And yet, amidst all the popularity, amidst all the fans, GM Phage is still your average young lady who’s currently enjoying her career and has a genuine passion for the game which knows no boundaries.

I caught up with GM Phage at her office on a hot Monday afternoon. I chanced upon her doing for a couple of in-game events for Ragnarok. She then invited me over to Starbucks for some well-deserved iced coffee.

Eager to begin the interview, I fumbled over the first question: How did you become so popular? She replied, “Oh! Hihihi~ I don’t really have any secrets. It just kinda happened. If you know what I mean, all I remember was going online and just doing my job, being nice and all that. Helping players along the way… And then suddenly, people started talking about me.”

Between large gulps of coffee, I asked her how she became a GM; “I worked in a Call Center before, and one time, right after a really bad day at work, I turned my PC on, logged in the game and went to Clock Tower. And then suddenly, I got a PM from GM-Praetor. He asked me how my day was and how’s work doin’ and asked me if I want to be a GM… Yes… It was that easy. He asked me for my resume, I went to Level Up! and passed the interview. After a few days, I became Phage.” She said with a cute smile.

Phage, who also likes R&B and has Lose My Breath by Destiny’s Child as her cell phone ring tone, tells me the story of how her name came to be; “On the first day I came to work at Level Up!, GM-Celestine told me that I have 5 minutes to think of my GM name. I was pretty worried because it’s going to be a one-time thing. It’ll be a name I’ll be using in my entire GM life and I only have 5 minutes to think of one. So I thought about Phage. Phage the Untouchable is my favorite card in Magic the Gathering because it’s quite deadly, but you have to make sure you use her wisely because your opponent can use her against you too. I have a zombie deck and she’s the leader of all of them. Tough girl, ne?”

A real, full-blooded gamer! This is exciting! Let’s continue the interview…

Mon:  “What’s so nice about being popular?”

Phage: “Uhmn… I admit I like the attention. But sometimes it’s just so overwhelming. Anyway, I guess what’s good about it is the fact that I get to talk to a lot of RO players. They like asking me stuff. Some are not even related to RO. I like socializing with players kasi.”

Mon:  “E, what not so nice about it?”

Phage: “Maybe the fact that there are a lot of rumors about me that usually comes out. If I remember it correctly, there was this time that there were threads about me in the Ragnaboards claiming that I’m a guy. Another one that says I’m pregnant… I don’t know where they get these stories but they’re just so weird that I don’t know how to react to them.”

Mon:  “What’s a typical day for you?”

Phage: “Hmmm (pauses). A long time ago, during the prehistoric days of RO, it was all easier IMO. I go in the game and walk around invisible, talk to players, catch scammers, help hack victims, and ban bad players. Those were the days, ne?

Now, it’s answering e-mails, answering phone calls, planning events, going to meetings, making reports, going to events, posting announcements and making sure my staff is doing their job in implementing events, etc. Tougher than what I do before but it’s all worth it. ^_^ I love my job.”

Mon:  “What’s your wish for the game and the community?”

Phage:  “That the players become more competitive and strategic especially for the RPC (RPC Visayas Leg showed me a lot of potential. ^_^), that the game prospers with the arrival of the future episodes, and that the community tighten their bond even more. Their friendship with other players makes our community a great one to be in. It’s our friends that makes RO Rok!”

Mon:  “Last book read?

Phage: “The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty by Anne Rice.”

Mon:  “Last movie seen?”

Phage: “Spongebob Squarepants The Movie”

Mon:  Last non-online video game played?

Phage: “DDR’s Dance Maniax 2 and Percussion Freaks 5. I’m a regular at Time Zone.”

Mon:  What’s on your mp3 player?

Phage: “50 Cents, Ja Rule, Ashanti, JLo, Destiny’s Child, Beyonce Knowles and the Rok On Compilation Album. I love Kamikazee!”

Mon:  “Parting words to your fans?”

Phage:  “Mahal ko kayong lahat” (waves)

And that concludes our interview. Now, her cell number is 091—hahaha! You wish!

Rok On!