Gaming Vixen: Annie "Ecstacy" Leung

Image via Complex Original

Colors fly past your eyes faster than your brain can process them. Music blares in the background. Someone screams out “ECSTASSSSEEEEEE!!” Chances are you’re either tripping balls at a terrible rave in the Mojave Desert or at a Guitar Hero competition, watching Bay Area native Annie “Ecstacy” Leung shred through a vicious solo. With all due respect to psychotropics, we’ll take the latter option. Already a member of the Evil Geniuses gaming crew for her Unreal Tournament 3 prowess, Annie has been steadily attaining Guitar Hero fame over the past couple of years via competitions, exhibitions, and YouTube videos. She even does lessons! We chatted her up to find out more about how she leveled up to Legendary status, how she deals with creepy fanboys, and if she’d even date another gamer.

As told to Ryan Woo

ON HOW SHE GOT STARTED
"I started off a PC gamer. I used to play Unreal Tournament 3, and then I just picked up Guitar Hero when GH III came out. I

ON THE GH PRO SCENE
"You have to not only be able to 100% the song every time you play it, you have to get an optimal score every single time. You’re not playing against an opponent; you’re playing against the computer.  It’s weird because you’re watching your opponent playing next to you, you’re watching their score, and you’re trying to play your best at the same time.  You have to be concentrating in an environment where people are on the mic, people are screaming. The average player probably wouldn’t be able to keep up with all that.  I do a lot of promotional events, so when I’m at trade shows I have people come up and say “I can beat you”. And then I beat them by 100,000 points. People don’t realize that I’ve been playing this and training for this specifically. I’ve spent hours memorizing specific paths and practicing solos that people usually go crazy on, but don’t actually hit the notes. People think, “Oh, I can get 99%”, but just because you get 99% doesn’t mean anything if you don’t know when to activate star power. It all comes down to the score."

ON PLAYING FOR FUN
"I used to play Gunbound before any of my competitive gaming. I used to play that game day and night. And then I found Unreal Tournament, and that was my favorite game after that. I got addicted to the competitive community: people trash-talking, the shooting, the fast pace. I love that game, but then it got stressful for me once I started playing competitively, it almost stopped being fun. It starts being about winning, and being serious. Now I just play Super Street Fighter IV. I also got Tekken 6 and Modern Warfare 2. I’m not good at those games at all, but switching it up just helps me relax and have fun. " 

ON THE WHOLE ATTRACTIVE-GIRL THING
"In person, I haven’t had anyone that’s out of place or weird. Everyone’s really nice. They just shake my hand and take a picture with me and play a few songs together. But online, it’s a completely different story. It’s pretty harmless; I don’t get offended. I just laugh at what they say. Online’s online; you can’t really regulate that.  I’m not someone who tries to look hot because that’s what guys like, it's how I dressed even before I got into competitive gaming. It’s my style. I’m not trying to downplay myself either. I like dressing up, going out, hitting clubs. I’m not afraid to wear short skirts or tight clothing, but I’m not trashy or slutty.  But when I do promotional events, I’m not going to show up in a turtleneck; I have to look appealing and draw a crowd. I do what I have to do, but I don’t cross the line or look ridiculous."

ON GAMING'S EFFECT ON HER PERSONAL LIFE
"I’ve never dated a local guy.  The two relationships I’ve had were with gamers, long distance. I spend a lot of time online, and I’ve invested a lot of time in the community, so the people I talk to have to understand what my interests are. I can’t talk to my boyfriend if he doesn’t know what I’M talking about. Like if I’m talking about forums or IIRC chats, or if I’m trying to get good at a game and he doesn’t understand why I’m spending five hours playing it. That's going to cause problems. I gravitate toward guys that understand my interests, which is something that every person would do. It’s hard because it’s usually long distance; if there's someone who’s local, that’d be awesome, but I haven’t found anyone who has the same interests as me that’s also available. It’s not easy to find someone normal who’s also into gaming who isn’t such a nerd. He’s gotta be cute and into games!"