Donny Pangilinan, other Good Game stars weigh in on online gaming
MANILA, Philippines — The cast members of the forthcoming first esports film in the Philippines GG (Good Game) have weighed in on the good and bad sides of online gaming.
Maricel Laxa-Pangilinan, who stars with her son Donny Pangilinan as the estranged biological mother Iya of the latter’s character Seth, told The STAR in a media conference that from the perspective of a parent, she’s guilty of making judgements whenever she sees her children spending more time on mobile phones.
“But it also mirrors what I am doing on my phone (like) how much time I put using my phone or my gadgets to allow the time to be consumed in good or bad ways,” she said.
Esports can be good if there are guidelines and boundaries set by the parents and children together, she added. “And I believe in our family, when they were still young, hindi pa uso lahat ng gadgets, no Internet and Wi-Fi at all, we set good boundaries that we all agreed on and that’s important. Anything na hindi ninyo napag-usapan ng nawala sa control will be bad. So, in a family setting, I really encourage parents and children to have healthy communications when it comes to gadgets and esports.”
The actress admitted that she was once got addicted to playing Candy Crush to the point that her best friend, Mariz Ricketts, sent her a rehabilitation coupon. “Kailangan ko na daw magpa-rehab kasi daw wala daw kumausap sakin sa kaka-Candy Crush. But I repented already, I’m a renewed person. Haha!”
On the other hand, Johannes Rissler as Kev, a member of the esports team Tokwa’t Bad Bois (TBB), stressed the importance of limitations and moderations when playing video games. “I think it has a good side and at the same time, it has a bad side. Kailangan lang pumasok yung education and limitation. Lahat ng bagay masama ‘pag (sumo)sobra.”
“So, balance lang as long as you have time for your family. And the time for games is another way to have fun. For others, they make it their profession. So, it depends on the person. So limitation (is the key),” he added.
Johannes, the Philippine representative at the recently concluded Mister Supranational 2023, is a fan of video games Valorant, Counter-Strike and mobile game Mobile Legends (ML).
Igiboy Flores as Joseph, also known as ExtraRice and part of TBB in GG, said that video games in general are good because it can be used in a lot of different ways. It can be educational and informational, he shared and mentioned a particular public video game that is used as an education tool for Grade 1 students as an example.
“So, marami siyang pwedeng maidulot na maganda, but at the same time, like what Ms. Maricel said, kapag sumobra and there’s no moderation, it becomes bad. Lahat naman ng sobra masama eh, so all should be done in the right way.”
As a gamer himself, Igiboy was able to balance his time for gaming, profession, family time and quality time with friends. It entails time management, he maintained, adding that there are social relationships that were formed in a video game community. But he cautioned, “The people around you are more important. You can meet people you’ve known through video games, through gaming communities, but the people, who are really present around you (physically), are more important.”
Igiboy is fond of Farlight 84, Valorant, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, and ML.
For Kaleb Ong, who portrays TBB co-leader Santino, playing video games is an outlet in the real world and outlet for stress.
“But sometimes, kapag nasobrahan ka, it can cause you stress when you lose. As a gamer, minsan nasisigawan ko ka-duo kapag natatalo. So, it’s really balance.” He plays League of Legends and Valorant.
Donny, the team leader of TBB, echoed the answers of his mom and co-actors. “Good and bad, basta it’s in moderation. Everything in life, Igi and mommy are correct (in saying) that it can’t be just one thing. You also have to have your limits.”
He also confessed that he underwent a phase where he got addicted to ML. “Kaya kailangan hindi masyado. Haha! But there are a lot of bad and good sides to esports in general and we hope to showcase a lot of that in this movie.”
“Mommy knows when I’m playing because wala ako sa dinner table. She knows na ‘pag tinatawagan niya ako sa cellphone, mag-la-lag yung game. So, ‘pag tinatawagan niya ako, alam niya na impossibleng ‘di sasagot ‘to. She knows that ‘pag hindi ko sinagot, mag-la-lag yung game and we will lose, so I have to answer the phone, then, baba na ‘ko ng dinner table.”
Apart from ML, Donny also plays Tetris and Valorant.
Baron Geisler as TBB’s Coach Kurt shared he used to play Mario Bros., Pac-Man and Atari.
Meanwhile, the barkada sport drama film GG is a family affair of the Pangilinans. It is co-produced by Anthony Pangilinan’s Group of Companies’ MediaWorks. His wife Maricel and son Donny star in the film as mother-son tandem, and his daughter Hannah is the creative producer. Benj, Donny’s brother, was present at the presscon to show support for his family and the film.
Donny also served as a co-producer and investor in the said flick.
GG is written and directed by Prime Cruz with Elaine Lozano as a line producer and Create Cinema as producer. The story concept is by Zach Aquino.
It is co-produced by Cignal Entertainment and Create Cinema, guided by esports company Metasports and created in collaboration with Smart Communications, Acer Predator Gaming, Rudy Project, Volvo, and Quick FX.
The movie also features an original FPS (First Person Shooter) game called Requiem, modeled after a neo-Manila far in the future.
“I think in the movie we will see the good, the bad, pati yung ugly (of online gaming). But in the end, we promise an amazing angle when it comes to gaming. So, we’re really excited to be here,” remarked Anthony.
It was a dream come true for Donny ever since he entered showbiz to be working with his mom for the first time, he shared. “It’s like a reunion for us because matagal na kaming di nagkikita ng ganun katagal (and) see each other for 18 days or more than 18 days for filming and the conceptualizing of the film. We’ve been so busy doing our own thing, my mom was working on a (tele)serye, I was working on a movie and a couple of shows. It was like all birds, one stone.”
Proud mom Maricel said of Donny, “I will admit na natutulala rin ako at many moments in the film that I realized that I had to stop in scenes with him kasi namangha ako. This is my son and I’m so proud of him.”
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