Although 52% of all gamers are women*, it is no secret that girls tend to face more hostility in gaming than guys. Our top gamer of the month, Izz Nadhirah, acknowledges this, but firmly refuses to play second fiddle – at all.
“My dream is to be the greatest gamer girl amongst boys because people see girls as ‘weak and noob’ (slang for “newbie”),” she declares solemnly. We girl gamers might be silent, but we are also silent killers in games.”
This former part-time ambassador for Garena League of Legends is now a budding Youtuber with a passion for Youtube and gaming, but with dreams to also be a competitive player. Records of her gaming activities can be found on Facebook and Youtube at xiaochibi.
“I’m a student, so I needed to quit being ambassador due to my studies,” Izz Nadhirah says, adding that her time in her ambassadorship nevertheless allowed her to know more about players and their skills – and realized just how much eSports could contribute towards the development of the industry. “Once I finish my studies, I will focus on gaming and maybe some Youtube content. I might choose to be a competitive player so I can show to the world that girls can be counted on when it comes to being a good teammate. I would love to form a girl gamer to join tournaments!”
Like many others before her, her passion for gaming started at a young age. “I started playing with console games when my cousin asked me to join them. Then I moved to mobile and PC games – Boomz, SDO-X, Dragon Nest, Heroes of Newerth, and now League of Legends,” she relates, describing how her friend motivated her to go from “zero on League to hero”. “The game is not about winning, but the bond between players,” she adds with a smile.
Her goal of becoming a successful gamer in the future and being well known is so she can help other new players play better. “Winning in a tournament is a way for gamer girls to shine,” she says. “When they first play the game, they might feed (Note: a gamer term for dying frequently in-game and giving the enemy team the advantage) really hard – I did too when I first played League of Legends. But with the help of others, I managed to learn a lot and tried to overcome the ‘weak and noob’ title.”
In leading the crusade to show that girls can play just as well as boys, Izz Nadhirah is not alone. Gamers such as ItsHafu have racked up achievements in games such as World of Warcraft, picking up tournament wins in MLG Orlando 2008, MLG Dallas 2008, and NA Blizzard Regionals in 2008. She is now a successful streamer on Twitch as well.
Izz Nadhirah, however, has someone else in mind when it comes to female role models: Meera Drs, who is currently Garena League of Legends eSports Assistant and admin for the Malaysia League of Legends community. “I will never miss her going live on Facebook, because she is like my idol as a gamer girl,” Nadhirah declares excitedly. “Seeing her unboxing some stuff makes me feel I want to be as good as her, to speak as confident as her.” Meera had also previously hosted events under the invitation of Esports Malaysia (ESM) for Malaysian Gamers Gathering, and the Worlds viewing party at TGV Cinema One Utama in 2016. “Her determination makes me want to be like her,” Nadhirah adds, noting Meera’s contributions to the eSports scene in Malaysia for League of Legends. “I learnt a lot of tips in League gameplay from her. She started as ambassador and is now an eSports assistant – I’m so proud to see a successful gamer girl.”
That said, Izz Nadhirah has some opinions on how today’s most pressing gamer problems can be solved. “For tournaments, some gamers have problems with transport as they don’t own a car or are not allowed to take the bus. Apart from that, gamer mentality is also an issue. They focus on winning and don’t want to face losses … and then they rage when they lose. This will affect the community as new players will feel like they should quit because of the toxic people – and so less people will play that game,” she says, suggesting that toxic players be given some advice and guidance – and encouragement to help the newer players play better. “(For example) Fundeavour gave me a lot of tips for gaming and Youtube as well, and helped me improve my channel day by day.”
As for brand support, Izz Nadhirah believes it would be a great help, especially if the brand is a well-known brand. “Brand involvement will attract more gamers to join tournaments or play the game, as they like the brand and want to own it.” She pauses for a second before continuing, “However, I don’t think brand involvement will really change people’s thoughts on gaming – what’s important is to change the mentality so that people believe eSports can be a competitive and meaningful activity.”
We wish her well.
Izz Nadhirah is currently on the hunt for other girl gamers like her to join in a League of Legends tournament. If you want to get in touch, contact her on any of her social media links below:
Fundeavour – https://fundeavour.com/izznadhirah
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/xiaochibi/
Youtube – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMyyYYubcdT7oJNcmTZtZBw
This feature was written as part of a partnership with Fundeavour, a site that helps aspiring gamers around the world to get a head start on beginning their journey as content creators, streamers and eSports players. Want to be featured and share your stories with over 20,000 readers? Check out more info here or sign up with Fundeavour.com!
* Source: The Guardian