Video Games, Mass Effect, and Social Relevancy September 8, 2011

As a rule, I tend not to enjoy role playing video games. When I want to play a game, it's usually because I've got some free time to pick up a controller and I want to blow off some steam by shooting things in the head (usually the living dead, because ZOMBIES), or I'm interested in the story being presented. I don't enjoy fetch quests or being a completist, nor do I enjoy re-treading the same ground over and over again while chatting up various townsfolk to pry nuggets of knowledge out (just so I can do something like rescue the town's golden taint statue from the bandit cave which is right fucking over there, without which everyone is too down and sad to help the hero).

 

Of course, my experience is limited - when a genre doesn't appeal to you, you usually don't keep coming back to the table for more helpings. What I had experienced were typical Japanese RPG's that made me want to punch all the very poorly done archetypes in the head, and I usually found myself very pleased to see them eaten by whatever constituted the local indigenous version of a Grue. Maybe if I'd stuck with it I would have seen some modicum of character development worth sitting through while leveling up my character's stats, but I certainly don't have the patience to go through all of that just to find that the mysterious Big Bad Evil is actually the protagonist’s long-lost father.

 

Until Mass Effect.

 

I'm new to it - I resisted all exhortations by friends to play it because I didn't want an RPG game. But what got my interest piqued was the discussion around "FemShep". For those that don't know, ME allows you to customize your character's appearance, backstory (to a limited degree), and gender. I've played enough games where I'm generic Bad Dude Space Marine Guy to make me heartily sick of it. And the option to play a female character that wears not only reasonable and sensible amounts of clothing, but also doesn’t simper or whine or act like part of her frontal lobe has been damaged, is really actually exhilarating (that’s one of the main reasons I also have love for the Metroid series – Samus Aran is a bad-ass without the stupid male swagger). And at the suggestion of a friend, I killed my save game file (I wasn’t very far in, I had just had Wrex take out Fist) with generic Male Shepard, and created “Bacon Shepard” – a female protagonist. And said friend was right – the voice acting for “FemShep” is clearly superior. I’m still only pinky-toe into the game (for those that care, I’ve just come across the Rachni and activated the purge), but I already have an attachment to my on-screen character that I never felt for the usual generic out-of-the-can male protagonist in most outer-space games I’ve played.

 

It’s no surprise that Bioware’s attention to detail, expertise in socially relevant storytelling (check out Wrex and the Art of the Privilege Check as a great example) and the talent of the voice actress have inspired some very dedicated fans to become quite vocal about elevating the role of FemShep in marketing campaigns and promotional material. And rightly so -  prior to this, the art used for these commercial endeavors all centered around the default male character, completely ignoring the rich story possibility inherent in simply inhabiting a different gender. This fan outcry has caused a great deal of discussion across multiple forums, ranging from positive to the negative. Regardless of what you may think, it’s had an effect: Bioware has worked with the community to canonize a default female Shepard based upon their interaction. And say what you will about the results, the discussions that it’s spawned have shown that there is a very large community of female gamers who are underserved and very hungry for characters that they can relate to that will weave their interest into how they perceive and enjoy the storyline, instead of archetypes to push around while mindlessly performing fetch quests.

 

My wife doesn’t play video games – most women I know, don’t. Would she pick up a controller and play a game if she saw a character she could relate to, who tells a compelling story? I don’t know – maybe some day it will happen. In the meantime, it’s nice to know that there’s a growing opportunity for her to play games that she can relate to, and not just for the “Guy Gamer”.

 

Also, I <3 Wrex.

 

Edit: And almost, as if summoned, a perfectly good reason as to why more sensibly strong female protagonists are needed in games:  http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2106493

Fair warning: Reading the comments on that thread WILL give you brain bubbles.