We got e-game

The song title read "Kan-Kan" under the classical category and for a moment there, we found ourselves scratching our heads trying to recall if Bach or Mozart ever composed a piece of that title. It wasn’t after we heard the familiar strain that we easily identified it as that of the bubbly French Can-Can music. This time, however, there is no line of stockinged, long-legged girls pulling up their skirts and kicking in unison. Instead, there’s one animated character – an avatar in online gaming terms – dancing to the beat of the engaging music. And yes, there’s the online player who, looking like Wagner gone mad, continuously pounds at the keyboard in time with the music, trying to stay on the game and earn enough points. Or else, he turns into this freaky-looking, ball-shaped avatar bouncing in place. Welcome to one of the newest online gaming in town, O2 Jam.

Even now as this is being written, the sound of that "Kan-Kan" music keeps going round our heads as if it were in a perpetual loop – well, that is until we play other tunes from O2 Jam’s wide selection. But after talking to Intellectual Properties Venture Group chief operations officer Steve Tsao, its clear that we aren’t alone in this predicament.

"I’ve been waking up the last few mornings humming our game," he says sheepishly while showing us how to play O2 Jam, one of the new free-to-play online games the company has launched recently. "We are playing to a song and each key tone represents a note. I usually do a lot better," he smiles.

Don’t let his modesty fool you. This young man has been in the field for the last 10 years. Actually, he’s been involved in online gaming from the very start – in 1996 when he was still a college sophomore. "I knew some of the original inventors that started online gaming and they invited me to participate in their pre-alpha testing. This was basically when they were testing whether the concept of MMORPG – massively multiplayer online role playing games – works," explains Tsao. Together with his friends, they "created the first MMORPG message board in the world," the first ever online guild that began with 10 of the top guilds.

This computer-buff never thought he’d go seriously into online gaming. After earning a degree in chemical engineering, he went on to earn his MBA from Babson College and later took up international business at Harvard Business School. The 30-year-old executive held various management positions for several years with Dupont and Corning companies. He was also into wide-scale deployment of IT solutions and operational integrations of Mergers & Acquisitions. But it was obvious that fate had other plans for him.

In 2000, five years after he met the rest of the IPVG Corp Management Committee in an online game called Ultima Online, he joined the IPVG in launching the multi-media community portal and city guide, Adobo Interactive. The IPVG now specializes in media technology convergence and interactivity.

"We started by designing some of the web pages for the Philippines. It was one of the first movers in the dot.com space. We signed up our content partner back in June 2005. We are a company built around gamers so our ages are kinda within the demographics we are aiming at," he says of IPGV Corp.’s gaming and multimedia business, IP Interactive.

Since their target market is the 15 to 29 age range, Tsao’s company asks high school and college kids to test the games. By providing internships for this young bunch, they not only got to master the games, but learn about the industry as well. "It’s a fun summer job for college kids; at the same time, they learn about the marketing and business side of this company," explains Tsao.

Realizing that the Philippines has huge potential in MMORPG, Tsao leads the company in coming out with e-Games.com.ph, which offers three genres of free-to-play online games. These games are an alternative to the fantasy gaming genre – think knights, wizards and monsters – which is the rage among Filipino gamers. One is called Ran Online, a modern-day online role-playing game. It is set in a different timeline where evil spirits have possessed people. The gamers’ goal is to fight against these evil doers, not in some land far, far away, but in a modern-day setting. It is also the first school campus-based MMORPG. In a nutshell, there are three schools to start in and players can choose from four characters in each school. Each character is endowed with different martial arts style of fighting – hand-to-hand combat, sword, archery and qigong. Added features are different weapons, armors and other items, as well as multiple skill trees to choose from. The game also has guild or gang capabilities so players can group themselves and help each other out. It’s quite different too in that the form of punishment in this game is time spent doing community service.

Tsao is clearly excited about this game, and for a good reason. "It’s basically the top online role-playing game for every market it launched in, including Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia and Thailand." The IPVG is trying to develop the English language version of the game, and is also being eyed to help out in improving the Korean game.

Another game IP Interactive launched recently is O2 Jam, the first online music and No. 1 casual game in the world that is making players nod their heads and tap their feet – not to mention make like a rock star – to the vibrant beat. "There are millions of players worldwide playing this game and thousands of music artists worldwide that are contributing to this game," Tsao enthuses.

The game can accommodate as much as eight players at a time anywhere in the world. The music selection ranges from jazz to techno to classical. Why, there’s even a Christmas selection in the list arranged to fit the heart-thumping, finger-numbing game. For those who are struggling with their hand-and-eye coordination, this game is for you.

Like in Ran Online, O2 Jam players can customize their avatars with a selection of wardrobe from the casual tee, jeans and baseball cap to the funky rocker look. They can also choose to play the instrument they like. Since this is a free-to-play game like Ran Online, one can play for as long and as often as he wants. Offering pay-to-play games, e-Games.com.ph is based on merchandise and virtual-item-purchase business model. If he wants to dress up his avatar, then that’s the time he makes purchases using e-points or in-game currency called gems. If you get tired looking at a bald, naked and androgynous-looking avatar, then you know it’s time for an online makeover.

The idea is to hit the keys to correspond to the beat of the selected song. The higher the level of the song, the more notes fall at a faster pace. Players can opt to go at it alone, in VS mode (meaning you’re competing with other players), album, or couple modes. According to Tsao, O2 Jam is played every year in the World Cyber Games competition, the Olympics of computer games tournaments.

In the closed beta group testing process, IP Interactive offered an initial 50 songs in the game, which could be accessed from selected Internet cafes. For the open beta group, there will be around 200 songs. "We have been very selective about the closed beta partners. We have chosen sites that are helping us out and also a few Internet cafes. Right now, there are 200 Internet cafes who have a sort of exclusivity to the game in Metro Manila."

Incidentally, the Philstar.com user base has been given a promotional amount of e-points so they can enjoy the products. What IPVG gets in return is direct access to the Philstar.com membership.

Another IP Interactive pride is Dreamville, the only avatar-based online community portal, which is currently available in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand. Its aim? To bring prople around the world closer together. Just imagine a world of avatars representing human members from all over the globe. A virtual global community in itself, this is a small world after all.

The young crop of IPVG employees (the oldest is 57 but age is a state of mind; Tsao says this gamer is young at heart and can very well compete with other gamers) are quite enthusiastic about getting their customers have a good time playing their games. Says Tsao, "We have staff in different shifts to make sure that when a new player logs on, he will not be alone learning the game. We have a dedicated process to teach new players how to enjoy the game and the songs, and help them out if ever they run into problems."

At the moment, Tsao’s team is working on including some items that are popular for the local market, and one that would fit the Filipino culture well. They are particularly excited about the prospect of working with local artists and to have their music incorporated into the game. For all we know, says Tsao, there would be a barong Tagalog-clad rocker avatar in O2 Jam in the future.

Tsao is very optimistic about the success of Ran Online and O2 Jam in the Philippines. While online gaming is viewed as a "geeky thing" in the US, he says that these are culturally much more accepted in Asia. This is due partly to the huge number of Internet cafes all over Asia. Asians are seen as having more options to spend their money on as well. "One can even gain celebrity status if a player becomes very good at it," observes Tsao. Obviously, this "rabid gamer" of a COO is very good at it. If you happen to play with him one of these days in O2 Jam’s rooms, be forewarned – this guy plays a mean guitar riff online.

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Wanna play for free? Log on to www.e-Games.com.ph