Video games are not just for the boys. Nathania Mercelina plays the game she loves at a competitive level for WSC esports.
Females in the gaming community are becoming more and more common. They are often met with rude comments and awkward encounters when other players figure out their gender. People are getting used to hearing females over the microphones, and not surprised when they are outdone by their opposite gender.
Nathania Mercelina is one of the female players for the WSC esports team. Mercelina said everyone at Wayne State is great. “But often other voice chats, people act different or seem confused why I am here,” she said. It is important to remember that the people you play games with are real people. Treat them just like you would in real life.
Mercelina is a competitor for the WSC League of Legends team from Curaçao, a small island in the Caribbean. Esports does not have the presence there like it is in the United States, so this opportunity to join a team was one to jump at. “Back in Curaçao, there was not anything like this,” Mercelina said.
She said there was a stigma around esports that was portraying that gamers had to be the best of the best to get a chance to compete on an organized level. In the USA, there are many opportunities, including the recently founded esports team that Mercelina joined. “The day of tryouts my friend was going to try out and said I had to come with,” she said. This is how she became one of five League of Legends players.
She said the first videogame she remembers was just a handheld Donkey Kong game. Now she plays League of Legends competitively. She has played the game since 2014 and is always improving her game. Mercelina is a mid-lane player, which is the core of any team and is arguably the most difficult role to play in League of Legends. Mercelina has the knowledge to play different types of champions, which keeps opponents guessing and gives her team more flexibility.
The team this season has played four schools, dropping one loss in its most recent match to undefeated Carroll University. WSC’s record is now 3-1. The League of Legends team plays on Mondays and is streamed live at twitch.tv/wscwildcats.