They came, they saw, they rocked.
IP e-Games has once again made its mark in the gaming industry by gathering its active community of gamers in Domination II, dubbed as the most explosive gaming event of the year, at the SMX Convention Center last April 6.
e-Games is the local publisher of the popular massive multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) RAN Online, Supreme Destiny and Granado Espada, as well as the casual gaming titles Audition Dance Battle and O2Jam, under the partnership with GMA-NMI.
Over 15,000 online gamers trooped to Function Halls 2, 3 and 4 of the SMX Convention Center to experience a different kind of gaming event to celebrate IP e-Games’ second anniversary.
“I was overwhelmed with the number of gamers who graced our occasion. They really came out in full force to support e-Games. As early as lunchtime, SMX could not accommodate the sheer volume of people who arrived; that was how big the attendance was,” said IP e-Games VP for marketing Ed Pasion.
True enough, the gamers were not disappointed. Even at the entrance to the main halls, e-Games already set the mood to make the people feel as if they were being transported to another world.
A wide tunnel greeted the gamers as they stepped toward the foyer. Inside, they were treated to a dazzling display that delighted their senses: bright lights, engaging sounds, and a picturesque setting that made the entire venue look like a “mini-city” with e-Games’ main titles as key points of destination.
Participants in the event had an experience of their life, touring this quaint city. Each game title had a moniker to describe them — the RAN Campus, Granado Espada Port, Supreme Destiny Hall, Audition Dance District, and the O2Jam Alley.
At the middle of it all was a spacious ground decorated to resemble a park, where participants were able to take a break from the sightseeing while watching a parade of cosplayers at the Cosplay Museum. A small chapel was even built to simulate Audition’s in-game wedding system.
Of course, Domination II was not a gaming event if not for the numerous freeplay opportunities for participants to play their favorite e-Games titles. The Freedom Park catered to this specific need of the gamers, featuring Redfox Technologies’ state-of-the-art computers. The event had more than 200 of these cool gaming PCs both for freeplay and tournament purposes.
Domination II also featured the performances of top local bands such as Mocha, Imago, Rivermaya and Sugarfree. GMA artists such as Iwa Moto, Marky Cielo, Francis Magalona, and the Sexbomb Dancers presented energetic dance moves, while Nancy Jane serenaded the crowd with her upbeat songs now featured in Audition’s roster of dance hits.
Tado, Ramon Bautista and Nancy Jane hosted the wholeday affair, as they gamely exchanged banter and interacted with the audience.
Every gamer’s dream come true
Each game booth was decked with special themes to personify its uniqueness. For one, RAN was dressed up to look like Mystic Peak’s campus square, complete with the landmark statue. Granado Espada was set to look like a port dock area, and so the stage was made to look like that of a ship. Supreme Destiny resembled the ruins of a particular in-game map, while Audition was adorned with palm trees and a spacious dance pad to mimic the Tropical Island in-game room. Meanwhile, O2Jam was decorated in a space-age like design, similar to that of the game’s loading screen.
One of the most exciting activities in the event was the final showdown between the best gamers from all over the country in the Tournament of the Champions. The competition became intense as gamers fought it out for the finals.
The Battle Arena located at the middle part of the “city” became the ground where this competition was held. The arena was enclosed in transparent walls, with LCD screens placed on top so onlookers could witness these gamers show off their skills in the virtual playing field.
Among those who were proclaimed champions in the tournament were the following: RAN Online — Vincent Van Amado, Carlo Angelo Magcalas, Kevin Medina, and Martin Joseph Buday; Supreme Destiny — Victor James Castigo, Jerol dela Vega, John Adams Lim, and Ryan Joseph Reate; Granado Espada — Ramstedt Barrameda and Erwin Marcelino; Audition Dance Battle — Niel Axinto; and O2Jam — Patrick Pelino.
Aside from these exciting tournaments, each game likewise held live contests that would encourage even the non-gamers to try their hand at it. For instance, RAN Online had the Big Hammer Challenge to test their strength, Granado Espada had a fun shooting duel, Supreme Destiny took participants on a dragon ride activity, Audition challenged their dancing prowess, while O2Jam had people singing to their favorite in-game songs.
With these contests and activities, gamers did not go empty-handed as they participated in the mobile raffle activities and claimed their e-Games loot from the Freebie Station.
e-Gamers present in the event were witnesses to the great updates and announcements for all the game titles. A particular update worth mentioning was the special project for RAN Online, which will further bring the country’s popular school-based MMORPG to greater heights with the upcoming release of “Ran the Movie” in the fourth quarter of this year.
e-Games and GMA-NMI’s partnership which brought about i-Play also got the gamers excited about future content involving local music. Audistas and O2Jammers alike converged at the i-Play Lane for this purpose.
Meanwhile, the champions of the Supreme Destiny World Championship League were recognized for their valiant efforts in winning the coveted title for the country. Alongside their recognition and the awarding of their tournament prize, the announcement of an upcoming game patch got the gamers excited as well.
Granado Espada also recognized its exemplary gamers for their contribution to the community, giving emphasis to the Philippine GE players who swept the major prizes in the recently concluded moviemaking contest, Fantazzztic Film Awards 2007.
CABAL Online: The revolution of action
Domination II also became the launch platform for the newest title to join the game roster. CABAL Online was likewise bedecked to simulate one of the game’s dune maps. A CABAL monster prowled the booth premises as well as all over the area to make things even more exciting as participants who got “caught” by the monster performed a consequence.
Gamers eagerly signed up for freeplay activities to get a first-hand experience of the game. A lot of them were impressed with the game’s intricate attention to detail on the characters and surroundings, as well as the fantastic gameplay. All these were demonstrated and showcased in fantastic videos that captured the game’s best features.
In fact, most of those who visited the booth expressed their enthusiasm and excitement over the upcoming closed beta test of CABAL.
Keeping the tradition alive
Similar to last year’s anniversary celebration, e-Games once again made the aspirations of several children from Make-A-Wish Foundation a reality. As the company takes pride in its success through its vibrant community of gamers, so does it give back to the youth.
Computer packages were granted to these children, who are already avid gamers. It is with this purpose that e-Games would like more people to enjoy the benefits of gaming in terms of gaining friends, becoming more tech-savvy, and to learn about the world without their disabilities hindering them to become better citizens of the community.
Domination II turned out to be a more special event with the presence of e-Games’ regional partners and game developers. Key people from ESTsoft graced the event to also show support for CABAL Online, as well as those from IAHGames who were present to personally award the Granado Espada Philippine community for their efforts.
The event was e-Games’ way of thanking its loyal community for their support. With Domination II, e-Games wanted to give a different and better gathering for all e-Gamers, and this particular theme of an “e-Games city” brought together the best of what the company has: the best games, the best event, and the best gamers.
“We would like to thank everyone who made Domination II a huge success. From our partners and our sponsors to the gamers who attended this event, we thank you all. We hope to see you in our next year’s anniversary. Watch out for us in our mall tours, school tours and i-Cafe raids as we bring our games closer to you,” Pasion enthused.
Domination II was presented by Globe and co-presented by Pepsi, Extra Joss and Redfox Technologies, together with partners Yoshinoya, GMA 7, Magic 89.9, philstar.com, Rudy Project, and Sterling Paper Products, and with the special participation of Cosplay.ph and Team Kyoudo.