I was in Austin all last week for meetings, meetings, and more meetings with Steve Jackson Games. When I started back in November, I was a little hesitant to talk more about my job because every company is different and I wanted to see how it was working before I’d start blogging more often. Even though there’s nothing “official” that companies can do or say to stop employees from being themselves, I’ve run into situations where being genuine (and I am a WYSIWIG person) works against you — especially if it doesn’t fit the culture or there’s politics involved.

That is most definitely not the case here. The people I work with — Steve included — know I’m an author and a game designer on top of what I do for the company. They also understand that I consider the work I do for them to be a part of me, too. While there are some common sense/NDA boundaries, I feel like I’m finally in a position where I can say: “Hey, I’m going to X con for an author appearance. I have scheduled a time where I can hand out Munchkin bookmarks, etc. Would you be interested?” The reason why I can do that is because the company’s core philosophy is to be genuine.

I started going back through the Daily Illuminator and took a trip down nostalgia lane. We opened one of the first sets of Car Wars, pored through old catalogs, reviewed Ogre, and laughed about how the Illuminati card game is a perfect snapshot of politics at the time. There is a *lot* of history here and that perspective really helped me to understand what I’ll be doing and how I can make sharing the fun a real experience. Being genuine is a hard marketing approach for a lot of companies because there’s some amount of risk attached to that. Here? Steve Jackson is Steve Jackson Games. I leave, the company doesn’t suffer. (Though, I’d like to think it would!) He leaves?

Yeah, you get the idea.

Much of the staff is invisible in the sense that you probably haven’t gotten the chance to see or talk to them except at cons. I was impressed with the talent and friendliness of everyone at the office. There are award-winning mini painters, gamers who’ve played a Dungeons & Dragons campaign for twenty-five years, music connoisseurs, video game aficionados, toy collectors, foodies, animal lovers, master game demoers, and crafters. We worked our proverbial tails off and, at the end of each day, I felt like we accomplished something. The experience is a little bit like working for a newspaper or a fine restaurant. You don’t see the chaos or the careful attention being put into the games and toys, but it’s there and it shows.

I’m happy I get to telecommute because there’s a lot of strategy and writing I have to do in my position. I have to concentrate — especially since I have editors. Truth be told: I’ve always gotten more done working-from-home than I have in any office with someone looming over my shoulder. Remember Scrooge McDuck and his pacing room? I’d love one of those! Though, I could have more days slaughtering winning a game like Castellan for the first time. Here’s the Castellan thread on BoardGameGeek.com.

Lastly, there is something I get from this position that I haven’t gotten out of a job before. I don’t have to *hide* or apologize for my intelligence, my randomness, or who I am. Yes, I have had to do that for non-consulting/non-freelance positions in the past. No, I’m not going to go into details because, quite frankly, I’m part to blame for that. And yes, this does not just happen to me especially in a culture where typos are common and people are considered snobs if they use a dictionary or read and research before they open their mouths. Regardless of what happens during my time with this company, I will be eternally grateful for the ability to simply focus on the work. This, combined with what I’m doing for John, allows me to continue writing, designing, and telling stories. For me? It’s the best of many worlds and fortunately they’re all on the same fun-loving planet.

Special thanks to Phil Reed for arranging this trip and making me feel at home.

Mood: Zoning
Caffeinated Beverages Consumed: A “few,” but they’re not doing any good.
Work-Out Minutes Logged Yesterday: I pressed many buttons on my controller.
Yesterday’s Projects: None, sadly. Grrr…
In My Ears: The Queen of the Damned soundtrack
Game Last Played: Final Fantasy XIII
Movie Last Viewed: Cowboys and Aliens
Book Last Read: Broken Blade by Kelly McCullough
Latest Artistic Project: Crystal cluster bracelet in silver
Latest Release: Strange, Dead Love for Vampire: the Requiem

I blogged a lot about games this week, so I thought I’d end it with this video of a bearded dragon playing Ant Crusher. There are a *ton* of videos like this. We have an albino water frog, but it’d be a challenge to take him out of his tank to play with the iPad. Also? Very slimy. I’ve thought about getting a bearded dragon. From what I hear, they’re pretty fun and very loyal.

Neither of our cats play games on the iPad, though they both like to watch me play video games and will run downstairs to hang out and/or be used as a rest for the controller.

[Insert Life Bits Here.] This week, my life “bits” that you normally receive are on hold. (Get your mind out of the gutter…) I am away on business and, in anticipation of a thrilling but busy week, have written this post in advance. I’ll be back soon, though! Comments are moderated, but I’ll get to them when I can.

Back in 2008, I wrote a chapter for a game called Exquisite Replicas. In my design essay called Initiation to Exquisite Replicas, I talk about writing from the perspective of a senior citizen. I remember that GenCon debut like it was yesterday because I shared a booth with John Wick who, if you’ve never met him, has a powerful personality. That year, Houses of the Blooded also appeared and people emptied their wallets for the “atlantean blood opera.” (The Live Action version, by the way, is loads of fun… Especially if you’re a newbie in a group of people who know one another very well… Muwahahaha.)

Wait, what was I saying? Oh yes…

In my game, there is a group called “The Anonymous.” When Exquisite Replicas was in development, Lee and I were chatting about having a defining look and feel for the characters. So? I rubbed some brain cells together and came up with something iconic and (what I thought was) unique. The Anonymous in Exquisite Replicas wear masks and dress in black to hide their true identities from the real world. Only they can see the truth and they will do everything they can to save the world from being replicated by alien creatures bent on destroying humanity.

Sound familiar?

After the game was at the presses, I found out about the hacktivist group called The Anonymous, who wear masks, dresses in black and… Yeah, you get the idea. So? I did what any writer would do. I had a meltdown where I spontaneously combusted from the inside out. My creative jolt of energy was certainly not intentional, nor was it mean to be malicious or satirical in any way shape or form. But? You never know, so I alerted the publisher just to be on the safe side and focused on the other, cooler parts of the game when I promoted it.

The moral to said tragic tale of neurotic woe? If you are naming *anything* in your game or story, do your homework. Um, I’d also include copying quotes or images in that, too. Oy.

[Insert Life Bits Here.] This week, my life “bits” that you normally receive are on hold. (Get your mind out of the gutter…) I am away on business and, in anticipation of a thrilling but busy week, have written this post in advance. I’ll be back soon, though! Comments are moderated, but I’ll get to them when I can.

This YouTube! video about Jedi Kittens has made the rounds, but it’s always good for a quick laugh. The kitten on the right just kills me.

[Insert Life Bits Here.] This week, my life “bits” that you normally receive are on hold. (Get your mind out of the gutter…) I am away on business and, in anticipation of a thrilling but busy week, have written this post in advance. I’ll be back soon, though! Comments are moderated, but I’ll get to them when I can.

When you’re a woman in any industry, you have to deal with unspoken expectations of what to wear and, in some cases, how to “act.” Yes, there is bias and yes, it’s part of culture. To say that bad gender treatment doesn’t exist, means that you probably haven’t experienced it or even recognized it for what that means. But, like racism or homophobia or Islamaphobia, it’s there and it’s tough to talk about. Today I’m going to share my thoughts on the image of women and video games.

Some of the “day jobs” I had over the years didn’t understand my love of gaming. Co-workers begged me not to tell anyone that they, too, liked to play Halo or Final Fantasy because they were afraid of how other people would treat them. After all, kids play these games, too. So that automatically means women who play games must be immature, right? My best friend and I made it a point to get to know the clerks at video game stores in town, just so we wouldn’t have to deal with the assumption that we were buying for our boyfriend/husband/nephew/etc. Last time I bought a game at a store, one clerk said: “This is Arkham City. You know that’s not for kids, right?” The guy standing next to him said: “Well, I should hope so! She’s playing it!” If you don’t think this attitude is pervasive, read: WTF is with empowered women? The description of the women who play games is… Oy…

So yes, there’s a stereotype that women who play games are fugly and will only buy games if the women are “empowered.” Here’s a little newsflash for you: I like empowered female characters because as a woman? That’s how I view women are supposed to be portrayed in a game that is marketed/designed/sold for all genders. Do you really think I want to play a game where women are treated like painted cattle? What the hell is a woman supposed to be like if her character can’t stand on her own, anyway? We’re not doormats!

Women gamers have always been around, but many (including myself) have felt we had to hide because we knew it was a man’s industry. Remember Chuck E. Cheese’s and the arcades? Before RPG-style games, much of the 8-bit versions were less gender-specific and more character-driven. Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man are not shapely by any stretch of the imagination. I was a big Metroid fan and really liked the old Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong, Jr. Sure, I rolled my eyes at some parts in Super Mario Brothers, but at no point did I say: “Gee, I wish I was playing Maria and Louisa to rescue Prince Mango.” It was part of the game. I smushed mushrooms. I got gold. I punched my fist through a brick. End of story.

Enter the controversial titles and the explosion of the hobby. Doom was the first WTF title I encountered, but there were others. Wikipedia has a List of Controversial Video Games you can check out. Notice how the list gets bigger as time goes on? That’s what popularity does to any business. There’s the good, there’s the bad, and there’s the ugly.

Anonymity and the internet has changed “women in gaming” attitudes because it’s allowed us to buy games from the comfort of our laptops and not deal with the b.s. (Same goes for comics, too.) We aren’t as intimidated because as time went on? It’s become more acceptable for us to play games openly without worrying about how we’ll be treated. In my experience, the hobby games industry — Magic: the Gathering, Munchkin, Vampire: the Masquerade and Vampire: the Requiem, etc. — has been more welcoming toward women than the video games industry traditionally has. This, however, is also changing because MMOs are more popular and creative people are tapping into that community with properties like The Guild.

But — and this is the point I’m trying to make — the “image” exists because it’s a cultural stereotype that women need to look and act a certain way. How women are portrayed ties into cultural attitudes and it’s the game designer’s responsibility to figure out a) who will buy this game and b) how can they create it to appeal to that audience. I feel that gender portrayal is part of world building. When I played Dragon Age my first time through, I picked a female character named Aliessia who had a big, damn sword. “Well, you don’t see many female warriors around.” was part of the dialogue and I appreciated that. Her role in that society affected how she was treated in some cases but it did not break the game.

I’ll be the first one to say that I can’t stand Grand Theft Auto. Does that mean it should never have been created? No, it just means that I won’t buy it. Artistically, I can’t make the claim that ALL women should be portrayed a certain way and ALL games should do “X.” That will never happen because not all designers are the same and not all gamers are the same. Sometimes, controversy makes us think about what makes a “good” game and what isn’t. Other times, it’s not the game that’s the problem, it’s the marketing or it’s specific cut scenes. I love Lara Croft as a property, but I can’t stand the boob physics. I had to physically put down Bloodrayne because the main character feeds by humping her victims and showing off her… Well… Mind you, vampires are my deal creatively so seeing her hop on like a frog made me laugh and then chuck the controller.

I love to have fun! I used to go dancing and clubbing but that type of social life is exhausting and counter-productive for me. Gaming allows me to catch a mental break after an intense day at work or when I’m writing. I play all kinds of games — video, card, board, RPG, whatever — and it’s no secret that gaming is good for you and games prevent Alzheimer’s. I tend not to play Bejeweled anymore because it feels like gambling to me and it’s too repetitive.

What I *don’t* love, is this idea that the fantasy of what a woman (or man) should look like must become a reality. That image is such a problem average-sized women are often considered “Plus Size.” Houston: this is not a video game problem, this is much bigger than that. You can read Plus Size Bodies, What is Wrong With Them Anyway? or, for a laugh, watch this Adobe Photostop Parody.

In my opinion, the growing popularity of video games is a good thing. To affect change, players have to vote with our dollars and get into the industry on a creative level. To put our foot down with how women are generally portrayed? Well, that’s another blog post for another time.

[Insert Life Bits Here.] This week, my life “bits” that you normally receive are on hold. (Get your mind out of the gutter…) I am away on business and, in anticipation of a thrilling but busy week, have written this post in advance. I’ll be back soon, though! Comments are moderated, but I’ll get to them when I can.