#medesks

[diekaduwee]

Jacob Taylor. Before I discuss Jacob's workspace, I want to say a few words about Jacob. Jacob as character doesn't seem that popular, nor is he strongly disliked. A once saw him described as Mr Bland. Personally I would go Good Solider number 4, with additional daddy issues. I don't think Jacob was always like, but suffered the most from design by committee. In a large project like Mass Effect 2, nearly everything would have some group design elements. Most of the characters came out that process reasonably well, Jacob less. We can see some evidence of a more complex character. Jacob has biotics, but unlike most other biotic humans, it isn't a think. He is a soldier with some biotic skills, and by the third game the biotics appear to have been forgotten, as he never uses them. Other evidence is in the suggestion that

"Jacob was previsualized as a male/male romance, with his scene matching shot-for-shot with certain sequences from Brokeback Mountain"

Both of the above hint at a character where much of the depth was left on the committee table.

I would like to thank Adam Lazarre-White for his great performance.

Now onto the bit you are all here you, me talking about desks.

Jacobs, workbenches and desks are all functional, efficient with little if any unnecessary features. The displays show weapons you don't have, suggesting that Jacob is actively researching and developing and not just keeping the weapons clear. Of course you have a look a little closer to see that, but that is also true for Jacob.

Jacob presents himself as a simple solider, but any closer examination will reveal more depth than that. Jacob isn't simple and doesn't see the world as simple either, but he mostly keeps that to himself.

To be honest I thought that was mostly it, until I saw the table. That table doesn't fit the Normandy. It looks like a cheap office piece rather than the carefully integrated furniture is found throughout the rest of the Normandy. Another way of asking this question, is why did Jacob feel the need to give up valuable space (and all space is valuable on a ship) for a cheap table. I think the reason is because, Jacob understands how to lead better than Miranda. Miranda is an expert at manipulation, that skill doesn't scale. Jacob knows the crew aren't all marines with the discipline that entails but wide range of civilians, Cerberus trained crew and ex-Alliance members with Cerberus issues. That table is extra space, for the crew to be social in, and relax. The space is needed so cope with the additional tensions that the very diverse crew the Normandy SSV2 has.

Also I think it is the table that the crew play cards at.

[diekaduwee]

Samara is mystery to me.

The other ME3 companions all have a clear motivation for signing for the suicide run. For some it is the job (Miranda, Jacob), for others it is a last chance to do right (Mordin, Thane), for others the trade is worth it (Kasumi, Zaeed, Jack) and for some loyalty to Shepard (Tali, Garrus).

When the player meets Samara she is hunting a dangerous serial killer. Hot on their trail Samara is killing her way through the Eclipse on Illuim to find the name of the ship the killer left on. Shepard intervenes to prevent conflict with the local police and offers to find the name of the ship.

Some gun fights and red blue choices later Shepard returns to Samara with the name of the ship. What Samara does then on the face of it, seems counter productive.

The obvious choice would be to immediately follow the lead giving the killer less chance to get a head, exchanging Shepard's help for help against the Collectors. Samara does not do this.

Samara swears an Oath to Shepard, placing her in Shepard's service. Giving up the chase for Shepard's fight with the Collectors, a fight she might not come back from.

Samara has a number of options and she takes the one that perhaps gives her quarry the greatest chance of escape. Samara decision to join Shepard, at least on the surface, appears to go against her goals.

When Samara get another lead she needs to ask for both Shepard's permission and help to pursue and Shepard is free to decline. So why does Samara do this?

The killer is Samara's daughter, a killer she has been chasing for nearly 500 years. A killer Samara has been chasing possibly before she was a killer.

I believe that at the heart of Samara lies a conflict she struggles to resolve. She wishes to killer her daughter for being a monster, but Morinth is also her daughter that no mother should have to kill their child. Samara became a justiciar to hunt Morinth. This probably wasn't necessary, but makes it harder for Samara to give up or leave it to someone else. However as soon a loophole presents itself Samara takes it. To paraphrase, Samara knows what she needs to do, but lacks the strength to do it.

Assuming Shepard agrees to help Samara, I believe this conflict is also reflected in the fight with Morinth. The plan is quite simple, use Shepard as bait, then take Morinth down when she tries to kill Shepard. Why not set up a sniper shot, take her a moment when Shepard is less vulnerable. I think because even with all she knows, Samara doesn't see Morinth her daughter as monster until those final moments. She knows in her mind, but not in her heart until she see it.

Samara is loyalty because Shepard gave her the strength to finish centuries old hunt and bring peace to her daughter.

Samara is defined by the family she separated herself from.

Or perhaps none of the above is correct. Perhaps the code gave no other option, perhaps the best chance to take Morinth was just before she tries killing Shepard. Samara herself gives nothing away.

Samara is mystery.

[diekaduwee]

Samantha Traynor and Kelly Chambers occupied the same location, just at different times and fulfil many of the same function. Reminding you that you have unread messages and that a crew member might need some moral support. Narratively and in the ME world, they fulfil very different roles. But before we get into that, lets look at the differences in the desks between ME 2 & ME3. Most people any familiarly with the games shouldn't have a problem telling whose desk was whose from the above images. While the space might be the same shape, there a differences in colours and style that make it obvious which is which. In the top image you can see the Ceberus yellow colour used a highlight on the Normandy. In the bottom image the floor has been retextured to a give a more rugged and military feel. There are problem a hundred other differences like that let the player know ownership of the Normandy has changed.

So back to the point. What do the desks tell us about Kelly and Samantha. Firstly Kelly space was given to her with some thought, whereas Samantha had to find a place after being one of the random crew on the Normandy when if fled earth. Yes, Samantha's placing makes more sense than Kelly's. Samantha's role is to analysis data and feed information to the captain and crew. It makes sense for her to be near the command operations and other technical officers. Sharing info and insights is central to her role.

It makes less sense for Kelly to be there. Her role to advise on the mental health and well being of the crew and has access to personal files on the crew. File that one expects to be confidential, yet there Kelly is accessing all those files, in an open plan, easily spied on desk. It would make much more sense for Kelly to be sat with Doctor Chakwas. As the Illusive man doesn't do anything without a good reason, we have to assume Kelly's purpose is something else. Why might ITM put an alien loving Cerberus member (who clearly has the hots for Shepard) in a seat (so to speak) next to the commander. Simply for that, to ensure that Shepard gets to see the alien loving side Cerberus, and maybe create some deeper emotional bonds with its membership. I very much doubt Kelly is even aware of her true purpose on the SSV2

[diekaduwee]

I have become weirdly obsessed with desks and working space in Mass Effect. Here is Mordin's office space. He has much less paper and visible files than most. It isn't clear that he uses the desk behind him where all the paper is, so it is possible that Mordin's is completely paperless. His book shelf is empty apart from a few bottles.

[diekaduwee]

We never really get to see Legion, just the platform they us. The platform does give us some insight into the thinking or maybe lack of thinking that the Geth do. Geth mobile platforms still follow the basic model that the Quarians gave them. This and the use of Shepard's armour to "repair" a hole suggests that the Geth have a strong attachment to the past that they seem unaware of. Legion is unable to justify the use of the armour as a repair when even slightly challenged. Legion later states that the Geth has no history, which for a race that good few hundreds years and one that chased their creators from their homeworld doesn't ring quite true. I purpose that as the a Geth network grows it becomes more capable and complex, but the complexity happens at a greater rate than then they are able to keep up with. In short the smarter the Geth the less they are able to understand themselves. Why? Who knows but it probably has something to do with why the Geth keep building quarian sized corridors in all their bases.

[diekaduwee]

Getting away from the more minimalist desk/ working space we have Kasumi. Kasumi like Zaeed (the other dlc character) differs from the other crew members as you learn about them by asking about the items they have rather than simply going "so tell me about yourself" repeatedly. I prefer this method as it feels more organic to ask about something, and that object helps contextualise the information given. It is a shame it doesn't spark an interactive conversation. The first thing to note is that Kasumi's space isn't a work space but a living space. She sleeps, reads, drinks and socialises in that one room. That makes it very different from the other desk/ personal space. Another thing to note is that much of what Kasumi has brought along is very personal and impractical. Travelling with all that stuff doesn't fit in the idea of an invisible thief. So why is she doing it? I believe Kasumi is taking all of this with her because it is a suicide mission and she doesn't want to be apart from it. Kasumi's deal with Cerberus was trading a few more moments with her true love, for partaking in mission she might never return from. Kasumi has brought this along because it is all she has and she knows she might never be able to return to it.

[diekaduwee]

Thane's desk space is also very minimal like Garrus's work space. Unlike Garrus, the minimal nature is very much by choice. A have thoughts how Thane's and Garrus's story mirror each other with the Normandy being the place those reflections touch. Both became vigilantes but Thane was a criminal and Garrus a cop. Both recruiting during a violent assassination attempt. Garrus was the target and Thane the assassin. One successful and one unsuccessful. I don't know if Garrus is getting paid, and at least Thane had time to grab some spare weapons.

[diekaduwee]

So continuing my obsession with ME characters, with have Garrus' space on the Normandy. I recall it being busier than this, but I guess that is from ME3. Garrus space being largely empty and not personalised makes sense. They didn't really have much time to grab any personal items while they high tailed it out of there. At this point Garrus has left much of his old life behind and is between purposes.