOR: Shadow of Revan but it was not because of Revan and in some regards, it was despite the canon Revan character.
It'll probably be better than Ascension, Deception and Retribution, unless Cerberus shows up.
I wouldn't be so sure of that before its been released.
As far as literature goes, video game novels host some of the worst books I've ever read.
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I mean, if the premise for Andromeda is colonisation, there should be - by your logic - no romance content at all.
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I have no objections to that and have said so.
Historically speaking, the Pendulum Theory seems to hold true, from Rome's orgies to the Victorian puritanical attitudes and now back to open sexual "freedoms" (in North America). A future society, then, may very well revert back to more restrictive forms. Especially, so, in the early years of a colony that struggles to entrench its survival. That means the early goal is to focus its energy in areas like food production, shelter, defense against local predators and population growth.
More on the theory here: https://www.mikelee....lum-theory.html
I realize that romance is a "Bio trademark". Also, no objections. However, as an aRPG video game that emphasizes exploration and colonization struggles, romance should reflect that type of social pressures and not today's social freedoms. I conclude it's a message they wish to push and not one of necessity for the "game's success".
Be as it may, the game must stand on its engaging story, its believable characters, fun to play and its combat mechanics. While I find romance as an extra nugget, I find it amusing that Bio insists on providing something for all tastes, while applying Victorian mores to the cinematics (maybe its about the American rating class restrictions?).
I think, in part, this is the "role" that the developer leaves open for fan fiction to take on. The stories can still get written and universe can be added to in a zillion different ways and is completely open to the fan fiction writers' imaginations, but without any sort of "official" implications. Sure, the quality varies... but some of it is actually pretty good.
There are some good stories in fanfiction i admit...but you know thats not the same thing.
fanfiction exists for everything its not for ME only.
@james
But for this you don't need Shepard.
Kahlee's series already did this, f.e. in case of biotic or live in Migrant fleet.
Why do you "need Shepard on books"?
There are some good stories in fanfiction i admit...but you know thats not the same thing.
fanfiction exists for everything its not for ME only.
@james
But for this you don't need Shepard.
Kahlee's series already did this, f.e. in case of biotic or live in Migrant fleet.
Shepard was referred in what? one phrase? two? and it was evident, as someone said some post ago, that the care to avoid mentioning Shepard actions was evident.
Of Course i need Shepard on books. He is the main character..really isn`t there a way to write about the main character of ME because of the characteristics of the game? it is impossible?
Because he can be paragon or renegade or gay or female or male?
It would be an offense if some writer wrote about the most played Shepard for example? would someone felt offended? i surely wouldn t be.
The same reason i like Kirk/Picard books... or Star wars books.
Why do you "need Shepard on books"?
Also, why would Shepard be necessary to expand the universe of Mass Effect?
If anything, Shepard would limit what the writers could expand upon and what stories they could write because there'd have to be a plausible reason for Shepard to be included in the story's events as well as making sure said events would not conflict with Shepard's established history and movements in the games.
I consider Mass Effect to be a fictional universe that has plenty of potential and is interesting without Commander Shepard.
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I have no objections to that and have said so.
I realize that romance is a "Bio trademark". Also, no objections. However, as an aRPG video game that emphasizes exploration and colonization struggles, romance should reflect that type of social pressures and not today's social freedoms. I conclude it's a message they wish to push and not one of necessity for the "game's success".
Be as it may, the game must stand on its engaging story, its believable characters, fun to play and its combat mechanics. While I find romance as an extra nugget, I find it amusing that Bio insists on providing something for all tastes, while applying Victorian mores to the cinematics (maybe its about the American rating class restrictions?).
I agree with you on the underlined part..
yet you re wrong about the second on bold..romance its part of our life. I think one thing that made Mass Effect to be great...to make us players felt the characters..was the romance..as i said many times...love, honor, loyalty, friendship, hate are common/simple feelings. I think romance was one of the feelings that made Mass Effect great and believable.
There are some good stories in fanfiction i admit...but you know thats not the same thing.
fanfiction exists for everything its not for ME only.
@james
Shepard was referred in what? one phrase? two? and it was evident, as someone said some post ago,the care to avoid mentioning Shepard actionsOf Course i need Shepard on books. He is the main character..really isn`t there a way to write about the main character of ME because of the characteristics of the game? it is impossible?Because he can be paragon or renegade or gay or female or male?It would be an offense if some writer wrote about the most played Shepard for example? would someone felt offended? i surely wouldn t be.
What about if they decided instead to write their books about the "least played" Shepard?... because that is something they could as easily opt to do as writing about the most played one. When they write a book about Shepard, Shepard ceases to be the player's character for the duration of that book and becomes the author's character and the author can then develop that Shepard in ANY WAY they want, make any political statement they want using that Shepard, put that Shepard in any setting they want, etc. Unlike the interactive environment of the game, the readership does not have any direct "control" over what the author writes in books... they can only interpret what is there and decide whether or not they "like" it.
We tend to accept that fans can write their own fan fictions their own way... but we don't tend to be as tolerant about an official book. So, to answer your question: "Would SOMEONE feel offended?" Almost certainly, yes, someone (or probably several some ones) would likely be offended no matter what a book about Shepard contained... they would just be different some ones depending on what different directions the book went in.
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