The Yole family attended the 2014 Penny-Arcade Australia event in Melbourne where I had a chance to chat to them about life, family and gaming together.

The Yole family attended the 2014 Penny-Arcade Australia event in Melbourne where I had a chance to chat to them about life, family and gaming together. Kieran Bicheno

IT MAY now be that the family who games together stays together.

The Yole family, Wade (48), Christine (45), Paige (17) and Cailyn (15) have been playing World of Tanks together for four years and they reckon it might be so.

Q: So who got you all into WOT to begin with? What kept you hooked?

Paige: Dad's nephew Ryan was the one to originally introduce us to World of Tanks during the Beta Testing stage.

Dad started to play the game first and we would watch him play the game fascinated by how the game played, buying new tanks, etc.

Naturally we wanted to play as well and start building our own tank collection. Eventually Mum, Cailyn and I all got our own accounts and started playing too.

World of Tanks kept us hooked firstly because Dad really did enjoy that we were all interest and enjoyed playing a game he really enjoyed. Also WOT is a completely unique game and it is never the same.

The battles can go anyway and are always different every time you play.

World of Tanks drew an impressive crowd during the 3-day PAX Aus event in Melbourne this year. Kieran Bicheno

Q: Do you all play WOT the same way or do you all approach it differently?

Christine: We all approach the game differently and play in different ways.

Wade and Paige are very strategic and Wade is also very competitive.

He really takes the time to study the maps and how to achieve a successful game.

Cailyn will just go out there have fun and shoot as many tanks as she can.

She is still strategic but not too fussed.

I however, would rather hang back and watch before getting involved in the battles.

I like to be more of sniper type player. Or go hide if the tanks are too big I am playing against.

Q: Historically, but even more so since the Gamer Gate movement took off, online games have been hostile towards women players; do you get that with WOT?

Paige: No, I don't find any misogyny in WOT.

This is because you really can't tell the genders of the players.

Unlike other games you can't hear people's voices or see anyone's faces.

There are no profiles or picture setups, it's just a user name of your choice and that is the only information other players know about you.

Wargaming is also really on top of it when it comes to protecting their players.

Anyone that says or types rude or inappropriate comments of any sort during a game can be reported and are immediately pulled up on and could be suspended from the game for several days.

Cailyn: I have never had any problems playing WOT.

I have actually made some friends from the kids of people Dad plays in clans with.

Christine: I have found WOT to be very safe for an internet game. I have no issues about the protection of my girls whilst they are playing.

The other players really have no idea they are playing against or with a bunch of girls.

Joe Salsone

Q: Is the community family-friendly?

Wade: Yes, the community is extremely family-friendly. Many of the players are parents themselves and have families of their own that all play.

Q: What's your favorite aspect of WOT? What would you say to other people like you who might be interested?

Christine: I like that we can platoon together when playing the game. I find it great fun when I can actually play with my family.

I like it when we stick together and move around the map supporting each other.

I find the game pretty user friendly and relatively easy to pick up the game concept.

I like that it's not visually over aggressive or gory to play e.g blood and guts.

It really is great for all ages and fun for mums to play too.

Wade: I have really enjoyed learning about all the tanks on offer and building my collection.

Getting an understanding of each tanks weaknesses and strengths, the ammunition available and armor they have on offer has been interesting to learn.

Also the different maps I believe are very true to the original locations.

Cailyn: I think it is just get fun, everyone will enjoy it.

It's addictive.