Q&A with GGVogue's Writer Heather Hale

 

What's your gametag and how did you create it? 

My Xbox gamer tag is "Green Ambler" which is a reference to my favorite game of all time, Chrono Trigger. I played it for the first time when I was probably about 9 years old with my little sister by my side and we have been replaying it over and over since then. The "Green Ambler" is one of the four racers at the Millennial Fair in the game (although I often rooted for "Catalack" instead, I thought this made a better gamer tag.) If you haven't played Chrono Trigger yet, I absolutely recommend it. I love the game so much that I actually have a tattoo of my favorite character from it, "Robo" (http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lzx9cvdC6P1rqt3aro1_1280.jpg). So far one person has known what it was, and guess what? It was a girl.

What does your pen name mean?

The name I use for my tumbler and on Girl Gamer Vogue, "videogame girlfriend," started out as a joke I made to my boyfriend about me watching him play games all the time. I have been criticized for using this name, and been told I should be "Videogame Woman" or something more empowering, but the truth is, it's not about being a girl who watches her boyfriend play games, I know that's not who I am. I have been playing games my entire life and don't feel the need to prove my nerdom. What it's really about is trying to see things from the margins of the game world, to try to understand what makes games interesting to people who won't necessarily pick up a controller on their own. I like to look at games from an insider/outsider point of view, to try to find ways to look at them in a scholarly light, and also as a means to get other people interested without being too harsh or intimidating with my message. The name is just a wink and a nod kind of thing, I like to keep it light. These are videogames we're talking about after all, and as seriously as I take them, it's always good to remember that this whole thing is supposed to be fun.

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