LU Elevation - Davao Segment

*Thanks to Doctor for this video

TO THE TOP WITH LEVEL-UP!

This was our battle cry when we went to Davao for the trade/media launch last February 23, 2007. Despite the schedule being tight and rather unforgiving, we were still able to have a good time. Just to show all of you how hellish our schedule was, check this out:

February 23, 2007
10:40AM - Flight: Manila to Davao
1:00PM - Arrival at Davao
1:00PM - 1:30PM: Lunch at Marco Polo Hotel
1:30PM - 4:30PM: Meeting with ICAD (Internet Cafe Association of Davao) Officers
4:30PM - 5:00PM: Rest and quick shower (@_@)
6:00PM - 12:00AM: Level-up ELEVATION Trade Launch @the Venue
12:00AM - 2:00AM: Very late dinner

February 24, 2007
10:00AM: Wake-up and go to airport (wah!)
10:40AM: Davao to Manila

Because of the schedule, you'd think Davao wasn't so far from Manila. Nevermind that they are at the opposite ends of the Philippines. I actually talked about this with our Sales Director, Apol Dionglay. When he was still working for other Multinational companies, he would go back and forth from Hong Kong or even Singapore on the same day. You can't help but admire dedication like that.

Anyway, more about the event. The actual launch was really jam-packed. More than 400 players and cafe owners went to the launch. Our venue was almost twice as large as the place we used back in Manila! The stage was awesome, and the production staff was also great. I felt sad for the band though. How can you expect a crowd dominated by 80% male to start dancing - especially since the girls in the crowd were also a bit old (cafe owners). Hehe.

After the event we were all hungry. We boarded the vans and went to Colasas which had OMG delicous BBQ and chicken. The entire team pigged out. Wahaha! I think we spent more than two hours there just savoring the food and finally getting a break from our day.

That's it for Davao. The next morning I overslept. Fortunately our Marketing Services Manager, Jake, woke me up (thanks man lol). We got into the van, went to the airport and went home.

Maraming Salamat Davao!

Ragnarok Event: Ragna Rally '07!

Ragna Rally ’07 is a major nationwide event that aims to gather Ragnarok players, old and new, under one roof. Inspired by the 2007 May elections, we’ve spiced it up a bit by adding a “Poring for President” flavor, making it more relevant to everyone. Don’t be surprised to find tarpaulins, posters, and even sample ballots promoting Poring for President at your nearest internet café!

So what is in it for players who attend the Ragna Rally? The main event is the BTA Mjolnir Cup Tournament! This isn’t your normal BTA because the national champion will win a godly item: a brand new Mejinguarde! Regional champions also stand to win rare and powerful in-game items like Vesper Cores.

We also have the Ragna Raffle! The GMs are going to give away dozens of premium items, merchandise, and in-game stuff for everyone who attends the event. We will also have a special raffle for players who buy top-up cards at the event.

Ragna Rally ’07 promises to be one of the biggest events this year! We will be having a Rally every weekend starting next Friday! However, before we go full blast, we’re going to have a tune-up rally on the following dates:

March 2, 2007
Netaphor Internet Café, Paranaque
5PM-11PM
BTA Registration 4PM-6PM

March 3, 2007
ESF Computer Center, Cavite
1PM-7PM
BTA Registration 12PM-2PM

(MAP to follow)

For the mechanics of the activities, please visit the Ragna Rally section of the Ragnaboards here.

Don’t forget to bring 100 PHP for entrance fee. You will get a 50 Top-up Card and a raffle stub for the Ragna Raffle. See you there! Rok On!

*Map and I-café address to follow

Ragna Blogging Competition

I was going through the fansite entrees just a few minutes ago when a great idea hit me. A lot of people were complaining that it took too much effort and time to build a fansite for Hugel. I agree with them 100%, since you'll have to learn how to do HTML and even get creative people to lay-out your site and make original art. It is simply too overwhelming for your average pinoy gamer.

Well, I'm not a web developer or creative genius but I'm maintaining a fansite of sorts using this blog. And that's when it suddenly dawned on me.

It's so friggin easy to make a blog. All you have to do is to sign-up at blogger, ro-diary, wordpress, and God knows what else. For content - you can easily pick out RO videos in YOUTUBE and comment. You can tell what happened during siege and even make pot shots at Level-up for not doing a good job (I pray that this doesn't happen as much though LOL). You can be vocal about issues like botting, hack-delete, and other censored topics in the message boards.

I'm happy to say that the RO Team is currently working on the mechanics for the first ever Ragna Blogger Competition! We're going to ask everyone to start their own online journals about their RO life and we will give prizes to those who make excellent work! All valid entries will also be posted at the Level-up community website section.

Mechanics and other details will be posted in the official RO site soon.

Cheers!

P.S.

To non-bloggers out there, you might want to start learning how. You can start by making an account at http://www.blogger.com. Just let me know via YM or leave a comment on this post if you've made one and I'll gladly add you to my link list. Be sure to include the URL.

MMORPG: Ragnarok Hugel Set Items

One of the Game Play Specialists here at Level-up sent me the image and stats of the new armor coming out on Hugel. All I can say is... WTF!? Seriously, the new armor set pawns and is so godly! ><;

Valkyrian Armor [1]
All stat +1
Indesctructable.
Add 50% more tolerance against Mute when worn by Mage, Archer and Acolyte classes.
Add 50% more tolerance against Stun when worn by Swordman, Merchant and Thief classes.

Valkyrian Manteau [1]
Indestructable.
Add perfect Dodge+5 when worn by Mage, Archer and Acolyte classes.
Increase Perfect Dodge points by the armor's upgrade level*2.
Add 5% chance of reflecting damage to its enemy when worn by Swordman, Merchant, Thief classes.
Increase the damage reflection amount by the armor's upgrade level*2.

Valkyrian Boots [1]
Indestructable.
Increase Max HP of Mage, Archer and Acolyte classes by their Base Level*5.
Increase Max SP of Swordman, Merchant and Thief classes by their Job Level*2.

Yeah you read it right... they're all slotted! Take a look at the Manteau! At max upgrade it can reflect by 25%! Anyway, just wanted to post this because I really find these items godly.

Off to Davao I go. Perfect World details when I get back. Cheers!

Taxi Cabs, Incompetence, and No Hack Compensation Policy

Okay, before I start ranting I'd like to share with everyone the latest poster for the Ragna Rally '07 Campaign. We're going to be putting this up on almost 10,000 internet cafes, nationwide. Hopefully people will respond to it and go to the Ragna Rally events which we are currently finalizing the schedules.

Okay, now to the rant. The top two things I hate are: Philippine taxi cabs and incompetence at work. Let me start with the cabs. I really don't have a problem giving a generous tip, especially if I'm taking a cab from Quezon City (where I live) to Makati. What annoys the hell out of me is how the cab drivers keep refusing to take on passengers. I mean, I'll only give the guy a tip if he lets me in the cab first. Just this morning, I flagged down a cab and was about to board. When I was about to go in, the driver asked me where I'm going and I said Makati City. I was about to say that I had no problem with adding to the fare but he cut me off and said that the traffic along EDSA was bad and he just closed the door and left. WTF???!!! Since I was so angry, I took down the plate number and company name as he was driving off. This will be the first time I actually file a complaint at the Land Transportation Office (LTO). You're going down evil taxi man -.-;

Anyway, next is INCOMPETENCE. Jesus Christ, I HATE people who keep saying that they did something and they actually just sat on their ass. It's amazing how people want you to think how good and how competent they are at work. However, when the smoke clears and the dust settles, you see them for who they really are: posers. Actually, this doesn't happen often these days at work. Eversince I got my new team life has been much easier here, and I would like to thank my Game Manager, Adrian and Community Manager, Blue, for always being coming in at 110%. I'm a bit sad though that like me, they are working their butts off to pay for the sins of the past.

Now that the ranting is done and over with let's go to semi-good news. Eversince I was a player there was one policy at Level-up that I really hated: The No Hack Compensation Policy. Marketing practitioners around the world know that it is cheaper to retain a customer than acquire a new one. I know a lot of players who quit Ragnarok because they got their characters deleted or their items hacked. Well, if you actually think about it, I was one of the people who raised hell at the Ragnaboards and in public when I got hack deleted two times. The good thing about being at Level-up now is that I can actually change things. Over the past few months, I've been actively arguing with other managers about the No Hack Compensation Policy. I'm very pleased to say that in a few days from this post, pRO players will be able to have somewhere to go when they get hacked. Just stay tuned for more official announcements about this one. :)

That's it for now. I'll be going to Davao tomorrow to represent Ragnarok and Ragnarok 2 for the Level-up Trade Launch. I'll try to get one more post in later about Perfect World if I can. Cheers and Rok On everyone!

The Memory of Ragnarok OST

Diwa and Daren, good friends of mine, messaged me the other day about a promotion currently running in iRO. They're selling the modified soundtrack called "The memory of RAGNAROK". The BGMs from Prontera, Payon, and other maps, were upgraded into a complete song with Lyrics and better instruments. The CD package also contains a stub that you can use to claim a unique in-game headgear. It's a pretty good deal if you ask me.

Anyway, as soon as I found out I talked via MSN with Zee, who works for the business development department of Gravity. It's a good thing that Diwa and Daren pointed this out to me because Gravity only had less than 500 CDs left in their inventory! After a few rounds of negotiation, I was able to reserve the last remaining CDs that we can sell here in the Philippines! Whew. Talk about a close call. If I didn't contact Zee within the day the 400 CDs would have probably been shipped to Japan or America. Speaking of those countries, in America they're being sold for 20$ while in Japan it's going at 35$. We will definitely sell it at a more affordable price here in the Philippines because of the difference of economies.

The pRO Team will start preparing to launch this and we will try to get them incorporated in the Ragna Rally event. I want to sell the CD packages during our EB parties. The sad thing is that we only have 400 copies so this CD will definitely be a collector's item!

Anyway, if you want more information on how iRO is doing this, just visit their site here.

That's it for now, cheers!

Ragnarok Stuff and A Long Day at Level-up

Sheesh. Today was a relatively long day. Came in early and we had a meeting with our Chief Operating Officer, Sheila Paul. It was basically an update on how things were going for all the brands this February. You know what sucks about February? Marketing people HATE it because it's just 28 days. That means you have 2 less days to hit your revenue targets... which is just so lame. I was actually trying to figure out a reason why the guy who made calendar we follow made February just 28 days. If anyone knows the reason (other than it being a leap year crap), please let me know. The meeting lasted until lunch time and we had to endure the painful process of realizing again and again how February sucks because of it having two less days.

Anyway, the day went on and I found myself in a meeting with my team and we were discussing the plans for Wednesday (Feb 21). I can assure everyone that you guys will find the announcements very pleasant :)

We spent most of the day preparing for the Ragna Rally '07. It's basically a series of parties mixed with BTA and side events that will go around nationwide! The main thrust of this event is to rally RO players, old and new. The centerpiece of the PR campaign is actually the PORING for PRESIDENT movement, which coincides with the May 2007 senatorial elections. We're going to go all-out with the election theme. You'll be seeing tarpaulins, posters, and flyers that will ask you to vote for Poring and join the Ragna Rally (cool eh?). Check this flyer out (looks like a sample ballot):

Like what Carlito from WWE says, "Now that? That's cool!"

To end, let me share something I found in one of my RO2 art folders. Not sure if anyone has this one yet. It's basically a 3D image of the cutest race in RO2, the Ellr!

More on Perfect World on my next post. Cheers and Rok On!

Ragnarok: The Next Level!

A friend of mine forwarded me several URLs of insane YOUTUBE videos made by okonono. If Ragnarok was this dynamic and explosive, I'm sure it would get hordes of players wanting to try it out. If you ever tried playing Ragnarok Online, please do not ignore okonono's masterpieces! Watch the videos below and pass it on to your friends.You will be missing half your life if you do not watch 'em.

jRO GM vs ALICE



RAGNAROK: THE NEXT LEVEL!



RAGNAROK: SHINOBI BATTLE



By the way, based on how the poll is doing, I'll probably right something about our competitors (local) on my next post. I'm going out tonight to watch GhostRider but I'll definitely post as promised when I get back.

Lastly, I was thinking of increasing the number of my contacts on Friendster for no particular reason. So if you have an account, please add me: my e-mail is chronorancher@yahoo.com (Please don't e-mail me spam XD)

Ragnarok Online: HUGEL the Movie

As promised -

Ragnarok Online: HUGEL the Movie. This doesn't just showcase the new game features but it also has a kick-ass story. Definitely one of the best works by Ryvrdrgn. Thank you to Ryvrdrgn14 and the rest of the playtesters of Sakray for putting together this masterpiece!

Ragnarok Episode 14: Hugel comes out on March 14, 2007. Other than the 2 new job classes (Ninja and Gunslinger), there will also be new maps, dungeons, monsters, and items. Rok On!

FYI, this is the YOUTUBE URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIL34dW8x60

Btw, for the next topic of my blog I decided to be a little more community-centric (lol). In the 7-8 days that this blog existed, it has garnered more than 2400+ hits. So as a tribute to everyone who reads, I've made a poll at the sidebar. You decide what I'm going to write about next. Poll closes Sunday afternoon.

Thanks and Ciao~!

Ragnarok versus ROSE

Watch Level Up! daily on Cube iTV Channel 25 Home and Sky Cable, starting this February at 7:00pm on Channel 25! Get an exclusive sneak preview of the latest and hottest Level Up! games, news, and updates. Join Level Up! forums in Cube iTV Ch25 where you can be part of closed beta-testings of the newest online games from Level Up! Plus, you may also get a chance to win instant prizes by joining the Level Up! and Cube iTV Ch25 promo. Register to Cube iTV Ch25 via Cube Channel 25 on Sky and Home Cable (if you are already a Level Up! member) or register at the Level Up! website (if you are already a Cube iTV member).

Source

This is one of the good things that happen when your company being backed up by a corporate giant like PLDT. Fortunately for Level-up, the thrust of PLDT is convergence. They want all of their companies to start working together so that they can grow their own respective industries. This is a good thing for both the consumer and the corporation because the level of service is taken to a whole new level. At the same time, the market of the company grows because they are able to tap into the customers of their sister companies. Since the merger, Level-up has been working with SMART (GAME ON promo), PLDT DSL, and now even CUBE iTV. Like what I keep saying in my previous posts... 2007 is going to be a big year for the industry!

Anyway, there will be alot of segments in CUBE iTV. There's the usual GM Chat and we also have cross-game promotions like the Versus segment. Check the video below and watch Ragnarok duke it out with ROSE Online! By the way, thanks to ryvrdrgn14 for uploading and working on this video for Level-up. If you guys don't know him, he's the player who made the RF Video - Black MAU Down and the RO Item Mall video.

pRO GUNSLINGER vs pROSE Magician



That's it for now! Ciao :)

MMOSITE Reader's Choice Awards

I was surfing the GAME! Magazine website when I discovered some very interesting news. MMOSITE.com, one of the international online gaming portals, recently conducted a votation on what games are the best for 2006. Ladies and gentlemen, the results are in and I am very happy to say that most of the games that took top honors are all under the portfolio of Level-up Games. This just goes to prove that the company is committed to deliver the best content for the gaming community in the Philippines.

MMOSITE 2006 READER'S CHOICE AWARDS

GAMES OF THE YEAR

1st Place: RAGNAROK ONLINE
2nd Place: SILKROAD ONLINE
3rd Place: RF ONLINE

Ragnarok Online also bagged "Best Gameplay", closely followed by Fly for Fun and Silkroad. You can view the complete results here.

MMOSITE was on the mark when it described the award:

Maybe it does not have the best graphics; maybe its storyline is not perfect.But you love it best cause’ it fits you well and you find happiness in it.

I agree with them 100%. The most compelling reason why gamers stay in RO is because of the community. They are among friends who share the same culture and habits. In all MMORPGs, there will always be bugs and RO is not an exception. But at the end of the day, gamers will decide to stay because the game is very condusive to community building, especially if they are happy.

In a way, that's the reply I use when I talk to media who ask me how RO will fare in light of new games coming this 2007. I reply by saying that we welcome competition, because it grows the industry. More games mean more happy gamers. However we are confident that RO and the rest of our games will stabilize and continue because of the communities behind them.

To end this post, let me share with you a video of one of the die-hard guilds in RO Chaos Server did. They compiled pictures and in-game footage to come up with a history of their guild. This is the true essence of online gaming - camaraderie and competition.

PORING FOR PRESIDENT!

February 14, 2007
Reported by: Wauks
Photo by: GM Savant

A presidential candidate and his senatorial line-up were able to beat the filing of candidacy last February 12, 2007 just before midnight. COMELEC employees couldn’t restrain themselves as they quickly rushed to meet the candidates and they weren’t shy at all in asking for their autographs and taking pictures.

According to their spokesperson, GM Tristan III, the new contenders will be running under a solid platform. “We will be focusing on five values: Pinoy, Outstanding, Respect, Integrity, Nationalism, and Gwapo, or P.O.R.I.N.G. for short. It’s time that we give the youth a better alternative to the traditional politics that we keep seeing year-in and year-out.”

When asked how they will go about campaigning, GM Tristan III says that they will be on a nationwide tour starting March and it will last all the way to May. “Aside from the usual posters, streamers, tarpaulins, and sample ballots, we’re also going to be staging rallies in selected areas. We want to bring our platform and our ideas to the people that matter the most: the youth. However, it’s not going to be your traditional caucus. We will be throwing big parties across the nation simply called the Ragna Rally! We will be posting the venues and schedules soon, so please watch out for it.” Tristan explains.

*This will come out at the Ragnarok and Level-up websites within the day.

Ragnarok Online: Item Mall Sale and Hugel

Hugel, the latest patch of Philippine Ragnarok Online, will go live on the commercial servers on March 14, 2007. I've attached the draft of the posters that you guys will start seeing in internet cafes soon! It's going to be a huge poster... 27x40! There are two desgins - the gunslinger and the ninja design. Hopefully your lucky neighborhood internet cafe will get to have both posters on their windows (hehe).

Just to give everyone who reads this blog a heads-up pRO will have a Chinese New Year Item Mall promo starting February 14 that will last until February 21. Enriched Eluniums will be on 50% sale (50 PHP per piece) and Neuralizers will be on 30% Sale (500 PHP). This is a limited offer only so better grab this chance to reset your skills or to try your luck on upgrading with bonuses. You can expect the official announcement to come out tomorrow on the game launcher, website, and forums.

By the way, I've been getting alot of text messages and YMs about the Server Merge. I just want to assure everyone that it will still happen, and we are doing everything humanly possible to make sure it launches sometime March - April. It will definitely be something to look forward to! To finish this simple post, let me share with everyone another image from RO2 - the new and improved Hollgren (the upgrader in pronts):

Till the next time! Rok On!

Welcome!

Hi!

Welcome to my first ever public blog. I'll be talking about bits and pieces of my life especially everything pertaining to online games. I've been a gamer since as far as I can remember and I think I'll still be one even if my hair starts turning gray. This addiction of mine eventually led me to pursue a career in marketing for online gaming, and that's where I am now.

Since I'm still in the process of fixing this... let's start with a shameless plug for the Philippine Ragnarok Online Item Mall (hehe). See the video below for what items are available.