Introducing the Frag Dolls
by CheekyGuy, HSM team writer
The Frag Dolls are an all-girl team of professional gamers, bringing their own brand of “Girl Power” into the 21st century.
Brooklyn, Fidget, Glitch, Phoenix, Psyche, Roulette, Siren, Spectra and Valkyrie all make up the core group, recruited by game developer UbiSoft to compete in gaming tournaments and make appearances in many gaming publications such as Electronic Gaming Monthly, PC World and Official Xbox Magazine. Not to mention TV appearances on CNN, FOX News, NBC11, and The Today Show. All while raising an awareness that gaming isn’t just for the boys.
The name speaks for itself; they aren’t shy when it comes to the FPS Genre – or any genre – because these girls will play anything they can get their hands on! In fact they will play and compete in a wide variety of games, crossing all platforms, genres and publishers.
The Frag Dolls write blogs about events of anything game industry related and of their experiences as gamers. They welcome their community surrounding them, and they can be found on Facebook, Twitter, and their own community forum.
These ladies are serious about their gaming — so much so that they write gaming strategy guides for Prima and speak as industry experts on panels, as well as help in writing articles, and review games by major publishers. They are not just a bunch of pretty faces; and they send a powerful message of female unity.
E3 2006: a photo shoot featuring all the women working in the gaming industry.
One example of this was at E3 2006, when the Frag Dolls organized a group photo for all the women in the gaming industry. They had female gamers, game producers, journalists, and game designers all gathered together wearing matching shirts.
How’s that for female unity?
What makes them unique is that from 2004 to 2009, they have competed in many tournaments, playing games such as Splinter Cell, Ghost Recon and Rainbow Six, cementing themselves in history in becoming the first all-female team to make semi-professional status in Major League Gaming.
Yet they are still not done.
Wanna join them?
INTRODUCING THE CADETTE PROGRAM
The Frag Doll Cadette Program is rather like an internship for female gamers who are interested in learning more about the video game industry, and possibly going to some industry events. It also offers moral support for girls interested in a career in professional gaming.
But if you want to join these girls, you gotta be more than just good; keep practising, however, because the benefits are worth all the button mashing.
PISTOLWHIP
Recent Cadette of 2010, St PistolWhip from Ohio says, “I’m going to industry events, meeting some of the creative and business forces behind game development and publishing companies. I’m interacting with other gamers that are just as enthusiastic about games as I am. This is invaluable industry insight that I never would never had access to prior to the Cadette program. It’s exciting and it’s opening many doors for me.”
Season 1 of hit Playstation Show 'The Tester'
SoAMPED
New Cadette from hit PSN show The Tester SoAmped – AKA Amanda Brockman -has also joined the ranks. Her bio reads:
“Why do I love games? Easy – I love being part of an epic story and destroying whatever enemies get in my way.”
While away from her beloved PlayStation, she works in schools as a cheerleading coach and also has her own podcasts featured in Gamer Indepth.
Currently, she is going to Animation Mentor, studying character animation, and plans to work at a gaming studio, animating scenes for video games.
She has recently been playing the Uncharted 3 Beta Multiplayer, which was open to PlayStation Plus Members and Infamous 2 players on June 28th, and then open to the wider public on the 5th July, featuring different competitive and co-op online gametypes, as well as showing us three different maps. Naughty Dog’s action adventure game will be released this November.
The Tester's 'SoAmped' and newest Fragdoll Cadette
Her thoughts on the game?
“The Beta is a blast, but if I could change anything, I would give Nathan Drake a shirtless option… just saying!” She writes in a blog.
I spoke to some of our own resident female gamers on Home; here are just some of the things they had to say, in their own words.
FEY FAERY:
“I’ve been playing since I was a kid: text adventure games on a Commodore 64, then Mom got me a NES and I started playing the original Zelda. I took a little break from gaming, as Mom couldn’t afford any more new consoles. Then I got a Nintendo 64 when I had my first child and played Resident Evil 2 on that. Moved over to a PS2 soon after that. I’ve been playing games on and off. If it’s too hard or no fun anymore, I stop playing, [or] I take a break from it.
“The games I’m playing now for the PS3 are the Welcome Back package of free games they (Sony) offered, such as Little Big Planet and Infamous. I love playing Resident Evil 5. I played Bioshock; the sequel was a little monotonous, but the third game looks more interesting.”
I asked her if views and attitudes have changed much towards girls playing games from the last twenty years or so.
“I think people are getting used to girls playing. I can mix it with the best of them,” She laughs.
"Lulz" this.
“When I play games that are traditionally played by guys, such as Battlefield: Bad Company 2 I get all competitive; I just want to be the best at them. To be honest, I don’t think I’m that good.” (Author’s Note: This is an out and out lie. I have seen her kill streak and it’s something close to the body count seen in Rambo movies.)
I asked her if there was anything that she could change (if she could) in the gaming industry, and what it would be.
“I think the pricing on some games could change; I mean, $50 for a game? That’s a lot, and even then that game could really suck. I think most games should be $20 at most! Oh, and if the level difficulty could be a little more lenient, because I’ve played games where there are some levels where the difficulty is just off the scale, I mean really tough. It’s games like that I stop playing. And there should be a rating area on Home, you know where they advertise their games, like in Central Plaza? People can rate that game, like a polling thing.”
She has praise for Naughty Dog’s most famous franchise:
“I can’t wait for Uncharted 3. The Uncharted games games are incredible! The story, gameplay, the characters, the voice acting – it’s not generic, y’know? The lines are good, it’s funny, there’s twists in the story just like in Bioshock, where you have this friend that guides you all throughout the game and then he turns on you near the end.”
PIRATE HARLOCK:
“I’ve been gaming since I was six years old, and I still like some of the older systems from the late eighties and early nineties. Some are older than I am. I’ve been playing Sony systems since the PS1, (PSX) PS2 and now a PSP 3000.
“I own a PS3, which I upgraded from 80 GB to 320 GB. Trophy-wise, I’m currently at level eight, with just over four hundred trophies in total. Of the girl gamers that I know besides myself, I’ve noticed not a lot of difference in the abilities of games played between guys and girl gamers. Yet girl gamers are still not being taken as ‘real.’
“Often other players will assume wrongly that I’m a guy. But game developers are slowly picking up on the fact that girls are gamers too. Games like Star Ocean: Last Hope, Mortal Kombat, White Knight Chronicles and Dragon Age all have female characters. This is an option we need more of in modern games. Take away voice chat online and you don’t really know if the other player is a girl or a guy, since both can be just as good when they play.”
DA COUGAR & AUTUMNSPICE:
These women are mature gamers that are not only gaming but use PlayStation Home as well; I talked to both of them on their experiences as girl gamers.
COUGAR: On Home, guys hate it when they lose at pool against me; they call me names.
SPICE: Yeah, guys hate playing against girls on that.
COUGAR: Yes, they quit halfway through a game and walk away.
She quickly changes the subject.
COUGAR: This may be off topic, but it is hard to find another man, or woman around our age groups to play [People aged into their fifties and over].
SPICE: Yeah it’s harder to find other older female gamers out on Home.
COUGAR: My Dad is eighty-seven and he’s been a gamer, too. I got it from him. I think older gamers play more relaxing games, not so much blood and gore stuff.
Getting some word in edge-wise – and boy, I set them off on something here – I ask them both if views and attitudes have changed much towards girls & women playing games now.
COUGAR: I’d like to think it’s changed. If I wasn’t gaming I would be cooking or knitting. It’s changed a lot in twenty years; back then not a lot of women were playing games.
SPICE: Twenty years ago we didn’t play online. For me it’s pretty much a Home thing.
I asked them if there was anything they could change about the gaming industry.
SPICE: In terms of gaming, I’d like to choose an option to play as a female lead in a game, as I am one.
COUGAR: There should be that option in any game that you play. Would love to play as a female assassin in Assassin’s Creed, for example.
BOND GIRL
I spoke to “Bond Girl” Rachel Grant — friend, actress, and last seen in the movie Tomorrow Never Dies alongside Pierce Brosnan — on her experiences as a gamer:
“I haven’t played Tekken for a while, but yes I used to be quite a gamer and even played in an official Tekken tournament in London once. I used to play as ‘Ogre.’ Also loved Soul Calibur,” she begins.
“I have played Tomb Raider before but not one of my favourites (Author’s Note: she was the body double for Angelina Jolie in the 2001 movie, Tomb Raider). I liked Resident Evil for that style of game. Do you remember a game called Bubble Bobble? Well my sister and I were the ‘Bubble Babes’ and launched it.”
These are just some of the examples of female gamers – young and old – that are striving for changes to how games are made, and how they can be made to fit around them if needed.
With developer-sponsored teams like the Frag Dolls kicking the “Girl Gamer” revolution into high gear, we could be seeing some major changes very soon, both on Home and in disc-based console gaming.
For more information on the FragDolls, check out their website, http://fragdolls.com/ and sign up for their newsletter, like them on Facebook, and/or follow them on Twitter (@FragDolls).
July 30th, 2011 by CheekyGuy | 13 comments
CheekyGuy is a loveable, mischievous Brit who first entered virtual reality via Second Life, and now frequents Home as a Grey Gamer to keep in touch with friends. In real life, Cheeky is a video editor who has just completed a Master's degree in screenwriting from Liverpool John Moores University.
I have been a female gamer since games began. I love rpg’s and always will. The first shooting type game I have played is RDR which I love as a perfect blend between rpg and shooter. POWER TO THE GIRLS!!! Great article Cheeky!
Great piece CheekyGuy!! My first rpg was Final Fantasy 7. I have been hooked to the gaming world every since! Girl Power!! ^_^
I love this Cheeky…..awesome piece….i’m going to their website right now…
Not only do these games have female characters to play, they have immense followings with fans who buy every sequel they make.
glad to see dino crisis 2 for ps1 making a comeback! WOO HOO!!! regina was soooo cool!
congrats to the frag dolls and all girl gamers! woot woot! yays for amanda aka soamped on becoming their newest member! ^__^
I never heard of them save for the Tester gamer. It was an interesting article. Thanks.
And da next ding ya know, deese wommens will want ta get da vote! What’s dis woild commin’ ta?
Nice article, Cheeky…a great read.
in my case, i m a “frog” doll!^^
Very cool article!
For the first time Mass Effect 3 will have the female protagonist on it’s cover. You can even choose which of one of the six looks they finally use by voting for it on the companies facebook page.
Too bad Rachel doesn’t think much of the most important female video game character in video game history. I think Lara Croft is incredible and quite frankly Drake and the Uncharted series is merely a derivative of Tomb Raider from what I can see. But then imitation is the sincerest form of flattery right?
I’m sure Ms. Croft would be pleased.
Wow!! Basically made my day right here!!!
SoAmped, you are very welcome, I loved watching the Tester and i got all kinds of excited when Terra told me you were joining the FragDolls. We here at HSM wish you all the luck in the world in your new career.
Cheeky
Awesome article! As a female gamer, myself, I find this very motivating and liberating.