Origins of "Women of Xbox"

As many of you know, I began my YouTube channel (mythictyrant.com) in late 2010 by producing video walkthroughs of my favorite game series "Halo", and to this day, the gaming guides remain to be the primary focus of my work.  I love being able to share my knowledge with the community and helping folks when and where I can to help them dominate what I consider to be the most revolutionary series of our generation.  I had started writing walkthroughs in early 2008 on a site called "HBO" (halo.bungie.org) shortly after developing and conquering an in-game mode now known as Mythic Difficulty--a more refined version of the LASO challenges found in Halo: Reach--and wanted to be able to post more guides on a regular basis that would give folks a visual of the mission from start to finish rather than always being forced to read pages and pages of text.  I myself am a visual learner and suspect many other gamers out there are as well.

Shortly after my channel began, I started dating a girl who feigned interest in gaming long enough to reel me in.  In the months to come, I learned that not only did she not play video games, but in fact despised them and absolutely hated what I did on YouTube.  Her reasoning was "it will never get you anywhere in life".  Looking at successful companies like Rooster Teeth--folks who started out small just like me--I found that very hard to believe.  But even so, it didn't matter.  I still enjoyed what I did (and still do) regardless of whether or not it would transform into a career.  She once went as far as to saying that if I ever placed a ring on her finger (and thank God I dodged that bullet), the Xbox was going in the trash.  Keep in mind, of course, that I do not consider myself a hardcore gamer.  I don't play everyday, and when I do, it's typically for work purposes--guides and videos for the channel.

I tried numerous times to get her to at least give it a try, and if she didn't like it, THEN she could hate on it.  To me, test driving a new hobby is much like trying a new type of food.  You can't really bash it until you've at least experienced it.  However, she refused and continued driving my channel's progress into the gutter.

However, we had a mutual friend, female, who was no stranger to games.  She was absolutely in love with them, owning both a 360 and a Wii as well as a whole pile of games.  She loved playing, and whenever she visited, we'd often play together.  She was the first girl I'd ever met who actually had a true passion for gaming, and I grew to appreciate it deeply.  

Relax.  The thought of cheating never crossed my mind.

A few months later, I attended PAX 2011 and learned that she was far from being one of a kind.  There were entire organizations dedicated to female gamers from all over the world!  Groups such as the PMS Clan and the Frag Dolls proved to me that not only were there women out there who didn't classify gaming as a "men's-only" activity--which is absurd to begin with, but that many of them were some of the top gamers on the planet; even competing and kicking ass in the all-powerful MLG organization.  These ladies are actually PAID to steamroll everyone else out there and do a fantastic job with it.

After meeting with these talented women, I was inspired to create a new show on my channel; one that would both champion the female gamers of the world as well as encourage others to play who may have previously been sexist towards the activity.  Halo's Grifball community manager Goosechecka, bravely stepped up to the plate and took the show by the reins.  Her presentations were nothing short of incredible with each show bringing in well over 1000 views.  Her sense of humor and insane Halo skills spread like wild fire, taking the community by storm.  Since then, many other talent gamers have stepped forward as well and presented their skills on the show, making me proud to be associated with such a positive organization set out to do the world some much needed good.

The relationship that brought me to this point was a painful one, but it did inspire me.  Thanks to that, my appreciation for the female gamers of the world has never been greater.  The goal of the show remains the same; to champion the talents of the community, share them with the world, encouraging others to play, and eventually bringing the online hate to a halt.  Ambitious, I know, but I dream big, and that's how nearly every revolutionary global accomplishment started... with a dream.