by SamHell
July 26, 1999

Welcome back to 10 Questions With SamHell! This week, I'm pleased to bring you Vangie "Aurora" Beal, full-time mom, founder of Game Girlz and Founder of Clan PMS, the first all-female Quake clan (among other things).  Aurora has been part of the gaming community for many years.  During the non-gaming times, she works at a company doing digital imaging and Backfile Conversion, and she also does contract Web Design. 

[SamHell]:  1. How did you get involved with the online gaming community?
[Aurora]:  Well, it all started with a bunch of guy friends I fondly call "DOOM-Heads". A bunch of guys who taught me that there were cooler games than "Jill of the Jungle" out there, and introduced me to QTest and an Internet cafe where I could play head-to-head via a LAN. That lead to Clan PMS, which lead to GameGirlz, which led to Lilith & Eve, and working with AGN, which led to the Female Frag Fest ..... and on and on it goes! :) In between those groups somewhere, I also started doing freelance work for computer and game magazines,
and a few other odd "games-related" things.

[SamHell]:  2. What prompted you to create Clan PMS?
[Aurora]: My DOOM-Head friends actually (Thanks guys!). Being a very pregnant and hormonal sort of person when Qtest was released I think really contributed to my newfound love of "shooters". I hung out with the guys at a net cafe, and when Quake clans started to pop up, they created a clan called ELM. I was told I could join, but since I sucked so much at the game (usually losing on average by about 50 to -1), I had to get better. The Internet cafe started holding Saturday night Quake tourneys, and as the weeks passed I found myself getting better and better, and often coming up close to the top in frag count. Well, even as I got better, I still wasn't allowed to join ELM.  Other girls started showing up for Quake nights, and one day the leader of ELM was laughing at me, and said I should start my own Quake clan, get all the girls at the cafe to join, and <laughing> call it PMS.

So I did. Because ELM wouldn't let us join them, we hung up a "No Boys Allowed" sign, and we've been happily fragging away for over 3 years now as an all-female clan.

[SamHell]:   3. As a parent and avid game player, what is you opinion on the "hysteria" that has materialized lately concerning video games and violence?
[Aurora]:  First off, I'd like to say that any parent who does not take the time to ensure their children are behaving in a socially acceptable manner both inside and outside the home should be fragged. A part of my job as a mother is to monitor and control the things my child sees and does. This requires me to take an *active* role in my son's life, and I believe this is something every parent needs to do.

As far as children and violent video games, yes, I believe that in some small percentage of YOUNG children, that games in general could contribute to behavior and violent tendencies. I don't think it is an outright reflection of the game itself, but more due to kids become so involved with a game they experience an adrenaline rush. I allowed my 11 year old nephew to play Quake on my computer once. It was a one shot deal only. After he finished playing he was so hyper that he started picking on his brother and ended up in a fist fight. It wasn't the violence in the game that made him behave like that, it was the simple fact he had this "high" going on, and had blood pumping through his body from intense gaming and he couldn't deal with it in an acceptable manner.

I would like to say that I do not think the example above with my nephew is the norm, and I do not believe that game companies should be responsible for this. I fully believe that it is the responsibility of a parent to control what goes on their kid's computer or what PSX games they play, and to limit the amount of "adult" content they are subject to through TV, games etc.

[SamHell]:  4. To what do you attribute the success of Game Girlz and its popularity amongst the gaming community?
[Aurora]:  I think it is because we're able to offer games content which does appeal to women, and in doing that make a site that doesn't offend guys. In our game content we also offer information on games that don't fall into the "hardcore 3D shooter" genre. I think a lot gamers enjoy taking a break and checking out fun free games once in awhile, and they can get that info from GG, along with the latest EA sports news.  Mixed in with the games coverage, we also provide several areas which are graced with that "girly" touch, like the Mighty Times column. I guess a random day at GG is getting news about your favorite shooters, finding out about the hell we women go through (should we shave our toe hair?), and just a unique style and perspective from game lovers (both male and female).

[SamHell]: 5. Over a year ago, you wrote an editorial called "What do Gaming Magazines and Adult Magazines have in Common?". Fast forward to today. To you still feel the same way about the industry as you did then?
[Aurora]:  In some respects I do, and in many others I don't. Starting up GameGirlz has enabled me to talk to many developers and people in PR departments, and now I can say I understand more why this happens. Understanding doesn't change my opinion that the computer games industry really doesn't see female gamers as consumer base worth targeting. Nudity and "SiN type" chicks aside, I still think the image of computer gaming still only appeals to males. I feel sorry for any female who picks up a games mag to see what gaming is all about. She is still going to get the impression that it really is something only a guy would love.
 

[SamHell]:   6. For you, what is the worst punishment you could inflict upon someone?
[Aurora]: The silent treatment. When I get angry or upset at someone I just ignore them, do the total "cold shoulder" thing, don't return calls or anything.

[SamHell]:   7. Within the past year, what would you say has been the most enjoyable game you've played? Why?
[Aurora]:  Half-Life! Since playing online games, I don't play too much in the way of single player games at all. HL is a different story though! It was my ideal game. Internet play is great, but it was the single player aspect of HL that had me sitting up for 10+ hours at a time, trying to function on no sleep and too many cups of coffee to count.

[SamHell]:  8. Which game of all the upcoming FPS release (Q3A, UT, TF2, Duke Nukem Forever, etc.) do you think will come out on top? Why?
[Aurora]:  I'm going to go with a BIG toss up between Q3A and UT.  Any id game, you can count on being a big seller and a damn good game, but UT is really starting to shape up. If both games were to actually hit retail on the exact same day, and I only had the cash to buy one... I'd choose UT. (Gak! Don't tell my Quake clan that though!) =D

[SamHell]:   9. Do you have an all-time favorite movie? If so, what is it and why that particular one?
[Aurora]:  Shawshank Redemption. Stephen King has been my favorite author for many years, and seeing one of his stories turned into a *good* movie was wonderful. I hate sappy "stereotypical chick flicks", and the storyline of Shawshank was so moving, and so different... it was the first movie (other than E.T.) that had me so engrossed in it that I actually cried. I've watched the movie 11 times now, and still rent it every couple years. GREAT movie!

[SamHell]:  10. As a teenager growing up, what was your most embarrassing moment?
[Aurora]: In Grade 10 I switched from a tiny Jr.High school to a huge high school, full of something new... JOCKS! Yeah, "those guys" who play on the school sports teams, that the majority of females in the school fall in love with. I was no exception to this rule, and neither was my best friend Susan. We actually paid someone to switch us lockers so we could have our locker in "jock hall" (the hall just outside the gym where all the jocks had their lockers).

So yeah, during one lunch hour break "hanging out" in jock hall, I went through that terrible twisted ordeal of trying to figure out how exactly I was going to get a tampon out of my locker without the cute jocks seeing and get to the bathroom at the end of the hall. I used that girl trick of opening the locker partway, and sliding the tampon up inside my sweater sleeve. Everything was great, until I started walking down jock hall towards the bathroom when I somehow got swung around... and my arm moved fast enough for the tampon to come out. It literally flew out of my sweater sleeve. Things would still have been okay if it wasn't for the fact when the tampon flew out of my sleeve it hit #19... the star of the football team. The fact that I was totally in love with this boy, and the fact that the hallway was full of people when I smacked him in the face with my tampon did nothing but further add to my utter embarrassment. I suffered the rest of the school year enduring teases from people and the occasional tampon tied to the combination lock on my locker.

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