Online gamers a growing community in Jakarta

Jeanette Tamara ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Mon, 07/07/2008 10:31 AM  |  City

During the just-concluded 2008 Idol Street Festival, hundreds of online gamers gathered at Taman Anggrek mall in West Jakarta, making new friends and testing their skills against one another.

A highlight of this July 2-6 event saw two teams of Indonesia's best gamers compete for the right to represent the country at the Ragnarok world online gaming championships in the Philippines.

Online gaming first arrived in Indonesia in 2004 and has since grown into a formidable community.

Andi Suryanto, president director of CV Lyto Datarindo Fortuna, an online game entertainment publisher, said there were now about 5 million gamers in the country.

LITTLE CHAMPIONS: Kids play the online game Ragnarok at Idol Street Festival 2008. Indonesia will be represented at the upcoming Ragnarok World Championship in the Philippines. (JP/R. Berto Wedhatama)

According to Mas Aryodaman Adi, an online gamer, there are currently more than 20 online games enjoyed by gamers around Indonesia, from the war game Ragnarok to Idol Street Online, a dance game.

For the online gaming community, these games are no longer just a hobby, but have become an industry.

Yohan Lie, 19, an online gamer, said he knew lots of people who made money from the games.

"I've heard that some people can pay their university tuition with the money they make from these games," Lie said.

He explained that gamers often sell items in the games in exchange for real money, or help other players reach the level they want for money.

Gamers can receive up to Rp 3 million from selling items in games.

"It's a hobby, and people will do anything for their hobby ...," Lie said.

The Ragnarok championship was taken seriously by the competing teams.

The captain of Indonesia's winning team, Ali Abdullah, said his side held regular practices for the event.

"We practice once a week, usually in a commercial Internet kiosk," he said.

Tonny Paolo, marketing communication manager of CV Lyto Datarindo Fortuna, said Indonesia had taken part in the world championship twice, finishing in fifth place the last time it competed.

For most of the gamers, however, the biggest draw of online gaming is being part of a community.

Gamers chat with each other online, forming new friendships over their shared passion.

"I've found many friends here, from total strangers. We chat, then become friends," said Juwita Williem, 20, another online gamer.

Online games attract everyone from elementary school students to young adults.

"Every year we launch new products with different targets," Paolo said.

Most gamers said they spent much of their free time playing.

"The shortest time I have played is 30 minutes and the longest is 10 hours and 30 minutes," Lie said.

A few acknowledged that gaming sometimes took precedent over everything else in their lives.

"Sometimes I forget to eat or take a shower," Adi said.

Williem said some gamers needed to learn to balance gaming and the rest of their lives.

"I was an addict, but now that I know the consequences, I know how to balance between games and the real world," she said.

However, most gamers say gaming has far more positives than negatives.

"I can find many new friends, get my own money, learn how to interact with others, and it teaches me how to be creative," Lie said.

Copyright © 2008 The Jakarta Post - PT Bina Media Tenggara. All Rights Reserved.