It’s hard to believe that it’s been a year since Cerise was first launched. What began as a project by essentially three people has blossomed into a full-fledged magazine. Without all of you who have contributed your articles and stories, we never would have made it to where we are today.
Remember that getting noticed in gaming is something that can begin with publishing a single article in a gaming magazine. So if you have an interest in the industry, consider hopping over to our submissions page and submitting your article, review, or gamer story.
By Latoya Peterson
Confession time: I’m completely addicted to playing Miss Bimbo.
The web-based game celebrated its UK launch last month and already has made global headlines for its dubious goals and unabashed vapidity. Miss Bimbo is fairly simple in scope - your goal is to be “the most famous, beautiful, sought after bimbo around the globe!” In order to accomplish this, you essentially imitate the life of a celebutante - get blonde, stay slim, locate some generically blandsome guy to finance your life style, wear pretty clothes, work a bullshit job until you become famous, grab a boob job to go and marry well.
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By Regina Buenaobra
I first learned of LesbianGamers.com through the Iris Gaming Network forums. From there I started reading their blog and occasionally popping into the forums. LesbianGamers.com is run by Angela Simpson and Tracy Whitelaw and they are based on the Gold Coast of Australia. Tracy Whitelaw, the PR Representative, talks to me about this new site made by and for lesbian gamers.
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When we originally conceived of this issue, we wanted to have a queer-themed Cerise with articles analyzing the intersection between the LGBT community and gaming. Unfortunately the content we received didn’t quite reflect our original intent, so we’ve decided to change things up a bit and, inspired by the recent Wii hit Super Smash Bros. Brawl, call this Cerise a “Free-for-All,” with content that covers a variety of topics.
In the spirit of our original theme, we do have an interview with Tracy Whitelaw of Lesbian Gamers.com, as well as a story from Maria Velazquez, who discusses the impact of heteronormative attitudes on her gaming. We also have a piece from Stephanie Pegg that analyzes romance in a LARP from all angles, and a breakdown of the upcoming 4th edition of Dungeons & Dragons from Ben Larsen, in addition to the usual features you’ve come to expect from Cerise.
We’re always looking for new content, so if you’ve got an idea you’d like to share, or if you’re bummed that “Gaming with Dorothy” didn’t work out and you want to make sure that a queer-themed Cerise happens, check out our submissions page and start planning your contribution!
By Robyn Fleming
I was browsing through a craft store the other day and saw these awesome beads. Brightly colored, translucent dice! They’re way too clunky and plastic-y for classy earrings or anything like that, but the bright, 80’s-style colors reminded me of a different kind of jewelry, one that was really popular when I was a kid: friendship bracelets.
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By Latoya Peterson
Aww, sweet, sweet geek love.
The New York Times recently published a piece titled “How to Date a Video Gamer” which revolved around the relationship of Miho Walsh and Roy Prieb. While the piece is almost cloyingly sweet, describing a modern day love story, upon completion I couldn’t help but sigh.
The piece was great for romantics. The piece was not so great for the image of gaming in the mainstream mindset, especially in terms of how female players are perceived in the media. (more…)
We wanted to know what sorts of games and topics interest older gamers for this issue of Cerise, and we received some interesting responses in the form of Gamer Stories and reviews. We’re also bringing you some articles focusing on game planning and preparation this month, as well as an interview with miniatures artist Victoria Lamb – and a Craft Check detailing a way to make miniatures that are way less impressive than the Victoria Miniatures line. And on the Back Page, you’ll find a link to the latest edition of the LOLGAMERS Contest!
As always, we’re looking for new contributors for future issues. Be sure and stop by our submissions page during your visit this month!
By Richard Pilbeam
Victoria Lamb is a professional freelance stage and costume designer who has been painting, sculpting and converting fantasy miniatures since 1986. Her work has won multiple awards and been exhibited by invitation in Europe, the United States, Australia and New Caledonia. Recently she has moved into sculpting original models and also designed her own tabletop game, “Labyrintus”. You can find out more about her and view her portfolio at Victorialamb.com. (more…)
By Robyn Fleming
Back in our very first issue, I told you all how to make your own miniatures. Since then, I’ve had lots of people tell me that they love the idea of sculpting their own miniatures, but don’t have either the time or the sculptural creativity. I just started running a new game and I wanted to use something a little more personalized than extra dice or plastic tokens on the battle grid, but didn’t have time to create elaborate new miniatures for every character. So I came up with a method for doing very simplified “miniatures” that may appeal to those of you who find the original “Make Your Own Miniatures” tutorial too daunting.
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Whether as passive prizes to be won, powerful allies or player characters, princesses have long been popular in both table top and video games. Why the enduring fascination with princesses? We examine the princess trope in this issue of Cerise, and take apart some of the stereotypes that have been used to depict women as damsels in distress in gaming.
Drew Mackie joins us from his blog with a piece on the history of Princess Peach that analyzes her contribution as a princess in gaming. Melissa Velte applauds Square Enix’s positive portrayal of Ashe in Final Fantasy XII and Natalie Hill makes an argument for femininity in games as the herald of diversity and inclusiveness. Over in Craft Check, Rachel shows us how to construct our own princess tiaras from wire and beads. And, as always, we’ve got some fun content on The Back Page, including a chance to win a prize just for showing off your cool gaming threads!
If you like what we have to say about princesses, make sure to check out the submissions page to see our upcoming issue themes and start thinking about how you want to make your voice heard in Cerise!
