This last week has involved some very difficult decisions about a tremendously talented bunch of applicants. We were delighted to get to know a whole new crop of promising women gamers, and humbled by the passion and effort represented by these applications. It was both a blessing and a challenge, but we are now finally able to announce the semi-finalists moving on to the next stage of our Casting Call!

As with all hiring processes, these selections were based on a great many things. Each application consisted of a professional resume (including work history, education history, etc), a writer gaming history, a few photos, and a video between 1 and 2 minutes in length. All of these components were naturally used for basic information about each applicant’s background, experience, and personalities, but they also provided us with information about things like their sense of professionalism, writing confidence and skill, competition history, geek culture knowledge, gaming priorities, theater or performance experience, motivation, initiative, enthusiasm for marketing, long-term career goals, energy on camera, creativity, etc. (just to name a few). Every application told us a story about the applicant’s strengths and weaknesses, and we tried to imagine how these would best fit with the goals, needs, and personalities of our existing team.

A great number of the applicants were technically qualified, so some of the decisions came down to who could stand out and sparkle in a group of other excellent and talented girl gamers. Every one of the Frag Dolls had input about their top candidates, and our management team at Ubisoft provided important input as well. That’s a lot of people to make an impression on, and it seemed like every good candidate stood out to at least one of us. To make the final decisions, we combined all of our feedback down to the nitty-gritty details and gut feelings, and after much debating and hair pulling, we managed to settle on these Semi-Finalists.

Typical for our Casting Calls, we have splurged past our originally planned number, so instead of 15 Semi-Finalists, we made room for 18. All of these applicants stood out to us, and each have their own bundle of talents that they could bring to the table. We encourage you to take your time to get to know these girls so that you can vote with confidence and help us to hone in on the best two candidates for the Frag Doll job.

You can read about them and watch their videos on our new Casting Call page.

Congratulations to all the Semi-Finalists, and good luck in the second phase!!!