The elusive girl gamer

The elusive girl gamer

There was a time when girl gamers were rare and in demand. They were like mystical creatures that you’d only expect to see once in a lifetime. If you happened to stumble across one in a game, you’d immediately start chatting her up and adding her to your friends list. That is, if you can get past the gaggle of guys surrounding her.

Since the introduction of the Wii and DS, girl gamers have come out of their shell. In 2009, two-thirds of Australians played video games, and 46 percent of them were women.

So what is it like to be a girl gamer? I think it really depends on what sort of games you play and their communities. MMGN is great for girl gamers because most people are easy going and supportive when it comes to playing games. With FPS games you generally get the more hardcore and competitive gamers who are mostly male, but even this is changing over time.

My games of choice are online multiplayer games on the PC such as Left 4 Dead 1 & 2, Battlefield Bad Company 2, Starcraft II, and Borderlands. I started playing games when I was four years old (yes I remember Duke Nukem, Pipe Dreams and Dangerous Dave). To me, retro games are the games I grew up with. So when I say I’m a girl gamer, I don’t just play Mario and The Sims.

In most games that I’ve played, I haven’t experienced any problems with being a girl gamer, even with a girly name and when the microphone is in use. I’ll put this down to being surrounded by my gaming posse, as no one wants to mess with you when you have ‘connections’. Girl gamers are also becoming more commonly accepted in society. Of course there has been the rare occasion where guys behave like animals but it’s not as often as you’d think.

As for reactions with people I meet and my friends, they’re generally pretty impressed and a little bit surprised that I do gaming reviews. I know quite a few girls who game as well (anything from Super Mario Galaxy, to Style Boutique, to Guitar Hero, to WOW, or Counterstrike) and we generally love to chat about it.

So what’s the consensus on your typical girl gamer? I’m just your average, everyday girl that loves shopping, going out and partying and working in my chosen career. I just happen to play games in my spare time, like you. So next time you stumble upon a girl gamer, say hi, and treat them like one of you, because really, we all just share the same hobby, don’t we?