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Where’s the “Role” in Role-Playing?
2007-11-14 05:26:51
Video Role-Playing Games or RPG’s derived the concept from traditional pen-and-paper role-playing games. Dungeons and Dragons was the one who started the revolution. In the 80’s and the 90’s, a lot of “weight” was put into the “role” – i.e. immersing yourself in the milieu, building your character, engrossing discussions with NPCs, cool quests, and [...] ...

Ragnarok Philippines: How to Use the Redemption Codes
2007-11-13 07:16:32
During Level Up Live 2007, you probably got colored stubs with funny looking codes, right? A lot have been wondering on HOW TO USE THEM. Here are some helpful step-by-step instructions on how to use and claim your free in-game items using the redemption codes. You may have been given this if you bought a bundled Poring [...] ...
Philippines  Ragnarok  Redemption 

GStar 2007 Korea Wrap Up
2007-11-13 07:00:00
GStar 2007 is over. It was one heck of an experience. There were hundreds of games and scores of new developers and new friends met. I had the opportunity to look at the Korean gaming scene and do “snack experiments” on the side. It was so much fun. Despite the traveling and few hours trip, I [...] ...
Korea 

Video: LIVE 2007 Early Bird Campers
2007-11-13 02:00:31
I promised the campers out at the WTC on November 2 that I’d show the vid on the blog, hosted by Level Up Youtube GM Atma and myself were there to say hi to the scores of people all camping outside the event area as early as 11:00pm. One even bought a cool beach chair so [...] ...
Bird  Video 

Level Up CEO Jane Walker Interviewed
2007-11-12 06:00:45
Good friend Alex Villafania of Hackenslash interviewed our CEO, Jane Walker at the LIVE 2007 event. Jane talks about the event, the state of our new game, Perfect World and even RF Online, which recently re-launched as a Free-to-Play service. She also explains how game design and payment models make sense in business decisions. Check out the video [...] ...

Online Game Sweat Shops
2007-11-12 02:00:51
Maybe you’ve heard it before, that there are “sweatshops” mostly in Asia (China in particular) that offer leveling, farming services or selling of gold and items. WoW is the most in-demand game for this. While the managers and the companies running these sweatshops make millions of dollars every year, a typical employee who does the dirty [...] ...
Game  Sweat 

Over $3,600 in Prizes in PublisherForums.com
2007-11-11 15:46:43
If you’re a webmaster, blogger or online publisher, you wouldn’t want to miss out on publisherforums.com webmaster forums contest! They’re giving away more than $3,600 worth of prizes from their major and minor sponsors. Check out the contest url here There are several ways to join. Quality post, Top Post, Community Spirit, and Top Referrer. This is [...] ...

GStar 2007 Korea Cosplay
2007-11-11 06:10:42
Alright, there wasn’t any real cosplay parade at the GStar Event. I already covered the booth babes in a separate post. Most of what “cosplay” is in the event are really hired models wearing the characters for the games that they are modeling for. You can find most of the photos of the girls in my [...] ...
Korea 

Innovating MMORPGs
2007-11-11 02:00:17
When I witnessed the hundreds of new MMORPG titles in GStar 2007, much of them all look the same. For me, in order to survive in this highly competitive industry, it’s not just a matter of designing an MMORPG with better graphics or gameplay. There has to be something DIFFERENT in it. Obviously, cloning a successful [...] ...

Gadgets: Repose Gaming Chair
2007-11-10 10:28:14
One of the essentials for me when I’m gaming is comfort. And what better way to have comfort than a state-of-the-art game chair complete with surround sound and rumble. Introducing just one of the many brands out there that cater to the elite gamer, the Repose-1000 movie game chair. According to the official copy: With the Sub-Sonic Bone Rattler [...] ...
Chair  Gadgets  Gaming 

The Korean Gaming Scene
2007-11-10 09:43:12
Just arrived at Manila via PAL. Flight was okay, around 4 hours. I did not sleep last night since the limousine bus from the COEX hotel leaves at 5:10am. The Incheon international airport is far… like from Manila to Bulacan. So it takes around an hour and a half to get there. Anyways, was both tired [...] ...
Gaming  Scene 

The Girls of GStar 2007 Korea
2007-11-09 06:43:42
Korea’s so dang cold nowadays but the girls here are sizzling hot! Part of my business trip here is to attend the G-Star Expo, a gathering of game business VIPs from all across the world to share information, launch products and scout for new titles and opportunities. Too bad the wireless Internet connection at the hotel wasn’t [...] ...
Korea 

GStar Korea 2007 Photo Essay
2007-11-09 06:31:09
Here’s a quick and dirty photo essay of my Day 1 activities at the GStar gaming summit. Okay, I have to admit - part of my trip here to Korea is to attend this HUGE gaming event and business expo. Someone’s gotta do it, right? *wink* November 8, 2007 – slept only around 5 hours the [...] ...
Essay  Korea  Photo 

Musings: Korean Food
2007-11-09 03:12:50
I love my camera! Well, actually, it’s a love-hate relationship. I love it because I get snapshots of everyday life and yes, I HATE it because the damn batteries don’t last that long. Anyways, this old friend of mine is nearly reaching the end of its useful life. It has allowed me to document my [...] ...
Food 

Ariani Nogueira - FHM Cover Babe
2007-11-07 07:00:29
Viva Brazil! Ariani Nogueira is the Brazilian sensation of Philippine noontime show “Eat Bulaga”. Ariani, whose dancing skills wowed Eat Bulaga audiences nationwide, was raised in Brazil and just came to the Philippines one year ago. Ariani says that this is her first TV stint. Now, she’s even more popular when she appeared as FHM Philippines’ [...] ...
Cover 

Snack Hunting in Seoul
2007-11-07 02:00:29
Whenever I go to a foreign country, one of the things that I like to do is go “snack hunting”. The US is a no-brainer. All those things I see on movies and TV, I eventually buy. When I was in Japan, my palette couldn’t stand the weird textures and flavors. But being back here in [...] ...
Hunting  Seoul 

Philippine Ragnarok Online: EXP week and Redemption Coupon
2007-11-06 15:09:17
First, the good news: Philippine Ragnarok online will have a bonus EXP week as announced at the pRO website. WHEN: November 7 to 14, 2007 HOW MUCH: Baldur, Freya, Tyr, Thor: 3x EXP Urdr: 5x EXP Thanks to all who attended the LIVE 2007 event and that’s also for Boza clinching the RPC title. Now, do you remember the colored pieces of [...] ...
Coupon  Ragnarok  Redemption 

Off to Korea
2007-11-06 14:53:36
Am now at the Coex Intercontinental in Seoul for a week-long business trip (told yah, no rest for the wicked… hehehe). Anyways, the morning wasn’t off to a good start. I forgot the damn batteries of my digital camera and also left my Level Up jacket at the cab! It’s freezing like crazy here! Shiat! Good thing [...] ...
Korea 

LIVE 2007 Cosplay: Frost Jokers
2007-11-06 14:40:47
The yearly cosplay for Level Up Live is already a tradition. It’s one of the biggest productions and one of the most anticipated parts of the program. Of course, last year, we were wowed by Gamer Babe Charlene as the feisty succubus in her group’s skit. This year, it’s Master Diwa’s time. Diwa, together with the [...] ...
Frost 

Let’s Share LIVE 2007 Photos
2007-11-05 10:34:41
Ok, my digicam is a battery monster. Have to find money to replace the damn thing. This means that most of the cosplay pics and other parts of the event, I had to find from other LU peeps. Which makes a good segue into SHARING LIVE 2007 pics. If you have an online repository of pics or even [...] ...
Photos 

Liveblogging LEVEL UP LIVE 2007: Day 2 Updates (Part 2)
2007-11-05 09:42:21
Woot!  /no1 What a successful event! It was tiring, but everything was worth it. A MILLION THANKS TO ALL WHO ATTENDED! Apologies for not posting updates yesterday since I was super-duper busy with tons of things to attend to. Media interviews, consultations with the head judges, juggling the schedule and a whole slew of other nitty-gritty details [...] ...

Liveblogging LEVEL UP LIVE 2007: Day 2 Updates
2007-11-04 07:10:50
Last day of Level Up LIVE 2007. It’s Sunday and things are running smoothly. Got some well deserved sleep last night and aside from the RO redemption stub fiasco, everything is ok. We are way ahead of schedule. Am excited about today due to the cosplay of course and the finals for RPC. We just finished the [...] ...

Liveblogging LEVEL UP LIVE 2007: Day 1 updates (Part 2)
2007-11-03 18:08:14
Alrighty! It’s almost 1:00 am. I only had 3 hours of sleep last night. But I have to squeak in one last post. This time it’s about the official list of winners of the Day 1 tournaments. As I discussed on earlier posts, the finals for day one included 4 games. Namely, Pangya, Khan, FlyFF and Perfect [...] ...

Liveblogging LEVEL UP LIVE 2007: Day 1 updates (Part 1)
2007-11-03 17:09:20
It started with a trickle last night with the early bird campout. That trickle eventually turned to downpour as online gamers swarmed to the World Trade Center on day 1 of the Philippines’ BIGGEST and BEST online game event, LIVE 2007. The line was so long that it reached out as far as to Macapagal Blvd. [...] ...

Liveblogging LIVE 2007: Camping Out for Early Bird
2007-11-03 05:52:03
Last night, after the rehearsals, I took a peek outside WTC. To my surprise, there were “campers” for the Early Bird Prize as early as 11pm! OMG! These dudes are really determined to bring home the in-game goodies. I went to their area and chatted with them. GM Atma even came with me since most of them [...] ...
Bird  Camping 

Liveblogging LIVE 2007: Ingress Update 2 (Fri)
2007-11-02 09:25:33
It’s less than 24 hours before the big day. Am sure tonight, there will be a lot of campers for the Early Bird prizes. So, don’t you forget, tommorrow, just bring P50 and that will be your entrance for 2 days. We’ll give EVERYONE an in-game item just for attending LIVE 2007. Anyways, slept late last [...] ...

Liveblogging LIVE 2007: Ingress Update 1 (Thu)
2007-11-01 12:06:57
Like I told you, there’s no long vacation, Halloween or All Souls Day for me and the LU crew. It’s November 1 and we’re stuck here at the World Trade Center getting ready for the Philippines’ biggest online game event - Level Up LIVE 2007. I arrived here a little after lunch. Traffic was relatively uneventful since [...] ...

Liveblogging LIVE 2007
2007-11-01 07:00:57
The countdown clock at the official LIVE 2007 site is ticking fast. It’s less than 2 days now and everyone involved with this major project are now at a frantic pace to make sure that all preparations are in place. I’ll be doing the ingress duties and sharing it with PittyDPat, the famous (or infamous) author [...] ...

Top 5 Scariest Video Games
2007-10-31 21:10:34
In the spirit of Halloween, I thought I’d share with you some of the scariest video games that I’ve played so far. Some are old games (classics) while some are fairly new. Before the list, I hope that all of you take care as you go to the cemeteries to remember our loved ones. Be mindful [...] ...
Games  Video  Video Games 

Color the Poring Winners
2007-10-31 20:43:02
First, I’d like to apologize for the delay. Sorry for this post. Was supposed to post this a few hours earlier but I had to do some personal stuff during the evening. Anyways, it’s 3am and I just came back home.  Second, I’d like to thank everyone who participated in the Color the Poring contest and [...] ...