Manila, Philippines - For the best online gaming experience, a fast and reliable Internet connection is a must. But equally important is maintaining a balance between fun and responsibility.
Raymond Chua, Ruff Ryders team captain, will be the first to quash the stereotypical image of gamers being addicts. “I’m an online gamer, but I don’t let it consume me,” says the 25-year-old nurse at Novaliches General Hospital.
“It’s all just a matter of prioritizing what’s more important, like work or school.”
Ruff Ryders emerged champions during the 9th Ragnarok World Championship held at SM City North Edsa. Now called “Team Smart Philippines,” they will represent the country in the Ragnarok World Championships 2012 in Seoul, South Korea this October.
Raymond started playing the Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG) Ragnarok (RO) in 2004.
“It was our generation’s Facebook. You can chat live with other players and easily interact with them online, apart from buying powerful items and leveling up other players (helping them achieve in-game experience and increase their level). That’s why I joined — interactivity,” he says.
Raymond was then a nursing student at the University of Perpetual Help. Some of his classmates got so hooked on the game that they would borrow money from one another or skip lunch just to be able to play. A few even thought of pawning personal items.
Not Raymond. “I would go to class faithfully during the day and play RO in the evening… all my friends who became obsessed had to stop playing altogether because it interfered with their schoolwork,” he says.
Staying focused on studies paid off: He graduated magna cum laude in 2007.
Still, he chose to lay low while he prepared for the board exams. “I was just leveling up my character (a High Wizard) or others’ characters, chatting with friends … nothing serious,” he recalls.
Again, good behavior was “rewarded.” In 2010, his mother, apparently seeing that her son had not been waylaid by online gaming, suggested that he compete in a tournament. He remembers her telling him, “When am I going to see you compete onstage?”
Raymond took it as a cue to get serious with online gaming.
He joined various tournaments and competitions for the next two years, gaining more experience and improving his game.
When he learned that Ruff Ryders was looking for just one member in order to compete for the Ragnarok World Championship in March, he signed up.
At the outset, he told the team members that work came first, so practice schedules would have to be adjusted if necessary. The team members assured him they were fine with that.
Ruff Ryders practiced three times a week, at most, and at least once a week over Skype and an Internet connection to “enhance their teamwork,” says the team captain. “It’s not just about having the most powerful skills and items. It’s also about working together as a unit and knowing when to use what you have at your disposal — be it abilities, equipment, weapons.”
Also, each individual team member has to complement one other—“walang bakaw (greed is a no-no),” he mentions.
If school or work needed to be done, there was a time they didn’t practice at all. But that did not bother them. Team mate Joseph Barbarona adds, “Our team rule is: Put your responsibilities over the game.”
Raymond thinks that brought the team members closer together — and on to the Ragnarok championship.
Each team member received, among other prizes, a Smart Rocket WiFi Plus Prepaid Kit: the super-fast Internet device which can deliver speeds of up to 20 megabits per second (Mbps). Raymond, who no longer has to wait for his turn at Internet cafes, says it’s quite efficient. “I play RO and go on Facebook even while my cousins are connected to the same WiFi … And there’s no lag at all.”
Says Smart Broadband Internet and Data Services head Lloyd Manaloto, “We are so proud of our champions! Not only do they bring honor in representing the country internationally, but they are also role models for our youth. Yes, they are gamers, doing what they enjoy most, but they are also responsible students and professionals. As the Smart motto goes, that’s how you ‘live more.’”