Frequency of access and hours doesn't really measure gamers loyalty

As Internet online gaming continues to grow in the Philippines, the battle is on among gaming companies to attract more members, play often, and build a loyal base of users. For Jessa Jamilla, assistant product manager and community manager of RAN Online, frequency of access and hours doesn't really measure loyalty. "We have gamers who play 24 hours a day and also gamers who turned out to be forum moderators but seldom play their characters. I think, loyal is being attached to the community no matter how often or seldom you play the game."

RAN Online is a campus-based massively multi-player online role playing game (MMORPG). "It has a contemporary style but was enveloped with mystery. If not all, most of us were once students. So, everyone can relate with the game. With RAN Online, you get to start your character as a student and as you level up more skills and more maps will unfold. The game is very easy to play but is challenging enough because of the other game features. I guess, these points make the gamers more attached to the game," Jessa explained.

The game currently has 300 active guilds. Each consists of 50 members, and may have a maximum of 3 more guild expansions. 80% are considered loyal. Jessa adds, "We consider our community as a new breed of gamers where most are really first timers. RAN Online is also built as a party-dependent game. The characters level up faster when they party-up with other characters. This feature made the gamers stick together, form real-life ‘barkadas’, and also bond families together."


Community managers like Jessa performs an important in leading the activities - interacting with the gamers, getting feedback and game-related concerns, conceptualizing events, and other ideas to bond the players together. "We ensure that our valued players are having the best gaming experience. We continuously come up with online and offline events for the players to meet the gaming experience they can't find in other games."

"Of all the gaming companies, we are proud to say that e-Games/RAN has very active game masters both in-game and through forums. The management's main objective is to make the players happy that's why our game master's are always there to assist and resolve problems as soon as possible."