Beth Tsai
Senior Policy Analyst, Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration
From early Atari to the latest Xbox release, Beth Tsai had always liked video games. But when a friend introduced her to World of Warcraft (WoW) the summer after law school, she fell in love.
Tsai is one of 11.5 million people worldwide who competes in the online role-playing game. “You run around, explore, kill monsters and get treasure,” Tsai explains. “It’s one big virtual sandbox.”
Tsai plays WoW at a highly competitive level. Most nights, Ellyee (Tsai’s WoW avatar) meets her guild online to launch complex raids dedicated to slaying dragons and other monsters. Her 24 teammates are from North America and Europe.
WoW exposes Tsai to a broad cross-section of people, not many of them lawyers. “They tend to be a little quirkier, a little more interesting,” she confesses. “It’s refreshing.”
To the critics who see online gaming as a dangerous addiction, Tsai says she plays in moderation, and that WoW is a fun, social and rewarding pastime. “On those nights when most people go home and watch T.V., I kill internet dragons.”
Photography by Daniel Ehrenworth