Stephanie Bendixsen
Stephanie Claire Bendixsen (born 31 March 1985) is an Australian video game critic, author, and is best known as one of the former presenters of the video game television programs "Good Game" and "", where she went by the gamertag "Hex", and "screenPLAY". Early life. Bendixsen was born in Sydney, New South Wales to an Argentinian father Axel Bendixsen and a Dutch mother Winifred Margaretha Klinkhamer. When she was two years old, she moved with her family to Auckland, New Zealand where she lived until the age of nine, when she moved back to Australia. When she was a  child, she wanted to be an equestrian, as the result of her fascination with horses. In adolescence, her parents refused to let her play any form of video games, and she would sneak out of home to her friends' places to play games with them. When she was fifteen years old, Bendixsen stumbled upon a Multi-user dungeon video game titled "Lensmoor", and she became addicted to it. Moreover, Bendixsen influenced her peers to also play the game, thus causing her to play the game during nights and passing out during class. This addiction ended when her teacher notified her  parents, and she was sent to therapy. Bendixsen became interested in arts, as they provided her with some degree of escapism. She studied acting at Western Sydney University, with a goal to obtain a basic arts degree. However, Bendixsen did not finish her studies and worked full-time in a call centre. Career. Section::::"Good Game". In 2009, the ABC ran a nationwide search for television presenters to host a new kids channel, ABC3, and Bendixsen auditioned for one of the positions. While shooting her audition video she discovered that the ABC2 video game review show "Good Game" was also looking  for a presenter. Bendixsen was approached by the ABC for the Good Game presenter role after auditioning for the role of a judge on ABC 3's talent search "Me on 3". Being a long-time fan of the show herself, she applied for and won the role, replacing former host Jeremy Ray. Bendixsen also became a co-host for the show's spin-off "Good Game: Spawn Point", on ABC3 aimed at younger audiences. On 26 October 2009, she made her debut for "Good Game" and subsequently "" on 20 February 2010 alongside host Steven "Bajo" O'Donnell. In January 2017 , Bendixsen announced her departure from the show, resulting in its cancellation. Section::::"Good Game" controversy. In 2009, Bendixsen replaced the former "Good Game" co-host Jeremy "Junglist" Ray, even though originally she was planned to join the two hosts. Due to this incident, Bendixsen endured cyberbullying and doxing attempts from the viewers of "Good Game", who were infuriated by Ray's forced departure from the show. Section::::"screenPLAY". In June 2017, it was announced that Bendixsen was joining a new video game television program called "screenPLAY" on Channel Seven. The show launched online on 19 June. On 30 April 2018 "screenPLAY" was  cancelled. Section::::"Back Pocket". In 2020, Bendixsen helped to launch an online gaming show called "Back Pocket", where she and her colleagues present video game-related news and gameplays. The show is funded by its audience using the membership platform Patreon. Other. Bendixsen wrote a monthly gaming column for "Dolly" magazine, and acted in an online mini-series called "People You May Know". In 2016, Bendixsen created and presented her own program called "How To Be A Fan With Hex". For the show, she also directed a fan film called "Dangerous Night", which pays homage to the 1982 film "Blade Runner . Moreover, she has co-written four children's books with her former Good Game" co-host Steven "Bajo" O'Donnell called "Dig World" and "Dragon Land", which were published in 2016, "Speed Zone", which was published in 2017, and "Space Fortress", which was published in 2018. Personal life. Bendixsen's Gamertag "Hex" came from her love of spellcasters in role-playing games, and their common attribute in a spell called "Hex", whereby an enemy would be afflicted by a curse which usually would cause damage or immobilise its current state. Hex now plays more stealth-based characters, such as a Rogue  or Thief, but chooses to keep the name as a nickname. In 2012, Bendixsen started a relationship with "Good Game"'s former production co-ordinator Peter "Pierreth" Burns. The two became engaged in February 2019 and married on 17 August 2019.