I’m Tunesha, but lots of my friends call me Shanell (Shay for short), but online everyone knows me as CHICKAMUNGUS. I’m originally from New Orleans, Louisiana, but I’m currently living in Atlanta, GA. I have a HUGE addiction to video games, which has given me a sub-addiction to the internet since I spend hours looking for the latest scoop on conventions, tournaments, release dates, trailers, etc! I’ve been gaming since the age of 5; my sister turned me on to it after watching her play Pacman for the NES. She was always trying to beat her high score and she was really hardcore and passionate about it, and it was always exciting watching her. This is what inspired me to become a gamer! After she bought Mario and Zelda, I would spend hours beating levels and saving the princess, and I would not stop until someone would pull me away from it! =D

I’ve always been addicted to games, but the first time I actually realized that I had an addiction was when I got Final Fantasy VIII for the first time, and YES I started with VIII not VII! I was so entranced and almost hypnotized by how beautiful this game was, how vast the world was, and how interesting the story and characters were. I know this sounds corny, but I felt almost connected to the characters as I moved through the storyline, and this was the first time I actually viewed games as an art, not just something with levels to beat, opponents to KO, or monsters to kill. Square Enix pwns my heart to this day!

Before Square Enix pwned me, there were other games that touched my heart like Street Fighter 2, Rival Turf, Super Mario World, Super Punch Out, Pitfall, Tomb Raider 2, Crash Bandicoot, Metal Gear Solid, and Tekken. Then along came a HUGE game, one that’s had probably the biggest impact on my life, and that game is Shenmue.

This is the game that made me actually want to be a part of making video games! This was the first game I’ve played with an actual weather system, full interaction of many objects, and free roam of the city to play mini games. It was a game with an awesome and immersive story line, a very cool fighting system, and a fun QTE system that kept you on your toes throughout the game. After this game, to me, there was no other like it, and I recently began to create a story line for a game that will take some of the characteristics of Shenmue and expand it to have a greater appeal to the gaming community, especially the female gamers who sometimes get overlooked in the developement and marketing departments!

Another game that has had a great impact on me was Halo. This was one of the first FPS games that I ever played, and the first time I ever played online was when Halo 2 came out (cue the disgusting insults from immature boys). I was used to being hardcore in Fighters, but this was different because I had to rely on a team. I have some of the most awesome memories of LAN parties and all nighters on this game. I know this may sound corny as well, but I was so excited to find other girls online who played as hardcore as me, and I’ve actually formed a bond and friendship with many of these girls that I still have today!

It was when I started playing Halo 3 when I got invited to the girlz 0f destruction clan. These girlz have made history by having one of the first gaming house located in Sweden, and winning some of the biggest payouts of any female pro gamers. I felt that it was an honor to be chosen to be on this team, especially since I played console and most of them played PC. Soon after I was sent to the CPL Extreme Winter Championship to compete in the $30,000 Halo 3 FFA tournament. Of course it was my first time, and I really didn’t expect to win over some of the seasoned pros, but I actually made it to the second round, and was the only girl to do so. Since then I learned a lot about competing and how to get my A game to a better A+ game, and I’ve also decided that I will start competing in fighting game tournaments as well, since that was one of my first hardcore loves!

Right now, I spend 24 hours a day (pretty much every day of the week) doing something gaming related, whether its writing about it, writing my story, or playing for hours. When I’m not doing that, I’m either thinking about it, talking about it, or dreaming about it! I’m also working on a new website that’s going to rock gamer chicks socks! My dream for now is to become as good as I can as a Pro Gamer and make a name for myself and make my team proud. I am a HUGE supporter of all female gamers from any and every team, so I would love to do well and make every female gamer proud as well! My goals for the future is to finally be able to bring my game to life. I’m putting a lot into writing this game, and it’s a bit ambitious like Yu Suzuki’s Shenmue, but hopefully I’ll have a better turn out than he did, and everyone will actually appreciate the amount of detail and creativity that’s been put into it!

WOW! Ok that’s A LOT huh? And this is only my gamer side, lol! I do love other things, and in order to make myself seem less of an insane gamer, here’s some:

Top 10 List

1. God- Jesus is my Hommie!

2. My husband- also my best friend

3. My family- they’re pretty crazy, and I am too!

4. Anime- Bleach and Inuyasha right now, O.G. Sailor Moon pwned me first though!

5. Cosplay- I’d love to cosplay as a Gothic Lolita (the pretty ones, lol!)

6. Japanese Culture- if you haven’t noticed from the influences of #4&5 ^-^

7. Traveling- I haven’t really gone anywhere, but I’d like to if I had the money

8. Pink- the color, oh well I’m girly, sue me!

9. Mini Skirts- ahh they’re so Kawaii! and they make my legs look purtyful <3

10. Ice Cream- it’s such a big deal! DONT touch my icecream or I will kill you!! =x

There’s more about me on my myspace page if you wanna know more about me =) myspace.com/34ddd2538