Rachel Quirico's competitive edge earned her a spot on a Syfy Channel reality show
Rachel Quirico hopes to combine thousands of hours of experience in front of a computer screen with four years of wisdom gleaned as a psychology major at Rutgers in New Brunswick to open the doors of video gaming to a traditionally under-represented population: women and girls.
“Really, it’s harsh out there,” says Quirico, who says the most frequent response from people who learn about her passion is, “What’s a girl doing playing video games?” This perception, coupled with the often outright hostility her sister gamers encounter from male competitors, is driving the Branchburg native to eye the gaming industry as a full-time vocation.
“I’d love to bring more girls into gaming. My gaming team, the PMS Clan, does this by making a safe and welcoming community where they can test out their competitive gaming skills,” says Quirico, 22.
That keen sense of competition, the constant testing of skills, the urge to be identified as “the alpha female” – all these elements come together in Quirico’s universe. And now she’s bringing them to bear on a larger canvas.
Earlier this year, Quirico beat out close to 1,000 seasoned competitors to win a spot on the eight-part series called “WCG Ultimate Gamer 2,” a Syfy channel reality show which challenges players’ video-game skills and real-life abilities as they vie not only for a $100,000 top prize, but also for the opportunity to serve as spokesperson for the World Cyber Games, known as the Olympics of competitive gaming.
The show, which debuted August 19, follows 12 players culled from the cream of the gaming crop as they live and play together in a Los Angeles loft. The programs were taped over a over a 2½ -week period in the spring, and, sworn to secrecy about the outcome, she spent the summer laying low, competing in local tournaments and pondering how to turn her soon-to-be television fame into a full-time job.
Quirico, who received her bachelor of science degree in psychology in December, described the reality show as “one of the most fun things I’ve done in my entire life.”
“Sure, the people I vied with were all highly competitive, but in the end we all love the same thing, and everyone is an incredible gamer and an incredible person. I made friendships that I’m sure will last for life,” she says.
Quirico traces her zeal to the day her mother, Joan, bought a computer when Rachel was 4 or 5. Nowadays, she plays an estimated six or seven hours a day, favoring the genre known as FPS, or first person shooter. FPS games focus heavily on guns or other weapons, allowing players to simulate tactical warfare through the eyes of their characters.
The 3-D action is fast-paced and often graphic, with the games calling for a diverse set of skills, from strategic planning to rapid physical response. Quirico’s favorite game is Team Fortress 2, a highly textured multi-player screen venue that pits disarmingly cartoonish protagonists against each other in a bloody six-on-six battle.
“You have to be able to think quickly and spot tiny details on the screen in milliseconds. Teamwork is also crucial,” she says, recalling that when she lived on the College Avenue campus in New Brunswick, she trekked nightly to the Red Lion Café in the student center to practice online with her team members.
Quirico signed up for her first online league, CAL, or Cyber Athletic Amateur League, in the fall of 2007, winding up in the playoffs and placing seventh overall.
Four “very hack-and-slash” years on the saber fencing team at Somerville High School under award-winning coach Molly James provided excellent training: “In fencing, you learn how to get into your opponents’ heads, what strategies to bring to a fight – all these you bring to a video game as well,” Quirico says.
Those four years at Rutgers also come in handy, with her emphasis on adolescent and abnormal psychology.
“Gamers on average are a highly intelligent and critical-thinking bunch. Any mental edge you can get over an opponent will translate tenfold into your game play, but finding that edge is tough. It’s all about pushing the right buttons. When I compete, it’s important to be in control of my own thoughts, despite the trash talk going on around you. My psychology background allows me to filter all that out. And as far as the show goes, it was immensely helpful in dealing with the other contestants,” she recalls.
Meanwhile, as New Jersey residents lament their negative image as filtered through the lens of “Jersey Shore” and similar fare, Quirico hopes her star turn on “WCG Ultimate Gamer 2” offers the nation a different slant on the Garden State.
“The other contestants and the producers definitely caught on to the fact that I was from New Jersey, and they liked my version of a Jersey Girl. I have a strong character, and I am very vocal, which was something they don’t always see in girls from other places – but I made sure to act like a lady, too,” says Quirico, who once heard someone refer to her as “Jersey Mouth.”
“Teasing aside, though, they couldn’t argue with my gaming skills.”