By: Aaron San Mateo and Joseph Andre Gaspar
No, this is
not your usual sport. This is a game of death and conquer: where slaying your
opponent is the only way to win. This is where players brandish their blades,
cast their spells, and assume the persona of heroes to battle each other with
vast combinations of strategy, techniques and in some cases, teamwork.
With its premise of being a cyber universe that enables
players to log-in as a hero or avatar of their liking and duel among peers and
strangers on a regular match within the comfort of their homes and gaming cafes,
it shot itself to glorious popularity.
As it is usually understood by many, the word “gaming” could
pretty much almost rhyme with the word “dropout.” Fair enough, people’s recollections
are usually filled with noisy shops with teenage boys cussing and
trash-talking while still in their uniforms facing computer screens.
But, a study in Oxford
University debunks the connotation that gaming is for baddies and it’s just a
way to waste quality time and fail classes, together. It says that “significant
effects of gameplay have been demonstrated in a wide range of domains. Some of
these effects are desired by parents, such as the effect of prosocial video
games on empathy and helping.”
And it seems like these two
players seem to break the views of the negative perception of the gaming
community.
Ready player one: Jorizz Tan, HR Supervisor, CHALLENGER
There is an existing gaming community
in Bulacan that battles the top
schools in Manila. Bulacan State University (BulSU) cradles a competitive
gaming team: BulSU Gosu X, a newbie team formed last school year where they were hailed as the top
school team.
Jorizz is a Psychology graduate
last 2017 and the former team captain of the reigning society, bagging the
Northeastern Conference in his term.
“Nagsimula ako doon sa Garena, which is an online platform na mina-market din si DOTA kung saan na-involve
ako sa society ng mga naglalaro dahil from being offline lang si DOTA, naging
online na siya.”
Back in 2005, DOTA 2 Allstars 6.00
was introduced to online gaming world which was created as a custom game of
World of Warcraft III pioneering another category of online gaming: the MOBA
(Massive Online Battle Arena).
But he did not stop on just one
MOBA because he also tried the equally famous League of Legends (LOL) where he
reached the title “Challenger.”
“Kapag may community, mayroon
siyempreng competition, and in my case, I tried to climb the ladder. So in
Season 1, umabot ako sa Gold, then
after sa sumunod na seasons, I
reached Platinum, then Master and after, I reached Challenger. At noong top 100 pa lang ang Challengers sa
Pilipinas, I reached top 17. So with that being said, sobrang competitive ko
when it comes to gaming.”
In League of Legends’ Season 6,
Garena advertised a college competition tagged as the LOL Collegiate Team
wherein students could form a team in their university and is given a chance to
battle other universities. This is when the BulSU Gold Gears was summoned.
Acquiring reputation in the battles
that they’ve won, the BulSU Gold Gears picked up its new name: BulSU Gosu X
after gaining its main sponsor: the Gosu X computer shop, located just a few blocks away from their university.
He also noted that while he is able
to play, that does not discount the fact that as a graduating student, he
needed to pass his thesis and secure a job afterwards. But now, he is a Human
Resource Supervisor in an Australian-based company.
Enter player two: Jeric Sicioco, Engineering student, ARCHON
A grim case of a student gamer is tailed by
low grades, but the flow of the game is not always like that. In fact, in this
case, it helps him get a buff to perform better.
Jeric Sicioco is an Electrical Engineering (EE) student of Bulacan State University
(BulSU), and has been playing DOTA (Defense of the Ancients) since high school.
“Parang
wala akong ibang iniisip kundi ‘yon [DOTA] kahit may pasok ngayon o pasok
kinabukasan, naglalaro ako. Kunwari sa umaga, mula pag-gising ko, 8 [am]
hanggang 2 [pm], straight ‘yon. Tapos kunwari sa gabi, mula 9 [pm] hanggang
alas tres ng madaling araw, wala ring tigil.”
Jeric
admitted that his parents usually scold him for being in front of the computer
too long each day, but countered that although he is gaming, he still doesn’t
let his studies get defeated and let his “Ancient” crumble down.
His
General Weighted Average (GWA) ranges from 1.4-1.8, a relatively high amount for
an Engineering student.
At
present, he has a rank of ARCHON in DOTA 2 which is equivalent to 2500 MMRs
(Matchmaking Rating), a value that determines the skill level of each player.
And in his case, he is a high-rank team and solo player just two MMR Medals
away from having the rank of DIVINE.
Aside from sweeping the school
works and placing as one of the top of his class, he also plays DOTA 2 like a
pro, as he describes the game as fulfilling to play. However, he said that having
to play it too much that it causes negative effects and self-destruct, one
should stop.
Mod(erator): Professor David Floyd Roxas, Professor
Shedding light into the matter if the gaming community is
for the good or the bad, a professor from the College of Social Sciences and
Philosophy (CSSP) explained the duality of the effects of playing online and
computer games.
“Online games are used as propaganda in a particular kind of
value, like movies. When this becomes of use to society, then these becomes a
good thing for the progress of the society. However, these platforms could be
also used to promote ideologies such as racism, killing, and injustice,”
explained Professor Roxas.
He cited that according to Sigmund Freud, playing and
recreation is a natural part of man’s life and that it is good because it is an
avenue of releasing stress. It is the premise of choosing and being someone
else that is entirely different from their original that hooks players,
especially the young people who are usually in a stage of fragmented sense of
self and is looking for companionship.
Moreover, the CSSP professor also pointed that it is not
gaming in general that is bad but rather the nature of the game being played by
the people because there are types of games that includes conflict, violence,
and corrupt ideologies that is then absorbed by the players that gets them even
more hooked.
With the advancement of games to become more immersive and
accessible, the advent of the gaming community will not be stopping any time
soon.
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