Paving the way for female gamers
While the gaming industry has been popularly dominated by the male gender, female gamers are slowly but surely making waves in their own right. This week the Mirror Magazine reached out to gaming streamer Mekhala ‘LaRa’ Uthpali, the face behind the gaming channel ‘LaRa Streaming’.
A game changer: Mekhala ‘LaRa’ Uthpali
Mekhala’s gaming channel ‘LaRa Streaming” has amassed nearly 3000 subscribers where she streams her favourite games including Mortal Kombat,NFS,Dota,COD and more. In addition, Mekhala proudly holds the title as Gamer. LK’s first female streamer while in a PubG tournament she has served as a game caster for a world qualifier. In 2018 she joined NoobAlliance, one of the largest E-sport networks in the country.
Apart from being a passionate gamer she is an IT graduate and lecturer from the University of Sri Jayawardanapura. Being a multi- talented personality proficient in music and literature she can play multiple music instruments too. Professionally she has worked as a game developer for Arimac and she continues to explore and learn on game development. Among her achievements includes an educational game she created for youngsters.
“When playing Dota there is a task for all team players to execute within a time limit; this helps one understand the value of unity. In PubG if a player is injured it is the duty of a teamplayer to tend or provide first aid to the casualty, this creates a sense of compassion among the team. For a timid child who is often bullied in schools the small victories gained in gaming can mean a lot to them,” Mekhala adds, elaborating on the positive aspects of gaming.
For youngsters, E-sports opens up avenues to such as being able to represent the country on a global scale, and more recently skilled E-sport players are provided with scholarships in certain colleges in the US, points out Mekhala.
When discussing her channel Mekhala added that being in a male dominated arena, dealing with criticism from the opposite gender is not uncommon. However, she is passionate about doing what she loves and looks forward to contributing to the local gaming industry.
In 2019 the Ministry of Sports recognised E-sports as a national sport making Sri Lanka the first South Asian nation to take that approach. Today many gaming streamers like LaRa have joined hands to create a community to further the industry and some have even found financial success in this industry.