Posted in: Games, Movies, Video Games | Tagged: bioware, Commander Shepard, entertainment, games, mass effect, video games

Mass Effect's Commander Shepard Was 'Originally A Woman'

Mass Effect might well be my favourite franchise in all of gaming. My journey through that universe ranks up there with some of my fondest gaming memories. Yes, that includes the ending too. I'd love to make the case for it right now, but we'll be here for 2000 words.

In the play through I finished, I chose to play as female Shepard and became quite enamoured with what Jennifer Hale brought to the character. In my head, Commander Shepard will always be a woman, but I understand that might not be the case for a lot, if not most people.

According to an ex-Bioware developer though, the character was first designed as a woman. Jonathan Cooper took to Twitter to share the first work he did on the game, which was a wire frame female model running.

Ten years ago this month, my very first anim test for Mass Effect. Yup, Commander Shepard was originally a woman: pic.twitter.com/FhC2E0FSrA

— Jonathan Cooper (@GameAnim) January 9, 2015

He later clarified that Shepard was always planned to be both male and female, but that 'FemShep' was just the first to be animated.

For those asking, I repurposed mocap from Jade Empire. Shepard was always planned to be both male & female after JE's pre-set characters.

— Jonathan Cooper (@GameAnim) January 9, 2015

Still, I think this is undeniable proof that 'FemShep' is king. You can try to argue otherwise with me, but you sadly will always be wrong. At least in my eyes.

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