By Abby Wilson
Final Fantasy IV, Squaresoft, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, 1991
In 1992, when I first moved to the house that my mother and our cats now occupy, I was a young lady of six. I was upset that my parents put the Nintendo in my brother’s room (it was his, after all) and knew that I had to have fun other ways. I began talking to my new neighbors down the street in hopes of finding a new hobby. The first thing my new friend showed me was her family’s SNES, all plugged in and ready to go. Sitting inside was a copy of Final Fantasy IV, or II as we knew it then, red label slightly peeled from a whole year of use. She handed me a controller and I eagerly began playing. I was so excited to find another girl who liked video games, and she and I are still good friends to this day. (more…)
By Bonnie Moxnes
Piñatas. The Mexican party-goer and now the tools for your creation. Viva Piñata gives you the means to make a garden and fill it with living piñatas to customize and care for. Don’t let the cartoon look to it turn you off from a great game. Viva Piñata is filled with colorful NPCs and items that can help you create the garden you’d never thought you’d be pumping 40+ hours into. (more…)
By Yvonna Lynn
God of War 2 is not the new-release game of the day. However, after beating a few games, and going to GDC (Game Developer’s Conference) in March, I am currently holding myself to a self-imposed standard. I will not write a review or impression of a game until after playing at least half of it, if not beating it. (more…)
By Bonnie Moxnes
Every plumber makes the same decision in life: unclog a drain, or become a hero of epic gaming proportions? Mario has saved the world in many ways, such as destroying fire-breathing dinosaurs and cleansing the world with a hose, and he is soon to be floating in the galaxy. The gaming community has a paper-type Mario to tide itself over with until that starry day comes, in Super Paper Mario. (more…)
By Laura Galliardt
I got a great many things from my mother: my love of reading, my imagination, and my independent attitude. But I always was and always will be my father’s daughter. I inherited his unpredictable memory, his propensity to be easily amused, and his love of all things involving science, including technology and electronic toys. My own love of technology developed at a very early age, mostly due to my father wanting to have the latest computer. My parents noticed and encouraged it as most girls weren’t interested in things of that nature. But nothing could have prepared them for Christmas of 1989. (more…)
By Latoya Peterson
“What are y’all doing over there every day - bumping clits?”
My twelve year old eyes widened in shock. Spending extended time after school with another female friend qualified me as a lesbian? Did the male friend addressing me somehow miss our excited strategy meetings on the school bus, or our dedicated, study of a well-worn, almost bible-like strategy guide? Lesbianism was not what we were interested in exploring - we were too busy cracking codes, counting grids, and raiding tombs. (more…)
By Cherie Thomason
“Whoa, you know a girl gamer? That’s so cool!” My coworker relayed this quote to me from his teenaged nephew. Apparently my colleague had referenced me in a conversation regarding World of Warcraft and it had prompted this response. I was amused at the time; it wasn’t like I hadn’t heard the sentiment before. I generally take it as a positive thing to buck some expectations by doing nothing more than what I like. (more…)
By Janet Tait
In high school I was what you might call, well, different. While other girls were busy getting ready for the prom and going to the movies with their girlfriends, I was sitting around a table with a bunch of pasty-faced guys in my friend’s basement, rolling up half-Drow magic-users and moving Panzer divisions across the Rhine. As a girl gamer in high school, I was a rare specimen: in fact, geekier even than the female sci-fi fan or computer nerd, I was one of a kind at Southern California’s Clairemont High School in the early 1980’s. (more…)
By Robyn Fleming
I first “met” Patrick Weekes, writer for Canadian video game company BioWare, online during a multiple-blog-spanning discussion about gay romance in BioWare’s Jade Empire. He quickly impressed me as a thoughtful guy who is really passionate about writing quality games with well-developed characters. When the other editors and I were coming up with ideas for people in the industry to approach for interviews for Cerise, Patrick was a natural choice. (more…)
![Cerise Issue 2 [June 2007]](http://cerise.theirisnetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/cerisejun07_toc.jpg)
