LU Yosi Break 02: Pet Syling, CTO

LEVEL-UP YOSI BREAK 02: PET SYLING, CTO

I joined Level-up because of the challenge to build an industry and to build a team of talented individuals with a common goal.

Pet Syling currently serves as the Chief Technical Officer of Level-up Games. He's one of the best Pangya players in the company, beating me and even the Pangya Brand Manager on several occassions (without the use of the calculator). Sir Pet is also one of the most reliable and hardworking bosses you will ever come to meet. He was our CTO back then at netGames and he is just as good now, actually, even better.

Wauks: Hi Sir Pet! Thanks for accepting my inviation for this session. Anyway, let's kick this off with a simple question. Are you a gamer? If ever what games have you played? What game are you currently playing and why do you like that particular game?

Pet: Yes of course. TONS of games. MMORPG games, LAN games, strategy games, mini-games, casual games. Im' not currently playing 1 solo game. I like moving around the different games to keep myself from getting jaded on one.

Wauks: Hahaha, that's nice to hear. Anyway, is there any particular reason why you joined netGames, and eventually Level-up?

Pet: An offer I could not refuse, hehe! Just kidding. The challenge of building an industry, of building a talented team of individuals with a common goal. There is also the challenge of solving business needs thru IT. Lastly of course, is to have a good excuse to play games during working hours (again, just a joke, hehe).

Wauks: Wah, hehe. Maybe we can go into detail about your job. What does a Chief Technical Officer do?

Pet: There are a lot! Manage the daily operations of the IT team, plan and align solutions to meet business needs, lead the company in technology direction, guide the different IT groups in their execution, and help in managing the profitability of the company.

Wauks: That's definitely a lot. Anyway, I was able to get questions from several members of our community that they want to ask you. One of the most popular questions is: GM, BAKIT PO MAY LAG?

Pet: Madaming sources ang lag. aaring sa ISP na gamit ninyo, o pwede rin sa café na pinaglalaruan ninyo na maliit lamang and kanyang network bandwidth para ma accommodate ang lahat ng players. Meron ding lag na caused ng PC, dahil kulang ang memory or mabagal ang CPU. Nangyayari ito kapag madaming players sa isang lugar (i.e. Chipwar ng RF) Minsan naman sa game application may problema o kaya sa network ng game provider or ng Internet Service Provider.

Wauks: Another popular question is: Baket kailangan ng maintenance? Sayang game time!

Pet: Ang maintenance po ay importanante para ma update yung game. Di natin maiwasan na may game bugs na kailangan ayusin. Minsan naman, nag maintenance din tayo para makadagdag ng items or features ng isang game. Minsan din, para ma reboot ang mga servers para fresh sila ulit. Parang pag ikaw ay naligo, fresh ka ulit.

Wauks: Eto pa isang popular question: Baket nag cra-crash ang mga server?

Pet: Kadalasan ang crash ay nangyayari dahil ma problem ang game applications or hindi tama ang pag configure. Maraming pinagmumulan na minsan madali makita, pero minsan naman, ang hirap mahanap.

Wauks: Thanks for taking the time for this boss! I won't disturb you anymore seeing as you have to fix RO technical problems (hehe). Any message for our gaming community?

Pet: LOVE the GAME as the game LOVES you. :)

Pet Syling is happily married with two kids who are following in his footsteps, addicted to computers and games.

Previous LU Yosi Break Sessions:

LU Yosi Break 01: Sheila Paul

LU WTF Moment 01: The Tale of the Office Door.

Whew - I'm dead tired. I just got back home a few hours ago from Cavite. The traffic was insane. Hopefully I can post about the Cavite/Paranaque Ragna Rally experiences on Monday. I need to get the pictures from our photographer first (hehe). Anyway, I'm making a new section for this blog again since I'm still waiting on the next person for the LU Yosi Session. I'm calling this category the "LU WTF Moments". We all have our own WTF moments and here at Level-up, we kinda get that a lot. Let's start with defining valid a "LU WTF Moment".

WTF Moments are shockingly jarring experiences that really surprise the living hell out of you. It maybe a funny, scary, or downright stupid moment. The emotion changes but the result is the same - your brain screams "WHAT THE F*CK!?". I'll be updating this section regularly from now on.

So on to the first official LU WTF Moment!

I was running late for work and I really needed to send e-mails during the morning because I had to leave for an event around noon. I woke up early and went to work only to find out that someone locked my office. Since HR never gave me a key... well, I was locked out (Wah).

I went to the HR department and asked if they had any keys with them. Our HR officer pulled out like a dozen keys and went with me to my office. She tried them all but to no avail. Almost 1 hour has passed.

Our ever so reliable Sales Director tries to help. He gets a credit card and his ID and tries to slide it down the crack between the door and the frame. This is an old school way of opening doors... but hey, whatever works right? Sadly... it didn't work. Our maintenance guy, Joey, then joins in. He gets a steel wire and tries to unlock the door by randomly moving it inside the keyhole. All that effort in vain! Almost an hour and a half has gone by at this point.

An then there was light. Joey comes back with a ladder - and I'm like: WTF is he going to do with a steel ladder?! Use it like a battering ram and destroy the door? After a few minutes, it turns out that our ceiling was made up of panels that you can just pop open, LOL. Using his amazing spiderman skills, Joey goes up the ceiling, goes down the other side (in my office) and opens the door.

VICTORY! The dungeon doors are now open.

Many thanks to Sir Apol for attempting the credit card trick. Of course I'd also like to thank the man of the hour, Joey, for pulling off the spiderman-like maneuver. Thanks also the Char for taking the pics and of course thank you to Janice for locking my door. Without you this wouldn't have been possible *cry*. More LU WTF Moments to be posted in the coming days! Hope you guys enjoyed this one. :)

Cheers!

Ragna Rally Website now UP!

The much awaited Ragna Rally website is now up! I'd like to thank the creative team of Level-up for putting together such a funny flash intro. If you have ever played Ragnarok, please DO NOT miss this chance to view the site.

Visit the RAGNA RALLY website NOW!

Btw, I just got back from the Ragna Rally in Paranaque. I'll post the pictures and list of winners this weekend when I have time. For now I have to rest because we are going to hit the road again tomorrow morning for the Ragna Rally in Cavite.

Rok on people and I hope to see all of you at the event!

LU Yosi Break 01: Sheila Paul

LEVEL-UP YOSI BREAK 01: SHEILA PAUL

Soon as Ben was in the middle, Dagul turned his face into Ben’s crotch and said, “Mic test. Mic test.” I thought for sure I was going to lose my job!

For our first edition of the LU Yosi Break segment, we're going to talk to Level-up Chief Operating Officer, Sheila Paul. She's the boss of my boss which makes her like my er... uber boss. Anyway, just check out our conversation below. Enjoy!

Wauks: Why did you join Level-up? As a marketing professional, wasn’t it dangerous to join a start-up company with a rather uncertain product at that time?

Sheila: I had a pretty good career path at the time back in 2002 with an advertising agency but felt the need to take a risk in my career. I was actually handling advertising for internet products and felt that content was going to be the driver to increase access in the country.

Level Up came at a perfect time! Definitely it was a crazy move, but Ben Colayco was such a good talker that he made me believe that we could change the industry in a big way. After Ragnarok was launched in 2003 I gave a big sigh of relief that our gamble paid off. It’s fun to work in a company where everyone is so passionate about their goals and so much relies on you making the call, it’s different from the corporate environment I came from. Plus I love sci-fi! It’s what really gets me into working on our RPG games.

Wauks: It's a good thing the gamble paid off! I agree with you 100% that Ben is a good talker. I still remember his speech during our Christmas Party. Anyway, it’s assumed that majority of the gamers are guys. How did it feel being one of the few women working in a male-dominated industry?

Sheila: Thankfully I’ve always been open-minded and you definitely need that when working with guys who are so used to working just around guys. I just take all the lousy jokes, the bad habits, the girl-watching, the drinking and smoking (oh, man I think I’m giving too much away about the Level Up culture!) in stride. Actually there are certain advantages to being a woman because you ought to know how to push a guy’s buttons, whether they’re our gaming public or the guys I work with. It’s also funny to see how our foreign developer publishers react when they realize “Paul” is a woman. They expect to take me Karaoke-ing when I meet with them, but then they end up taking me to nice dinners.

Wauks: As the marketing manager before, I’m sure you’ve organized tons of events and you’ve met a lot of players! What’s your most memorable experience with a player or a guild?

Sheila: There have been so many great experiences with players! I remember the first time I was asked for an autograph, at an Armed & Loaded EB in Cebu . I kept on telling them I wasn’t even a GM but they asked for it anyway. You also never know where you’ll encounter a player. Whenever I say the name of the company I get surprised. A guy behind the counter of McDonald’s asked me to help him solve his hack problem. A hotel bellboy at the Atrium near the World Trade Center asked me to bring him back some goodies from Level Up! LIVE since he was on shift and couldn’t make it. I almost didn’t make it to a flight to Davao until the guy at the check-in counter at Cebu Pacific learned I was from Level Up and just rushed me right through.

Another memorable experience was my first big Level Up event, the Ragnarok launch in the Samsung WCG Glorietta back in 2003, I got Mahal, Mura, and Dagul to cosplay as Ragnarok characters since they were small enough to mimic the actual sprites. They were supposed to go up on stage and introduce Ben Colayco. I actually picked them up one by one and place them onstage because there were no steps. The audience roared with laughter soon as they came out. Then they called Ben onstage. Soon as Ben was in the middle, Dagul turned his face into Ben’s crotch and said, “Mic test. Mic test.” I thought for sure I was going to lose my job!

Wauks: Hahaha! Well it's a good thing Ben has a good sense of humor. Okay... enough of the boring stuff! Let's go hardcore! Another online gaming company keeps saying they are number one! Do you have anything to say about that?

Sheila: I used to be in advertising and that’s where I learned that all advertising has to be based on the truth. That’s the way we’ve always practiced it in Level Up. What we say about our games and our company is based on the truth. We might say it in different ways, or make it look pretty, but they are based on facts. Level Up delivers the biggest revenue and has the most number of players. I don’t know what other companies are basing their claim on, but I guess it’s on their conscience if they still want to claim the number 1 spot.

Wauks: I agree with you on that a 100%. Next question, I’m sure a lot of players are wondering… are you single, taken, or married?

Sheila: C’mon, are they really wondering that? Ate Sheila is still single…maybe she works too hard. :-P

Wauks: Well at least you didn't break any gamer hearts. What’s the wildest thing you’ve ever done?

Sheila: There are too many incidents not fit for public consumption... the wildest thing I can mention is singing and dancing my way through Europe to get the trip for free. Maybe working in Level Up could also be one of the wildest things I’ve ever done!

Wauks: Thanks for the great chat boss. Maybe you can give the details of that Europe trip next time we talk (laughs). Any message to all of our gamers?

Sheila: We are working very hard at Level Up to make sure you get the best gaming and online entertainment experience. Keep tuned in to what Level Up! has in store for you, from our current games, our new upcoming ones, and we also have some surprises along the way. See you online!

-End of Conversation-

Again, thank you to Sheila for accepting my invitation for a chat to be posted here at my blog. For the next segment, I'll be talking up close and personal with Level-up's CTO (Chief Technical Officer). Among the questions that I know we are all dying to ask is "Bakit may lag?" Hopefully he can shed light on that issue. Hehe. Cheers!

Level-up Presents... O-zine '07!

Cosplay: contraction of words costume and play. It's a subculture based on japanse anime, manga, and more recently, games, mmorpgs, and movies. It's also a gathering of enthusiasts who showcase their costumes, take photos and join contests. - Pablo Bairan, Cosplay Expert

Attention all anime fans and gamers! Level-up Games is co-presenting O-zine Fest '07! O-zine fest is one of the biggest cosplay events in the Philippines and it will take place at the SM Mega Trade Hall on April 1, 2007. We're hoping to see hundreds of talented anime fans duke it out in the catwalk to determine the top cosplayers in the country. Just to show everyone how talented Pinoys are in cosplaying, check the best female winner of the Level-up LIVE Cosplay competition. She came in dressed as Moonlight Flower!

*Photo courtesy of cosplay.ph

But wait... there's more (Lol)! Other than the cosplay competition, there will also be side events. Check out the list below for the tentative contests that you can join:

Anime Trivia
• Art Contest
- 7 to 12
- 13 and above
• Cosplay Competition
- Doujin Cosplay
- Individual Cosplay
- Group Cosplay
• Eating Contest
- Azuma's Bread
- Chouji's Potato Chips
- Gohan's Gohan
- Naruto's Ramen
- Mirmo's Chocolate
- Ryoma's Ponta Drinking
• Karaoke Contest
• SD Gundam Kit Comp.
• Speed Drawing Contest

Level-up will being giving goodie bags as well to cosplayers who dress up as any Level-up character. I'll post more details on this one when I get the final mechanics from GM Lilith. :)

By the way, let me plug for a good friend of mine. Pablo Bairan, also known as Nethermir, is the first level 99 Knight in Chaos Server. That dates back to 2003-2004. After his Ragnarok career, he's been very active promoting local cosplay events and he's also part of the team that made the cosplay.ph website. Please feel free to check the website out. It has a photo gallery of cosplay events in the Philippines and you can also get useful tips on how to make your own costume.

Good luck to all the Cosplayers who will join and I hope to see everyone on April 1!