Ragnarok Online connects Pinoys

Ragnarok Online (RO) is not your usual video game. It is where you become a character in the game and interact with other characters in the game. You meet a lot of other players, who could become your real-life friends.

"It’s fun playing RO. You meet lots of friends, have fun times, crazy times. You help each other when you have problems. It’s an online game that has enriched my life," says Paulina, an RO fan.

Perhaps second only to SMS or text messaging, RO has brought people together. RO has breached the barriers of distance, language, and culture. One can be in Pasay and compete with another player in Davao.

In RO, you become part of a fantasy world where everyone plays a role. You can be a Knight, a Hunter, or a Blacksmith. There can be as many kinds of personalities that play RO as there are Porings, cute and lovable creatures associated with the game, at the outskrits of Prontera, the capital city of the game world.

After school or work, RO players stop being students, professionals, housewives, employees, and even businessmen. They become their chosen character in their fantasy world.

Once the game loads on your computer, a player with an avatar named Muramasa Kisei becomes one of the game’s most renowned Merchants. "At first, I just played RO like another Diable-style game–kill things, grab loot, sell loot, buy better stuff, etc. But then came the interaction with people. Being a Merchant, everyone asked me for OC/DC (overcharge and discount services) and to vend stuff. It was an eye-opening experience for someone who treats video games as a solo or a small-group activity at the most. You begin to consider other people before acting-something most gamers aren’t used to doing," Muramasa explains.

So Muramasa focused his energies on forming a community. It meant extending the game beyond the three-dimensional confines of graphics, animation, and sound. A community truly changes the game into a living, breathing virtual world.

"We had the chance to start the community, so we did. I immediately tried to establish good standards for the economy and for the conduct of merchants around. It worked at first, when all my fellows were of a similar mind–having the betterment of the community as our main priority. We managed to get a decent economy floating. Before I knew it, the characters were complementing their strengths and weaknesses. We have become not just a group, but also a family.

Now I spend my time helping people out–items, tactics, company, even real-life problems. I have helped foster a community. To think I started out as a lone individual. That is the power of friendship and community. That is Ragnarok Online," beams Muramasa.

Who would have ever thought that on online game could wield such an influence for stimulating creativity in playing different characters? For these characters to take on attributes that make them instruments for friendship and even forming families and communities. Small wonder it has taken root in many Pinoys’ hearts and minds.