This month’s featured gamer for the month is Pook, a Bedford, UK mommy gamer. I first met Pook on Twitter, where I enjoyed her random wit, before stumbling upon her hilarious YouTube videos. I’d probably still like them even if they were bad…she just has such a soothing accent. Like I’m watching a nature show…full of shooting and mayhem.
1. Where do you live and what do you do?
I currently live in Bedford in the UK, but I spent most of my formative years in the West Country and in Essex – both sterling accents to have. I’ve lived in quite a few places over the years, including four years in Bellevue, WA, when I attended school in Seattle. I’m a mum, which is the best job ever. Although very poorly paid.
2. What is your system of choice?
I play Xbox
3. What’s your all-time favorite game?
My all-time favourite game is a toss up between TimeSplitters: Future Perfect
4. Why did you decide to get into making videos?
I like having fun when I play, and YouTube was full of people showing off their undeniably awesome skillz but not their personality. I wanted to make funny videos that encouraged everyone to play for fun as well as that competitive thrill. ALSO I NEED LOVE.
5. Any interesting gaming achievements or stories?
At Eurogamer this year, I was lucky enough to play Black Ops 2 on the VIP table. It was AWESOME. The first game I played, I nearly went negative. So I inverted the y-axis, swapped my classes around, and told my friends who were watching not to worry, it was just that the gun I was using was no good for me. The two blokes sat either side of me clearly knew each other – they looked at each other and smirked in an obvious “OMG GURL GAMER” way. Next game, I was kick-ass – I led the team, we won the Multi-Team Deathmatch, and I had the highest score. Their faces were PRECIOUS. Every time I put on my winner’s t-shirt, I see them.
Oh and I met Mr David “Vahn” Vondehaar and he wrote “I love Sooperpook” on my Black Ops 2 poster. I’m pretty sure that’s a legally binding contract. I need achieve no more.
6. Who is your heroine?
I’ve been asked this before, and I find it hard to answer. I think real-life heroines can be dangerous – they turn into idols so easily. Nobody is perfect. I’ll stick to gaming heroines and go for Lilith from Borderlands. Psycho laugh and awesome powers.
7. If you could change one thing about the way the gaming community views/treats women, what would it be?
I don’t want to hear the phrase “girl gamer” ever again. Nobody says “girl doctor” or “girl soldier”, so why demean and separate yourself for gaming? Identifying yourself as a woman is fine by me – be proud, be loud, whatever. Putting GIRL in your clan tag makes it look like we are few and far between, rare occurrences instead of commonplace and accepted. The less women do that, the sooner the difference will be forgotten and we can just play some fricking games.
Now go forth!
There you have it! I also happen to love Lilith (for the exact same reasons), and so that makes Pook and I soul sisters. Now go subscribe to my soul sister SuperPook’s YouTube channel!
To get you started, check out her discussion of the treatment of girl gamers on YouTube:
Nerdy But Flirty 