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Women and Gaming: 10/25/07
October 25 at 4pm EDT (1pm PDT) on Xfire
The Xfire Debate Club presents a discussion amongst leading industry women about issues that are of particular concern to women gamers.
Thirty eight percent of all gamers in the United States and forty five percent of all gamers in the United Kingdom are women. In the United states, "women over the age of 18 represent a significantly greater portion of the game-playing population (30%) than boys age 17 or younger (23%)."
The top minds from journalism, academia, pro-gaming, marketing, and development will talk about the issues facing women gamers as consumers, as players, and in the industry.
The discussion will include:
· Online gaming
· Marketing and advertising
· Gaming communities
· Industry issues
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Moderator: Helen Kennedy
Helen W. Kennedy is Senior Lecturer and MA Award Leader in the School of Cultural Studies at the University of the West of England. She has published on the subject of feminist readings of Lara Croft, female Quake players and game studies more generally. She has recently completed (with Jon Dovey) a book entitled Game Cultures which was published in May 2006. She is Chair of the Play Research Group within the School which has organised a number of international conferences and symposia on the subject of computer games generally as well as serving on the steering committee for Women In Games which has organised four international conferences in the UK since 2004. Helen is also elected member of the executive committee of the Digital Games Research Association (DiGRA).
More info: powerup.motime.com
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Leigh Alexander
Leigh Alexander is a writer covering a broad range of gaming industry spheres. She's a staff writer for online trade publication Gamasutra, and is the editor of Worlds in Motion, CMP Media's news site covering virtual worlds and online gaming. She covers consumer news at Destructoid, and at her blog, Sexy Videogameland, where she often examines the philosophy, psychology and pop culture of games and gamers. Her weekly column on GameSetWatch, The Aberrant Gamer, examines the trickest and strangest cultural, emotional and sexual issues in games, as do her occasional features in The Escapist.
More info: www.gamasutra.com
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Colette Bennett
Colette started her own blog writing about games called Blow in the Game Slot in Summer 2006 and shortly thereafter did freelance work for Kotaku. She joined the Destructoid staff as an editor in December 2006. She regularly gripes about the state of gaming on two podcasts, one called RetroforceGo! and a second with Weekly Geek.She also is the Tech/Gaming editor for up and coming blog Snagwire. Her hobbies include an obsession with horror films, vinyl toy collecting and explaining who that guy in the robot helmet is.
More info: www.destructoid.com
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Chat and Play with PMS
October 26th
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Amber "AthenaTwin" Dalton
As one of the most known female faces of professional gaming, Amber Dalton (a/k/a Athena Twin) has helped create a decidedly female mark in the traditional male-dominated gaming arena. In 2002, Dalton and her sister, Amy Brady (a/k/a Athena PMS), begun breaking the stereotypes of gamers everywhere by helping to create one of the most recognized women gaming groups known today, Pandora's Mighty Soldiers (PMS Clan). Amber was also featured as Electronic Gaming Monthly's #1 Most Dangerous Gamer in the World, as well as Next Generation's Game Industry's 100 Most Influential Women in Gaming. She not only manages PMS Clan today, but she also shows her commitment to gaming by competing with teams and players in recognized PRO events such as WCG, WSVG, and CPL tournaments globally.
More info: www.pmsclan.com
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Robyn Fleming
Robyn Fleming is a co-founder and senior editor of Cerise, an online gaming magazine for women. Robyn grew up with a computer and a Dungeons & Dragons-playing cousin in the house, which probably had something to do with her lifelong interest in games and gamer culture. Getting hooked on MUDs while in her impressionable teenage years might have had an effect, too. When she's not gaming, writing about it, or editing someone else's writing on the subject, Robyn splits her time between a variety of other interests, including martial arts and fiction writing.
More info: www.robynfleming.com
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Jasmin Kassner
Jasmin Kassner got her first gaming job and at the SEK GmbH, working first on the Level Editor, then on the UI and finally the AI started. Shortly, she was made AI Lead Coder, and being pretty good at it and together with all her managerial experience was able to lead the whole AI team. After ParaWorld was released, the firm was closed. Together with 2 of the old owners (Caos & Crux) and their Engine Lead Coder (CHP) she decided to found their new current studio pixeltamer.net. As pixeltamer.net she decided against developing another full price PC title, but ventured into the world of browser based MMO's. Their first BMMO is called Parsec and is a classic game with new innovate UI and gameplay.
More info: www.pixeltamer.net
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Lesley Smith
Lesley Smith is a twenty seven year old freelance journalist based in the UK specialising in gaming, anime and manga, technology and science fiction. Despite a degree in theology and religious studies, she opted for the life of a freelance journalist and loves every second of it. Since 2005, she has written for dozens of magazines and websites in both the UK and US as well as appearing on TV and vidcasts. When not writing, Lesley can normally be found blogging or playing World of Warcraft, however she has a passion for all types of games - barring sports. Other than her writing, she is possibly better known for her extreme dislike of pink consoles....
More info: lesleysmith.blogspot.com
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Click below to read the Transcripts!
Read the Main Floor Transcript for the official Debate with our special guests and the Open Debate Transcript for comments and insight from Xfire users participating in the discussion.
The Xfire Debate Club is open to all Xfire users.
What is The Two-Handed Sword?
The Xfire Debate Club is a forum for intelligent discussion on today's most pressing gaming questions. The Xfire Debate Club will bring together industry insiders, political figures and hardcore gamers in a live moderated chat.
Join the Clan!
After each debate, the Xfire team will read over the transcripts. Top debaters will be invited into the Xfire Debate Club Clan. Clan members will gain privileges at upcoming Debate Club meetings.
Up Your Rank!
Continued participation in Xfire Debate Club meetings will result in promotions (8 ranks total).
Visit the Debate Club Clan HQ!
October 26 at 9pm EDT (6pm PDT) on Xfire
Enter your email address above to sign up! If you are selected for a slot in the chat, you will receive an email from Xfire within 48 hours of the Live Chat. Follow the instructions in the email to participate.
Xfire Live Chats are open to all Xfire users.
October 26th at 10pm EDT (7pm PDT)
Game: Counter-Strike 1.6
Add these accounts to Xfire to participate!
What's Xfire?
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Why you need Xfire:
With Xfire, you'll never be out of touch with your friends or the gaming world. You can join their games with just one click, get the latest game demos and trailers and keep track of your gaming stats all with one skinnable program. If you're not already one of the millions of Xfire users, register an account today and get into great events like this one!
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WoW: The Burning Crusade
(Jan. 31st, 2007)
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The Future of Counter-Strike
(Feb. 28th, 2007)
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WoW: Life after Level 70
(Apr. 11th, 2007)
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Censorship in Games
(Apr. 26th, 2007)
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The Console War
(June 7th, 2007)
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WoW: The Character Classes
(June 19th, 2007)
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In-Game Economies
(Aug. 21st, 2007)
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The Future of Gaming
(Sept. 14th, 2007)
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Women in Gaming
(Oct. 25th, 2007)
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Best of Gaming 2007
(Dec. 5th, 2007)
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Gamers' Holiday
(Dec. 20th, 2007)
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Independent Games
(Jan. 25th, 2008)
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F2P vs. P2P MMOs
(Feb. 24th, 2009)
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Future of COD
(Mar. 18th, 2009)
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Mobile Gaming
(Apr. 28th, 2009)
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