Computer games aren’t the preserve of teenage boys any more — the face of gaming nowadays is feisty, foxy and female. And their online quests lead to real-life matches
Innocense casts a healing spell on the battle-worn warriors, scoops up her gold and mounts her winged dragon. Before flying over the mountains to Dalaran, she indulges in a little flirtatious banter with Eroskar, a tall, dark-haired knight who also happens to be her boyfriend. In real life, Innocense is Jennifer — a slight, softly-spoken 23-year-old administrator who lives in Cumbria. As Innocense, she plays the most successful online role-playing game yet: World of Warcraft. With 12 million players worldwide, an entire episode of South Park devoted to it and many celebrity fans, World of Warcraft is a global phenomenon and a significant number of its fans are women.
Imagine a typical computer game devotee and what springs to mind? A Dungeons & Dragons-playing, Lord of the Rings-reading teenage boy? A middle-aged man who lives with his mum? Maybe once upon a time, but not any more. Girls got bored with watching their boyfriends spending hours playing computer games, logged on, and got hooked. From stay-at-home mums to celebrities, the new face of online gaming is feisty, foxy and female.
But how have the boys responded to women invading their virtual world? Has it led to romance? Sexism? Drama and intrigue? All of that, actually, and lots more . . .
In World of Warcraft (known as WoW), players create a character and as they progress through the game, completing quests and gaining experience, their character increases in strength.
Players join forces to form groups known as guilds and organise raids, where they log on to the game at the same time to complete challenges, sharing the spoils afterwards. They can communicate through instant messaging in the game, and can chat via Skype-style headsets.
And this is where the fun begins. Guilds are often known for their interpersonal intrigues — feuds and flirtation are the order of the day in many. Throw some girls into the mix and geeky gamers — not famed for their social skills — would be forgiven for getting their joysticks in a twist. (They don’t actually use joysticks — WoW is played on a computer keyboard, but you get the picture.) While most female gamers say they love the competitive element of the game, the social aspect is equally important. Women say they can catch up with friends, flirt and even find love in this virtual world. It’s like Facebook. But with dragons. And swords.
Jennifer’s been playing WoW for three years and after initially using it as an escape from boredom, the game became her solace and eventually led to a new life. “When I originally started playing, I had no intention of looking for love. I was settled in a relationship and things were going smoothly.”
But as her real-life relationship deteriorated, she started developing feelings for guild-mate Nicky. “We spent every night sharing photos and talking on webcam. In time we grew closer and closer. We didn’t play WoW for the game any longer, but rather to be together. Both of us were scared of our feelings but one night we declared our love for each other.”
As her feelings for Nicky grew, Jennifer’s relationship reached crisis point: “Me and my partner separated shortly after this, however, we were forced by financial difficulties to live in the same house. One night we were arguing and I didn’t realise I’d left the webcam on and Nicky had helplessly witnessed us fight. It was at this point he came to my rescue. Nicky and his dad drove across the country and took all my stuff up to Cumbria, where I stayed with his parents until I had enough money to support myself. This was a true escape for me as I had little family I could rely on and I had nowhere to go.”
And so a real-life romance was born in a computer game: “We now have a cottage together and I have a lovely job. I’ve gained a new family, new friends and a loving boyfriend. It may be early days in terms of our relationship but 12 months on we’ve celebrated our first Christmas together and continue to find time for the friends we’ve made on WoW, who supported us through everything.”
Jennifer is a member of the HELKPO guild, which has a significantly higher number of female members than most guilds. One of her female guild-mates is Erla Guðrún Sturludóttir, 17, a student from Reykjavík. She says: “Girls are attracted to this guild. I guess it’s because of the relaxed atmosphere and the fact that everyone is very easygoing. In a raid a few months ago we noticed that half the raiders were girls. I think we were more shocked than the guys.” Another HELKPO member, Sheena, 22, lives in Denmark. “In the beginning I played simply to have some fun and to ‘hang around’ with my friends whenever we weren’t at the pub. Then I met this guy online and it quickly went from being a casual activity to having a strong social aspect.”
Former Buffy the Vampire Slayer star Felicia Day is the world’s most famous female gamer. She became a cult heroine on the web through her sitcom, The Guild, which she writes, stars in and shows free on YouTube. The first episode has been watched 3.7 million times and Microsoft sponsors the show, allowing episodes to be downloaded and watched on Xbox LIVE. The Guild follows a motley crew of gamers’ real-life adventures. It’s brought online role-playing to a new audience. “I hear from people that it makes them less ashamed to say that they game as a hobby, and I’ve had a lot of women say it’s made them start playing on their own, or with their boyfriend or husband. I love hearing that,” she says.
For Felicia, the aspects of online gaming that appeal to men are just as attractive to female players: “I love the immersive environment, the achievement of building a character, and having a community at my fingertips that I can connect to and play with. Collaborative gaming is a very satisfying hobby.” Felicia is proud to label herself as a feminist: “I would consider myself a feminist. If I’m helping women get into playing games when they wouldn’t have before, I’m proud of that. Women should be on equal footing everywhere.”
Commissioning editor for education at Channel 4 and enthusiastic gamer, Alice Taylor, 38, is one of Felicia Day’s many fans. “She’s talented, and funny, and it’s hilarious to think that a famous actress spends her off-screen time raiding. Jonathan Ross and [his wife] Jane Goldman play too, but Jane has a level 80 [character] where Jonathan is a mere level 7! They’ve helped normalise gaming, and WoW, where stereotypes previously prevailed.”
Alice’s gaming habits have evolved as her life has changed and she now plays with family-friendly guilds. “In the hour or two I have at night once the kidlet is asleep, it’s a glass of wine and a trip into WoW.”
Like Felicia, Alice is a feminist. She says women playing WoW have brought “balance to the force. It makes WoW feel like a dinner party rather than ‘a waste of time’. I believe 100 per cent that women and men are equal in intellect and capability and men are equally capable of all the so-called female traits, like empathy and sociability. Balancing the genders brings out the best in both sides.” So-called female traits are crucial to success in the game because players have to work together as a team and communicate effectively to achieve their goals — there’s no room for egos when you’re trying to kill a giant dragon.
Online role-playing might seem niche but the reality is that games like WoW are big business and female gamers matter. A Nielsen report published in 2009 found that women aged 25 and older make up the largest block of gamers in the United States, accounting for 54.6 per cent of all game play minutes in December 2008. For WoW, the male/female ratio is fairly balanced, with 428,621 women between 25 and 54 playing in December 2008 versus 675,713 men in the same age group.Another report suggests that in Britain women make up 48 per cent of total gamers who play online once a week.
ShawnAnne Dixon is a member of the women-only Got Girls guild in America. She explains: “In 2006 I purchased two copies of WoW, one for myself and one for my brother who lives 3,000 miles away. This was a great opportunity for us to do something we love while still keeping updated on each other’s lives. Our mother and cousin play with us as well.” ShawnAnne concedes that male gamers aren’t always supportiveof their female counterparts in World of Warcraft forums and chatrooms: “We do hear quite a number of negative comments,mostly crude statements about women, WoW and our monthly cycles. Our guild motto is ‘Girls Do It Better’ and we hold ourselves to a strict code of conduct whereby we ignore such ignorant comments.
“As a group we ask each other for advice and have discussions about everything from child-rearing to relationships to where we should go on holiday. We celebrated a guild member’s 21st birthday and a wedding recently. One of our members has a son getting ready to deploy to Iraq — Got Girls has become a big part of her support system. We have truly become a family.”
So has the invasion of the female horde benefited WoW? Absolutely, Jennifer says: “Men assume you play because you’re lonely and looking for love, but we bring equality to a very male-dominated online society and even offer relationship advice to our male companions.”
Sheena agrees: “I think the guys secretly like to get some insight and listen to all the gossip we toss about when we aren’t talking about WoW.” Ultimately, female gamers are getting as much out of WoW as they are putting in and are changing the gaming landscape for good. As Erla says: “Female players have brought a bit of drama in to WoW, which is no bad thing. Sometimes political correctness goes out of the window — but it’s all OK as we know that they’re joking and we give as good as we get.” Girls who love playing World of Warcraft have learnt that the best way to silence their male critics is to beat them at their own game.
Collins said the newer Missile Defense Agency logo simply took on more patriotic colors to convey its message more quickly and simply. But he doesn't think the creative minds at TMP Government had Obama in mind when they produced their governmental branding.
LAHORE - Tayyaba Zia has achieved a fabulous place in journalism in a very short span of time. She is a veteran and seasoned columnist, and her various writings about Dr Aafia Siddiqui are praise worthy. 
