Girl Geek: A Gaming The System Prequel Read online

  “I just mean that I don’t think the game creators realize that women play this game, too.”

  I’m sure they realize that. Why wouldn’t they? But of course they are going to market more to men. After all, statistics are statistics and most players of these types of games are male.

  “Pfft. Yeah,” I said. “And it will stay that way unless they tone down the skimpy lingerie armor and the ginormous boobies.”

  I got nothing against ginormous boobies. I love a good pair of boobies.

  “Then they should give us some nice bulging packages as a nice counterpoint,” Heath said.

  “Or glistening abs!” I added.

  But as a chick, don’t you want your character to be hot in the game?

  “Chicks can kick ass, too. Not just be eye candy,” Kat pitched in.

  I’m sure the game producers would appreciate that kind of feedback from the beta testers. “More eye candy for the female characters.”

  “Or even better—equal opportunity eye candy! I think I’ll submit that in the virtual suggestion box,” I snarked. “Too bad it’ll be immediately trashed without ever being read.”

  Hmm. The sarcasm is strong with this one.

  “Oh, Fallen, you have no idea,” Heath said. “I live with Her Majesty, the reigning monarch of All Things Sarcastic. And believe me, there’s a whole lot more where that came from.”

  “I have outlets for when the sarcasm overfloweth,” I said.

  I wonder if the game will be able to live up to your incredibly high standards, Eloisa.

  “Indeed, the pen is mightier than the sword,” Heath replied. “In this case, literally—the virtual pen becomes mightier than the virtual sword of Yondareth.”

  You’re a writer?

  I waved Heath off, but he spilled the beans far too soon. “Worse. She’s a blogger, my friend.”

  I flipped Heath the bird across our shared table, and he stuck his tongue out at me.

  You blog? About what? Gaming? Photography? Knitting?

  Heath bust out laughing, and before he could answer, I interjected. “Heath is not allowed to give further information about my blog on pain of death. And believe me, I can make it very painful.”

  “She blogs about feminism and gaming. See? I’m not afraid of you!” Heath sent me a wink.

  I covered my mic and turned to Heath. “He might be one of those male gamer activists. You never know.”

  Heath muted his own mic and shook his head. “I can recognize those a mile away. They out themselves pretty quickly. FallenOne and I have been chatting in PMs all night. I can tell he’s cool.”

  That actually sounds really cool. Link please. Must read.

  Heath looked up at me, brows raised. “See? Besides, it’s not like he knows where to find you or anything. These are beta characters. We can dump them anytime and pick new names. Voila, any harasser would no longer know where to find us in-game.”

  I spoke into my headset to Fallen. “No snarky commenting allowed, by the way. And you can’t blow my cover. I never reveal my character name or what server I’m on.”

  But Heath had a point—if Fallen did any of that, it was still early. It also might be a good litmus test for his trustworthiness. If he became a regular in our group, I’d have to know he was worth trusting with sensitive info. What better way than to test it now, when our characters were still disposable?

  You don’t get harassed or anything, do you?

  I shrugged. “Sometimes. Nothing serious though, fortunately.” I was lucky. Some women had been seriously harassed for speaking out in the man’s world of gaming. With threats of violence and cyber-attacks, even. It was awful. I’d been lucky due to my smaller platform.

  Heath started typing furiously on his keyboard, and I assumed he was sending Fallen the blog link. Oh well… I put my thoughts up on that blog for all the world to read. Why not the poor shy guy we’d grouped up with for the night?

  So how long have you 2 been dating? Fallen suddenly asked.

  “Who two?” Heath answered. “Us two?” Heath looked up at me and I started snickering—hard.

  “It’s not that funny.” Heath smirked. “Fallen, we aren’t dating. We’re just mutually adopted siblings and now roommates. I like guys. She doesn’t like people at all.”

  I bit my lip but nodded approvingly at his explanation. “Oooh. Maybe Fallen likes guys, too! Too bad you’re taken.”

  Heath put a hand over his mic and said, “This guy is a docile, middle-aged mailman living in his mom’s basement, what do you want to bet?”

  I shrugged. I kind of hoped not. FallenOne was intriguing, but his secrecy was worrying. Odds were that Heath was closer to the truth than I wanted to admit.

  Kat had been informed earlier in the week about my blog and had told me she’d read some of it and enjoyed it. She’d even asked if I needed a guest poster. Given her playing talent, I’d love to take her on—for no pay, of course.

  “There’s four of us here in this group. We should recruit a fifth person and start a guild,” Kat said suddenly. “We can call ourselves The Misfits!”

  Heath made a face. “Doesn’t sound very period-authentic.”

  I can’t join a guild, sorry, replied FallenOne. In fact, I have to go. Exhausted beyond words right now. You have all held me hostage with the witty banter tonight. Almost forgot I have to be up reeeaaaally early.

  I frowned at that, checking the clock. Shit, it was already midnight and the time had passed like it was standing still. I had an early morning class the next day. “Ugh, I need to go, too. Chemical Analysis lab in the morning.”

  You’re a chemist?

  “Premed,” I answered.

  “Yeah, she’s a brainiac. She wiles away most of her spare time studying, even while I try to lure her away with the promise of gaming. She’s a regular party animal, all right.”

  I bit my lip, accustomed to the description that had been applied to me for years. Yeah, I was an overachiever and proud of it. And I really, really had to be, given my aspirations. Some people prided themselves on the flattering descriptions of their appearance. I prided myself on my above-average brain. That alone kept most of the men away. Most men were easily intimidated by an intelligent woman.

  “We’ll see if it’s all for naught once I take the MCAT.”

  What’s that?

  “Medical College Admissions Test. The biggie to get into med school. Four more months.” I blew out a tight, nervous breath, feeling that familiar wave of nerves hit me. To counter it, I vowed to spend my lunch break the next day studying instead of watching old reruns on TV or logging onto the game.

  Well, you all, it was nice meeting you. Maybe I’ll see you around again sometime.

  “You should group with us again, Fallen,” Kat said. “We’re lots of fun, and we could use more spearman DPS.”

  Maybe! I’m kind of a free spirit, but I’ll definitely look you up. I’ve added you all to my friends list.

  “Same,” Heath replied.

  And then he was gone.

  “Well, he’s a strange one,” Heath said as we logged off.

  I shrugged. “He’s shy. Seems pretty nice, though.”

  “We’ll never see him again,” Kat opined. “He’ll either move off to another beta test or roll up a new character when he gets bored with this one. One of the problems with MMORPGs is that you meet new people, make friends, hang out, have a lot of laughs and then the person disappears without a trace. I’ve seen it happen before.”

  I shrugged. “Well, that would suck, but I guess if that’s the way it goes…”

  “Okay all, I’m out, too. Good night!” Katya said.

  Heath held his arms above his head, stretching. “Night Kat. Time for me to call it, too. I gotta get up in the morning and help Brian get ready to list some of his stuff on eBay.”

  I raised my brows. “Ah, so he’s decluttering to prepare for the move?”

  He cleared his throat, looking sheepish and—I think—a little gui
lty. “Yeah.”

  I shrugged and gave him a wry smile to help deflect that guilt. “I’ve got some free time this weekend to go house-hunting. I have a few apartments to check out. I’ll report back.”

  “Let me know if you want me to come along.”

  “I think you’re better off helping Brian. But if I’m having a hard time deciding on a place, you’ll definitely be the tie-breaker. Okay?”

  He nodded, still not appearing all that happy. I had a feeling he wanted some control over wherever it was I was going to move. But he had to accept that I was a big girl now, and this next step was mine and mine alone to take.

  On that note, we hit the sack. And I couldn’t completely recall later, but I could swear I had a dream about a gamer nerd who, instead of being a middle-aged balding mailman, was tall, dark-haired and hot. With miles of muscles and a sexy voice.

  Ha. As if.

  Chapter 3: The Mystery of FallenOne

  “Fifteen Questions: What’s Your Gameology?”—Posted on the blog of Girl Geek.

  So, there’s a meme that’s been floating around the Gamer sites, and I’ve been tagged to join in the fun. Why not? Girl Geek is always game for a little fun. (see what I did there?)

  Without further ado…

  Girl Geek answers Fifteen Questions:

  1. What is your gamer tag?

  Um. It’s GirlGeek. Yeah? Shouldn’t surprise anyone!

  2. PC or Console?

  PC. I don’t even own a console. Okay, so my PC is a rusty bucket of bolts, but I’m able to play my favorite games with everything adjusted on the lowest possible graphic display and sound settings. I’m hoping to upgrade soon, but money’s tight! At least I can still blog on it, right?

  3. Keyboard or Gamepad?

  Keyboard. I’m not fancy!

  4. Single player or Multi player?

  Multi-player, though I do love some single-player games. There’s something about the camaraderie of working toward a goal together. I like meeting new people through games, too. I’ve made some amazing friends through my newest obsession, Dragon Epoch.

  5. What was the first game you’ve ever played?

  Final Fantasy—I couldn’t even tell you which number it was.

  6. Hardest game you’ve ever played?

  Any first-person shooter (FPS) game. ‘Cause I suck at them. I never did want to shoot anyone, anyway. I’d rather zap them with my lightning bolts or fireballs instead!

  7. What is your favorite game of all time?

  Legend of Zelda! Old school is very cool.

  8. What game is currently your favorite?

  Dragon Epoch is the game that has eaten my life. And I love every second of it, pet peeves and all!

  9. Favorite video game genre?

  MMORPG, or pretty much any role-playing game.

  10. Favorite video game character?

  It’s a toss-up between Lara Croft from Tomb Raider—because she’s badass—and Alistair of Dragon Age Origins, who is dreamy. He may be made of pixels, but ladies, he’s perfection.

  11. Which video game character do you hate most?

  Wirt the Peg Leg Boy from Diablo. Because really, why-oh-why do we keep trusting that little turkey who’s been fleecing the heroes of Tristram for years?

  12. What gaming systems do you currently have?

  My PC, such as it is, is all I need. I’m a PC gamer and proud of it. I’ll leave the console gaming to others.

  13. How long have you been gaming?

  I started gaming my sophomore year in high school when I was out for part of the year due to illness. My BFF introduced me to gaming. He came to live with my family not long after that, and we became co-dependent video game addicts. We tried out everything there is to try, but, like I said, I love RPGs over FPS, while my BFF is not as discerning. Basically, if it has pixels and beeps, he loves it.

  14. How long was your longest gaming session?

  Uhhh, do I want to come clean about something like this? I have done an overnighter before (as in twenty-four whole hours!).

  15. What game have you clocked the most time on?

  Hard to say… the old record was Final Fantasy, but given time, I’m certain Dragon Epoch will take the lead. It’s quickly becoming an addiction. What can I say? Want to read my true confession? I’ve never actually typed /played on a game to discover the hours I’ve spent playing. I’m scared to see exactly how much of my life has been sucked up by gaming! Scared, I tell you. Ignorance is bliss and all that!

  So, there’s my meme. Hope you’ve enjoyed it. As always, leave your Qs and As in the comments, but don’t razz me about that /played or I’ll delete your ass.

  ***

  FallenOne’s private message blinked across my screen in a swath of purple text.

  *FallenOne tells you, I read your blog.

  He’d caught me the next day working the game on my own. Heath was still off with Brian, and after I’d spent a few hours on test prep, I needed a break. So I’d gone for a run, and then logged in to attempt to figure out the crafting and trade system in the game.

  By far, my favorite parts of the game were the quests and exploration of new territories. However, I expected that my blog readers would have questions about other aspects of the game once it officially released—and the NDA was lifted of course. I’d have to write about how to make armor, how to craft food for your characters to give them maximum strength, stat improvements and hit point regeneration possibilities, how to make bags to carry all your virtual shit around while you kill and loot the monsters, etc.

  But I hadn’t expected FallenOne to appear twenty minutes after I logged in and send me his blunt message without even a preface.

  I stared at the blinking cursor, suddenly and inexplicably nervous.

  *FallenOne tells you, This is Mia, right? This isn’t Heath on Mia’s character or something weird like that? Maybe you’re AFK?

  I blinked, realizing I’d spent so long staring that I hadn’t responded, and he now thought I was AFK—away from keyboard. I leaned forward, putting my hands to the keyboard.

  *You tell FallenOne, You read the whole thing? Heath just told you about the blog last night!

  Him: I read fast.

  Me: You’re actually a computer, aren’t you?

  Him: Computers don’t have opinions. Anyway, I think it’s a really good blog. Better than a lot of those bigger blogs out there. I’m excited to read your posts about Dragon Epoch after the beta test is over.

  Me: I’m still absorbing the fact that you’ve read ALL my content. I’ve been blogging for 2 years. That’s a lot of my ranting to read.

  Him: *shrug* I enjoyed it.

  “Masochist,” I murmured to myself, not fully aware of why I was grinning so big that my cheeks were starting to hurt.

  Our conversation didn’t last much longer. He had to go to work, and I had to finish up a few things before my evening shift at the hospital. But he made it a point of finding our group again, despite having warned us that he didn’t regularly game with the same people.

  In fact, over the next few weeks, FallenOne and I gamed a lot together when the others weren’t around. Persephone had a weird-ass work schedule (mostly graveyard shifts operating a big-ass computer system), and Heath was often out with Brian, probably condo shopping. I, on the other hand, was studying for the test, working some small shifts here and there, writing on my blog or, my favorite, gaming. I was not, however, sleeping very much. My mind wouldn’t shut off enough to let me sleep more than a few hours a night.

  I compensated with another addiction: Dr. Pepper. Ahhh…caffeine. Best invention ever.

  And FallenOne, my mysterious young man—or middle-aged basement-dwelling mailman, as the case might be—seemed to keep similar online hours to mine. So we started working on side quests that didn’t require an entire group to accomplish. All the while, we enjoyed witty banter.

  Me: I’m one hundred percent certain that the designer of this game is a sexually frustrated pre-pub
escent teen.

  Him (after a long pause): What makes you say that?

  Me: Just look at it. Every chick has the perfect, and I mean *perfect, rack. Firm, bouncy yet not floppy. Ample. I bet the guy has never even *touched a female breast.

  Him: You never know…

  Me: I know I’m right.

  Him: So not only are you a brilliant pre-med student, a witty blogger of all things gametastic, but you also are the resident sexpert who can gauge any man’s sexual experience based on limited knowledge?

  I blushed, my cheeks burning. If only he knew he couldn’t be further from the truth. I’d never had sex before. Not even pseudo-sex.

  Me: Do you think I’d reveal all my talents to you at once? Anyway, I have some unpublished articles about Dragon Epoch that will go up once the NDA is lifted. Can’t wait to put those out there.

  Him: What’s your verdict so far?

  Me: It’s pretty decent…

  (After a pause)

  Me: Who am I kidding? It’s effing awesome. I really am enjoying this game. Just waiting for the other shoe to drop.

  Him: Other shoe? What do you mean?

  Me: Just waiting for the game to disappoint me, I guess. It always happens. But it’s only been a week, and I have a feeling there’s a lot more of Yondareth to explore.

  Him: Yeah, there’s a lot more.

  Me: How do you know?

  Him: I have my ways.

  Me: So how long have you been gaming?

  Him: Years.

  Me: Are you a student?

  Him: You can say that.

  Me: There you go, being mysterious again.

  Him: I like being mysterious. About as much as you enjoy being snarky.

  Me: Well, they shouldn’t make it so easy for me. I can go on for days about the insults to feminism that riddle this game. Maybe I’ll continue with my theme about the inadequate women’s armor and sexually frustrated boys.

  Him: There you go talking about sex again.

  Me: …