Peaception: To Woo Or Not To Woo — The Life Of A Single Female Gamer

Soz I just need to quickly test if any of these work:

Hi Peloma Alexandria, nice to see a new nick on this website. You’re in the right place if you’re looking for good gaming news and articles. Have you played FC3? If not, I’d recommend picking that up as well. Oh and do you game online? maybe we can play some time because I struggle finding decent games with locals here in Cape Town…

In before “Make me a sammich”

Hey Paloma, glad to see you writing for us :D Can’t wait to read more stuff from you. On to my comment:

The very few times I play online and there’s a girl gamer, I don’t care. That’s my mantra for life actually. Wow, a girl is playing? Is she any different from us? Who cares.

I think that’s a good mentality to have because it breeds equality without needing any effort. Gamers are gamers and screw what gender, race or religion they are. I would enjoy playing with a black female Satanist just as much as a white boy Christian because in the end, it’s all about the game and the fact that the people playing the game have at least one thing in common.

Let’s enjoy ourselves and have a good time, no matter what we look like or think like.

Just don’t start swearing at people for no reason. That’s just moronic and completely ridiculous and you’ll probably look like a dumbshit.

Very good column Peloma. A lot of what you said is very relatable. It is good to see you writing on eGamer.

Great read P. Strange how a female gets the most activity on the site today. Good luck gents. Happy hunting LOL

Disclaimer IDGAF, will be foreversingle anyway, have great stamina and am ambidextrous. iow: if you’re female, you mightn’t want to read this because it may rustle your jimmies.

Do say: “Hi –insert XBL or PSN alias- nice to see a new nick in the lobby.”
It’s a good greeting because you are not fussing over her gender, she is just one of the boys.

Unless you just singled her out and don’t generally greet any new player unless they’re female – in which case it’s obvious you made a fuss over her gender anyway.

Don’t say: “Good job,” every time she kills someone.
That’s a big NO NO unless the female is using her feet to operate a controller then by all means it’s a good job otherwise it just comes across condescending.
Do say: “You had some good kills in that match so I take it you play often”
By saying this you have forced or encouraged her to reveal more about herself.

Let’s pretend they don’t know what your gender is – as an example, by not having voice on or simply not using their sound at the time, but realising that you’re a new player on that server. As a ‘female’, you’d be making a fuss over this yourself, not them. Personally, I’d use the ‘good job’ quip just to mess with people out of whom I can easily get a rise, at first. Agitating them is a great way to get them worked up, which is a great way to get cheap kills on them since they begin hunting you, which means you have at least one target constantly throwing themselves into the line of fire. Worked especially well on CSS:RPGMod.

Don’t say: “What’s your name?”
Unless it’s an interrogation you should never ask that the first time you play with her; that’s why Microsoft and Sony allow gamers to have an alias when they play online, so use that until she tells you her name.
Do say: “That was an awesome gaming session, do you mind if I add you to my friends list so we can play some other time?”
This will afford you the perfect opportunity to play more often thus getting to know her better. If the answer is a no don’t fret friend, maybe you were creeping her out a little too much, there is always next time.

It’s a first name, it’s not an ID number. Personally I prefer referring to most people by their first name online since I hate having to call someone McAwesomeFace, WhosYourDaddy or NoobPwner97ELITE (though this one comes with the built-in bonus of being able to shorten to ‘noob’). You’re female, not special.

Don’t say: “Getting that for your boyfriend or brother?”
If you have ever said that then you have my permission to exile yourself from the human race. Females game, get over it, it’s not a new phenomenon and your default assumption anytime you see a female in a game store should be she is there to buy HERSELF some games.
Do say: “You’re in the right section if you are looking for re-playability.”
No awkward greetings or stalker-ish stares, just a simple friendly observation.

In a liqour-store, woman is buying some obscure bottle of alcohol that you happen to also like.
a) Nice, that’s my favorite x, too
Assumption: she’s buying it for herself and not a relative or SO
Could be potentially disastrous if she’s an over-sensitive hormone monster that would sooner break the bottle over your face for fuck knows what reason, because what you said was obviously grossly insensitive and wrong.
b) Nice, gift for your boy/girlfriend/dad/mom/granparent/friend/child/boss/coworker/client/giveawayprizeonfacebook?
Assumption: she’s not buying it for herself, because you’re obviously not assuming she’s into that obscure drink
Could be potential disastrous because she could be a lesbian/straight/parents or grandparents could be dead or otherwise distant/dead friend/hates her boss or coworker/would never do something like that for any of their clients or has some ethical problem with facebook giveaways as a form of promotion.

It doesn’t matter what the fuck a guy says to a woman, it could be the worst thing they could possibly have said. So it doesn’t matter whether you ask them if they’re buying that RPG for their boyfriend – get the fuck over yourself. Fuck.

Don’t say: “I game a lot, WWE is my favourite game.”
Wrestling is a sport mostly watched by bi-curious men, that is the only explanation of why a straight male would enjoy the sight of half-naked men groping each other. Never reveal too much of your gaming habits unless asked and even then if you play WWE that is between you and your console.
Do say: “Have you played –insert your favourite game-? If not, I recommend picking that up as well.”
Giving her options without sounding like you’re fathering her is always a good thing.

Nice assumptions there, mate. So you don’t know why men might want to watch ‘professional’ wrestling, but are happy to voice your potentially abrassive opinion about them? But men shouldn’t say anything bad about or against you or your hobbies, right? Most women who like shoes or handbags do so because of their material value, not because they actually like the design or anything – having expensive brand-name clothing items is a way for them to validate their societal self-image. See what I’m doing here?

Don’t say: “May I help you?”
Unless you are a shop assistant never ask, even if she is not equipped with a tongue she will sign you if she needs assistance. Unless asked, never ever offer.
Do say: “Do you game online, maybe we can play some time because I struggle finding decent games with locals.”
If she does game online and gives you her online ID it will be the perfect opportunity to get to know her and to keep in contact without asking for her number. New friend achievement or trophy unlocked.

Yeahnahfuckyou. If someone looks confused between some games, I might offer my opinion on some she seems to be eyeying. If she doesn’t like it, it’s water off a duck’s back as far as I’m concerned, because I’m in that store to pick up a game, not a person. If she isn’t stuckup, she might value the opinion/insight.