It’s another edition of our new column, “Ask a Doll”—from here on, responses to your questions will be posted every Thursday. If you guys have more questions, make sure you post them on our forums! Now on to this week’s questions…

Do you think independent developers are at risk of becoming extinct, and what is your take on that if so?

Hmm, this is great question! When it comes to independent developers, the risk of them being extinct is a possibility. The truth of the matter is that being an independent developer is a double-edged sword. Gamers love originality so this is something independent developers can definite offer. They have the ability (and freedom) to come up with something new and fresh, while other developers often build upon what they already have, such as franchises.

The big issue that smaller developers face is that they can make an amazing game and no one may ever know about it. This is what is known as a “sleeper hit” - a great, quality game that not many people know about, therefore it does not sell to its full potential. This can seriously hurt the company that develops the game.  If the small developers can get their product out there and keep it going by staying true to their fans, then they have a good chance of making it in the wild world known as the gaming industry.

How do you prepare yourself mentally for competitive play?

Preparing yourself mentally for a competition is very important. What I tend to focus on is building up my confidence and having a positive attitude. Essentially, the saying that “when you think you’re the shiznit, then you are the shiznit” is true. Optimism and a positive outlook are your best friends when you’re competing. Some competitors may seem cocky, but that is just how they maintain their confidence. Also, I recently purchased a book on confidence and how it works, so I’m sure I will apply some of that to my mental preparation.

If you could experience any game in real life (i.e., go through training with the military warfighter guys as a real life experience for GRAW), what game would you choose to live through and what do you imagine the encounter to be like?

I think I would love to experience the life of a warfighter! Not only do you get to travel to different locations but you would also get to work with the most advanced technology to date. Saving nations is not an easy task, but someone has got to do it. I can see it now...the girls and I in the jungle, moving slowly, about to engage on our enemy. Face paint on...assault rifles in hand...and ready for battle, baby!

Do you think an Adults Only (AO) rated game can ever meet with success? Keep in mind I do not mean a game that is pornographic or filled with gratuitous nudity; just a game with such dark subject matter that garners an AO rating.

This really all depends in the quality of the game. If its a good game, then the rating does not matter. I’ve enjoyed playing games from the entire range of ESRB ratings. Do you remember the game Manhunt? It came out for the Playstation 2. It was given the M rating, but it was pretty AO in my opinion. This game had everything. It was deep, intense, gruesome and dark. Its been a while, but I remember tons of people buying the game and enjoying it.

When is a decent video game movie going to come out (or has it already and, if so, what movie) and which game do you think it will be?

Unfortunately, as of yet there is no such thing. So far,he game-related movies are decent movies but just don’t match up. We now only have one hope and that is Halo the movie. This could break the cycle of bad game-related movies. Simple as that!

Game on!!