C+2’s Katie Von Kill: Yes, I definitely get treated fairly… maybe a little generously if I looked at it from the outside. All in all though, guys and girls treat me fairly, probably because I treat them the same way.
Above: Katie Von Kill - pro gamer and Playboy Special Edition model
C+2’s Jennifer: I have a pretty large circle of friends online, so I am almost always treated fairly. I earned the right to be respected on the playing field. Recently winning a judo competition, I am wondering now if they treat me fairly because I can school them in a game, because we are online friends, or because they are afraid I might kick their butt ;p
Above: Jennifer can probably kick your ass in the game and for real
GR: Do male players send you messages or hound you?
C+2’s Tunesha: I wouldn’t say that I get hounded because I am pretty active in the community and we all talk a great deal. I am happy that I tend to get support and relationships built online with some pretty sweet people. I know there have been creeps out there, but we don’t gravitate toward each other which is great.
Above: The first system Tunesha owned was a NES
GR: What do you think of the way women are represented in games?
C+2’s Ashley (Charisma+2’s PR/marketing rep): I actually have talked to a lot of the girls in gaming about this over the years. I think, for the most part, video games are short on building the background story of the characters, so developers make characters that are easily identified. Sometimes these idealized images are nothing more than superficial exaggerations of male and female anatomy, but these are games, not designed to be taken too seriously. I don’t think females are any more misrepresented than males.
Above: Ashley reckons she can 'kick your booty' in any racing game
GR: How would you go about getting more females into gaming?
C+2’s Livia: Being a professional gamer, I am lucky to be approached by people all over who want to get more into gaming. For me, I get to meet girls who are the girlfriends or friends of the guys in the tournaments and can encourage them that it’s not just for boys anymore. I think once they see other girls competing they feel encouraged to start playing.
Above: Livia has competed in the World Cyber Games
C+2’s Raychul: Honestly, I really hate this kind of question because I don’t think anyone should ever feel like they need to get into gaming; it should come naturally. Gaming is not something secret anymore. It’s mainstream, more than it ever has been before. If someone isn’t into gaming then that’s just fine. Getting into gaming should be something that happens naturally. It should be because someone sees a commercial or plays something at a friend’s house and realizes that it’s something that they would like to learn more about and pursue.
Above: You can find Raychul writing over atGameGirl
GR: Would you like a career in the games industry?
C+2’s Yvonna: That is ultimately one of the goals I had in mind for providing the models when I thought up this concept, which came on the heels of me working my first E3 for Nintendo opening many doors to the biz. We have been able to get interviews and place a few models into really great jobs with developers and other clients. They still had to show they were qualified. Not every model has landed every job. There are also some who have contract jobs that allow them to work with other devs, so I won’t say who works for whom, but, yes, many of the models have aspirations of getting into the industry full time.
Above: Yvonna - the Charisma +2 president
We're hoping to have more from the Charisma +2 crew at next week's E3. Stay tuned.
May 28, 2009
Girls playing game character dress-up
An old article, but still full of hotness
Loads of pics of E3's hottest ladies
