Greg Dragon: Well prior to the official launch of 3GK, I am happy to say we have scheduled as THE PREMIER interview, Haleigh “Hawt Bunz” Comette, a soon-to-be hellion in the upcoming Age of Conan MMORPG.

Now as you all know there has been a trend of “I’m too cool for that” girls sliding into the nerd lanscape as of late. What’s up with that anyway? When did it become cool to become a game gal, when did glasses and late night raiding become a fad? My basis? Well if you are wondering, just open your fucking eyes to the media lately, I make up stuff, but this I cannot make up. I blame Felicia of “The Guild” for the trend… I’m just kidding, I was looking for an escuse to plug that awesome web-exclusive show, and the hot red-head at it’s helm.

ANYWAY! Before game galling was a fad, and before it became cool to admit you pulled an all-nighter on Call of Duty… there was that tiny demographic of hotties who played games… I am oh so lucky to know a few, Haleigh being one of them. So she has afforded me the chance to pick her brain on the subject, and maybe we can uncover the secret to the “coolness” in being a Gamer Gal.

So let’s begin… Haleigh, how long have you been gaming? And erm.. let’s see whats the other cliche first question… OH! Ya, what is your first game that you remember playing… (gawd… the cheezeball questions, how I loathe them.). But ya! How long?

Haleigh Comette: Welp, first of all, Felicia is a PvEer. My trend started when I bought my kiddo a Gamecube, it came with a copy of “Clone Wars” and stuffed inside the game was a lil’ leaflet that said: The Greatest Star Wars Story Ever Told: Yours.

I had always been warned by my mother about “freaks” who played games on the internet, so the rebel in me was naturally drawn to it. I first installed Star Wars Galaxies in January 2004, and went for a month without talking to anybody. This was prolly a good thing because I couldn’t tell the difference between NPC’s and other players anywayz. I was a crafter, not a serious player at all, until I experienced my first glimpse of PvP over player-owned bases. Seeing how the Rebels pulled together to defend their city at great cost to all of them, totally blew me away. More than anything else, I wanted to be a part of it. It’s been my passion ever since.

GD: So based on your blast at Felicia, you are more a hardcore PvPer than RPGer, am I correct?

HC: Hmmm … at the risk of costing you a private interview with Felicia, *smirking triumphantly* I think I’m much more of a hardcore roleplayer than she is. I am not a “pure” PvPer at all, I need to have a reason to fight, casual PvP for the sake of PvPing doesn’t do it for me. I’m a passionate PvPer only because of the kind of role I choose to play.

GD: What is it that attracts you to that sort of gameplay? As a PvPer myself, I should know the answer to this question, but humor me. Is it the rush of the great unknown (is he leet or is he a noob?) or is it the thrill of the conquest. Do you favor the ladders in games (proving you are ultimate badass on a server) or do you ignore the numbers?

HC: What attracts me to my style of gameplay is the bonding with other players, and seeing what other people are made of when they are under pressure. As far as ladders and leetness, I’m not really against them, but I have a different scale I measure people against than what the leaderboards say. I’ve seen people who had no ability to PvP whatsoever outperform the most skilled PvPers when there was a base on the line, fighting all on heart. That kind of experience is what keeps me coming back.

Star Wars Galaxies is a hard act to follow, I hate to say it but it will be rare to provide another game that was as social, and as flexible as the original SWG. Being that this is your first MMO experience, your standards are already out of the roof, do you realize this or do you think another SWG is possible on the horizon?

I think you hit on SWG’s strengths very well, it was the flexibility and social setup of the game that made it a class act. I never thought the combat system was terribly good, it went from broken to dumbed-down over the four years that I played. The underlying ideals of the factions in SWG, independent of species, bonded people together, and player bases were the nails. Merchants who set up vendors in contested player cities got great business. PvE lootwhores sold or donated epic weapons to defend the bases on their side. Roleplayers such as yourself proved to be the most valuable allies, since you would fight on for your cause no matter the outcome.

I think it could happen again, it only takes a dev team who can recognize the value of what happened in SWG, and learn how to build that kind of fire. It also takes a dev team who can ignore the whining from gamers, the vast majority of whom have decided a MMO should be approached like WoW, feeding off of players’ greed and insatiable appetite for loot. SOE didn’t nerf the bases and eliminate decay because subscriptions were low, they did it because the flames and hate were too much for them to handle. That’s because our fight was intense, and the hate was always spilling out onto the forums and avalanche of CSR tickets. The devs didn’t experience what it was like to defend a base with your friends against impossible odds, with the personal cost of losing XP, armor, and weapons to decay. It was a beautiful thing, and none of us will ever forget it.

Greg Dragon: After watching your latest video where you battled gamers in Age of Conan’s PvP weekend, I’ve noticed you favor the skin versus armored look. This is usually a sticky subject with some people but I would ask your opinion, what’s your opinion on mature themed games? As a woman and mom, how do you see Age of Conan faring amongst the prudish senators looking for a quick vote (you know the ones who claim video game violence/nudity is warping our kid’s mind) and the stiffer audience who think games should all be G rated?

Haleigh Comette: On “mature themes” … I love to PvP undressed, when I’m in a no-stakes “battleground” PvP setting like we had in the “PvP weekend” in AoC. In a situation like a base defense I would be more careful about the effectiveness of my armor. Although AoC was rated “M”, I still think SWG at launch was much more hedonistic, before it had a rating at all. (And there are plenty of third-party patches right now that would net SWG an “AO” rating)

The gaming world is getting more and more sexually restrictive, irrationally so. I cannot understand why people are so easily scared about people being permitted to expose their “virtual” bodies. The same people seem to be comfortable with the fact that all people have the ability to expose their “real” bodies. I’m not one of those naturalist types who thinks it’s “no big deal”, I think it is a big deal. But when I play a game, I want a place where I can go misbehave in ways I wouldn’t normally. (I don’t kill people IRL either)

I don’t think the Senators or the audience are the problem, I think Hollywood is. The TV/movie industry wants a monopoly on mature content. When Janet Jackson’s nipple was broadcast on the most watched TV broadcast of the year, who did the media demand get fired over it? Howard Stern, a radio personality with a show at 3 am. The two Columbine killers called themselves “Natural Born Killers” (a movie title) but all we heard about them is that they played Doom. MTV online’s “Nipple Gate” article I thought was pretty funny, considering the source. When I was a “minor” MTV was nippletown U.S.A.

Anywayz, I wouldn’t let my 8 year old play AoC period, any more than I would let him into a bar or a strip club. That’s why I have a good babysitter

GD: You make a good point on the Hollywood monopoly… it never crossed my mind before but it does make sense. Outside of MMORPG’s, are there any console games that you have delved into? Most Star Wars fans would agree that one of the greatest games to be released is KOTOR (Knights of the Old Republic). You have pointed out that one of your draws to gaming is the people element, but have you tried Kotor and if so what was your general feeling of the game. I ask because rumor mill states that a KOTOR MMORPG may be on the horizon… which would be too good to be true in my opinion.

Hmmm … hope I don’t disappoint you too much. Though I did dabble in KOTOR a lil’, and I liked some of the storylines in it, I have to confess, I never was a big “Star Wars” fan, at least, not until long after I played SWG. (Turns up the heat)

HC: So, one of the many questions guys tend to wonder is: exactly how much flirting is too much flirting in MMO gaming. For the average guy, I know things can get garbled with mixed signals from a female behind the character so I wanted to pick your brain on this. Many girls with whom i’ve played with, like to end sentences with a non-threatening smiley, smiley wink, or the infamous SMILEY TONGUE… which I got used to as friendly emotes. But I am sure there are guys out there who aren’t used to it and mistake the smiley wink as an open invitation (an episode of The Guild was done about this). So how many times have your signals been mistaken for more than it is? Do you have any horror stories for us?

The biggest drawback to being a chick PvPer, is that most male egos can’t handle it. You mentioned guys hit on you a lot if you were helpless, welp, I think guyz can handle helping a damsel in distress just fine. As a gamer girl you are mostly expected to act needy, so the guyz can come in guns blazing and settle your problems.

If you are a real contributor, things can get a little dicey. I’ll never forget when the NGE hit, and I went from being one of the strongest jedi on the server, to playing the weakest prof in the game at the time (Officer). It actually made PvP more fun for me, the way most guyz acted around me was totally different overnight. I never cared if I sucked or not, but I always had done my best. And a lot of guyz can’t handle PvPing next to a scantily clad chick who can pretty much kill anything.

To say nothing of the guyz I killed, if a guy is killed by another guy, he can accept it and move on, but I can’t list for you the number of guys I’ve killed, who can’t ever get over it, even years later. Getting killed by a girl with a pink website is a bitter pill for the male ego to swallow.

As far as flirting, I flirt way more in games than IRL, it’s a big part of the reason I play. IRL I’m quiet and repressed, Ima regular “Diana Prince”, and I never take stands for anything. Playing a sexually liberated killer with convictions is like my “secret nightlife”, and I love it. (That smiley-wink was meant for you btw)

I especially enjoy flirting with the “other side”, most effectively before, during and after some wild PvP. It really adds a lot to immersion, especially for me. I loved that episode of The Guild you mentioned, with that warlock dude saying that “sending a semicolon and a parenthesis is the same thing as saying come and get it”. He’s right, you don’t need signals at all to have guys come after you, I’ve had plenty of sexual invites from guyz I had never even spoken to before.

Guys are like that IRL too by the way, it’s not restricted to just gaming. I’ve been around it enough I’ve learned to have fun with it. Is what I do too much flirting? I think so, but you be the judge.

GD: Have you ever been tempted to play a guy character in game to reduce the amount of advances that come your way? As you know, I normally roll a female toon as my secondary and I know first hand that it gets annoying (for me) when the tells start coming in. On the other end of the spectrum my female on Everquest 2 would adopt bodyguards when in the field just because she was a hot dark elf… my male toon was left to get slaughtered with no help on the norm. So does the good outweigh the bad? What would you change, and do you think it will get better?

HC: I have played a male toon before, in fact for a long time I PvP’d anonymously on my butt-ugly Mon Calamari (looks like a fat fish) than I did on Haleigh. Wasn’t to escape flirtation tho, it just took me a while to openly admit I was an e-killer.

Do I think it will get better?

I think for me, the drama was always manageable as long as the threat of the other side was real. Once the war in SWG died, there was nothing left save mindless drama, and people who fed off that kind of thing were the only ones left playing. Trustworthy, reliable PvPers, once priceless, became worthless in the scheme of things.

So things get better for girl PvPers in a game the same way they get better for guy PvPers. The war has to keep raging.

*Turns up the heat a bit more*

That’s better.

Greg Dragon: Your comment on being rebellious to your parents claim of crazy people on these games reminds me of my parents telling me Dungeons and Dragons will make me worship satan… but guess who played? Lol, the same was said in terms of Everquest draining your life away into virtual worthlessness… but I remember people on SWG who did 48 hour stints… I was almost guilty of it during the profession grind when the devs stupidly released the holos. I generally tell people I know with obsessive, addictive traits to stay far away from MMORPGs due to the addiction. Were you ever addicted and if not, how do you manage your game time?

Haleigh Comette: Hmmm … well “addiction” I think is an unfair generalization, when it comes to gaming.

I’ve always said, every gamer has something they are running away from. And that isn’t necessarily anything to be ashamed of either. RPG’s are an escape, otherwise you wouldn’t be playing it. The times that I played the most, were the times I needed to escape the most. When my house was destroyed by Hurricane Ivan in September 2004, I played SWG for nearly 6 months from a hotel room (courtesy of FEMA, your tax dollars at work) Those six months I was online 24/7, I slept near enough to my comp I would wake up if I got an important tell.

48 hour stints …. when I ground up jedi in the Warren, I remember friends telling me I was slacking off, with my 18 hours a day ATK. I actually remember feeling like I was guilty of slacking too, lol. A lot of that was just peer pressure. Along with the fighting, fun and silliness there is another part of MMORPG’s that is either taboo or just not spoken of. That is the love element. I know you can answer this question because you have played an MMO for more than 3 years (the average gamer would tell me i’m full of it or making it up) but when does the line get blurred between ingame flirting and real life feelings? Videos of the last fan-fest for Everquest even showed people marrying their toons as well as in real life due to such relationships. Can you shed some light on this from what you have experienced either personal or through friends? The thing is, I feel that MMORPGs are 70% social, 30% game, and I think moreso in the hardcore roleplaying realm than the pvp, the human interaction is real and the line is easily crossed. When is it okay to pursue real contact, if at anytime and when is it too far?

70% social, 30% game you say? More like 50% game 100% social.

I think the line is always blurred between ingame and real life, no matter what the strict RPers will tell you. I think people should not fool themselves into expecting otherwise. I wish that when I started playing, I hadn’t been so naive.

If there is one area I differ from the strict roleplayers, it is here. I think people hide behind their toons too much when roleplaying, like it was their own Las Vegas, where “What happens here, stays here”.

Sure, a game offers you a lot of safety in relationships compared to getting involved with a co-worker, or someone who lives next door.

The problem is, there is nothing special about gaming over any other medium, that protects you from feeling the same kind of hurt you feel when you get involved in relationships IRL. In a lot of ways, it’s worse, because when an “online relationship” ends, you see much less of the other person’s hurt feelings, but you will always have to deal with your own. It’s much harder to find emotional “closure”.

Marrying your toon to someone else is always gonna be something meaningful. It’s not just, you get divorced, point and click, and then it’s over, no matter what the PRIMA guide says.

I used to think it was absolutely ridiculous that anyone could “fall in love” in a video game.

But much of what happens in a game is more real than IRL, because you can say things and open up about yourself in ways you would not be comfortable doing normally. I know this because out of game I am very shy and guarded, and merely opening up my feelings has consequences for not only myself, but for other people who have come to expect me to be the way I am. Starting over in the gaming world allowed me to shed all those expectations and responsibilities, and gave me an outlet for my unexpressed feelings.

I still live very much a “double life”, and despite what so many people have said to me, I do not ever want to change that. I am very content living out part of who I am in the “real world”, and living out another part of who I am when I log in.

An ex of mine in game used to tell me: “Everyone says it’s just a game, but everyone here knows it’s a little bit more.” I never really understood how right he was until later.

A lot of times I acted like I didn’t care because it was the only way to deal with what was happening at the time. As people on my side looked to me increasingly as a leader, it was always safer for me to look like a total bitch than look weak. My “Man-Eater” persona was a way of guiding the predictable “gossip crowd” into the “she’s a bitch” direction.

It often didn’t make sense to me why I felt hurt, when I didn’t want to. In a lot of ways, I am still dealing with the same hurt. This is something girls should realize before they get into relationships in MMO’s. Just because it has a pixelated interface doesn’t mean there aren’t people involved, or genuine feelings, including your own.

I am not going to say it is “wrong” or “bad” to fall for someone in a game, through my experiences with it I have no regrets.

I would just caution people, especially gamer girls, to not relearn the painful lessons of life all over again in an MMO, where the same rules ultimately will apply.

GD: A few more questions Haleigh and I think we are set…

So you are about to enter another fan-heavy MMORPG which unlike an Everquest or a World of Warcraft isn’t some made-up game world of fantasy. Like SWG, Age of Conan will have a host of “fans” of the Conan storybook lore that have probably never played an MMORPG before. We know this means longevity as evuidenced by the player-base that still plays SWG (read your awesome SWG is dead article on www.kissmybuns.net) but what does it mean for Haleigh? You have shown us the honorable side, the side that likes to see the weak step up when pressured and defend that base or a fallen comrade, but what about the dark side? Do you salivate at the prospect of cutting inexperienced gamers to threads or is it all strength and honor with you?

HC: Haleigh stays in SWG, I will be playing under a different name in AoC, and without any of the expectations Haleigh had to shoulder each day I logged in.

I would never call the way I carried myself as totally “honorable”, although honor is important to me.

Haleigh was the epitome of the D&D “Chaotic Good” alignment. She had three redeeming qualities, loyalty to faction above all else, a real belief that individual Rebels pulling together when needed were stronger than a well-organized Empire, and the importance I placed on keeping my word. Aside from that she really has few “noble” qualities. Everyone knew I would do whatever was required for victory, that nothing was beneath me if it defeated the imps. Likewise, every Rebel knew that just by supporting the faction, they would find a true ally in me, regardless of any personal differences. It took a toll on me personally to keep that up, and in the end, I think many people saw me more as a symbol than a person.

What makes me salivate though, isn’t even victory, it’s being a part of the fight, if the cause is worthy and my friends true. If I had to list the most thrilling fights I have been a part of, about half of them would be defeats. Nothing ever moved me like seeing friends stream in to help me defend our bases, even though it often seemed the outcome would be only defeat and humiliation. I’m looking to do that by following someone else’s dream now.

I’m reading Robert Howard’s books, and throughout his travels, Conan is confused by the complex laws of the countries he travels through, but he knows his own standards, for example, that he would be true to those who had done the same for him. That’s how I’m starting out my Hyborian journey with Asphodel.

Greg Dragon: Do you consider yourself a girl’s girl or a tomboy in terms of interests, y’know… are you poking around Best Buy for goodies or (insert trendy female store here)? The reason I ask is because of our interview, I would like our readers to see where your line of opinions stem. You do like pink so I can stereotype you as a very girly, girl… but you could be a badass with shoulderpads under a pink and red jersey…

Haleigh Comette: Me a Tomboy?  Haha, welp, most other girls would pwn me IRL.

I’m very much a closet gamer, so I’ll be in Victoria’s Secret or Bath and Body Works if I am at the mall. I am still very careful to not be seen in a Gamestop. I love my “sappy crappy” music, but Ima sucker for a good “guy’s movie”, like “Gladiator”, “300″, LOTR, “Troy”, etc.

Oddly enough, all my close friends have been guyz, but I’m not by any means a “tomboy”. I hate dresses, but that’s prolly because I was forced to wear them at church for so long.

I don’t think the way I play is terribly tomboyish either. I mean, if some opponent wanted to get into a pissing contest, I usually let him have his fun, it just inspires the people on my side to do better in the next round. Just because I like to play with the boyz doesn’t mean I have to play their way.

GD: Now what is your ultimate setup for an MMORPG, if someone gave you the helm to the greatest game to be developed, what would you exact as necessary and remove as relative garbage?

HC: My ultimate setup for a MMORPG? First of all, I’d market it to attract the right kind of people. I’d market the game as a challenge, and challenge people to find out if they were worthy of it. “Choose your stand and fight for it” would be the selling point.

The game would have heavy consequences for heroic service, but someone willing to accept those consequences could achieve great things.

The game would involve two factions based on principle, each with equal merit but opposite ideas, Also a single server, and a huge world, one which could not be traveled across in a single day by any means. Players would start out at one of many possible starting locations.

Cities could be built and fortified across the server, and they could be destroyed by the other faction. They would also be upgradeable, without an “apparent” cap. Much like the Tower of Babel. Guilds would be nonfactional, for economic alliances, cities would be for military. Guilds and cities would not be necessarily linked.

No NPC quests, or static spawns, but “unsettled” areas would have NPC cities and spawns based on how few players settled in the area, and how many players lived in other areas. (so as the world is settled, pockets of high-level spawns far from cities would occasionally pop up that only groups of seasoned explorers could survive in)

Also, free communication between factions, an open economy, crafting professions separate from fighting professions, so noone could do both effectively from the same toon.

I’d merge the forums and the game, so that one side could post challenges to the other side and it would appear on bulletin boards in the other side’s town square. Flaming would be encouraged (at your own risk).

GD: Finally, last but not least the question of advice. What advice would you give to the girlfriend/wife of a gamer who wants to indulge but is either shy, or misguided by the constant stereotypes of the MMORPGer being a 45 year old guy, living in his mom’s basement with the lights turned off and a stack of pizza boxes scattered around him? We know no-one wants to play with THAT guy but after years of being on the inside, I know the truth, and you know the truth (he isn’t that popular). I tend to think that alot of people are being held off by ridiculous stigmas and are missing out on a fun, relaxing and pretty immersive activity in gaming. What does Haleigh have to say about it?

HC: Hmmm, I’ve known a few of those 45 year olds surrounded by pizza boxes actually, they aren’t all that bad when you get to know them.

But as for the gf/wife, I’d just say no harm in giving it a shot, just don’t share your toons, and don’t share a computer, lol.

It’s only “fun” if it works for you, you have to find the niche you are looking for, and there are a lot of different games out there. The one thing I’d advise staying away from is gaming that appeals to your baser instincts, play to be a part of something, don’t let games pull you along with greed or the need to dominate. Find a game that fits, don’t try to force it.

GD: Thanks so much for the interview Haleigh, you are a 3GK champ. We thank you all for reading and hopefully this has answered some of your Game Gal questions, if not keep us tuned in, we have much more to come on www.3godkings.com.