Ace Turns Video Games Into Women’s Work
Few people outside the close-knit community of the video game industry know about Kornelia Takacs, professional player. But for those who lurk in game chat rooms and on computer servers over the Net, she is considered a true warrior.
It’s strange to think of this boyish-looking Hungarian immigrant as such, despite her skill wielding a digital gun. Just look at her sitting there, the monstrous PC screen looming over her narrow face and skinny arms and fragile hands.
Holding the fascination of a crowd, however, is why companies hire the 22-year-old to spend hours playing shoot-’em-up games against attendees of industry conferences such as this week’s Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles--all for a few bucks and a steady diet of bottled water and chewing gum.
For more than 20 hours over three days, she will sit at the Convention Center and wage war, serving as a stark contrast to the dozens of busty models clad in rubber dresses and cheerleader skirts posing for photographs at nearby booths. The men give the models a cursory ogle. Then, they move on to Takacs.
They are fascinated by this tiny woman who stares at the screen. Takacs is like them. She plays games, not for money or for fame. She plays because she loves to play. And she’s good.
“You could say that I’m not very feminine,” Takacs said. “But I’m more than just a girl. I’m a gamer.”
She brings instant credibility to any game she plays, say officials at GameSpy Industries, the Irvine-based online entertainment company that lured Takacs to E3. She helps GameSpy sell their products and to stand out at a conference drowning in digital glitz. Get Takacs, and you get legitimacy among hard-core game fans.
Born and raised in Budapest, she saved money from several side jobs and eventually had enough for a one-way ticket to California. At age 16, she got on a plane and left her family behind.
“The opportunities for work and school, they just weren’t there,” she said. “They understood I had to go.”
She stayed with friends, took odd jobs and eventually ended up in a downtown Los Angeles loft. And, she learned how to play Quake, the popular first-person fighter game that is credited with pushing gamers to build social communities over the Internet.
It’s a simple game, really. You run. You shoot. You die.
Not necessarily a talent most women would brag about having. In fact, Quake’s not the type of computer game that you’d assume women would like. Most don’t.
The ones who do tend to see the game as a natural outlet for youthful rebellion. In the game they are the gun-toting, brassy-haired bad girls known for their verbal quips.
They’re not known in the underground community for how many mouse clicks they fire off in a minute. They’re Babes With Attitude.
Takacs is not. She knows it. She doesn’t care. Because she has gone against all the babes and won.
She also beats the boys. Guys regularly hunt for her on the Internet to challenge her to a match. When they lose, much to her chagrin, they hit on her.
A crowd of men--all wearing sleep-wrinkled T-shirts--stand around Takacs. The glow of video monitors flashes psychedelic patterns of light across Takacs’ pale face.
Two men step forward and challenge Takacs. All they have to do is kill her character in the game, just once. Their reward is a free T-shirt.
Five minutes later, the men are shot down. In two days, only two players beat Takacs.
One guy leans over and smiles.
“Do you have a boyfriend?”
She nods.
“Leave him. I’m better.”
She laughs.
“No, seriously.”
She sighs, turns to face her screen and continues the carnage.
