In the universe of Ragnarok
July 25, 2004 | 12:00am
We went to Korea, not to go shopping, but to cheer and watch the Philippines competing in the very first Ragnarok World Championship (RWC) in Seoul, Korea last July 18.
Gravity, owner of Ragnarok Online (RO), sponsored the event, inviting over a dozen countries to participate in this two-day affair. With countries such as Japan, USA, Taiwan, and the Philippines participating in the RWC, Jung Ryool Kim, chairman of Gravity Corporation, was proud of the results. "We are so pleased to head an event where all of our users can get together and have fair and friendly competitions," he declares, "not to mention that it will be the very first world-class event for a game of this kind."
Based on the Ragnarok manwha, a Korean graphic novel, written by author Myoung-Jin Lee, Ragnarok Online is known as a MMORPG, or a massively multi-player online role playing game – which means that users log on to the game and play in teams, each with their own character. Gamers immerse themselves in a fantasy land of cute characters, 3D backgrounds and a totally unique universe, one with its own set of rules and hierarchies. Its strongest point, as Gravity is proud to point out, is its community features. Gamers interact with other players, choosing to ally or war against other characters.
Ragnarok is a fairly simple game once you understand its universe. It’s when you start defining game objectives that things get complicated. As Corinna Pettyjohn, an avid Ragnarok gamer, explains, "Some people play to fight other teams, while others just want to get to level 99 or build the ‘perfect’ character. Some people like to role play and develop their character’s ‘personality,’ while others just want to pick up chicks."
At the moment, the game has about 25,000 concurrent users in the Philippines – which is impressive considering the game only debuted here late last year. Not surprising since Ragnarok users all over the world number about 27 million, a number that is fast growing due to Gravity’s plans to launch the game in 30 more countries.
The Philippine delegation, formed by two teams, namely Unholy and Rebirth, and Level-Up organizers, owner of the local rights to Ragnarok Online, arrived in Seoul ready to win. In an interview published in Level-Up’s website before the championship, John Ramos of team Rebirth seemed positive, saying, "Well, the only thing that we can assure (you of) is that we will give it our best. Nightly planning, strategizing, researching and practicing are things we do to prepare for the tourney."
Bryan So of team Unholy seemed certain of an encouraging outcome against the Koreans, stating in the same interview, "It’s hard to tell if we have a chance or not considering that fact that they have been playing Ragnarok Online longer than us. But some Philippine RO players play as much as the Korean RO players so I guess we’re pretty much in the same level here. But most importantly, we all have the drive to win the competition."
The first game of the championship pitted Philippine team Rebirth against Indonesian team oNe batZ. In less than 10 minutes, Rebirth lost to the opposing team. "oNe batZ was a strong team," says Philippine gaming expert Jayder Regis. "They stayed together and moved as a group, unlike Rebirth who split up right at the start which led to their loss." Local champion team Unholy now held the hopes of the Philippine delegation. Another loss would mean that they would never get past the preliminaries.
During lunch, post-game, it was amusing to see almost all the players order the same food –Tonkatsu – ignoring the native dishes of Korea, like the spicy Kimchi, in favor of comfort food. "Lahing Tokyo Tokyo kasi kami," explains a sheepish Gerald Borja of Level-Up.
On the second day of the RO championship, team Unholy was placed against Malaysian team Tengtitle. "If I had to bet, I’d bet on our team," Jayder Regis stated emphatically. "But I’d only bet a small amount," he adds with a smile. He wasn’t the only one hedging his bets for Unholy. "We have high hopes for this team," says one Level-Up staff member stating the team’s success in local RO tournaments – they had won the local finals, making them first placers, while team Rebirth won second place.
Unfortunately, Unholy fared just slightly better than the other group. It was a valiant effort for the team, but sadly Malaysia was too quick on the uptake. "(The Malaysian team) knew what to do right from the beginning," shares team member Jay de la Paz. "They set their traps immediately, and were aggressive with their moves. We could only counter them," he says with a shrug.
"We just didn’t have enough practice," adds a team member in a tone that remained upbeat, despite their loss. "And we lost our wizard early in the game – he was a very critical part of our team."
Though the teams seemed dejected by their losses, their gamesmanship never left them and they stayed on to watch the finals – a match between Taiwan teams Unforseeable and Gates of Hell. "Grabe talaga ’tong mga taga-Taiwan," Level-Up’s Gerald Borja said jokingly. In the end, team Unforseeable won the match against their compatriots, bringing home their US$10,000 cash prize while Gates of Hell received US$7,000.
The Philippines never made it past the preliminaries, but they weren’t alone. They were joined by Korea, who was defeated by China in the preliminary round.
Team Unholy didn’t go home empty-handed. They were presented with an "Encouragement Award" along with US$500 from Gravity. "Time to go shopping," says one team member.
Gravity, owner of Ragnarok Online (RO), sponsored the event, inviting over a dozen countries to participate in this two-day affair. With countries such as Japan, USA, Taiwan, and the Philippines participating in the RWC, Jung Ryool Kim, chairman of Gravity Corporation, was proud of the results. "We are so pleased to head an event where all of our users can get together and have fair and friendly competitions," he declares, "not to mention that it will be the very first world-class event for a game of this kind."
Based on the Ragnarok manwha, a Korean graphic novel, written by author Myoung-Jin Lee, Ragnarok Online is known as a MMORPG, or a massively multi-player online role playing game – which means that users log on to the game and play in teams, each with their own character. Gamers immerse themselves in a fantasy land of cute characters, 3D backgrounds and a totally unique universe, one with its own set of rules and hierarchies. Its strongest point, as Gravity is proud to point out, is its community features. Gamers interact with other players, choosing to ally or war against other characters.
Ragnarok is a fairly simple game once you understand its universe. It’s when you start defining game objectives that things get complicated. As Corinna Pettyjohn, an avid Ragnarok gamer, explains, "Some people play to fight other teams, while others just want to get to level 99 or build the ‘perfect’ character. Some people like to role play and develop their character’s ‘personality,’ while others just want to pick up chicks."
At the moment, the game has about 25,000 concurrent users in the Philippines – which is impressive considering the game only debuted here late last year. Not surprising since Ragnarok users all over the world number about 27 million, a number that is fast growing due to Gravity’s plans to launch the game in 30 more countries.
The Philippine delegation, formed by two teams, namely Unholy and Rebirth, and Level-Up organizers, owner of the local rights to Ragnarok Online, arrived in Seoul ready to win. In an interview published in Level-Up’s website before the championship, John Ramos of team Rebirth seemed positive, saying, "Well, the only thing that we can assure (you of) is that we will give it our best. Nightly planning, strategizing, researching and practicing are things we do to prepare for the tourney."
Bryan So of team Unholy seemed certain of an encouraging outcome against the Koreans, stating in the same interview, "It’s hard to tell if we have a chance or not considering that fact that they have been playing Ragnarok Online longer than us. But some Philippine RO players play as much as the Korean RO players so I guess we’re pretty much in the same level here. But most importantly, we all have the drive to win the competition."
The first game of the championship pitted Philippine team Rebirth against Indonesian team oNe batZ. In less than 10 minutes, Rebirth lost to the opposing team. "oNe batZ was a strong team," says Philippine gaming expert Jayder Regis. "They stayed together and moved as a group, unlike Rebirth who split up right at the start which led to their loss." Local champion team Unholy now held the hopes of the Philippine delegation. Another loss would mean that they would never get past the preliminaries.
During lunch, post-game, it was amusing to see almost all the players order the same food –Tonkatsu – ignoring the native dishes of Korea, like the spicy Kimchi, in favor of comfort food. "Lahing Tokyo Tokyo kasi kami," explains a sheepish Gerald Borja of Level-Up.
On the second day of the RO championship, team Unholy was placed against Malaysian team Tengtitle. "If I had to bet, I’d bet on our team," Jayder Regis stated emphatically. "But I’d only bet a small amount," he adds with a smile. He wasn’t the only one hedging his bets for Unholy. "We have high hopes for this team," says one Level-Up staff member stating the team’s success in local RO tournaments – they had won the local finals, making them first placers, while team Rebirth won second place.
Unfortunately, Unholy fared just slightly better than the other group. It was a valiant effort for the team, but sadly Malaysia was too quick on the uptake. "(The Malaysian team) knew what to do right from the beginning," shares team member Jay de la Paz. "They set their traps immediately, and were aggressive with their moves. We could only counter them," he says with a shrug.
"We just didn’t have enough practice," adds a team member in a tone that remained upbeat, despite their loss. "And we lost our wizard early in the game – he was a very critical part of our team."
Though the teams seemed dejected by their losses, their gamesmanship never left them and they stayed on to watch the finals – a match between Taiwan teams Unforseeable and Gates of Hell. "Grabe talaga ’tong mga taga-Taiwan," Level-Up’s Gerald Borja said jokingly. In the end, team Unforseeable won the match against their compatriots, bringing home their US$10,000 cash prize while Gates of Hell received US$7,000.
The Philippines never made it past the preliminaries, but they weren’t alone. They were joined by Korea, who was defeated by China in the preliminary round.
Team Unholy didn’t go home empty-handed. They were presented with an "Encouragement Award" along with US$500 from Gravity. "Time to go shopping," says one team member.
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