WHY NON-GAMERS MUST WATCH ESPORTS FILM ‘GG (GOOD GAME)’
Maricel Laxa-Pangilinan had remarked in a previous STAR interview, “I think our movie ‘GG (Good Game)’ is hindi lang pampamilya pang esports pa.” The actress portrays the estranged biological mother of her son Donny Pangilinan’s gamer character Seth in the flick.
The esports-themed movie “GG,” under MediaWorks and MQuest Ventures, is currently showing in cinemas.
It is written and directed by Prime Cruz and also stars Gold Aceron, Boots AnsonRoa, Igiboy Flores, Baron Geisler, Kaleb Ong, Johannes Rissler, to name a few.
In a media conference, The STAR asked the cast members on how they will convince a non-gamer to watch the film.
Baron Geisler (as Coach Kurt) said to not just judge the film but just enjoy watching it, especially the visual effects that comes with the movie. He used to be a gamer in his younger years during the ‘80s and ‘90s, playing Nintendo games.
“But while filming, I understood that when I got to (interact) with professional esports players and apparently, ‘pag nanalo po sila, (they would get) milyones (millions). It’s actually a profession. It’s not just a hobby, it’s (also) a craft,” the actor further said.
Boots, on the other hand, said that one can enjoy the esports flick even if not a gamer because there’s something to learn from it. The veteran star’s grandchildren taught her how to use gadgets.
“What Maricel said is correct, (we can learn) through the people that we love, family who are into it. That will give us initiative to try to understand what the game is all about. And all of these young people are into it. Maybe we can bridge the generation gap. We will learn something from it. We learn something every day,” she pointed out.
Boots also had short scenes with Donny where she didn’t understand a thing about gaming but with the lead star’s help as well as direk Prime, she realized that it was “something that contributes to life.”
“It’s not about violence or action, there’s a story about the game (in the film) Requiem or whatever,” she continued. “And we should understand that. We just really have to sustain our interest and the best reason is so that we can relate more to the young people in our lives and the people we live with.”
As for Igiboy, the cast is already a reason enough to watch “GG.” He said that he, himself, watches the series Haikyu!! about volleyball matches even if he is not a volleyball player.
“It’s like we have developed an interest in a sport or genre even if we don’t know about it because it has a good story,” he explained. “(In ‘GG’), we’re able to tell (a good story as well). I’m very sure. I know that you will all like it even though you don’t have any idea what we are talking about.”
Gold concurred, saying, “Even the nongamers should watch this… depende yan eh. Depende siya sa tao kapag pinanood ‘to ng hindi gamers. Bukod sa magustuhan din nila, i-try lang din nila. Wala namang mawawala.”
For Kaleb, “GG” is an “outlet” for parents or non-gamers to understand the experience of gaming. The non-gamers can relate to the gamers in the film in a way that they will understand why the gamers are hooked to it, he added.
“Bakit sila tutok na tutok dito, especially the parents who would ask, ‘Why is my child always playing?... Because they will be able to see in the movie na, ‘Ah OK, ito pala yung nararamdaman nila.’”
Producer Anthony Pangilinan pointed out that one out of three Filipinos is a gamer, as shown in the Philippine statistics data. “So kung hindi natin naiintindihan yung mundo nila, nasaan tayo? Ano ang mundo natin?” he asked.
“Our hope is every parent should watch the film so that makita niyo yung mundo namin. Because nandiyan po ang mundo namin ni Maricel at gusto rin sana natin na gamers na sabihin sa magulang, ‘Pwede po panoorin niyo ‘to para makita kung saan kami nanggaling?’ So one out of three Filipinos is a gamer. How can we not relate? And why should we not?”
He further mentioned that you don’t need to be a gamer to see “GG” which is the point of the film. “But what we’ve seen so far as producer, hindi lang po tumayo ang balahibo ko dahil sa gaming pero talagang tumulo ho ang luha ko. So it is both for the family and esports barkada.”
“This is also for grandmothers, mothers, titas, older sisters. This is a message (for everyone),” said Boots.
“Maybe your vocabulary is only limited to ‘gg’ which means galunggong, haha!” she continued.
“But after watching this movie, your vocabulary and understanding of the younger generation will expand that it will not be limited to galunggong but ‘gg’ as in ‘good game,’” she concluded.