Coco ups his game

MANILA, Philippines — Mobility is power. More and more people are turning to the mobile phone for anything and everything under the sun.

Coco Martin knows that. So he decided to tap the power of mobile phones to push something close to his heart. In-between tapings, guest appearances and others, he created a game app with Ang Panday, the character Coco is playing in a movie he is producing, directing and starring in for the upcoming Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF).

“This time, let’s reverse the process,” Coco explains in Filipino. “Almost all young people play games on their cellphones when bored. So I created a game that can cross over to the movie.”

He created a story and came up with Panday’s costumes and weapons (e.g. swords) to beat various enemies at different stages of his mission to help others. Coco also used his own voice as Flavio, whom the app will show going to various locations as he completes his mission.

Joining Coco in this project are Synergy 88’s Jackeline Chua and Miker Rivera who polished Coco’s ideas based on their experience in the mobile game business.

Coco’s passion and talent for telling a story and designing a mobile game impressed Jackeline. So she and Miker offered to make Coco a business partner for this project which she says aims at “global domination.”

Global domination is aiming for the sky. But if Coco and company make it, they’ll be putting an original Filipino creation on the map of mobile gaming.

“Panday is one of the first superheroes we Pinoys created,”Coco says. “I want children to know Panday, because some of them just know Thor. We also have superheroes we can be proud of, like Captain Barbell and Darna. Why don’t we start (promoting) them using social media?”

Filipino animators who made some of the popular characters in Hollywood movies also inspire him. They, and young people who turn to their mobile phones to play games each time they’re bored, gave birth to Ang Panday the adventure game app (one can also play offline).

“Young people get bored easily. Gusto nila may nabubuo sila lagi. Kailangan natin silang sabayan,” observes Coco.

The app, available on Google Play store, lets Coco hit two birds with one stone. Besides getting people hooked on the new mobile app, the actor is promoting Ang Panday way ahead of its targeted Dec. 25 playdate.

Yes, Coco knows how to up his game. In today’s go-go-go world, and the competitive showbiz circle he moves around in, that could mean winning half the battle for himself, and the Filipino superhero he wants the world to know.