"Dear Tease", the link is long gone but the time spent writing to her and reading her responses were very enjoyable and humourous.  Tease and I spoke quite a bit through her forum and ICQ and played quake 1 ffa occasionally. We had some good times.  I wish her the best and hope all is well.

Wormburner.HOPw

Below: This article first appeared in .net Issue 42

Tamra 'Tease' Katic



Even more intriguing to male gamers are the all-girl Quake teams, such as the CrackWhores (a name taken from a David Letterman Top Ten list, where it was the number one worst job title - go figure), the PMS clan and the other group members of the Female Quake Players Web Ring (http://www.time2quake.com/tankgirl/).

The best known are the CrackWhores, seven women from the LA area who have taken a slightly different approach to their femininity. While Stevie and Kornelia shun the importance of the obvious gender difference (but appreciate what it has done for their careers), the CrackWhores milk the attention by playing it up to extremes - just take a look at the lusty pictures and measurement information on their Web site (http://www.crackwhore.com/). Tamra 'Tease' Katic, self-proclaimed leader of the clan, took some time to talk to .net about her involvement with Quake and the CrackWhores.

The 29-year old Californian was first exposed to computers at an early age by her dad, Larry, and was introduced to 3D shooters such as Doom and Hexen by her programmer husband James ('Tetsuo'). However, it was Quake's on-line component that really drew her into the game. "My husband ordered [Quake] but didn't have time to play... so I started and finished the single-player game and said 'Okay, now what?'"

Tamra played on local servers and realised she could chat and kill - a match made in Heaven (or Hell, for that matter). "And that was it," she recollects.

She was forced to sell her hair salon due to a car accident a few years back. After four months of strenuous on-line playing while looking after her two boys (now aged seven and three), she joined an all-male clan called The Immortal Ones under the name 'Sheliveth'. That fell apart, but she was quickly snatched up by the growing CrackWhore clan because of her reputation as a cut-throat player. The other six women all work together at their day jobs, while 'Mac Daddy' serves as an unofficial spokesperson and non-player male friend.

Tamra jokes about her risqué on-line name 'Tease' and the suggestive words on the intro page of their Web site: "We want to blow you... away." One of the other clan members, 'Candy', writes in her bio: "Sex is power... I make him beg... I make him whimper..." Tamra says it's all in fun.

"We know what guys want to see and we're just playing around with it all... the bottom line is that we kick ass in Quake and that's that." And a parenthetic personal note posted on their Web site warns: "Challenge us if you're man enough... little boys can just play with yourselves."

All the women interviewed for this piece say that Quake 2 is at the top of their holiday wish list, and they anticipate more on-line and LAN tournaments in the coming year. Whether this means more money, fame and endorsements - or all of the above - they're just happy to be playing. It was evident that respect and appreciation were key issues to them, and that their love for the game kept them going through 12 to 14 hours a day of exhausting practice.

Stevie, Kornelia, Tamra and the hundreds of female Quake players and clans on the Internet deserve this recognition - but not for their gender. They should, however, accept the praise and admiration for their tiresome efforts to excel in an exciting, changing industry, where gamers are finally being recognised and rewarded as talented individuals.

But don't take our word for it. If you have the guts to meet up with them on-line, you'll see for yourself...
This article was first published in .net magazine, issue 42. You can subscribe to .net here or order back issues from backissues@futurenet.co.uk.