Has any Frag Doll played Magic: The Gathering or any other CCGs?

My first stint at college I was quite the party animal, which you would not necessarily think would go hand-in-hand with any CCG (Collectable Card Game). However, my pack was known to have an “afterbar” party or go camping for the weekend and break out our Magic the Gathering card decks. It has been so long since I played this game - when I moved I no longer had any friends that played and, the last time I checked, my deck was pretty much illegal to use.  I get very nostalgic thinking about this game and all the fun we had with it, as it was truly challenging and rewarding and I feel sorry for people that never got the opportunity to learn. It is one of the most strategic and difficult games I have ever played!

If you had the chance to be modeled in a video game as its heroine, would you?  If so, what kind of character would you like your image connected to?  Maybe a damsel in distress, a la Daphne from Dragon’s Lair, or perhaps a femme fatal, like Cherry Darling from Grindhouse...

If I got to be a model for a video game, I would want her sexy and tough at the same time - with badass armor that would still look feminine, yet let the world know that this gal wouldn’t think twice about shoving her foot in your face.

How do you handle the “Timmies” and other immature, sexist idiots that you run into on Xbox Live?

Never underestimate the “mute” button. I usually try to use this BEFORE I unleash the oh-so-scary Valkyrie war cry; however, I don’t always win at this…

Psyche’s latest “Ask A Doll” blog mentioned games that are great, yet made by independent publishers that don’t do as well as they should, and referred to them as “sleeper hits.” I started playing Darwinia, which was a lot of fun, and would like to find more like this!  Can you give us examples of more games like this that are a lot of fun, but aren’t widely circulated?

Well, a sleeper hit isn’t necessarily just about sales, but could be something about the gameplay that was unforeseen or truly made it worthwhile, which should have lead to more publicity behind it. It is also not necessarily done by independent publishers.

For example, I would consider one of my favorite games of all time a sleeper hit, and that was Beyond Good & Evil, which was published by our very own Ubisoft.  I remember quite clearly that this game became popular long after its release, as it took word of mouth for it to get around. Nobody that played it could doubt its quality or story, and it has become a beloved of many hardcore gamers.

Other titles that might be deemed quality sleeper hits would be games like Metal Arms, Psi-Ops, Sudeki, Bards Tale, Rollercoaster Tycoon and Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney.  Even Half Life was considered a sleeper hit, due to the unexpected sales.

In your opinion, what are the most important elements that, if gathered in one game, would definitely make it the best game of the year (i.e., story, main character, level design, etc...)

Well, I believe that all the elements involved in the making of video games are important - you need everything to make the best game of the year. If you have a phenomenal story line but the gameplay sucks (or vice-versa), it isn’t going to do well at all.

I think game developers should always focus on the main aspects first, which would be the story line, the characters, the game play, the graphics, etc.  Then they should focus on what they can do to make it innovative and unique in ANY of those categories in ways that would cause a stir in the industry.

The only warning I would offer them is this:  whatever new idea they would want to integrate into the making of the game, make sure that it would be easy to understand and appealing to their audience. I mean, how many times have you guys stepped back and thought “GREAT IDEA, why couldn’t they implement it right?” when playing a game *cough* (i.e. the PEC mode on Rainbow Six: Lockdown.

Game developers always want to put their “stamp” on games that they think are so cool, yet don’t really do enough research on how to implement their ideas appropriately to appeal to their consumers. I really think every developer should enlist anonymous gamers to test their games, instead of suck-ups that are employees of the company, who will usually say what they want them to hear in order to placate their egos; then we could all be happy, as they wouldn’t get embarrassing sales and reviews and we would we get a better game to play!

Though people vary in their opinions, what is the thing that you look for in a game that gets you more interested in it? (For me, increasing difficulty of game puzzles increases my interest in a game.) What do you think this thing is for a majority of gamers?

If you want me to get into a game, you want it as easy and addictive as possible. How do you do these things? You simply make a game that is easy to understand and learn, yet has challenging and rewarding gameplay/story. You think this would be easy, but apparently it is not for a lot of game-making companies.  There have been plenty of times I picked up a game and went, “What the hell am I supposed to do now?” If you make it easy to understand and play yet instill (as you said) increasingly difficult levels, objectives, puzzles, etc., the game will do well regardless of the genre. Games that I couldn’t put down for days because they fulfilled what I look for were Halo (campaign), Half-Life, Psychonauts, Beyond Good & Evil, Fatal Frame, Animal Crossing, and Oblivion.

According to a recent conversation, some people think that when you say something like, “I find the Prince from POP games or Sam Fisher from SC or even 47 from Hitman to be handsome – and Lara Croft from TR or Kaileena & Fara from POP to be hot,” they think that you’re gay and an “into-polygons”-type person.  What is your opinion on this?

Come out of the closet - you’re gay! No, seriously though, it is okay to admire artwork (that is what characters are) and it doesn’t mean you want to dip your pen in the ink if you get my drift.  Get over it and quit worrying what other people think if you admire a great work of art! Maybe they aren’t comfortable with their own sexuality if they are picking on you; I wouldn’t be too concerned either way.

What has been your greatest experience in your time as a Frag Doll (competitive or otherwise)?

Even though the Rainbow tournament at CPL was a small one, the top undefeated online clan was playing in it and we smoked them - not simply beat them, but smoked them. I know they were nervous, and in all honesty I used my Valkyrie smack talk to make them even more so, but I don’t care… we smoked them. By far the greatest competitive moment in my life.

Have you ever been star struck when meeting an industry figure?

Yes, the first event I worked for Ubisoft was Comic Con, before Frag Dolls were ever announced. I ran into Tina and Laura in the bathroom and literally almost peed my pants. I was so excited, I introduced myself immediately and told them what a big fan I was. Laura was like, “Girls don’t watch our show!” and I was like, “Oh, yes we do!” It was all pretty exciting to me, and I am sure they thought I was a freak since I was so excited, but I didn’t care - it made my day! Since then, I have ran into them quite a few times now and they always remember me and are so nice, and I can say I am a little bit calmer now when I see them, hehe!

If you could live in the world of any game, what game would that be and why?

Azeroth, baby, in World of Warcraft. By far one of my biggest addictions in my gaming history, and most certainly my ideal magical world! If only the Horde ceased existence. *sigh*

Do the Frag Dolls worship any sort of gaming deity?

Well, I worship myself, if you couldn’t tell…

In the incessant debate of “Console vs. PC,” which genres do you think are generally better suited for consoles (control style, gameplay, etc.) and which for PC?

Well, I think any genre could be fine on any system, but if you must force my hand on this I would say:

Shooters - PC
Fighting - Console
RPG - either
MMO - PC (only because of typing issues to communicate with people)
Survival Horror - Console
RTS - PC
Sports - Console
Action adventure - Console
Racing - Console
Flight Sim - Either
Puzzle - Either

Longest road or biggest army?  And will you trade me an ore for brick?

Alas, I haven’t play Settlers, but I can throw a brick at your head if you like? Or how about Primal Fire for Primal Water? That I can do and I need those Primals for my Spell Strike set!

Have you or any of the Frag Dolls ever played (or currently play) any of the Pokemon games?

Not I personally, but between all of us Dolls, you can be sure one of us have.

I remember that the Frag Dolls played Far Cry Instincts: Predator.  How about Far Cry Instincts: Evolution? It has different, unique maps and it’s only on the original Xbox system, not the Xbox 360.  Would the Frag Dolls play on FCI:E?

I liked the Far Cry games - unfortunately, as a competitor, I can not focus on other FPS games when I competing. In fact, I try not to play ANY other games when I am competing as I am loose cannon and get way to addicted to other games too easily. Once I touch a game, its over for quite a while and that is something I simply can’t afford to do right now. This is the only thing that sucks about doing what I do - needing to focus on one game!

Hey Dolls! I find myself always getting owned at my favorite FPS by my competitive boyfriend.  I want to know what type of training you guys do to get better at your gaming.  Tips?  Suggestions?  It’s my turn to do the owning!

The best thing you can do is play with a TEAM, so find one! While shot training works best playing one against all others, you will learn so much from playing with a team instead of random rooms. You will pick up on sweet spots, moves and strategies.  Make sure you observe the people you think are the best while you are dead, so you can see what exactly it is they do that is racking up all those kills. 

For training, we run maps and practice grenade tricks all over the maps to hit key areas. We also share what spots we think are best to be in and seek cover in. However, the best practice by far is scrimmaging with other good teams! Happy hunting and be sure to give your boyfriend a kick in the… shins… for me!