It’s time for the newest edition of the Ask a Doll blog, and this time I’m the one answering your questions.  Tremble in fear, questers… questioners...inquisitors? Zork: Grand Inquisitor was a fantastic game. No, really. There was a spell to turn clear things purple, and willfully avoid sending spirits through time.

Have any of the Frag Dolls picked up tabletop gaming in the past?

Oh yes.  Perhaps you can’t tell due to the lack of odeur (or perhaps you can!) but I have a lot of fun with tabletop games.  I’ve never really played D & D, and I’ve only played Magic: The Gathering against myself because I didn’t know anyone else who would play it with me at the time… I soon gave up because I have a bad habit of favoring one side, against myself.  Weird.  Anyway, I do love some nerdy boardgames.  Settlers of Catan + the Cities and Knights expansion has claimed countless hours of my life.  I hope they release that as DLC for Catan on the XBL Arcade!  I’m also a big fan of a game called Puerto Rico.  And then there’s Frag, which is like an FPS board game, and in the card game arena I love Munchkin--especially Munchkin Fu.  Yum.

What servers do you play on in WoW and would you mind me joining you?

I play on the Real Life server.  You are welcome to join.  It’s got the most amazing bump maps and shader effects!  Seriously, I think I’m the only person in the world who doesn’t play it. I have an unopened, framed copy of the game on the wall as a testimony of my self control.  That is not a funny - I really do.

What are the marital statuses of the Frag Dolls?

We cast Remedy to clear all status effects.  Which of us have been stuck with a status effect, such as marital status, is understandably private on a case-by-case basis.

If you had to pick one area of the gaming industry (e.g., programming), in which you feel a stronger female presence is needed, what would it be and why?

I would like to see more women in design and creative direction for games.  I think those are key areas in which a female presence could help to widen the appeal of these games to a more female audience.  As a hardcore gamer, I don’t notice the overt male-i-tude so much because I’m used to it, but I do understand that most games have a certain scent that intimidates casual female gamers.  A touch of estrogen could be just the thing.

Why is it always Pirates vs. Ninjas?

Because pirates and ninjas are the only ones who matter.  Except…

Are Vikings cool?

Ahem.

Are any of the Frag Dolls looking forward to playing Mass Effect when it is released?

Yes, I can safely say that several of us are looking forward to that particular fever.  Rhoulette even wrote a blog about how rad it is after she and I saw it at GDC in March this year.  It looks AWESOME. And I think you can be a female character, which seals the deal.  There are a bunch of games that I LOVE, but I love them a little less when I have to be a dude.  Brawny shoulders don’t suit me.

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My bullets aren’t working.  They keep going into the enemies’ faces and my enemies aren’t dying.  What should I do?  Do I have gummy bear ammo?

Yes.  It’s gummy bear ammo.  Have you tried shooting yourself with it when you get hungry? Delicious! Just remember to brush your teeth with grenade pins.

In your competition/practice games, do you take a specific role (such as sniper in GRAW), is it through choice or aptitude and does it vary depending on who else is in the team at the time?

We all have a style we tend to play in across multiple games.  I try to keep farther back and shoot people before they can shoot me because I’m no good in a real firefight.  Valkyrie, on the other hand, loves to get up close and personal.  If you can’t hear her taunting you via proximity chat, she’s too far away. Different games call for different strategies and tactics, but it is nice for us to slip into our familiar roles and know we’re all covering each other.

- jinx

protons, neutrons, electrons that rest on a sunday work on a monday