Do you feel there are some serious female gamers out there? Why?
Yes. I've played / corresponded with a handful (e.g. Raakel <Paragon>, Therese <Ensidia> and Vanda <Ensidia>), however, they're few and far between.
Are you a female gamer? If so, do you care to tell us what games you play?
Yes. I've played pen-and-paper RPGs and gamed competitively (DOS–Nintendo–Windows) since childhood.
List in chronological order (excludes detailed information on consoles as they were'nt my medium of choice):
Various Arcade games (solo)
Various Nintendo games (solo)
Various DOS games (solo)
MUME ~ the best MUD online. (played hardcore for 6 yrs+)
Sid Meier's Civilization (solo)
Warcraft (LAN)
Quake (solo/LAN)
Baldur's Gate (LAN)
Half-life (LAN)
Starcraft / Broodwars (LAN)
Unreal Tournament (LAN)
Counterstrike (online/LAN)
Neverwinter Nights (online)
Diablo 2 (online) Played HC
World of Warcraft (part of the progression raiding team – raiding 3-4 nights a week for 7 years)
Starcraft 2 (online)
Dragon Nest (online)
Soon to be playing:
Rusty Hearts
Diablo III
Guild Wars 2
Blade and Soul
WildStar
Secret World
Tera
World of Warcraft: MoP
Are you a serious female gamer, i.e. how often do you play?
I'd like to think that I am. I play every day – except when I'm at work, partying with mates, training or watching Anime!
Week: Sometimes squeeze in a dungeon or two before I leave for work – then
5 hrs+ in the evening.
If we're pushing progression in an expansion, I usually chill until it's time to log on – then engage in
3 hrs+ of uninterrupted raiding.
Weekends: Too much I suppose ... When I'm not out for coffee, grocery shopping or training –*I'm gaming.
Does your mom, sister, girlfriend, spouse or aunt game?
No. Though my mother does favour the odd Casino visit ...
Do you suspect some pseudonyms to belong to girl gamers’ but stop wondering because chances are you would never find out and just decide that it is not a female one because girls do not do gaming anyway?
Over the years, most female characters I've met have been turned out to be males. A tiny percentage has been female. So mostly I expect them to be males until informed otherwise.
If you are a male gamer, would you ask a female gamer out on a date?
No. But I'd ask Natalie Portman, Angelina and Katherine Moennig out on a date.
If you are a female gamer, have you ever been asked out on a date via the in game chat/text facility by a fellow gamer?
Yes. But I was in a serious relationship with a gamer for many years, so I'd explain my situation and politely decline while expressing my desire to continue the friendship.
Girls, when you were online (in the game) were you ever confused for a male gamer?
Yes. But not by accident. I stayed "mum" so that I'd be treated the same as my male counterparts.
Most of my characters are male because there's less pressure that way. It's commonplace to be treated differently once you're known to be female - no matter how serious you are about gaming. Some players feel the need to patronise or stereotype us and it can be very frustrating. I do have a silent chuckle each time I'm called "dude" though.
As a matter of interest I'd like to add that I've
never played
The Sims or
Farmville ... not even
once.
You had your angsty feminist gamers as well as girl gamers who thought the sun shone out of their keyholes because they were serious girl gamers. So, no, there shouldn't be a promotion of girl gaming communities. Rather, there should be a promotion of respect and welcome for girl gamers into general gaming communities.
THIS ^^^. I myself appreciate a beautiful girl with a good body, however, these girls who drape themselves half naked (sometimes buck naked) all over their keyboards aren't helping our plight in the slightest. T&A does not constitute a good gamer – they constitute fappability. In addition to this, most of us don't relate to other females that well, feeling more comfortable in the company of men. It can actually be quite insular, as you're not "one of the boys", and there are usually no other girls to identify with.
The whole "girls don't play games stereotype" comes from the fact that girls, from a young age, are given barbies and babies and make-up and toy vacuum cleaners to play with. Boys are given guns and cool stuff which makes it easier for them to fall into the gaming realm - it's not as unfamiliar.
I grew up as a tom boy, having four big brothers. I never owned
Barbie – I think I had one doll. I did however own
one My Little Pony, Lego, A-team figurines and various plushies. My days were spent riding BMXs, roller-skating, skateboarding, building tree houses, making bows and arrows, playing video games and running around screaming
"BY THE POWER OF GRAYSKULL!" with a male neighbour. Was has been difficult throughout life is finding girlfriends with similar interests. Only a few people like to run around screaming
"BY THE POWER OF GRAYSKULL!" these days ...
A lot of females just don't speak openly or interact with other members of the gaming community as intensely as they would like to out of fear of some kind of retribution because gaming is supposed to be for 'boys'.
I personally feel shy / awkward doing so. I feel that being friendly or interacting too much may be misinterpreted as attention seeking. It's difficult to communicate your exact intentions via text. That's why IRL meets are beneficial.
... one other thing that can't be easy for the girl gamers, is that if people don't mind them being girls, they probably get hit on a lot while trying to play. Does that happen much?
I guess that depends what game you're playing. Most hardcore gamers don't give a crap how hot you are – If you fail and waste 9 or 24 other people's time – you'll get booted or demoted. True story. I'm sure it does happen a lot in the more casual games though.
I believe that guys and girls have a different taste in games, and you probably won't meet many girls on a COD server for instance.
Though I've actively participated in many FPS LANS in the past, I admit to favouring fantasty action MMORPGs over military-style FPS. I guess I prefer swords to guns – though I really enjoy Steampunk Anime-style shoot-em-ups like
Rusty Hearts and
Black Gold Online.
There is a crossover forming in MMO combat these days. This fluid, next gen, non-target, live action combat is the way of the future. I look forward to the release of games like
Blade and Soul,
Secret World and
WildStar - all of whom utilise this combat style.
