Cerise Magazine

Features

From the Editors

Craft Check: Petal-Point Dice Bags

Rachel explains how to make a handkerchief dice bag for crafters who are ready to try working with materials more challenging than felt.

Gaming in the Media: Reflections on Princess Peach…

Latoya looks at the good and bad points of how Princess Peach is marketed by Nintendo.

Market to Me: Feminine gamers

The relationship between femininity and gaming has been, and continues to be, a rocky one. But is it any more valuable to force all gamers into this hypermasculine paradigm? Furthermore, from a marketing perspective does it make sense to shut out feminine gamers, especially when women (many of whom identify as feminine) are a growing demographic?

Interviews

Blogger Interview: Regina Buenaobra, Acid for Blood

Articles

Gender & Live-Action Role Play: LARP and Social Darwinism

Author: Samara Steele
Samara continues her series on gender and LARP.

D&D for Girls?

Author: John Kim
John discusses a recent incident involving gender and the official Dungeons & Dragons discussion forums, what went wrong and some ideas for making it right.

Reclaiming Pink

Author: Olivia Luna
Olivia takes a critical look at the some of the uses of the color pink in the world of handheld gaming.

Sisterhood is powerful: women-oriented gaming communities

Author: Andrea Rubenstein
Andrea brings up some of the positive aspects of women-oriented gaming communities.

Is Gamerdom Really a Bastion of Masculinity?

Author: Latoya Peterson
Latoya looks at the perceptions of gaming and gamers and what that means for the female gamers out there.

Gamer Stories

The Dice of Evil

Author: Robyn Fleming

Reviews

Puzzle Quest

Author: Olivia Luna

Nocturne

Author: Bonnie Moxnes

Retro Review: Castle of Dragon

Author: Abby Wilson

Odds ‘n Ends

The Back Page

Features

From the Editors

Craft Check: Custom Game Master’s Screens

With a wide variety of back-to-school supplies currently in stock in office supply stores, now is the perfect time to construct your own custom game master’s screen. These screens are very adaptable, and can be made suitable for any tabletop game.

Gaming in the Media: Much Ado about AO

Is getting an Adults Only (AO) rating as much of a death sentence as RockStar Games made it seem? Latoya looks at the recent controversy over Manhunt 2 and what it could mean for game developers.

Interviews

Miriam Ruiz: Game developer

Articles

Gender & Live-Action Role Play: Introduction

Author: Samara Steele
Samara kicks off her series looking at LARPing from a feminist perspective.

Myth Busting: Gaming as Antisocial Behaviour

Author: Andrea Rubenstein
Andrea takes down the myth that games are inherently antisocial events.

Women will Love Stranglehold: A Hands-on at E3

Author: Yvonna Lynn
Yvonna talks about her experiences playing Stranglehold at E3

Gamer Stories

Notes from the UnGamer

8 a.m. on Saturdays

I’m a Female Plant Shaman: A Crash Course in Geekdom

Reviews

Jade Empire PC Special Edition

Retro Review: Prince of Persia

Odds ‘n Ends

The Back Page

Features

From the Editors

Craft Check: Sunpaint T-shirts

Sun printing fabric paint is easy to use, and doesn’t require any skill with painting. If you have (or work with) children, this project is an excellent one to share with young crafters.

Gaming in the Media: To Wii, or Not to Wii?

Latoya takes a deeper look into the console wars.

Interviews

Jess Hartley: Tabletop RPG writer

Robyn Bremner: Game tester, Capcom Interactive Canada

Articles

Inviting More People to the Game

Author: Cherie Thomason
Cherie proposes some simple ways to make games more inclusive.

Racial Inclusiveness in Gaming

Author: Latoya Peterson
Latoya explores the problems that the industry has with race and proposes some solutions.

Does Inclusive Game Design Make Sense?

Author: Andrea Rubenstein
Andrea takes on some of the common stumbling blocks that hinder inclusive game design.

The Women of Twilight Princess

Author: Ariel Wetzel
Ariel breaks down the major women of Twilight Princess and examines how the game uses female characters in general.

Gamer Stories

Buying My New Gaming Mouse

From Gamer to Game Designer

Reviews

Nintendo Wii and Wii Sports

Shadowrun

Tokimeki Memorial Girl’s Side First Love

Retro Review: The Dreadnaught Factor

Features

From the Editors

Craft Check: Easy Felt Dice Bags

The most basic sewing skills will be more than enough for these easy felt dice bags.

Gaming in the Media: PS3, the Console Wars, and Violence in Games

In the very first edition of Media & Gaming, Latoya Peterson addresses the console wars and violence in videogames.

Interviews

Heather Michelle Rousse: Videogame Artist, Yatec Games

Patrick Weekes: Writer, BioWare

Articles

WisCon 31: Feminists, Geeks, and Gamers

Author: Andrea Rubenstein
Andrea talks about her experiences attending WisCon for the first time.

Final Fantasy: Stories of Strong Women

Author: Jenni Lada
Jenni looks at some of the notable women in the Final Fantasy series and what they meant, and continue to mean, to gamers.

How Can We Make More Gamers?

Author: Robyn Fleming
Robyn explores some simple methods for expanding the gaming population.

Gamer Stories

Fast Times at Clairemont High: My Life as a Teenage Gamer Girl

To Pong and Beyond!

Gaming as a Lifestyle Choice

You Want WHAT?!?

Reviews

Super Paper Mario

God of War 2

Viva Piñata

Retro Review: Final Fantasy IV

Features

From the Editors

Craft Check: Make Your Own Miniatures

In the very first edition of Craft Check, Robyn Fleming shows you how to make your own quirky miniatures (for use in tabletop gaming) out of polymer clay.

Articles

Attention Game Designers: 5 Steps to Attract Girl Gamers

Author: Latoya Peterson
Latoya Peterson gives game designers five simple suggestions for tapping into a greater share of the potential female video gamer market.

Playing With Patriarchy

Author: Natalie Hill
Natalie Hill explores some of the ways in which video gaming culture is constructed as a boys’ club, looks at problems with female gaming avatars, and talks about the damage that casual misogyny can do to girl and women gamers.

Lagging Behind: The Girls’ Games Movement and the Future of Gender in Games

Author: Lindsey Galloway
Lindsey Galloway gives the history of the Girls’ Games Movement, kicked off by surprise hit game Barbie Fashion Designer in 1996, only to fizzle out almost as soon as it began, leaving behind little more than pink and purple packaging and some persistent assumptions about what girls want out of video games. Are games that play with gender the answer?

Girls Don’t Play Video Games

Author: Nick Cummings
Do girls play video games? Nick revisits this myth and talks about why it may be more damaging than it first appears.

Reviews

Final Fantasy III