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Tuffy Interview by Bam Bam
at Gameloft Recently I had the opportunity to play in the all-female tournament at Babbage's CPL tournament. While there, I met up with some of the top female players, such as Trillan of Qgirlz and Succubus of the *69 clan. But I was interested in some of the up and coming players that were also there. Like Cary Szetzo, also known as Succubus, did at the female tournament at Frag 4, there were first time competitors that did well. Laila Anakar, known as Tuffy to some, competed and came in 8th place for a first time competitor. Regardless of her nickname, she is a great person off the computer! Last week I had the opportunity to interview Tuffy and I was impressed with this Q3 player who had a lot to say about competing and the CPL in general. Read on to find out what she had to say…
Name: Laila "Tuffy" Anakar [Bam Bam]: How did you come up with the nickname "Tuffy"? [Tuffy]: There's no special story to it. But a couple of years ago, I was playing in a Quake1 tournament at a LAN and I had to pick a name to participate. I just came up with the nickname out of nowhere and ever since then it stuck with me. [Bam Bam]: When did you start playing video games? [Tuffy]: I always played video games ever since I was a kid. I started out with Atari, then consoles and then I went to PC games. When the video cards came out, I stuck with the PC games and started playing Quake 1 and went to Q3. I played Q2, but didn't like the movements. It was too slow for me, so I stuck with Q3. [Bam Bam]: Are you in a Clan? [Tuffy]: No, unfortunately not, but I do look for people here in Texas that LAN. I play for fun, but I am looking to join a clan. I have competed with the UAI clan, which are located in Ft Worth, TX. [Bam Bam]: When do you practice? [Tuffy]: Since I don't work, I practice all the time. [Bam Bam]: Have you competed before the Babbages' Event? [Tuffy]: No, I did want to go to Frag 4, but it was short notice so I didn't make it there. But I am looking for more competitions and LANs that are here in Texas. [Bam Bam]: We competed against each other and you did better than I did…LOL As a matter of fact you came in 8th which is good for a first time competitor. How did you feel? Do you plan on competing more in the future? What place do you think you'll place? [Tuffy]: Definitely I plan to compete more. What place? Well, I definitely want to be in first place, but I am not going to say for sure, just as long as I don't give up when I compete. When I went out to compete, I was doing it for fun. I never expected to win anything. I think you have to go out there with the mentality to play for fun, because if you don't, you stress yourself out and get nowhere. I was nervous though because I was competing with Succubus, Trillan, and others. I really didn't know what to expect. [Bam Bam]: This is true. I competed with the mentality to win and not to play for fun. I was stressed and nervous with my first match, but eased into competition with the mentality of having fun. I think I was more comfortable when I played you…hahaha… I was watching both the men and women playing especially Succubus and she is intense when she plays, but a real sweetheart when she's chillin' and kicking back. What did you think of the other players? Did you get to meet anyone? [Tuffy]: Yeah. I met Succubus, which was weird because I was a bit nervous when I met her. She IS really nice, but when she plays she IS definitely intense. I also met Fatality and he was really cool too. [Bam Bam]: Do you plan on becoming a professional player? [Tuffy]: Yeah, I plan on it. I love playing and competing is great. I will give it my best when I do! [Bam Bam]: What do you think of all-female tourneys? [Tuffy]: I really don't know. People continue to sponsor these tourneys and it is a separation. But it gets women to come out and compete more. I like it, but I would definitely like to see everyone come together and play without the separate tourney. [Bam Bam]: Yeah. I was really happy when I was there because the guys were really supportive and happy to see us compete. I even got some tips from a few of them. I think they want to see more women compete. When we were playing we had a larger crowd of spectators watching us than the men did. [Tuffy]: True. I did see that the guys want more women to compete and they were very supportive of us. Those who have a problem with it don't know what they are talking about. The gaming community wants everyone to play for equal chances at the prizes given. [Bam Bam]: OK… I am going to get serious here. What do you think of video games and the depiction of racism and sexism in them? [Tuffy]: To be honest with you, it doesn't bother me because it's in our faces all the time and the game developers always forget about who the marketed audience is. It's been like this since the beginning and I don't think they will ever change. They do have a total disregard for minorities and women. For example, Duke Nukem had a map which you had to shoot prostitutes. [Bam Bam]: I definitely know what you're talking about. For example, when we were at the tourney, GOD Games had strippers there to market their product and give out free shirts. It didn't surprise me, but it made me angry. I wanted to see some men stripping, not females. I would like some equal opportunity for us…LOL What did you think of all this? [Tuffy]: At first it didn't bother me, but I thought about it and it makes me angry that they had the audacity to have them there. Especially, when there was a female competition going on. They had no respect for us. And I am upset that the CPL let this go on. Don't get me wrong, I did have fun, but that was too extreme and someone knew this was going to happen. Don't tell me that you are running a big event like this and you have no idea what is going on at you own event. Angel may have not known, but one of his people did! [Bam Bam]: Oh I definitely agree. Angel probably didn't know but I think someone should have let him in on the plan that was going down. Now, he has to take the slack for the mistakes that everyone else is making. [Tuffy]: Yeah, I feel bad for Angel especially when he is doing something good in the gaming community and giving us opportunity to compete. He takes a lot of slack from everyone and is scrutinized when someone or something goes wrong at the events. But people have to realize this and cut him a break. Because he is doing something good, there is always going to be some ASS that wants to criticize something. [Bam Bam]: True… What do you think about violence in video games? [Tuffy]: I think it's completely stupid. I don't see the problem. The media markets to everyone and then turns around and blames teen violence on the very same thing they are marketing. They make no sense. [Bam Bam]: Oh man, I agree with you 100%. Trust me. I am so tired of hearing about violence in media period. [Tuffy]: Yeah. Basically, I feel like this: If you have the need to imitate something you saw in the media, then you need mental help. It's not the media's fault; it's your own stupidity that led you down that path. [Bam Bam]: LOL… too true! OK, on a less serious note, tell me about yourself. What do you like to do for fun, etc.? [Tuffy]: I have a boyfriend, but he doesn't play video games like I do. Everyone is shocked because they think he got me into playing, but it's the total opposite. I am into computers and I am looking for a job that is computer related. Right now I am into gaming a lot and I hang out. That's basically my life. LOL…Nothing exciting going on here! [Bam Bam]: Haha… OK! Thanks so much for this interview. It was fun. And I will see you next time when we compete!
[Tuffy]:
You're welcome… I am looking
forward to that…Keep in touch! I guarantee you'll be hearing a lot about Tuffy in this next year. She has high aspirations and I bet she will give Succubus and Kornelia a run for their money. Watch out for this rising star because she's coming and she coming in strong! - Bam Bam
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