Finding the Feminine Side of Gaming

Inside the Mind of a Female MMO Player

Anyone who has been around the Non-Gameplay Discussion area of the
forums for more than five minutes is very aware of who Savanja
is.

Her influence in NGD is irrefutable, and when she posts in
seriousness, it's required reading.  She's been referred to as
Mistress, a
Vixen, or Goddess (for those of us who know her really well) but behind
that fun
loving, sexy persona lies the mind of an intelligent woman and
gamer.  

While any conversations with her are always fun and interesting, a
serious conversation is always a real treat.  She agreed to the
interview in a neutral location which I was fine with, but I really
wasn't expecting the squad of security guards that surrounded her or
the cavity search by "Helga" but I'm dedicated to my interviews. 
I was sat down facing away from her as not to be distracted by her
"hawtness"
so I began my questions.

The Roots of a Gamer Girl

RadarX: I really
appreciate
you taking the time from your schedule to do this..  Why don't we
start
out with you telling us a little bit about your gaming experience.

Savanja: 
Doh..This question will show my age!!  It started long ago and far
away
with a Atari 2600 and a lil game called Phoenix.  I was never that
big
into platform gaming, but my brothers were, so I'd just fiddle with em
when I was bored.  And other than a scary addiction to the game
"Oregon
Trail" (still have that, and play it, btw) I didn't start PC gaming
until adulthood, and that started with my first MMO.

RadarX:  Oh yeah
Phoenix!  I loved after that fourth wave how you'd
you have to kill the mothership and...I mean that sounds like a really
old game that I've never heard of.  I do remember Oregon Trail and
sadly I might have a copy laying around here somewhere underneath my
copy of Fallout.   Some games just can't be tossed out
despite their
age. What was your favorite game growing up?

Savanja: 
Super Mario Brothers.  That was the only platform
game I could play endlessly.  I sometimes catch myself humming the
tune
that plays in the castle.

RadarX:  That's
definetly
a classic. 
I...I surely don't have the theme song as a ringer on my cell
phone.   
So obviously you transitioned into playing MMO's at some
point.   Tell
us how you got there.

Savanja: 
My brother, and my husband started playing UO.  I'd
hang out and watch and thought it looked pretty cool, so I made a char
and started messing around in game, and found that I really dug the
evolving life of a MMO character.  The world sucked me in, and I
was
immediately hooked.

After UO, I played Dark Age of Camelot for a while.  Then one
day when I was running around in The Sims Online beta, I met a guy that
was a avid fan of Everquest and he talked me into trying it with him,
and EQ became my new passion.  After that, I did a lot of MMO
hopping
until I landed on the EQII forums awaiting a hopeful beta invite.

RadarX:    Most
people would agree that UO was ground
breaking in the MMORPG industry.  What made it so special?

Savanja: 
Ultima Online was really the first game of this kind.  It wasn't
simply
a multi-user game, it was an expansive world that allowed for an
amazing amount of players to interact in a virtual world.  Being
my
first MMO, I have a serious soft spot for UO.  It was quirky as
heck,
but I LOVED that about it.  Ultima Online had a true sense of
danger
when you wandered through out the lands.  Getting pick pocketed at
the
bank or getting PK'ed between cities.  *sighs dreamily* 
'Course they
nerfed it all to heck, but that's inevitable.  *grin*

RadarX:   Ah the
good
old days of "griefing."  
There is
nothing in the world like being brand new and getting PK'd.  
I still
owe you Grimlor!  I haven't forgotten you! 
Sorry.   You mentioned you
played Everquest 1 like many of us.   What are some of your
fond
memories?

Savanja: 
Just like any of the MMOs I play, all my best
memories involve the people that I played with more than just the game
itself.  Hanging out in the PoK and BSing with pals.  Running
through
Everfrost and dropping the good Shaman buffs on the Barbarian
newbs. 
Sneaking up behind clandestine couples cybering in spacial chat out in
the Karanas for a giggle...uhh, not that I'd be mean enough to actually
do that.  *shifty*

RadarX:  Heh I'm sure
you
would do nothing like that, and neither
would I.   What do you miss about EQ1 in EQ2?

Savanja: 
I miss the ability to really help out fellow players.  I know and
understand the technical reasoning behind the limits on grouping,
heals, buffs, etc.  But I still miss being able to help out a
lower
level friends.  I also miss the expansiveness of EQ.  I'm
sure
that EQ2
will slowly build the same feeling of a unlimited world, it takes time
and all that, but Norrath seemed soo much bigger in Everquest.

RadarX:  They've made
some progress by unlocking encounters
and allowing heals outside your group but I know exactly what you mean.

The MMO World in Her Eyes

RadarX: 
Lets move on to the MMO industry    MMORPG's are known to
have a
considerably high male to female ratio.  Is there any time it
really
bothers you)?  

Savanja: 
Haha.  Oh Radar.  You know me well enough to
know
that I thrive in a male dominated arena.  Seriously, there are
times
when it does bother me.  Those rare occasions when I pick up a lil
stalker friend that makes gaming life slightly uncomfortable for a
bit.  And some boys don't always understand the line between
flirting
and obsessive come ons.  Flirting=good.  Following me out to
Everfrost
and watching me play for hours while throwing out severe
innuendo=bad. 
=D

Quite honestly though, while gaming is still heavily a male
hobby, more and more females are finding their way in.  In our own

guild, we have a very decent population of females (engineered by you
horn dogs no doubt) and I'm seeing far more women in gaming than I did
when I started UO nearly 8 years ago.  Which makes me happy. 
I dislike
male/female stereotypical roles, and whenever those can be shattered, I
cheer.

style="font-weight: bold;">RadarX:  I'm incapable of any
type of engineering.  
Hopefully, having an inn room in the same building as you doesn't
constitute stalking.     Do you feel that MMO's are designed
more
towards males?  

Savanja: 
No.  I really don't.  There isn't
that big of a difference between the male and female gamers.  And
I've
never felt at any time that something was geared towards men.  The
aspects of the game that I see are more of a casual vs. hardcore gamer,
and I would venture a guess that most women tend to be casual
players. 
But EQ2 has done a rather smashing job of keeping both sides of that
coin, happy.

RadarX:  I'd agree
although I have on occasion met a few
hardcore female gamers.  Do you feel you are taken as seriously
and
valued as highly in the game as a male would be?

Savanja: 
Sure.  When I bother to say something that isn't sexual innuendo,
I do
believe that my words carry as much weight as anyone elses.  Every
now
and again, you might find me actually saying something game related,
and I do know my games.

Shaolin Savanja

style="font-weight: bold;">RadarX:  When you are playing,
what race and class do you play the
most frequently?

Savanja:  
My main is a Barbarian Monk.  She was decided
upon after many tries with other race/class combos.

RadarX:  Unique racial choice, but intimidating!  Do you
think they are balanced?

Savanja: 
Yes I do!   I think that the Monks are one of
the
luckier classes that have always been pretty even and haven't required
a
whole lot in the way of tweaking.

RadarX:   So
nothing serious you really feel needs
correcting?

Savanja: 
None that I can see.  Quite honestly tho, if there
were, I may overlook them.  I don't get hung up on stats, dmg
output,
and ability numbers.  The Monk class is fun to play, and that's
all I
really care about.

RadarX:  Does a monk
stand
up as a "tank" class?  
Can  you handle the stress of a "main tank?"

Savanja: 
I spend nearly all of my grouping time as the main tank, and I think I
do pretty good at it.  You'd probably know better than I would,
since
you'd be my healer.  *wink*  But as we have noted in our
private
convos, my Monk as MT is just as workable as our resident SK and
Zerker.

RadarX:   I can
say
firsthand you hold up as well as any tank
I've grouped with, but more importantly you laugh at every tenth joke I
crack so that makes you one of my favorite tanks.  I've noticed
you use
2 single handed crush weapons versus a 2 hander.   Is there
any special
reason?

Savanja:
  Yes.  1.  I like the graphic effects from the
duel
batons, and 2.  I've compared my batons with good 2-handed
weapons, and
my batons always come up with better stats.  At the moment I'm
equipped
with pristine imbued cedar fighting batons.  I'm looking to
upgrade to
the pristine imbued ironwood batons..so, if there are any crafters on
Neriak willing to hook me up, give Satinka a /tell.(That was shameless,
wasn't it?)

RadarX:  Totally
shameless!  You completely forgot the
/auction!  What would you say would be your ideal group?

Savanja: 
As in classes?  I'm not picky when it comes to groups..obviously
or I
wouldn't group with the AF fools.  A perfect group happens when
there is
lotsa fun, and occasionally a lil exp.  I think our regular trio
of a
Necro, a Monk, and a Templar works out well.  We manage to tear
through
plenty of stuff, and I can usually make some awesome progress that
way..Assuming that the, uhh, Templar isn't bringing adds.  *cough*

I believe grouping has far more to do with gaming style than
anything else.  When you find a group of people that you mesh well
with, working together becomes instinctual and makes the grouping
process so much easier.  I think that is something that we, as a
guild,
are very lucky to have.

RadarX:  I completely
agree.  Speaking of that, I hear a lot
about this sweet guild on Neriak that you are in.  Tell us a
little bit
about the Aggro Fish and what kind of members it has?

Savanja:
  lol.  I came into Aggro Fish by the way of Homeslice and
Promise from
the forums.  Homeslice is one of the few people that I knew of
pre-release.  He's an adorable and fun guy, and I knew that any
guild
that him and his gorgeous woman had made, would be a great one. 
And it
is!  AF is rather casual, more like a family than just a
guild.  It's
members are all freaking nuts, and we have lots of good times. 
We,
of
course, have our plans for world domination, and I believe that we will
be starting with the NGD(RadarX:  Non-Gameplay Discussion). 
But ya
didn't hear that from me!

Savanja: 
Gah!  You've said way too much!  You may be
punished and not in a good way.

There is no Illuminati!

RadarX: 
You have almost a celebrity status in the NGD area.   In
fact, you have
a forum title of "Mistress of Posting."  Where did that originate
from?

Savanja:
  Mistress of Darkness now thankyouverymuch.  And
get on your knees when you address me boy!

*giggles*

Our
friendly forum moderator Raijinn (aka Joel) went on a lil title
changing rampage.  He asked me if I had any requests, and I asked
for
something that included Mistress or Goddess, he used Mistress of
Posting up until Halloween, when it was changed to Mistress of
Darkness.  I believe my dearest girlie Kiara requested that it was
left
that way, and no man will deny her, her wishes.

And I do believe that the title suits me.  I've been known to
wield my whip around the NGD, and tuck naughty boys into cages. 
Speaking of which, how did you get out again?  *calls for the dogs*

RadarX:  I apologize
Mistress.  It won't happen again. 
How much time would you say you spend on the forums every day?

Savanja: 
Oh man.  Can I just say a scary amount, and leave
it
at that?  I have a page open to the forums all day while I
work.  When
I get bored, I'll refresh and browse, and sometimes post. 
Basically,
if I'm at my desk, I'm looking at the forums.  I may need help.

RadarX:  So basically
as
much time as I do.  We have a
support group right?  It's not a habit!  It's cool!  I
feel alive....
What do you feel the majority of your posts accomplish?  Are they
more
for entertainment, to make a statement, or to provide assistance to
people?

Savanja: 
The majority are most definitely for
entertainment.  I enjoy being a active member in the community,
getting to know people, and bringing general amusement to the
forums. 
Out of respect, I keep it to the NGD and let all the seriousness happen
on the other forums.  Once in a rare while, you might catch me
posting
something serious.  I try not to let that happen too often, as I
do
have my fans to think of.

RadarX:  Heh you're
serious posts are always worth reading but
I can really say that about your entertaining ones too.  Anybody
you'd
like to say hello too guild/forum wise as we wrap this up?

Savanja: 
Ha.  The list is too long to name names.  But heyas to the
NGD, Neriak
Server, and Aggro Fish peeps, ought to cover it.

RadarX:   Thats a ton
of
folks but I'm sure your fans
appreciate it.  Final question    I've heard serious
allegations from
Neriak that you can be seen sitting outside the bank in Graystone or in
the canyon in Sinking Sands for many hours on end.   Your
dedication to
meditation amazes me.  What is your goal in this? 

Savanja style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">:
You just HAD to go there, didn't you?  *grins*

 

Why
Radar, I am so honored that you realize my dedication to
meditation. 
It is true, I will take time out from my busy schedule of thrashing
unsightly monsters from the face of Norrath, to simply sit and ponder
lifes meanings.  Perhaps take a deeper look into myself, and feel
around that part of my being that doesn't get examined nearly
enough. 

I believe this to be a crucial part of being a Monk, without my
meditations, I'm afraid that I would be unbearable to be around.

And if you'll excuse me, I think I need to meditate now.  Thank
you.

Thanks again to Savanja for being so awesome and taking the time out of
her busy schedule to answer a few questions.