Commander Shepard

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Commander Shepard
Mass Effect character
Commander Shepard.png
The default male (left) and female (right) Shepards,
as presented on Mass Effect 3's cover
First appearance Mass Effect (2007)
Voiced by Mark Meer (male)
Jennifer Hale (female)

Commander Shepard is the player character in BioWare's Mass Effect game trilogy: Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2, and Mass Effect 3. A veteran soldier of the Systems Alliance Navy military and N7-graduate of the Interplanetary Combatives Training (ICT) program, and the first human Citadel Council Spectre, Shepard works to stop "the Reapers", a sentient synthetic-machine race dedicated to wiping out all organic life. Shepard's gender, class, first name and general appearance are chosen and customised by the player. Mark Meer provides the voice for male Shepards, while Jennifer Hale voices females.

Alan Shepard was the source of the character's name. Shepard's armour developed over the series, and was originally intended to be red-and-white. Though both genders were given equal importance during development, marketing felt there was a need for a single identifiable hero for promotion of the game. Various merchandise has been made, including several figurines. Shepard has appeared in cameo appearances in other Electronic Arts games, though they will not be appearing in any future Mass Effect ones.

The character has received generally positive reception; the commander has been included on several "top character" lists, and Joe Juba of Game Informer titled them their favourite RPG protagonist of 2012. However, Maxim has criticised their armor and IGN's Andrew Goldfarb felt the character should not have been revisited through Mass Effect 3 downloadable content. Heavy focus was given to the female Shepard, nicknamed "FemShep", by the fans and critical sources.

Role in Mass Effect[edit]

Commander Shepard serves as the player character of main Mass Effect game trilogy. The commander is a graduate of the Systems Alliance's – the "galactic face of humanity"[1] – military N7 program, the highest grade of their "Interplanetary Combatives Training" that commands a great deal of respect.[2] Their service before joining the military and the military event that rose them to fame are chosen by the player before the game starts, out of three options each. Also choosable is their gender, character class and appearance.[3] The player is given paraphrased dialogue options via a radial command menu called the "dialogue wheel", which Shepard will expand on when clicked. Different choices on the dialogue wheel can grant either Paragon or Renegade points, which will overtime affect their physical appearance in Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3: a higher Renegade point will cause Shepard's scars to heal poorly, and their eyes to glow red.

Outside of the main trilogy, Shepard has been briefly mentioned in the novels Mass Effect: Ascension, Retribution, and Deception, and has also made a brief appearance in the third issue of the comic Homeworlds, with only the N7 logo on their armour being shown in-shot. Redemption, taking place two years before the second game's main events, concerns how Shepard's body was retrieved by Liara T'Soni and then given to Cerberus after the character's death in Mass Effect 2's prologue. The character, however, will not be making any further appearances in any Mass Effect games now that the main trilogy is over,[4] and BioWare have said that they do not wish the next Mass Effect protagonist to just be another soldier or "Shepard 2".[5][6]

Mass Effect[edit]

Main article: Mass Effect (video game)

In the first game, the commander is serving under Captain David Anderson during the shakedown run of the highly advanced turian/human ship SSV Normandy, heading toward humanity's first ever colony, Eden Prime. However, it turns out the ship is actually being sent to collect a Prothean beacon (Protheans being an advanced and now-extinct race whose technology could contain great discoveries) and give it to the Citadel Council, an executive committee who hold great sway in the galaxy,[7] and who are recognised as an authority by most of explored space.[8] A Spectre, an elite agent of the Council with the authority to deal with situations "in whatever way they deem necessary", [9] named Nihlus accompanies the mission, planning to observe Shepard's potential to join the Spectres; if they were to join, this would make the commander the first ever human Spectre and show how far humanity has come in galactic politics. However, Nihlus is killed during the mission when the Geth, sentient artificial life, and Saren, a rogue Spectre, attack the colony to get the beacon. Shepard manages to stop the colony from being destroyed, but is hit by a blast from the damaged beacon before it blows up; as a result, Shepard begins to have visions of war and death.

After Saren is exposed to the Council through the use of an audio recording that mentions "the Reapers", which are believed to be robotic lifeforms that wish to destroy all sentient organic life, the Council revoke Saren's Spectre status and instead make Shepard the first ever human Spectre, though they believe the Reapers are merely a myth Saren is using to manipulate the geth. Shepard is instructed to take down Saren, and is placed in charge of the Normandy and given free rein of the galaxy. Over the course of the game, it becomes clear that the visions are images of the Protheans being destroyed by the Reapers; the commander speaks to one of these Reapers, referred to as Sovereign, on Virmire, though the Council still believes them to be a myth.

Eventually, Saren and the geth launch an attack on the Citadel, the "political, cultural, and financial capital of the galactic community" and home of the Council,[10] intending to activate a mass relay inside it that will allow all the Reapers to arrive at once from dark space, destroy the Citadel, and begin their "harvest" of organic life. Shepard manages to stop them, destroy Sovereign, and save the Citadel. Depending on the player's choices, Shepard may either also save the Council, or leave them to die to ensure Sovereign is destroyed or to build a new human-centric Council.

Mass Effect 2[edit]

Main article: Mass Effect 2

At the beginning of the game, Shepard is killed when the Collectors attack and destroy the Normandy. The commander is revived by Cerberus, a pro-human group considered to be terrorists by the Citadel Council and the Systems Alliance,[11] with instructions by Cerberus leader the Illusive Man to be brought back unaltered and exactly as they were before their death. The Illusive Man provides Shepard with both a new ship (the Normandy SR-2) and a crew, and sends them on various missions against the Collectors, who are revealed to be puppets of the Reapers.

Over the course of the game, Shepard must gather a crew to prepare for a final assault on the Collector's homebase accessible only through the Omega-4 Relay, a relay that destroys all non-Collector ships that try to go through it. Depending on the player's choices during the final mission, it is possible that Shepard may die during it, though the save may not be imported in Mass Effect 3 if this is the case.[12] At the end of this mission, the player is given the choice to either destroy the base or hand it over to Cerberus – if the player chooses the former, Shepard effectively cuts all ties with Cerberus, and the crew and squadmates join the commander.

Depending on the player's decision concerning the Council in the first game, Shepard can either be reinstated as a Spectre now that they have been revived, be rejected by Udina and the rest of the Council, or refuse Spectre status when offered it.

Mass Effect 3[edit]

Main article: Mass Effect 3

Shepard has been grounded and stripped of rank by the Alliance before the game starts, due to either working with Cerberus or blowing up a batarian system in Arrival. After Earth is invaded by the Reapers, the Alliance reinstates them and sends them to ask the Council for help. Though the Council refuses, they either reinstate or reaffirm the commander's Spectre status.

Shepard must then work to bring about alliances between the various alien races to ensure the survival of Earth and to prevent the Reapers from wiping out the galaxy.

Concept and creation[edit]

BioWare wanted players to feel special and empowered from the start of the game. Unlike other role-playing game protagonists, they felt Shepard should not be an entirely blank character for the player to create, in order to create a more "intense" experience; with Mass Effect being more cinematic than other BioWare video games, they felt they needed an "extra bit" with a sense of a specific flavour that can be caused by a memorable character, such as Star Trek's Captain Kirk or 24's Jack Bauer.[13]

The character was named after Alan Shepard, the second person and first American to travel to space.

Developers wanted to at least give Shepard a last name so that other characters could address them. The developers wanted a name that was both "all-American" and common, which led them to start looking at the original seven astronauts. Alan Shepard was chosen due to fitting with the idea of "their" Shepard, being tough and respected, and fitting in with the character being the first human Spectre – Alan Shepard being the first American in space.[14]

During the development of the first game, the female Shepard was given equal importance as the male; unique lines were written for her as well as a unique romance option. When describing her, Casey Hudson said "[s]he's not a caricature of the idea of role-playing as a female, but instead she's very impressive as a strong female character that's sensitive yet extremely confident and assertive".[15]

Appearance and design[edit]

Shepard's default armor was originally red-and-white, but this was changed to charcoal grey, with a red-and-white stripe and the N7 logo, as Shepard looked too much like a medic.[16] The red stripe in the N7 logo is said to symbolise the blood the character must sacrifice to save the galaxy.[17] The armour became piece-based in Mass Effect 2 to stress the character's silhouette, as well as making them look "stronger and able to take more punishment".[16] Despite this, the colours, as well as other elements of the armor and the commander's appearance, are customisable in Mass Effect 2.[18]

For the character customisation at the start of the game, they focused on "quality and realism". In order to test out the customisation system, the team made various celebrity look-alikes to ensure it offered a wide enough variety.[15] The default male face, as well as the male body, were based on Dutch model Mark Vanderloo. The default female face changed slightly between the first and second game,[19] but underwent a big redesign for Mass Effect 3. Six different designs for the default female Shepard were hosted online, and fans were told to vote for whichever design they preferred via Facebook;[20][21] many different designs were made before the vote, but were whittled down to six by BioWare staff.[22] The blonde Shepard with freckles won,[23] though BioWare later decided that the hairstyle may have interfered with the vote, and so made another competition to decide that.[24][25] The red-haired Shepard won.[26]

Voice[edit]

Mark Meer (left) and Jennifer Hale (right) provided the voices for the male and female Shepard.

The male and female versions of Shepard were voiced by Mark Meer and Jennifer Hale respectively. Both of them had worked with BioWare many times previously.[27] Hale has said she is very invested in helping to "create" the stories of video games, though she herself is not a gamer.[28][29] Although Hale does object to certain lines if they seem out-of-character in other works, she prefers not to mess with the words for Shepard and BioWare.[28] Meer had first worked with BioWare during the creation of Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn, and went on to voice other bit parts in their games. When he was first called in to work on Mass Effect, he expected to voice more bit parts, and was "pleasantly surprised" to get the role of Shepard.[30][31] Caroline Livingstone gave voice direction during recording, and lead writer Mac Walters would occasionally sit in during recording sessions, allowing lines to be changed quickly.[30]

Promotion and merchandise[edit]

The default male Shepard was used heavily in marketing, being featured on the covers for all three games and most trailers. The female Shepard was confirmed to be making an appearance in one of the trailers for the third game, and on one side of Mass Effect 3's Collector's Edition, in June 2011.[19] The female Shepard had not been advertised heavily previously as marketing wanted to only showcase one character, so that consumers could easily understand who the hero was. For Mass Effect 3, BioWare wished to "acknowledge" the demand for material with the female Shepard.[32]

Outside of the Mass Effect series, Shepard has also made cameo appearances in other Electronic Arts games. SkyHeroes features various different characters from EA games, acting as playable pilots during the game's multiplayer mode.[33] Through downloadable content released on March 27, Shepard becomes available as an alternate skin for Serah and Noel within Final Fantasy XIII-2.[34][35] An N7 armor and omni-blades become available in Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning if the demo for Mass Effect 3 has been completed;[36] similarly, an N7 armor becomes available in Dead Space 3 if the player has owns a copy of Mass Effect 3.[37][38]

Reception[edit]

The character has received a generally positive reception. Shepard was voted number 2 by readers in Game Informer's poll of the top 30 video game characters, behind Halo protagonist Master Chief,[39] and Game Informer similarly listed them as 99 on their countdown of 100 favourite video game heroes – though squadmate Garrus Vakarian was placed significantly ahead, at number 15.[40] GameZone's Eric Zipper listed the character as one of "the 8 coolest video game heroes who wouldn't be any fun to actually hang out with", citing how, as they're controlled by the player, their actions could be "wildly erratic".[41]

Joe Juba, also writing for Game Informer, chose Shepard as their favourite protagonist in their "2012 RPG of the Year Awards", saying that while the player changed the tone and context of many parts of Mass Effect, "Shepard never comes out of it looking any less awesome".[42] The commander was voted the primary Xbox 360 candidate in IGN's mock video game presidential election,[43] with Marcus Fenix being chosen as vice-president;[44] in the end, readers voted them second-place behind PlayStation 3 representatives Nathan Drake and Solid Snake.[45] GameDaily's Chris Buffa listed the default male Shepard as one of the top 25 gaming hunks, citing how he is "a mysterious and battle hardened soldier that won't take guff from aliens."[46] In 2013, Complex ranked the male and female Shepard as, respecively, the 22nd and ninth greatest soldier in video games.[47]

Maxim, however, criticised Shepard's armor when looking at "badass" powersuits, saying "there are eleven thousand different versions, so we've seen this look before."[48] Andrew Goldfarb, for IGN, criticised the decision to revisit Shepard during the downloadable content of Mass Effect 3, believing that 3's ending was "final", and saying that'd he prefer to have a look at a new squad separate from Shepard.[49]

Although reports showed that only 18% of players chose to play as a female Shepard in Mass Effect 2,[50][51] vocal support for her was high. The female Shepard was nicknamed "FemShep". PC Gamer's Tom Francis listed an appearance of FemShep on the box as one of 15 things he wished to see from 3.[52] Hale was nominated for "Best Performance By A Human Female" at the 2010 Spike Video Game Awards,[53] though lost to fellow Mass Effect voice actor Tricia Helfer (playing Sarah Kerrigan in StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty).[54]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ BioWare. Mass Effect. Codex - Systems Alliance: [...] Still, the Alliance was often disregarded by those on Earth until the First Contact War. While the national governments dithered and bickered over who should lead the effort to liberate Shanxi, the Alliance fleet struck decisively. Post-War public approval gave the Alliance the credibility to establish its own Parliament and become the galactic face of humanity.
  2. ^ BioWare. Mass Effect. Codex - Systems Alliance: Special Operations: Interplanetary Combatives Training (ICT) is the Systems Alliance's premier school for leadership and combat expertise. [...] The highest grade of training, N6, provides actual combat experience in combat zones throughout the galaxy. If the trainee survives these scenarios in "admirable and effective fashion," he or she finally receives the coveted N7 designation. [...] There is little shame in failing an N course - the training is so extreme that even qualifying for N1 elevates an officer to a position of respect.
  3. ^ Jacek Halas. "World Atlas - The basics - Starting a new game". gamepressure.com. Archived from the original on January 21, 2013. Retrieved May 12, 2013. 
  4. ^ Mike Mahardy (October 19, 2012). "Remembering Commander Shepard". Game Informer. Retrieved May 12, 2013. 
  5. ^ Brian Ashcraft (October 19, 2012). "Expect More Mass Effect, But Not Another Commander Shepard, Says BioWare". Kotaku. Retrieved May 12, 2013. 
  6. ^ Omri Petitte (October 19, 2012). "Mass Effect 4 won’t include Shepard at all, says BioWare". PC Gamer. Retrieved May 13, 2013. 
  7. ^ BioWare. Mass Effect. Codex - Citadel Council: The Council is an executive committee composed of representatives from the Asari Republics, the Turian Hierarchy, and the Salarian Union. Though they have no official power over the independent governments of other species, the Council's decisions carry great weight throughout the galaxy. No single Council race is strong enough to defy the other two, and all have a vested interest in compromise and cooperation. [...] Any species granted an embassy on the Citadel is considered an associate member, bound by the accords of the Citadel Conventions. Associate members may bring issues to the attention of the Council, though they have no input on the decision. The human Systems Alliance became an associate member of the Citadel in 2165.
  8. ^ BioWare. Mass Effect. Codex - Citadel Space: Citadel space is an unofficial term referring to any region of space controlled by a species that acknowledge the authority of the Citadel Council. At first glance, it appears this territory encompasses most of the galaxy. In reality, however, less than 1% of the stars have been explored.
  9. ^ BioWare. Mass Effect. Codex - Spectres: Spectres are agents from the Office of Special Tactics and Reconnaissance and answer only to the Citadel Council. They are elite military operatives, granted the authority to deal with threats to peace and stability in whatever way they deem necessary.
  10. ^ BioWare. Mass Effect. Codex - Citadel: The Citadel is an ancient deep-space station, presumably constructed by the Protheans. Since the Prothean extinction, numerous species have come to call the Citadel home. It serves as the political, cultural, and financial capital of the galactic community. To represent their interests, most species maintain embassies on the Presidium, the Citadel's inner ring. The Citadel Tower, in the center of the Presidium, holds the Citadel Council chambers.
  11. ^ BioWare. Mass Effect 2. Codex - Cerberus: The Illusive Man: The reclusive tycoon calling himself the Illusive Man is a human nationalist focused on advancing human interests, whatever the cost to non-humans. The Citadel Council regards him as a fanatic posing a serious threat to galactic security.
  12. ^ Jim Reilly (February 7, 2010). "Your Mass Effect 2 Save May Not Work With Part 3". IGN. Retrieved May 19, 2013. 
  13. ^ Erik Brudvig (January 19, 2007). "Mass Effect Interview". IGN. Retrieved May 19, 2013. 
  14. ^ Ben Hanson (April 27, 2011). "Casey Hudson Interview: Mass Effect's Feedback Loop". Game Informer. Retrieved May 1, 2013. 
  15. ^ a b Hilary Goldstein (August 28, 2007). "Mass Effect: Creating Commander Shepard". IGN. Retrieved May 1, 2013. 
  16. ^ a b Hudson, Casey; Watts, Derek (February 2, 2012). The Art of the Mass Effect Universe. Dark Horse Comics. ISBN 978-1-59582-768-5. 
  17. ^ Birlew, Dan; Bueno, Fernando; Hal, Brooke (November 19, 2007). The Art of Mass Effect. Prima Games. ISBN 978-0761558514. 
  18. ^ Jeremy Hill (February 5, 2010). "My Shepard is Iron Man". Gamertell. Retrieved May 9, 2013. 
  19. ^ a b Brenna Hillier (June 17, 2011). "Femshep to appear in Mass Effect 3 marketing". VG247. Retrieved May 12, 2013. 
  20. ^ Tim Turi (July 24, 2011). "Bioware Lets Fans Choose Female Shepard's New Look". Game Informer. Retrieved May 13, 2013. 
  21. ^ Michael McWhertor (July 23, 2011). "What Does Mass Effect 3's Official 'Fem Shep' Look Like? You Make the Call!". Kotaku. Retrieved May 13, 2013. 
  22. ^ Luke Plunkett (March 12, 2012). "The Many Unused and Unseen Faces of FemShep". Kotaku. Retrieved May 13, 2013. 
  23. ^ Matt Bradford (July 26, 2011). "Blonde female Commander Shepard wins BioWare's box art competition". GamesRadar. Retrieved May 13, 2013. 
  24. ^ Robert Purchese (August 18, 2011). "Mass Effect 3: FemShep voting round 2". Eurogamer. Retrieved May 13, 2013. 
  25. ^ Mike Fahey (August 17, 2011). "You Picked FemShep's Look, Now Pick Her Hair Color". Kotaku. Retrieved May 13, 2013. 
  26. ^ Robert Purchese (August 30, 2011). "Mass Effect 3: Red head FemShep wins". Eurogamer. Retrieved May 13, 2013. 
  27. ^ Kate Cox (March 15, 2012). "The Faces Behind the Voices of Mass Effect 3". Kotaku. Retrieved May 2, 2013. 
  28. ^ a b Cheryll Del Rosario (September 1, 2011). "Interview with Jennifer Hale, the voice of Mass Effect’s FemShep". GamesRadar. Retrieved May 9, 2013. 
  29. ^ John Walker (July 27, 2011). "Commanding Shepard: Jennifer Hale Speaks". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved May 9, 2013. 
  30. ^ a b Dave Ward (January 11, 2010). "Mark Meer Interview". RPG Site. Retrieved May 13, 2013. 
  31. ^ Owen Good (January 23, 2010). "How Would Commander Shepard Himself Play an RPG?". Kotaku. Retrieved May 13, 2013. 
  32. ^ Brenna Hillier (July 19, 2011). "Loving FemShep: BioWare’s first lady finally steps forward". VG247. Retrieved May 12, 2013. 
  33. ^ Carolyn Gudmundson (July 21, 2010). "Commander Shepard has never looked so cute in MySims SkyHeroes". GamesRadar. Retrieved May 1, 2013. 
  34. ^ James Orry (March 21, 2012). "Commander Shepard costume DLC for Final Fantasy XIII-2". VideoGamer.com. Retrieved May 1, 2013. 
  35. ^ Jenni Lada (February 21, 2012). "Final Fantasy XIII-2′s Mass Effect costume is Commander Shepard approved". Gamertell. Retrieved May 1, 2013. 
  36. ^ Andrew Goldfarb (January 11, 2012). "Mass Effect 3 Meets Kingdoms of Amalur". IGN. Retrieved May 9, 2013. 
  37. ^ Matthew Reynolds (January 22, 2013). "'Dead Space 3' to receive bonus 'Mass Effect 3' themed armour". Digital Spy. Retrieved May 9, 2013. 
  38. ^ Jeremy Hill (January 21, 2013). "Mass Effect N7 armor comes to Dead Space 3". Gamertell. Retrieved May 9, 2013. 
  39. ^ Bryan Vore (December 3, 2010). "Readers' Top 30 Characters Results Revealed". Game Informer. Retrieved May 11, 2013. 
  40. ^ "100 best heroes in video games". GamesRadar. November 9, 2012. Retrieved January 29, 2013. 
  41. ^ Eric Zipper (April 23, 2012). "The 8 coolest video game heroes who wouldn’t be any fun to actually hang out with". GameZone. Retrieved May 11, 2013. 
  42. ^ Joe Juba (December 25, 2012). "2012 RPG of the Year Awards". Game Informer. Retrieved May 12, 2013. 
  43. ^ Andrew Goldfarb (September 24, 2012). "Commander Shepard Wins Xbox 360 Primary". IGN. Retrieved May 11, 2013. 
  44. ^ Andrew Goldfarb (October 10, 2012). "Commander Shepard Picks Xbox 360 Vice President". IGN. Retrieved May 11, 2013. 
  45. ^ "Breaking News: The Votes Are In!! Who's the New Video Game President?". IGN. November 1, 2012. Retrieved May 11, 2013. 
  46. ^ Chris Buffa (May 28, 2008). "Top 25 Gaming Hunks". GameDaily. Archived from the original on April 11, 2009. Retrieved May 12, 2013. 
  47. ^ Chad Hunter, Michael Rougeau, The 50 Greatest Soldiers In Video Games, Complex.com, May 25, 2013.
  48. ^ "The 14 Most Badass Video Game Power Suits". Maxim. April 13, 2010. Retrieved May 11, 2013. 
  49. ^ Andrew Goldfarb (June 27, 2012). "OPINION: Mass Effect 3 Doesn't Need More Shepard". IGN. Retrieved May 12, 2013. 
  50. ^ Jeff Cork (July 19, 2011). "BioWare Says 18 Percent Of Mass Effect Players Choose Female Shepard". Game Informer. Retrieved May 2, 2013. 
  51. ^ Robert Purchese (July 20, 2011). "BioWare: 18% play Mass Effect FemShep". Eurogamer. Retrieved May 2, 2013. 
  52. ^ Francis, Tom (February 16, 2011). "15 things we want to see in Mass Effect 3". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on April 27, 2013. Retrieved May 12, 2013. 
  53. ^ Nick Chester (November 17, 2010). "Nominees for Spike Video Game Awards 2010 revealed". Destructoid. Archived from the original on October 28, 2012. Retrieved May 12, 2013. 
  54. ^ Steve Watts (December 11, 2010). "Spike Video Game Awards 2010 Wrap-Up". 1UP.com. Archived from the original on July 24, 2012. Retrieved May 12, 2013. 

External links[edit]
Games
Mobile
Other media
Novels
Characters
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Commander_Shepard&oldid=583847826"