In order to spare those who are currently playing Mass Effect 3 and/or wish to not see Tali’s face, there are no spoilers in this article nor pictures of what Tali looks like according to Bioware. If you wish to see, feel free to follow the source link at the end of this article. Be warned, spoilers.
Ever since we were introduced to Tali’Zorah nar Rayya (eventually changed to vas Normandy), we were intrigued by what her face looked like. Due to certain circumstances in Mass Effect 3, we learn that Tali’s face is a slightly altered stock photo. Personally, like most Mass Effect and Tali fans, I would have like to see Bioware take their time and be creative with Tali’s face. Bioware had since 2007, fanart and concept art from the fans to pull ideas from. Instead, they used a photograph from Matthew Leete and photoshopped it. If Bioware couldn’t come up with a better image for Tali’s face, then they shouldn’t have had her face revealed.
With this Tali mess at the forefront, it brings up an interesting question: Do we want to see the face of a masked character? Especially when so much time has passed without seeing it? Is it best to leave their face to the imagination?
After playing as Master Chief in the Halo series, we all have an idea on what John looks like under his green helmet. Should 343 reveal his face in Halo 4? Does it even matter or should it be a tad dramatic, as in Raven’s reveal in Knights of the Old Republic?
Perhaps our expectations are too high on what certain characters truly look like. If you’re going to show a character’s face for the first time after a prolong amount of time has passed, then be creative and perhaps take something from what the fans are asking for. Granted, you can’t please everyone and we all have our own thoughts on what they look like, but if you’re going to show us their face, please put some effort into it.
