I was lucky enough to chat with GM Bentaboy about his thoughts on the game, the future of Ragnarok and the tough challenges of his job.

SHARIC: First, tell me something about your GM name? Why did you use that?

BENTABOY: BS BENTABOY? He was the name of my personal char before, I really wanted to have a GM name with Filipino in it since most of the GM names before that tended to be RPG or Anime inspired and I wanted to be different.

SHARIC: About your job? What’s your function and how do you fit in the GM structure?

BENTABOY: I head the GM Team and make sure performance guidelines are met especially in the areas of customer interaction and enforcement.  I also manage process improvements targeted at customer satisfaction.

SHARIC: What has been the biggest and most challenging project you handled? What was your role in it?

BENTABOY: Biggest and most challenging project would have to be the formation and development of the GM team.  I headed the development of coaching guidelines, promotional paths and GM processes for handling various cases.

SHARIC: What can you say about the current state of politics in RO today? Where do you think it is headed? Is it good or bad?

BENTABOY: RO politics right now defines the power structure and landscape of pRO, I personally think it’s a good thing since it immerses the players in the entire playing experience but at the same time it needs to be in check since some people can’t distinguish between real life and RO life.

SHARIC: What are your views on the following topics?

RAGNABOARDS?
A very good tool and forum for feedback and discussion however players also have to balance the need to express their views as well as respect for the characters of other players.  Sometimes things get out of hand, However, RB is an avenue for intellectual discussion as well as a feedback tool to enhance your playing and gaming lifestyle.  I am also appreciative of the community boards because it also allowed me to connect to players on a more personal level.  It is also because of RB that I have known great literary works like Pritong Kandule and Red Haired Terror since reading is one of my indulgences. /heh

GMS BEING ACCUSED OF CORRUPTION?
Honestly, a lot of it are mere rumors. To date, no one has substantiated these accusations with evidence. I think before people start to give in to these types of talks we have to remember that GMs are people who have put a lot of investment both in their personal and professional life in making RO and LU! a success. All of the GMs feel passionately about the game and the last thing they would want is for anybody to do anything that would jeopardize what we have all worked soo hard for.  But as a manager, I would be the first one to fire anyone who will be involved in any dubious activities that will jeopardize the game’s and the company’s integrity.  Also, we as a company have invested greatly in making the game secure and have in fact initiated in-house controls in order to tighten information access in order to proactively prevent any untoward incidences. Lastly, let’s all be careful to distinguish between proven fact and rampant speculation.

COMPETITION MMORPGs
All hype. Honestly right now I can say as a gamer that Level Up has 80% of the great content in the market. Most competing local MMORPGS don’t have the same depth nor the same community as pRO has.

SHARIC: 3 songs playing in your PC’s mp3 player?

BENTABOY:  ^__^ Stay by Queshe, Jesus Walks by Kanye west and Instant Ayos by Mish ^__^

SHARIC: Last good book you read?

BENTABOY: Digital Fortress by Dan Brown

SHARIC: Complete the sentence. You would want the playing community to remember Bentaboy as…

BENTABOY: The GM they could have fun with and depend on

That’s it for this “GM Interview”. In the weeks to come, I’ll feature more GMs so that you’ll get to know the real persons behind the avatar!

Till next time!