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Features
As the weather gets cooler in my part of the world, I feel the urge to do some baking – it’s a perfect time of year to make cakes and cupcakes, and decorate them with spray-on food coloring. And with the creative application of stencils, I can create baked goods with gaming themes. And so, as it turns out, can you.
The issues that arose from the Jade Raymond comic incident are about far more than just a misguided comic on the internet. The whole situation is symbolic of some of the overall issues that arise in the gaming community, most notably generally accepted misogyny, the idea of “a joke,” and what this situation means for women who are looking for careers in the industry.
It pains me to say this in 2007, but although female protagonists are numerous compared to the days of my childhood, it’s still relatively rare to see one. It’s even more rare to see one who isn’t The Girl or portrayed as a sex object. A woman whose character could have easily have been a man? Practically unheard of. So when I see a commercial where they didn’t go for the default male, it makes me pay attention.
Interviews
Articles
Gender & Live-Action Role Play: Identity Crisis
Author: Samara Steele
In this ongoing series, Samara shares her experiences as a female LARPer in a male-dominated LARP organization.
Author: Elizabeth McDonald and Karen Healey
Elizabeth and Karen dialogue on a set of miniatures called “Hot Chicks 3.1: Naked Distress”.
Author: Mara Poulsen
Mara looks at the casual gaming industry and what it means for female gamers.
Author: Richard Pilbeam
Richard discusses the default “he” and what it says about sexism in the Warhammer 40,000 universe.
Gamer Stories
Author: Robyn Fleming
Author: Regina Buenaobra
Reviews
Author: Ian Denning
Author: Robyn Fleming
Author: Robyn Fleming
Odds ‘n Ends
By Andrea Rubenstein
It pains me to say this in 2007, but although female protagonists are numerous compared to the days of my childhood, it’s still relatively rare to see one. It’s even more rare to see one who isn’t The Girl or portrayed as a sex object. A woman whose character could have easily have been a man? Practically unheard of. So when I see a commercial where they didn’t go for the default male, it makes me pay attention. (more…)
Welcome to the Back Page! This is where we publish the odds and ends that our readers send in, from artwork and writing, to shout outs, thoughts on gaming, and whatever fun and silly things we can come up with. If you have something you want to show off to the rest of our readers, head over to our submissions page and fire off an e-mail to us! (more…)
By Latoya Peterson
This isn’t just about the comic.
The issues that arose from the Jade Raymond comic incident (summarized and discussed here, here, here, here, here, and here) are about far more than just a misguided comic on the internet. The whole situation is symbolic of some of the overall issues that arise in the gaming community, most notably generally accepted misogyny, the idea of “a joke,” and what this situation means for women who are looking for careers in the industry.
As all the links above have covered these issues in depth, the focus of this piece will be on some interesting items I came across while sifting through the comment fallout.
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 Whether you’re a gaming professional, or your connection to the gaming industry is strictly from the consumer side, you’ll find lots of interesting pieces about gaming as an industry in this month’s issue of Cerise. Our content includes a quick, informal dialogue about gut reactions to a certain kind of product from potential consumers, an information-packed article about so-called casual games, an examination of the ways in which authoritative texts shape fan behaviors and more.
And, of course, there are the un-themed features and reviews you’ve come to expect in every issue of Cerise, as well as a particularly robust edition of The Back Page (which announces, among other things, a new LOLGAMERS contest – be sure to check it out!).
Enjoy the issue, and stop by our submissions page to see what future months will bring, and plan any contributions that you might like to make.
By Samara Hayley Steele
Identity Crisis
(Five Notes Regarding Gamer Identity)
A•va•tar (noun) ‘a-və-,tär
5: an electronic image that represents and is manipulated by a computer user
-The Merriam-Webster Dictionary
Flashback: 1996 (eight years before our heroine’s first LARP)
A sixth-grader sits alone on a mossy log, her bony legs dangling over the edge, her short fingers wrapped around a ridiculously large Gameboy. A riveting .midi song dances up from the electronic box, and the simple notes merge with the birdsongs of the surrounding forest.
The girl hides here every afternoon, safe from the ridicule of her family. It’s better for them to think that she’s off kissing boys or smoking drugs then for them to know the truth: She is a gamer-nerd. No, worse than that: she is a female gamer-nerd who likes RPG games for boys.
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By Robyn Fleming
Pietoro, or Pai, as she is known elsewhere on the internet, has been a regular poster on the Iris forums almost since their creation. When she created a gaming blog, The Pensive Harpy, in August of this year, I immediately added it to my list of blogs to follow, and haven’t been disappointed that I did. I knew she’d have some interesting things to say in an interview, and I’m sure our readers will agree.
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By Mara Poulsen
My four-year-old likes to name our Peggle instant replays. At first, he was content to dictate to me his titles, which is how we ended up with so many names of the “pants” variety: “Crazy Pants”, “Shooting Pants”, “Crazy Shooting Pants” “Shooting Pants Rocking Star” and the strangely zen-sounding “Pantsonomie”. Eventually though, he mugged me for the keyboard and started typing his own: “Rtolrrfiefppede”, “Ddrttrdwewreteeeeeeeeeeee”, “DFSRGFRFGDFFDSADFFSAFSERDSA”, and one that looks like an IM from an especially spelling-challenged preteen: “Wrazffr3r 43i”.
That Peggle, a Pachinko-like title from PopCap Games where you try to eliminate orange “pegs” from the screen, allows even four-year-olds to celebrate their awesome ball-bouncing prowess is an example of its extreme user friendliness. In fact, if there is a friendlier title out there, I haven’t played it. Peggle’s graphics are overwhelmingly cute. Each set of levels showcases a different Peggle “master” (the first is a unicorn, no less) who assists you in your play with some type of special power. Score boosts abound in the game. Drop your ball in the basket at the bottom of the screen and get a free one. (more…)
By Robyn Fleming
The Order of the Stick Adventure Game: The Dungeon of Dorukan, Giant in the Playground Games and Advanced Primate Entertainment, 2006
I’ve been a fan of Rich Burlew’s comic, The Order of the Stick, for several years. When I was perusing the shelves of my local tabletop gaming store and saw that there was a game based on the comic, I snapped it up in a hurry, despite not knowing anything about it.
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By Regina Buenaobra
I first played Dance Dance Revolution at a party. I’m not sure which mix of DDR we played, however I am fairly certain it was a Japanese import which we played on a modified PlayStation 2. I was quite hesitant to try the game surrounded by so many people – there were about 20 people in the room watching. The level of skill ranged from absolute beginners like myself to people who could play on Heavy/Expert with ease. After some prodding and cajoling from my peers, I took a turn on the dance mats. If I remember correctly, the dance mats were poor in quality and slipped around with regularity. Regardless of the state of the input device, I naturally failed the song. In fact, I didn’t even get halfway through before failing. Failing in front of that many people, despite the fact that they were good-natured and supportive, was still embarrassing. After my turn, I refused to have another go. (more…)
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Compilation copyright © 2007 - May 18, 2008 Cerise Magazine.
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