Girl Gaming

Madison Basquin Editor-in-chief

Theworld of gaming has been predominantly viewed as a masculine field. However, as society evolves, so does the gaming scene. Recently, more feminine-presenting individuals have appeared in the industry. The result of this “new” feminine presence in gaming has unfortunately brought some uncomfortable backlash on these gamers from their male counterparts. However, this does not stop them from looking for and participating in positive communities and expressing themselves freely.

There are a variety of ways gamers are able to express themselves, including through avatar customization, gaming setups, or simply turning their microphones on and communicating with their competitors or teammates. This allows for players to assert themselves personally into the games and retain some individuality in a computerized virtual world.

“I usually like to customize my things,” senior Rae Robles said. “For example, I like to make everything very illuminating with RGB coloring on my gaming setups.”

Robles highlighted her use of color in her setups for gaming.

“Usually, in a male-dominated area, there are usually a lot of very monotone, black, or one color setups,” Robles said. “To me, I thought that was boring.”

Although the contrast in color expression may simply reflect personal preference, the trend has seemed to stick and become a more defining quality for individual gamers. Colorful or pastel palettes, in a way, expose the femininity of gamers.

Other defining qualities have also become prevalent. While turning on one’s microphone and communicating is not always required, it is often encouraged and can help make the experience more enjoyable.

However, one’s voice can be another indicator of gender presentation. Though this may not seem like something to take caution of, it has become an issue based on some reactions female gamers have received. Whether it be crude insults or simple examples of being overlooked and under-estimated, many female gamers have received some form of negative reactions at one point or another.

“People can do really dangerous and explicit stuff to you,” Robles said. “They’ll sexualize, infantilize, and even dox you. They’ll try to find your IP address just because of something they didn’t like about you. I wish we didn’t have that struggle just because of our sex. Usually the giveaway point is just having a higher voice or certain feminine behaviors, and I wish we didn’t have to hide that.”

These outcomes have led to cautionary measures being taken by many women. Some may choose to avoid certain games with more hostile communities. It has become apparent which games lead to the most uncomfortable experiences for feminine gamers.

“Games such as ‘Rainbow 6 Siege,’ ‘Battlefield,’ ‘Overwatch,’ ‘Apex,’ ‘Ghost Recon,’ and ‘Warzone,’ are completely different,” senior Sofia Costa said.

“In these games, there are typically more rude and sexist individuals, and because of this, I won’t talk in game chat or communicate with my teammates unless necessary. The more intense the game is, the ruder and more sexist the players tend to be. But every game has its fair share of bad people.”

Women who wish to avoid these harsh interactions have turned away from these games or limited their interactions with others, especially in the more violent combat-based games.

However, there are many games with inclusive communities making feminine and gender-nonconforming gamers more comfortable expressing themselves.

“Games like ‘Stardew Valley,’ ‘Slime Rancher,’ ‘Sea of Thieves,’ and ‘Subnautica’ have very calm and nice people in them,” Costa said. “Everyone is playing these games to calm down and relax after a long day, and, typically, these people are kind and just want to have a good time no matter who they are playing with.”

Not all communities react poorly to female gamers, and these communities are often where girls are able to make connections with others. Through chat forums offered on games or apps like Discord, gamers are able to communicate freely.

“Good communities are hard to find, and it’s not as easy as just signing up or joining one,” Costa said. “I have found good groups and online communities of friends the same way you would make friends in person. You meet people through game chat, group posts, or through other friends. And as you do in real life, you talk, share experiences, play games together, and just learn about each other.”

With this, gamers are able to form real friendships, regardless of gender difference.

“I have made both female and male friends online, some of which I have known for a few weeks, others I have known for six years,” Costa said. “I see some of my good online friends the same as I do my friends in real life. We will call, Facetime, play games together, and I have even met up with a few of them.”

The inconveniences gamers have to deal with daily when existing outside of typical masculinity may seem discouraging to some. However, many of these gamers have learned to adapt to the unjust treatments they have faced, because gaming is something they love to do. They often choose to look past the rude comments and simply focus on the thrilling game in front of them.

“I have surrounded myself with good people who are kind and don’t care about the gender difference,” Costa said. “We all just see each other as buddies and nothing less.”

Tess Elliot Features Writer

Newspapers and puzzles have always gone hand in hand, but as newspapers transitioned from paper to screens, so did its games.

When Wordle became a viral hit at the end of 2021, the New York Times purchased the game from its creator, Josh Wardle for seven figures.

Roughly three million people play the game daily, and it brought even more attention to already-popular New York Times games than ever before.

Wordle is played online, and the goal is to find the mystery word in six tries or fewer.

Ms. Melinda Nees, Chemistry and Crime Science teacher at Maine South, has been hooked on Wordle since last summer.

“My sister-in-law introduced me,” Ms. Nees said. “We were playing Words with Friends, and then she asked if I had heard of Wordle, and I hadn’t, so I tried it. I’ve been playing ever since.”

Instead of playing in between classes or after school, Ms. Nees plays when her son is getting ready for bed.

“As he’s falling asleep, I play Wordle,” Ms. Nees said. “I don’t like when I miss a game, and it’s a nice way to end the night.”

Similarly, sophomore Eliza Gold- wasser has played Wordle for 32 consecutive days.

“Having a streak is fun because it makes you want to come back and play every day,” Goldwasser said. “I like to compete with my dad to see who can maintain the longest streak.”

As of right now, there are seven games offered on the New York Times website: Spelling Bee, Wordle, LetterBoxed, Tiles, Vertex, Sudoku, and the Crossword.

Junior Ajdi Kryemadhi feels the New York Times consistently draws in players of all ages. Their fame not only stems from Wordle itself but because of how organized and visually appealing all of the games are.

“I have family and friends who not only play Wordle but the other games offered by the New York Times,” Kryemadhi said. “So many different types of people play the games because they’re colorful and fun.”

No matter what platform or type of game, people will always try to connect with each other through low stake contests or fun puzzles.

Sophomore Ella Cedeno is someone who plays Wordle to bond with friends, instead of for competition.

“Whenever I’ve played Wordle and checked my results with a friend, it’s never been in a competitive way. It’s just for fun, and that’s what it should be played for,” Cedeno said.