IN THE ’90S, being a gamer girl was either a flex (“Ooh, you’re hanging with the boys”) or a faux pas (“Ew, why are you hanging with the boys?”). Any interest I expressed in playing Need for Speed or Mortal Kombat was regarded with suspicion. Did I really want to play or was I secretly harbouring a crush? At 14, my curiosity about gaming wasn’t serious enough to earn me a Nintendo or a PlayStation, and if I somehow managed to get my hands on a console, finding narratives and characters that were representative of me as a female player was nearly impossible. I did not identify with a heavy-chested Lara Croft nor did I want my only choices on Mortal Kombat to be a barely clad Kitana or Sonya Blade up against the high-tier Sub-Zero. The only games that were welcoming to women involved cooking, like in Diner Dash, or playing dress-up, like in Barbie Fashion Designer.
During the pandemic, after a long break from my joystick, I beta-tested a game for a friend. The plot was simple: collect coins as you rush through a busy bazaar dodging lamp posts, vehicles and police barricades. After months of bed rotting, my screen opened a portal to the outside world that I felt thankful for. Cycling past the colourful clothes in shop windows and a cart piled high with packets of Bombay Puri while swerving away from vehicles, I was hit by a wave of nostalgia I didn’t expect to find in a simulation. Although the outdoors were closed off to me, in the open terrain of the virtual realm, I was free to go where I pleased.
This story is from the March - April 2024 edition of VOGUE India.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the March - April 2024 edition of VOGUE India.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
HEART AT WORK
London is a stomping ground for many South Asian creatives. AKANKSHA KAMATH meets an artist, an author-stylist and the duo behind a first-of-its-kind label on Savile Row to see what their work desks reveal about their unique expression
TSUNAINA
Otherworldly and bewitching are two words associated with the multi-hyphenate model. But who is the person behind the sculptured mask?
Viscountess of Hearts
She was catapulted into the stratosphere as Bridgerton's leading lady in 2022, but Simone Ashley is quite enjoying the descent as the spotlight shifts to a new couple this season. Speaking with Grammy Award nominee and fellow South Asian artiste Anoushka Shankar, she reflects on navigating fame, where she's headed next and if her path will lead her to India
Waning and waxing
The terror of inherited trauma always made SHYAMA LAXMAN keep her mother at arm's length. Now, with both of them older and wiser, there's a new dynamic to their relationship
Three's company
For as long as she can remember, SADAF SHAIKH has only ever hung out with her friends in groups, rarely one-on-one. Finally, she enlists help to excavate her passive pal origin story
Welcome to paradise
In the heart of the Mediterranean, a sisterhood gathers to pray, paint watercolours and pursue peace through spiritualism. MEDINA TREVATHAN reflects on the heaven to be found within The Women Sanctuary
The long game
Tamannaah Bhatia knows exactly what her skin needs-simple rituals, serums and stress-free days.
Current affairs
Can you plug into better skin with microcurrent therapy?
Ice me out
Torture method or genius life hack? NIDHI GUPTA investigates whether ice baths are really as cool as they're cracked up to be
She's got the look
Pop on a Punjabi song, fill a bowl with ice and get ready to immerse yourself in Kriti Sanon's skincare universe