Undead Labs Child’s Play Charity Beat Down: Interview with Frag Doll Valkyrie

The Child's Play Charity logo--a picture of a white controller, with a cross in the middle, on an olive green background, and the words "Gamers Give Back: Child's Play" under the controller.

Recently I attended the Undead Labs Frag Doll Beat Down Event in Seattle, Washington. This was a charity Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 tournament at Undead Labs. This was no ordinary tournament, however. This tournament was held to raise money for Child’s Play, a charity that donates games and console to hospitals, for the benefit of sick children. Members of the Frag Dolls, a group of women gamers formed to promote Ubisoft games and raise the visibility of women gamers, came to Seattle to compete in front of an audience of Undead Labs supporters and friends.

I had a chance to interview Amy Brady, also known as Frag Doll Valkyrie, about the tournament and about her work as a Frag Doll.

How did you get involved in the Child’s Play / Undead Labs event?

Valkyrie: The Frag Dolls have been big supporters of Child’s Play for years and we wanted to contribute in some way to the charity auction. We brainstormed a bit about how we could help raise money and decided on creating a “Beat Down” package for people to bid on. The beat down consisted of flying out to kick the butt of someone’s friend/s. We thought this would be a fun package and would allow us to do what we do best—kick some tail!

Undead Labs was the winner of that bid, and they decided to take it ten steps forward by creating a tournament out of it and raising more money. So instead of us coming out to play against a specific person, they held a 32 man tournament in which people donated to play in, and we played against the winners of that tournament. A brilliant idea and a lot of fun-and they raised over $3000!

What fantastic ideas all around for a great cause.

How did you prepare for the Undead Labs tournament? Did you do anything different than your regular tournament prep routines (if any)?

Valkyrie: Although we didn’t go all out on practice, as we play quite a bit anyway, [Frag Doll] Fidget and I did a little prep-work for the tournament in the form of practicing some 2v2 for the finals. We only spent about 5 hours total on it, as most of our practice time is 4v4, and we weren’t completely sure about how the tournament would work, and [we didn't have information about] all the maps/modes except the first round. In the end it’s a good thing as we ended up playing 3 rounds and we let the competitors choose the last two maps and modes!

How was the Undead Labs tournament? What were your most memorable impressions of the night?

Valkyrie: The Undead Labs tournament was awesome! It was a very relaxed setting with many people from the industry playing and partying it up. I think everyone loved the show they were given and enjoyed watching the pwgage that occurred as Fidget and I stomped the competition. The most memorable moment was when Fidget pulled out her sniper and facilitated the crowd to “ooh” and “ahh’ as she repeatedly spawn sniped the opposition!

It was definitely an impressive showing. It was fascinating to witness the strategies and tactics that you and Fidget used to rally together, hunt down, and kill the competitors. I heard more than one comment about how quick Fidget’s reflexes are, too.

Was the Undead Labs event any different from the sort of events you attend and participate in as a Frag Doll?

Valkyrie: This event was very different than what is normal, as it was a much more relaxed and smaller environment then we are used to competing in. I really enjoyed the more intimate interactions with the people there, and it was a great event for Fidget make her début LAN competition.

So, let’s talk about the Frag Dolls. What are the guiding principles of the Frag Dolls?

Valkyrie: Frag Dolls do try to set themselves as role models to some extent for female gamers. It has always been our mission to promote female gaming in a positive and competitive light. While we are not a normal team, in that we work in the industry and were hired to promote Ubisoft brands, we have always taken competition and knowledge of the gaming industry very seriously!

Do you think the Frag Dolls have a role in fighting against sexism in gaming communities? If so, what do you think that role is, and what sort of activities do the Frag Dolls participate in that help with this?

Valkyrie: As a well known female gaming group, it is inherent that we have a role in fighting sexism in gaming. The natural mental tendencies in this male-dominated industry lean toward women being sub-par gamers and any female that is in the public eye will have a role in representing all of us—whether they wish to or not.

This is why the Frag Dolls have always been so active on competing on many competitive titles, not just Ubisoft’s. We know if we’re not out there and being proactive in maintaining our competitive edge, and trying to educate the masses about the hurdles female gamers are trying to overcome through various forms of promotion, that we aren’t doing much to try and change anything. Women are a vast minority in the world of competitive gaming and the more [women] that show up, the more it will pull other women with them.

Visibility matters. It’s said that a lack of representation and visibility of women in a lot of industries and in high-ranking, decision-making positions, influences how girls view those professions. So it makes sense that this applies to gaming as well. Having said that, I also believe that male gamers bear some responsibility in reducing sexism in games, and I know that in the clan you manage outside of your Frag Dolls duties, the all-female PMS Clan, you have an affiliate clan, H2O, which male gamers can join as allies to PMS Clan.

I’ve heard that some gamers believe the Frag Dolls are only pretty faces with no substance and, to put it bluntly, corporate shills. What is your reaction to that?

Valkyrie: Well, my reaction would be they haven’t played against or with us, nor have they even researched us to make an educated comment. Anyone that has done any of these things would be hard pressed to make that statement as we have placed professionally and competed on many titles!

Do you feel that women gamers in general have to work harder or put in more effort to be accepted in gaming communities than men?

Frag Dolls logo--Black on a blue field. There is a pink controller under the logo.

Valkyrie: There is a flip side to the coin on being accepted as a woman gamer. While many male gamers would be happy to play with women, even our supporters have a socialized tendency, sometimes unconsciously, to consider women gamers in general as sub-par. Whether they admit it or not, this is due in large part to stereotypical and social upbringing issues. This is also perpetuated by lack of top ranking females on competitive circuits.

Until we have more awareness and understanding of the issues at large, as well as top-ranking female teams, we will continue to fight these perceptions. And we need more competitive and skilled women gamers to do this, so really until we are no longer a minority, these issues will remain. That is why it is so important to keep promoting and bringing more women into the gaming world!

You’ve been active in gaming communities for a long time, to promote the visibility of women gamers and to help women gamers find safe spaces to come together. Is there any advice you can give women gamers who experience sexual or other kinds of harassment online?

Valkyrie: The best advice I can give is to surround yourself with friends when you play. If you don’t have a lot of friends playing games, you can look into joining other gaming groups and clans (female or co-ed whatever you prefer). Female gaming groups usually have measures to make girl gamers more comfortable while playing and you do get to play with others that experience the same issues you do—but you aren’t limited to support only by them. No matter who you are playing with, you will still encounter all kinds of situations that might be negative towards your gender but the mute function works wonderfully against the opposing team! Then you and all your friends can laugh at the idiots as you kick their butt!

I think it makes sense to try and seek out safer spaces, but inevitably and unfortunately a lot of gamers are forced to take measures like you mentioned to be able to play and have fun.

What games are you currently playing for work, and for fun?

Valkyrie: Most of my time has been spent on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, as it was our hope it would be picked up by a pro-circuit. But as of recently, it looks to be confirmed that there is no hope for competitions on this game due to the inefficient capabilities of the LAN settings, so I will probably be moving off it shortly! Other than that I have been playing a lot of Magic the Gathering: Duel of the Planeswalker to gear up for some fun social gaming nights and I just took a leap off a cliff and went back to my old classic favorite: World of Warcraft!

Thank you for your time!

Valkyrie: Thanks so much!

Related posts:

1. Why The Border House has a need to exist When we first launched The Border House just over a...
2. Yes, I Will Always Play Zoey My ex is into all things zombie, so when Left...
3. Interview with Mark Barlet of AbleGamers.com AbleGamers.com is a site that evaluates the accessibility of games,...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.