GameCon 2018 Underscores New Gen Gaming

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Close to 4,000 gaming enthusiasts attended the recently concluded GameCon, which was supported by PLDT and wireless unit Smart Communications.

The attendance increased by about 30 percent from last year’s event, said GameCon project head Elaine Cedillo, showing the growing industry of gaming in the Philippines.

Now on its second year, GameCon featured exhibitions and competitions on various kinds of gaming—from mobile and PC to video, traditional, tabletop, eSports, virtual reality, robotics, and cosplay, among other activities—with the theme “New Generation Gaming.”

PLDT Home Fibr and Smart Developer Network (Smart DevNet) supported the two-day event by leading the game developers’ workshop and providing strong connectivity. Smart DevNet chief evangelist and partnerships head Paul Pajo, and junior product manager PJ de la Cerna were also present to judge Robo Rumble, a robot fighting competition designed to test the participants’ skills in electronics, programming, design, and other areas.

Events like GameCon prove the local gaming industry has grown bigger over the years, according to game artist Philip Adrian Gungab. A game art teacher at De La Salle–College of Saint Benilde, Gungab is also a cofounder of Re:Cast Games, a new studio composed of fellow instructors, programmers, and artists interested in game development for web and mobile devices.

“Game development is booming in the Philippines. The fact that we have an event like this means the game industry in the Philippines is big. A lot of people are into games now, either as a developer or an artist,” said Gungab, who taught game art at GameCon’s developers’ workshop.

Gungab also said mobile games are widespread because they’re accessible and typically free of charge. With almost everyone using a smartphone now, the popularity of mobile games has become a boon to game developers, he noted.

“The mobile game industry, for me, is a big thing for game developers. When we release a mobile game, for example, on App Store or Google Play Store, it’s not restricted to users in the Philippines alone; the game may be downloaded in other countries. We now have a platform to share our passion projects with everyone,” he said.

De la Cerna, meanwhile, said fans of mobile games Arena of Valor, Clash of Clans, Clash Royale, Everwing, and Mobile Legends may continue leveling up with Smart GameTime data offers. GameTime 50 provides 7 days of gaming, with 300MB per day for the said games, plus 50 battle tickets for Mobile Legends, for only P50 by texting GAME50 to 9999. GameTime 100, he added, offers 30 days at 300MB per day, plus 100 battle tickets, for P100 by texting GAME100.

Pajo said that to experience faster speeds, mobile gamers should use Smart’s super-charged LTE network. He said Smart users should text SIMCHECK to 5832 to check if their SIM is LTE-enabled, and upgrade to LTE for free while retaining their numbers at any Smart Store.

Smart DevNet is Smart’s developer community program targeted at desktop and mobile developers. It promotes general awareness of mobile apps development and technopreneurship while striving to foster a vibrant developer community in the Philippines by organizing and sponsoring tech events and meetups.