RPG = Role Playing Girl is an anthology of essays by and about women who play role-playing games. The 2009 edition brought you many articles by women about their experiences with gaming, focusing mostly on North America. For the 2010 edition, we put out the word to women all over the globe to get in touch to tell us about their communities, the games they love and what they bring to the table—in every way imaginable.
The 2010 edition of RPG = Roleplaying Girl features articles about the experiences of women in gaming outside the US, interviews of women who game by women game, and several articles packed with information about all aspects of writing, publishing, art, and running games.
RPGirl will be available here and at
Indie Press Revolution soon.
Some previews of what you can expect:
ON GAMING IN NORWAY AND THE SEPARATION OF THEORISTS FROM PLAYERS"Basically, then, I have two kinds of role-playing friends: the ones I discuss role-playing theories with and the ones I actually role-play with. Both groups are dominated by men with a varying need for attention and self-exposure, with a couple of women mixed in for taste. The women, just so we’re clear on this, are likewise in need of attention and self-exposure—-it’s not necessarily a guy thing. You might think so because of the high number of guys (as opposed to girls) who play RPGs on any regular basis. The problem with discussing theory with only one of the groups though, is that I can’t really make them relate to the issues of my other group, since their gaming styles are basically different. I can’t make the progressive Oslo gamers care about classical dungeon crawler needs, and I can’t talk to my traditionalist Trondheim group about the new theories in modern game development, because neither is really interested in what the other group is doing."
- Norwegian Ramblings, Maja H. Kvendseth
ON GAMING EXPERIENCES OF MEN AND WOMEN
"Paola: I don't think that there's a strong difference. I think everybody is unique and as such has a personal approach to game design and to the gaming experience, formed through the years by her or his own nature and experiences. The differences that we feel nowadays come from the differences that modern culture still maintains between men and women."
- The Two (feminine) Faces of Janus, Paola Guarneri
ON ADVICE FOR GAMER WOMEN LOOKING TO GET INTO GAME DESIGN
"First, make games that matter to you. You have a unique vision to share with the world through game design. Don't try to make someone else's games; make yours. Not only will the games you make be wonderful, you're also far more likely to stick with the design process when you run into challenges. This might be particular topic that inspires you, or a particular type of play, or a certain physical item, or experiences that you've had in your life. People will try to tell you that you have to design within genres or topics or play styles or theories in order to be "serious" or "real." Screw them! You've got your own path."
- Jessica Hammer, as interviewed by Kira Scott
The 2010 edition of RPG = Roleplaying Girl will be released at this year’s GenCon, but if you can’t make it to the convention – don’t fret! It will be available both in print and PDF after the convention. And if you missed RPGirl in 2009, the 2009 edition is also available in both print and PDF.
You can download both the RPG = Role Playing Girl Zine 2009 and the 2010 International Update at DriveThruRPG. They are each available as free or Pay-What-You-Want pdfs. All contributions will go toward the upkeep of the Gaming As Women blog. 
