Fenris Shep by pollencount Tanya Shep by Lunardaisyart Tanya Shep portrait

Happy #N7 Day I wanted to just show off two of her Shepards for the day. Also, to talk about why they are so important to me.

Tanya Shepard (bust by lunardaisyart, and by pollencount) is my canon Shep. She’s important because of the fact that I got to play a WOC hero. I got to save the galaxy via proxy and it was glorious. I saw something of myself reflected in a character I was able to shape through the story and it made such a difference to me as I played. Yes, I named her after me but so damned what? That’s the point of an RPG right? To make a character that you can relate to, so there she is.

Fenris Shepard (art by pollencount) is my canon M!Shep. He’s the Shep I let have a Renegon playthrough, and romanced Steve Cortez with him. I didn’t expect to have such feelings over their relationship, but I do. I thought about replaying him with different choices, a different romance option but I can’t bring myself to split up two MOC in love. Sounds weird, but it was so nice to see them happy, see that represented in the game.

Published by cypheroftyr

Tanya DePass is the founder and Director of I Need Diverse Games, a non-profit organization based in Chicago, which is dedicated to better diversification of all aspects of gaming. I Need Diverse Games serves the community by supporting marginalized developers attend the Game Developer Conference by participating in the GDC Scholarship program, helps assist attendance at other industry events, and is seeking partnership with organizations and initiatives. Tanya is a lifelong Chicagoan who loves everything about gaming, #INeedDiverseGames spawn point, and wants to make it better and more inclusive for everyone. She founded and was the EIC of Fresh Out of Tokens podcast where games culture was discussed and viewed through a lense of feminism, intersectionality and diversity. Now she’s a co-host on Spawn on Me Podcast. Along with all of that, she’s the Programming Coordinator for OrcaCon, she often speaks on issues of diversity, feminism, race, intersectionality & other topics at multiple conventions throughout the year. Her writing about games and games critique appears in Uncanny Magazine, Polygon, Wiscon Chronicles, Vice Gaming, Paste Games, Mic, and other publications.