Amy "Athena/Valkyrie FD" Brady, or better known to the other WCG Ultimate Gamer contestants as "Mom", for her constant governance over her showmates behavior and image, is one of gaming's most influential female gamers. As co-leader of the well known PMS Clan along with twin sister, and Fragdoll member since 2004, Amy has been able to take her gaming passion and turn it into a very promising career.

Amy is one of the few contestants on the show that I was actually familiar with before her TV celebrity and the interview. Also this interview prompted me to give her a new nickname..."GamerBusinessWoman". She was way to mature and knowledgeable for me to call her a "gamer chick" or just "gamer girl". I would say she would have to be my female counterpart in the industry in-terms of the way i picture myself, except she has more experience, credibility, knowledge, charisma and just about everything she would need to makes herself better than me. Hmmm, maybe I should rethink calling her my industry counterpart, the more I write the more I realize I don’t quite measure up to her accomplishments and success. ANYWAY!

Not only is Amy one of the industry’s leading female gamer representatives she also is a fierce competitor. Competing in games like Halo and Rainbow 6 in the past, she has made a name for herself nationwide, with one of her greatest accomplishments being in 2006. When she was a part of the first all female team to take first place in a CPL Rainbow 6 tournament!

When it came to her appearance on the show she felt the WCG gave her a fair shake, although she claims they aired a slightly toned down version of her aggressive, passionate and opinionated personality. She says she was more the mentor on the show for the other gamers always looking out for their better interests, and especially interests of gaming as a whole.

Now this I must get right or I am sure I will receive the email within minutes from her chewing my ass out for getting it wrong but, from my understanding, she believes there should be no competition between "PC gaming" and "console gaming". Amy made it very clear to me that she believes that the gaming culture and community as a whole would be a lot stronger if Console and PC gaming were to be unified, instead of this constant babble about which is better. She wishes to see gaming as a whole evolve and hopes that it will eventually be recognized as a sport and not just something children do when their parents allow them after homework. Amy definitely plans on sticking around the gaming industry, and see's a strong future for herself in Marketing or just about anything to further the gaming culture. Competitions will obviously still be in the mix!

For a snippet of Amy on the WCG's Ultimate Gamer check out a clip from Episode 5 here.

Reality shows have taken over our television sets. This, we know, is a fact. No matter what channel you watch or what your favorite genre is, there is a reality show for you. I, too, have been bitten by the bug. I have become a reality show junkie. One of my favorites straight out the gate was Bad Girls Club on Oxygen. I have always been a fan of the Oxygen channel because it isn’t as soft as Lifetime and they have the raunchier programming I love. So naturally when they introduced this new reality show last year, this self-proclaimed bad girl had to tune in, and I was hooked. I couldn’t have been more excited when I had the chance to meet and hang out with one of the stars of season 2, Darlen. (For the record, Season 2 is so much better than the artificial drama of Season 3!)

For those who have not watched the show, first of all shame on you. Darlen is a self-proclaimed party girl known for a violent temper. This pretty Mexican from Texas could pass for sweet and innocent at first but takes no prisoners when she is crossed. I am entirely too proud to come across as a fangirl so I knew that given the opportunity, there were only three things I wanted to know about from Darlen. First thing I wanted to hear about was the reality show and just how much reality was in the show. Second, from one Latina to another, was there a sense of pride in general and in being the sole Latina on the show. Last curiosity was, of course, about video games. With nothing to do in the house but go to clubs and peruse the internet, (7 girls, 1 computer) I wanted to know what she normally did for entertainment and if video games were in her repertoire.

The Show

In short, yes the drama was real. Darlen said that while the produce take certain creative license with the editing of the show, the drama and fighting between the girls is all real. Her disdain and loathing for Andrea, whom she has unaffectionately renamed Mandrea, is still real to this day. She tells me that there times when the other girls would start yelling and she would just zone out. “If I am not involved, I just start looking at other things and I really don’t hear anything that is going on,” Darlen tells me of some of the fights, including the reunion episode set to air in two weeks. While she didn’t get into the details of the reunion episode they taped a few weeks ago, she did mention it was worth watching. I asked Darlen if she still stayed in touch with any of the girls to which she said yes. “Cordelia was just out at my house recently and I talk to Tanisha all the time,” she tells me. She says while Cordelia is a partier like her, she can relate most with Tanisha, also known for her explosive temper. She didn’t hide the fact that Jennavecia really did, in her opinion, try to manipulate the situations in the house and didn’t like the direction their friendship took before Jennavecia was finally asked to leave.

I have to admit, in the beginning of the show, I favored the Party Girls over the Hyena Sisters. (You have to see the show to understand the alliances.) They seemed to have more fun and in general, get into more. Jennavecia, Darlen and Cordelia’s antics made for a few hysterical, and sometimes gross, episodes. After a night of partying, Darlen’s explosive temper and destructive behavior was often both shocking and funny. Then there were times when she was topless and playful. Darlen is always full of energy and it is easy to see how she quickly became a fan favorite.

Being Latina

Latina’s are well known for both their passion and their pride; Darlen is no different. We talked a little about being Latinas and the orgullo. “I am proud to be Mexican and happy my daughter is learning Spanish,” says Darlen with a smile. She even happily shows me her license with her government name – for privacy, I won’t write it now but I can assure you it is more Latina than mine. Afterwards, she asks, “Is that Spanish enough?” and with a laugh says, “I am proud of it.”

First, the connection between Latinas, most often, is instant. She was awesome about talking to me while getting ready in her hotel room. We talked as if we were old friends and partied like only Latinas can. I am sure there will be more partying to come.

On Gaming

Hear what she had to say…

So what’s not to love about Darlen?