If you were a “gamer,” you'd have noticed the influx of interactive games where you would be playing either against or with the person seated next to you in an Internet shop. And judging from the now very noisy Internet cafés that used to be quiet hangouts for chatters and surfers, it would probably be safe to assume that that sort of gaming has reached Philippine shores.



Likewise, nobody can refute the popularity of reality-based games, not with TV shows like The Amazing Race, Survivor, The Apprentice, Fear Factor, The 5th Wheel, and The Bachelor.

Now take the sophistication of interactive gaming—considering that computer games before meant Atari (1972) and Nintendo (1977)—and the concept of reality-based contests which, in order to “win” means a test of wits and skills, a notch higher and you graduate to the realm of “multi-media” gaming.

What is a multi-media game?

A multi-media game is like an adventure movie in which the player plays an active role as the leading character. Information, clues and assignments reaches the player by all media surrounding him. A large number of SMS messages, web sites, radio announcements, news paper/magazine ads and voice (response) systems guide him through the game.

One of the more popular multi-media games is the Nokia Game by Euro RSCG Worldwide, a worldwide communications agency network.

On the day that the game was launched, players received a short message on their mobile phones telling them that the game has started. Their first assignment was to watch TV at a given time and channel. What they saw was a short 45-second TV movie, where they became acquainted with the main character of the game. From the player's perspective, he sees himself in an unpleasant situation. The movie ends with a web address where the story continues.

Another multi-media game was Dr. Inkbeer, which was launched in Singapore as part of Asia Pacific Breweries' integrated marketing strategy to tap the youth.

In the game, a central character—Dr. Inkbeer—was created. He was a “renowned scientist” who was conducting a “global social experiment to prove that sociability and intelligence are inter-dependent.” To pull off the last leg of his experiment, he needed 20,000 volunteers and called on Singaporean yuppies to participate.

Dr. Inkbeer was a full-blown, multi-media game that made use of mobile phones, the Internet, television and all other media the youth were sure to see in “gimmick” places. These media were also essential to actually playing the game, which resulted in 22,000 registrations and the Dr. Inkbeer website getting some five million hits.

Multi-media gaming would seem right up the local gamer's alley, what with the Pinoy's mix of ingenuity and resilience. Unfortunately, although Filipinos have participated in a lot of such interactive, multi-media games, none have been launched locally.

None, that is, until Character Quest, the prelude to the first ever, proudly Pinoy-made, multi-media game by Euro RSCG Manila for the Philippine Daily Inquirer (PDI).

The PDI's “Character Quest” was essentially a talent search of sorts that looked for participants, 18 to 45 years old who have had no major experience in professional modeling or acting. The search, though already a game in itself, was only the platform used to look for the right support characters who play important roles in a bigger, more complicated game.

Now what this game is exactly and its nature, well, gamers will just have to wait and see.