I first met Luna when I was writing about Anino Entertainment’s PC Game, Anito.

That seemed like an eternity ago.

I was working back then for Fast Forward magazine and PC World. Ever since, we’ve become good friends and bump on occasion on conferences, expos and shows. Luna is a very intelligent and and extremely ‘well read’ woman. She’s sweet, charming and witty. Her devotion to her work and to the industry is meticulous. I guess that’s why she’s perfect for her chosen field. But sometimes, as I wrote before, being a girl in a testosterone-laden industry is tough.

After some serious pleading, I finally succeed in getting her to agree to being featured as a GM T Gamer Babe. Luna’s currently into RF Online (which has gone FREE TO PLAY btw)

Thanks for the opportunity, Luna!

Luna’s interview after one more click…

GM T: Tell me something about yourself?
Luna: I’m a game developer for Anino Games, which means I make games all day and play games all night

GM T: How did you get into gaming and online gaming?
Luna: I’ve been playing games ever since I was young but I didn’t think of myself as a “gamer”, not until I joined Anino. Before, I’d play RPGs by my lonesome, and now I’m into multiplayer/social gaming as well. When I started making games it became part of my job to play as many different types of games as possible.

GM T: What online games do you play? Why do you like it?
Luna: I was really into RF Online for months! I’ve stopped playing it now, but I was able to reach level 42 for my Corite ArchMagus, and I was already pretty close with my guild. I liked RF because of the inter-race war, which I thought was done very well. I identified heavily with my race and would participate in Chip Wars and other special events.

GM T: What’s the best reason that you got into MMORPGs?
Luna: Player interaction in MMOs is really something else. I got to roleplay my character and respond to “real” events in a way you can’t do in a single-player RPG. Having good guildmates and a good attitude helped me stay with Cora as well, as I wasn’t in it for personal gain.

GM T: What do your non-gamer female friends tell you when they find out that you game?
Luna: They’re pretty much used to it now, but my female friends aren’t really gamers anyway. It’s my male friends who needed to get used to the idea that I played games as much as them. (I have great memories of beating them at Soul Calibur or Guitar Hero just to prove my point!

GM T: Cervantes Rulez!!! Btw, what’s your most unforgettable moment in-game?
Luna: In RF Online one of my favorite moments was when I went raiding in the Bellato homebase with… Accretians! I had an officemate who was an Accretian so he asked his friends to let me go with them. But then he got disconnected, and so I was left in the field surrounded by huge robots whom I couldn’t speak to because of the language barrier.

There was a moment when they all just looked at me, trying to decide if they should kill me or not (as a mid-level Corite I’d have been easy prey). And I just had to stand there and hope for the best…

They ended up killing me, by the way.

GM T: Ack! That was mean! Anyways, do you have any advice or tips for girls out there who want to try gaming?
Luna: The gaming culture nowadays is no longer “male”, and there’s a huge variety of games so there’s something for everyone. Don’t be afraid to try different games to see what you like best.

GM T: Final words for your friends, guildmates or fans?
Luna: Fans? LOL! Well, if anyone in RF Online is still reading this, my character Silme says hello. (And yes, I’m a girl, as many of you wouldn’t believe me )

Favorite Job: Archmagus – it’s the unpopular choice, but it rocks
Favorite Skill: Striking Force
Favorite Monster: The Jyles. They’re cute.
Favorite map or area: I practically lived on Ether, but I also liked Sette.
Favorite Weapon: My Strong Intense Cycle Staff
Cutest headgear for you and why? I don’t have one, as it doesn’t show in-game anyway.
(complete the sentence) If I were the most powerful being in my gameworld I would: Wipe out the Accretians.
Song genre(s) you love: Indie rock/pop/synth
3 songs in your mp3 player? Plus/Minus’ “Leap Year” and “Thrown Into The Fire” (I’m going through a phase), and Twisted Halo’s “Brad”
Movies you watched recently: “Stardust”, as I’m a Gaiman fan. I also bought hard-to-find collectible DVDs in Hong Kong: In The Mood For Love, the Infernal Affairs trilogy…
Books you recently read: I just finished William Gibson’s “Idoru”, and before that, his “Mona Lisa Overdrive.”

Thanks again Luna, for your time!

Ingatz!