Letter from the Editor

It has been, at the time of this writing, a little over a week since Pokémon GO finally landed on our shores. Filipinos have waited too damn long for it—trust me, a month after the rest of the world got it is too damn long—and the craze caught on like a plague. (Or like wildfire? What’s the best cliché to use for society-wide crazes?) The hold Pokémon GO has on people is not a generational thing; because of how simple and accessible the game is, I’ve seen the usual kids playing the game (kids who were way too young to be familiar with the Generation I Pokemon they’re catching on their phones), the millennials who are the game’s target market, and even titos and titas keeping up with their young’ins.

So the divide the game has spawned is not between age groups—rather, Pokémon GO clearly distinguishes between those who want to have fun and those who don’t want to have fun.

And the capacity for outright fun is what separates the higher beings from the grinches in these bleak, trying times full of danger and death and sadness and plain old negativity. When you’ve got bodies falling all around you left and right for the wrongest reasons and your biggest annoyance is seeing people enjoying themselves catching virtual creatures superimposed on the real world via the magic of augmented reality, you really, really need to reassess your priorities in life.

In fact, the world would probably be a better place if we were all in the business of fun and games. Playing, if you will. The real world isn’t such a magical place, but guys like Jeron Teng (p. 28) and Kiefer Ravena (p. 34) change the world by having some serious fun—you know, playing around with the highest of stakes. Jeron wants to give it all for his alma mater, while recent college graduate Kiefer wants to represent the country in international competition. They’re two completely different dimensions, but both play on the highest level.

Or what about someone like Pathra Cadness (p. 4), who has fun for a living but also wants you to take her seriously as a gamer, because she is actually a good gamer? Or the Ateneo Lady Eagles of volleyball (p. 22), who could still find the fun in playing their sport after falling so short of the championship? I feel serious envy at only being a scribe for their more pleasurable pursuits in life—like why isn’t “games” on my resume and job description instead?

On the real, though, don’t ever let anyone take away your fun, so long as you’re not hurting anyone. This world is getting madder and madder by the day, and while we still don’t have a solution to the big problems, the enjoyment you get from the little things is your most important tether to your precious, precious sanity.

And if you’re part of the grouch team, lighten the f up. You were not put on this Earth to hate. Now off I go to catch another damn Pidgey.

pepi moran

EDITOR IN CHIEF