Before the lights, cameras and Casting Call action, there was a small handful of women selected to embark on a journey that had never been done before in the gaming industry. Before the name “Frag Dolls” was even an idea, the concept of this team was already beginning to develop when I visited Valkyrie for the first time. I can remember the crazy excitement around the house when she received the phone call from Ubisoft asking her to be a part of this new wild idea. Soon thereafter, she and Brookelyn were sent to CPL Summer 2004 for their first gig (a “test run” so to speak). Watching them demo and orchestrate tourneys for Far Cry, I fell in love with both the competitive and industry aspect of Frag Dolls. From that very day, I’ve wanted to be a part of this girl gaming adventure.

Three years later, and now on my SECOND return to Casting Call Craziness (zomg, double the fun), I had to really brush up my game! Taking no chances, I dropped everything I was doing (including my very expensive internship at a compounding pharmacy) and began to train, train and train. I spent 2 days relearning my strafe jumps, rocket jumps and LG aim. Although I wasn’t comfortable with the maps, I was hoping that my Quake skill would speak for itself. Little could have prepared me for how challenging the competition would be. The first Casting Call lasted only two days, but round two lasted five! That meant more hoops for us to jump through.

The days were long, the nights were painful because bedtime was usually past midnight, and the schedule was very tight. Between demoing games, competing on Quake 4 and Rainbow Six Vegas, an open panel, and (the most time consuming part) the camera interviews, we were left with just enough time to breathe, eat, and sometimes steal a chair from the Dell booth for R&R or Quake play. (Some of us still managed to ninja out a few minutes for PAX-site-seeing. Mwahahaha!) But through all the trials, I got to meet and mingle with some of the coolest gamer girls out there. Every single one of these candidates were not only insanely skilled (i.e. Faith rubbing our faces into the mud on Rainbow Six Vegas), but they were all intelligent, down-to-earth and perfectly heart-warming. In my eyes, they are all the essence of what a girl gamer should be.

As you’ve seen from the episodes, getting onto this team is tough work. My dream to become the next Frag Doll has been a three-year endeavor, and now is a reality. I have watched this team grow from the ground up, and to finally be a part of this is really special to me. Even after being told all of my duties as a Doll, I still don’t know what to expect from my first day as an official member. Not to mention, I’ve been sitting in my room for the past two weeks having dreams about meeting my XPS laptop for the first time. I am looking forward to “personality-meshing” with the rest of the Dolls (hehe, Calyber) and kicking some *** (just for you Valk). I can’t wait!!! This is all still so overwhelming that every time I say “I’m a Frag Doll” I giggle and wiggle for like five minutes straight.

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CPL 2004

First Casting Call (San Fran)

Second Casting Call (PAX)

Talk to the hand!