Responsible online gaming

“Never have too much of a good thing.” These were the parting words left by Level Up! COO Ben Golayco on the video message he left for gaming enthusiasts of Level Up! Online.

Golayco had a chance to speak to online gamers during the Level Up! Mural Painting Competition and Level Up! Grand Eye Ball last May 24 at the SM Trade Hall.

There were 70 entries for the competition and all were inspired by the different online games and each came with a message on responsible gaming.

Richard Nayne, a 5th year architecture student of the University of the Visayas, won 1st place with his mural of a Perfect World Character holding a sign which said “Be a Responsible Gamer.”

Nayne shares that his inspiration for making the mural was his mother who was diagnosed with cancer last year. He also hopes that his mural would be an effective way to let the youth know about responsible online gaming.

Nayne also won as Artist of the Year in the 2006 Tartanilla Painting Competition. Because of his winnings, Level Up! will sponsor Nayne’s tuition fee for one semester and he also received a desktop computer for himself and his school.

There were many activities during the Grand Eye Ball for gamers. Bands like Power Spoons, Toy Soldiers and Nine Divide performed at the event. Level Up! organizers also set up numerous computers for gamers to play their favorite online games namely Perfect World, Flyff, Freestyle, RF Online, and the all-time favorite Ragnarok. The main thrust of the event was to let gamers meet and interact with fellow online gamers.

Sansan De Leon, Marketing Services Manager of Level Up!, said that they are planning to organize events such as the mural competition and Grand Eye Ball in other provinces in the Philippines.