What are the Frag Dolls?Why *girl* gamers and not just gamers?So are you just a marketing stunt?How do you support girl gamers?When were the Frag Dolls formed?Do you ever travel to events?Are you single?Do you only play Ubisoft games?How do I become a Frag Doll?Can I be a Frag Doll? even if im a guy?How can I play with you online?Is this what you do full time?So do you guys all live in one house? Where do you guys live?Where did you get your illustrations?What are the Frag Dolls?
We are pirates. We are ninjas. We are Ubisoft’s team of girl gamers! For more on that, read who we are.
Why *girl* gamers and not just gamers?
We are gamers, but we’re also girls. It doesn’t really matter whether “girl” is placed before gamer or not, we’re just here to play and compete. We’re not going to hide the fact that we’re girls, just like guys aren’t going to hide the fact that they’re guys.
So are you just a marketing stunt?
If we’re a marketing stunt, then so is every professional skateboarder, basketball player and actor who has ever had sponsorships that supported them in their field. We’re as serious about our sport as any other professional athlete – we even read sports psychology books to improve our mental game. Add to that, we also wear the hats of industry experts who speak on panels and write articles and reviews. We help write Prima strategy guides and travel to industry events where we demo and compete in Ubisoft games. Ubisoft realizes that we’re a talented, knowledgeable group of female gamers, and we can connect to gamers and non-gamers alike. We really do love Ubisoft games, which is why our partnership works so well.
How do you support girl gamers?
In more ways than a bra! We strive to breakdown the stereotypes formed about females who play video games, which cause many girl gamers to hide from social gaming. We welcome with open arms those girls who would normally shy away from video games. We want to see as many women in the gaming industry as actresses in the film industry and just by showing girls that we are here in the public eye playing, writing, and sharing it shows them that it is possible. We have spoken on panels at the Women’s Game Conference and two of the Women in Games International conferences. In multiple interviews we’ve stated a desire for more female gamers and have developed a gaming community friendly to other women interested in trying out video games. We’ve also held a Girl Gaming Night with an outlined lesson plan teaching girls who were new to shooters the important things to know when playing an FPS. At E3 2006, the Frag Dolls organized a group photo for all the women in the gaming industry. We had women gamers, game producers, journalists, and game designers all gathered together wearing matching shirts. It was a powerful message of unity.
When were the Frag Dolls formed?
When the first baby laughed, the laugh broke into a thousand pieces, and 8 of those pieces formed the first byte, which the baby then bit to create the first megabyte. That megabyte rendered itself as the first Artificial Intelligence, complete with vector balancing sight-line recognition and full 128-bit character face-mapping. It had one requirement – it demanded someone play with it. So the government (who was just the first baby) cried for a hero to save it from the AI. That cry broke into a thousand pieces and those pieces became gamers. A few of them responded to the AIs call… and they were we. And that’s how the Frag Dolls were formed… in August of 2004.
Do you ever travel to events?
A better question would be, “Do you make it home often?” We are all over the place! Industry expos, LAN parties, conventions, competitions, tournaments, promotions, photo-shoots… even walking the red carpet at ritzy magazine parties! Keep an eye on our Calendar to know who’s going to be where and when. If you’re in the area, stop on by, say hello and maybe we can get a few games in together!
Are you single?
I’ll give you single… a single shotgun blast to the face! Really, though, some of us are, some of us aren’t. We decided to include this on the FAQ as a joke because it is one of the most F-A-Q’s that we get A’ed, even though there is no way to answer the Q collectively. So, in summation, the answer is 42.
Do you only play Ubisoft games?
Do people who work for Columbia Pictures only watch their films? No! At the root of all our competitiveness and sponsorships, we are gamers at heart. We play and compete in a wide variety of games, crossing all platforms, genres and publishers. A great game is a great game, no matter who made it or what kind of machine you play it on.
How do I become a Frag Doll?
In previous hiring waves we’ve done a Casting Call, pitting 8 candidates up against each other in all the aspects of Doll-hood. These ended up being so emotionally draining on us and the candidates that we’ve decided to change our hiring process for the future. Instead, we’ll be starting a Frag Doll Cadet program, to kind of wean ladies into the positions. This will give a lot of qualified and passionate girls a foot in the door of the industry as a Frag Doll intern of sorts. But we promise not to give you all the crappy jobs.
Can I be a Frag Doll? even if im a guy?
Look, Ken, stop trying to steal Barbie’s spotlight and Pink Malibu Mustang. No, you can’t be a Frag Doll if you are a guy. Girls, on the other hand, yes, it’s possible! We’ve hired 4 new girls in the past couple years, and the opportunities are getting bigger and better. We’ll be discussing a Frag Doll Cadet program in the near future, and we’ll keep all you ladies up to date on the developments. Guys, you can keep up to date too, just to let your girlfriends (or your sisters) know.
How can I play with you online?
Oh so many ways! There’s Frag Doll Friday, which you can find scheduled on Xbox.com. We also have frequent Community Nights which are organized on our forums and a few of us usually show up. Another way is for you to practice hard and make a name for yourself and your team on competitive circuits. If you’re ranked high at a game that we are competing in, we may just set up a scrimmage match for a little target practice. If these don’t work out for you, there’s always the luck of the draw in Matchmaking – our gaming schedule is usually posted on the weekly calendar.
Is this what you do full time?
A few work in the Ubisoft offices in San Francisco full-time, but most of us have other jobs or go to school part-time. A couple of us make monies selling stuff on eBay… One of us is a superhero, which turned out well because another one of us is a super-villain.
So do you guys all live in one house? Where do you guys live?
We’re actually spread all across the country, from California to New York and from Texas to Washington. What with the invention of the internetz though, it’s like we live in a very large house called America, and all you gamers out there are our roomies. Just please remember to lift the lid.
Where did you get your illustrations?
Amazing cartoonist, Gary Ham. We’re lucky to have such a talented artist draw us! You can find more of his work at his website.
