5463489 - 14_01_2007 - ST^SUT - FIRST - 42
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thesundaytimes January 14 2007 42 gen y Dr Carol Balhetchet from the Singapore Children’s Society has been counselling families and their children since 1992. She is the director of the society’s Youth Development Centre in Toa Payoh. Benson Ang TEENS in Singapore are cash- ing in on their gaming skills by selling assets from the cyber- world for hard cash in the real world. And the money they make is not to be scoffed at. One 19-year-old, Christo- pher, made more than $6,000 over the last two years selling characters, magical swords and shields from the game he spe- cialises in – MapleStory. Another teen made a few thousand dollars in less than six months from the same game, which is played by about 200,000 Singaporeans, accord- ing to AsiaSoft Online, the game’s publisher. Such deals go against the publisher’s rules, and Christo- pher and other gamers inter- viewed declined to reveal their full names for fear of being pe- nalised. The free multiplayer online role-playing game allows a play- er’s characters to take on a vari- ety of jobs, such as that of a ma- gician or thief, to safeguard “Ma- ple World”. Players can train their charac- ters to develop more powerful skills and abilities by slaying monsters and completing quests. A trained character, like a Level 145 assassin, can run twice as fast as most other char- acters, and takes only seconds to defeat some monsters. Such trained characters also cost serious money when a gam- er wants to buy them off anoth- er. Gary, 16, paid almost $600 to Ngee Ann Polytechnic student Li Jiong, 17, two weeks ago for a MapleStory character – one that took Li Jiong three months, for 14 hours a day, to train. Gamers also sell in-game cur- rency, known as mesos. The go- ing rate for one million mesos, which can be used to purchase items related to the game, is $2. A transaction Christopher will never forget is one he made in October 2005. He received a message from one player during a game, asking him if he would sell his character – a Level 70 hunter capable of firing arrows with bombs attached. That char- acter was ranked among the top 10 characters in that in-game world. Christopher was shocked at the amount the gamer offered – $1,000 – and was even more stunned when the buyer showed up at his home two days later to make the payment. The buyer was 14 years old – and he paid in cash. Christopher, who spent 16 hours a day on the game during the school holidays, has made around $6,200 since he started selling characters, items and mesos two years ago. In the last three months alone, he made more than $4,000, selling mostly to “regu- lars” who contact him through the game, and whom he has nev- er met. Buyers and sellers meet through postings on forums, chatlines or sometimes through ads in the newspapers. The full-time national service- man, who graduated from ITE last year, intends to save the money in the hope of starting a business one day. Dani, 19, is another gamer for whom MapleStory is serious business. He made almost $5,000 last year when he was still a private student, playing from 6am to 10am every day be- fore he left for school in the af- ternoon. Another gamer, Bin Keat, 15, also cashed in on his MapleSto- ry assets, making $5,000 in just six months. Li Jiong and Bin Keat said they did not need the money earned from MapleStory, but are using the extra cash to live it up – shopping, eating and go- ing out with friends. Characters require long hours of training to be “lucra- tive”, and some gamers are treat- ing the game like a business. Da- ni said: “I don’t even like the game any more. Now I just play for the money.” There are plenty of takers, too. “Buying characters saves me both time and energy since I don’t have to spend hours train- ing the characters,” said Gary. “The game is only interesting when the characters are at a high level, so buying characters allows me to start enjoying the game immediately.” Players involved in these “ille- gal” deals risk having their ac- counts suspended. But that does not appear to bother them. Dani said: “Nobody is hurt, and the deal benefits both par- ties. So what's wrong with that?” [email protected] Not sure what is good English and what is not? Write to The Sunday Times and we will get master teachers to answer your queries. This is a weekly series in support of the Speak Good English Movement. HOW TO SEND IN YOUR QUERIES Please use the keyword <english> SMS/MMS: 75557 Email: [email protected] Q I AM a junior college student who recently started a relationship. Eve- rything was going well until the girl I am dating kissed me. I made a sudden movement and held her head with the intention of planting a kiss on her forehead. Apparently, she misunderstood my action and became frightened and upset. She left and later sent me an SMS saying that she wanted to break up. I tried explaining to her and apol- ogised for whatever had happened but she still refuses to have a rela- tionship. I love her very much and I com- mitted myself to the relationship on- ly because she said that she was com- mitted to it. Please help me to make the right decision. I am devastated. Devastated A Dear Devastated, Gosh, we have all been there, one time or another, when a well-mean- ing action from both parties turns in- to a disaster. Perhaps you can blame it on the paradox of human differenc- es which is reflected in books such as Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus. Nevertheless, the situation has re- sulted in an awkward misunderstand- ing. Your girlfriend may have been car- ried away by a romantic moment to initiate a kiss. When this was not re- ciprocated, it may have embarrassed her, which could have accounted for her strong reaction when you affec- tionately held her head. You do not need to make the right decision but a sensitive next move, so here are some possible options: Write her a letter explaining the misunderstanding and your good in- tention which backfired. Ensure that this is accompanied with a dozen red roses. Send her a single long-stemmed rose with a couple of movie tickets to the latest romance flick. In your note, tell her that she could pick you as her partner to the movie. Send her an apology card with a romantic line (if there was one) from the movie that both of you watched. Send her a song via a radio sta- tion. Send her a box of chocolates with a short note. Think creatively and I’m sure you will be able to come up with some- thing that will get her attention. POSED PHOTO: WANG HUI FEN WHEN safety advice is not expressed clearly, it defeats its objective of warning people. Here’s one such sign with many mistakes and ambigui- ties. Let’s scrutinise some of the instructions above. As a non-edible item, it is evident that clay can- not be consumed. Perhaps the people who put up this sign are playing it safe. However, to state that eating clay could result in the “strangling” of a person is an incorrect usage of the word. To strangle means to kill someone by squeez- ing his throat tightly so that he cannot breathe. It would certainly be most frightening if the clay could take a life of its own to strangle someone! For clarity and accuracy, we suggest: “Avoid putting clay into your mouth, or you may choke on it.” Guessing at the meaning of the second instruc- tion, we think it would read better written this way: “Keep your hands clean and dry when han- dling the clay.” In the third line, “it” in the sentence seems to refer to the clay. It is baffling that the clay should assume more importance than the nose, eye or mouth that comes into contact with the clay. Surely the safety of the child warrants more at- tention than the cleanliness of the clay. So com- ing back to the instruction, we would go with: “Clean your nose, eye or mouth immediately with water if it comes into contact with the clay.” “Tickle” is also inappropriately used in the fourth instruction. Usually, a person “tickles” an- other or something “tickles” you. Hence, the clause “…as soon as you tickle in playing clay” is ungrammatical and inaccurate in usage. We would go with: “Stop using the clay if you itch or come out in a rash.” Try your hand at correcting the rest of the in- structions. When to sound the horn “HORN to warn others of danger and not to ex- press your frustration. Horning unnecessarily may alarm or anger other road users into making unpredictable moves which may lead to acci- dents.” – Singapore Police Force This road safety advice will certainly be familiar to all drivers or those learning to drive. While Sin- gaporeans will not question the meaning of the advice, an Australian friend of ours was amused by it and the way Singaporeans have mangled the English language. Here’s why: The “horn” in a vehicle is a device that is used to make a loud noise as a warning or signal to other people. A “horn” may also refer to a musi- cal instrument, or a hard bony outgrowth found on the heads of cattle, sheep and other animals. “Horn” is usually not used to describe an ac- tion, much less convey the meaning of sounding the horn. Although the Oxford Dictionary does record the use of “horn” as a verb, it means to butt or gore with the horns, as in “the rhino horned the explorer”. [ Counsellor Life can get overwhelming sometimes. But you don't have to suffer in silence. Write to TeenConfidential, and we will get trained counsellors to help you through your problem. Email your letters to [email protected] Some teens are breaking the rules by selling their virtual game assets – and they’re making a killing An awkward move, now she wants to break up PAY AND PLAY OUR LANGUAGE TEACHERS are (from left): Ms Connie Seng, Mrs Joy Lee, Ms Jeyalaxmy Ayaduray and Mrs Regina Davamoni. All four are master teachers in English language – experts who help teachers develop good teaching practices and programmes. More questions answered in the online edition of English As It Is Broken at www.stomp.com.sg
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Transcript of 5463489 - 14_01_2007 - ST^SUT - FIRST - 42
thesundaytimes January 14 2007 42gen y
Dr CarolBalhetchet fromthe SingaporeChildren’s Societyhas beencounsellingfamilies and theirchildren since1992. She is thedirector of the society’s YouthDevelopment Centre in ToaPayoh.
� Benson Ang
TEENS in Singapore are cash-ing in on their gaming skills byselling assets from the cyber-world for hard cash in the realworld.
And the money they make isnot to be scoffed at.
One 19-year-old, Christo-pher, made more than $6,000over the last two years sellingcharacters, magical swords andshields from the game he spe-cialises in – MapleStory.
Another teen made a fewthousand dollars in less than sixmonths from the same game,which is played by about200,000 Singaporeans, accord-ing to AsiaSoft Online, thegame’s publisher.
Such deals go against thepublisher’s rules, and Christo-pher and other gamers inter-viewed declined to reveal theirfull names for fear of being pe-nalised.
The free multiplayer online
role-playing game allows a play-er’s characters to take on a vari-ety of jobs, such as that of a ma-gician or thief, to safeguard “Ma-ple World”.
Players can train their charac-ters to develop more powerfulskills and abilities by slayingmonsters and completingquests. A trained character, likea Level 145 assassin, can runtwice as fast as most other char-acters, and takes only secondsto defeat some monsters.
Such trained characters alsocost serious money when a gam-er wants to buy them off anoth-er.
Gary, 16, paid almost $600 toNgee Ann Polytechnic studentLi Jiong, 17, two weeks ago fora MapleStory character – onethat took Li Jiong three months,for 14 hours a day, to train.
Gamers also sell in-game cur-rency, known as mesos. The go-ing rate for one million mesos,which can be used to purchaseitems related to the game, is $2.
A transaction Christopherwill never forget is one he madein October 2005. He received amessage from one player duringa game, asking him if he wouldsell his character – a Level 70hunter capable of firing arrowswith bombs attached. That char-
acter was ranked among the top10 characters in that in-gameworld.
Christopher was shocked atthe amount the gamer offered –$1,000 – and was even morestunned when the buyershowed up at his home twodays later to make the payment.The buyer was 14 years old –and he paid in cash.
Christopher, who spent 16hours a day on the game duringthe school holidays, has madearound $6,200 since he startedselling characters, items andmesos two years ago.
In the last three monthsalone, he made more than$4,000, selling mostly to “regu-lars” who contact him throughthe game, and whom he has nev-er met. Buyers and sellers meetthrough postings on forums,chatlines or sometimes throughads in the newspapers.
The full-time national service-man, who graduated from ITElast year, intends to save themoney in the hope of starting abusiness one day.
Dani, 19, is another gamerfor whom MapleStory is seriousbusiness. He made almost$5,000 last year when he wasstill a private student, playingfrom 6am to 10am every day be-fore he left for school in the af-ternoon.
Another gamer, Bin Keat, 15,also cashed in on his MapleSto-ry assets, making $5,000 in justsix months.
Li Jiong and Bin Keat saidthey did not need the moneyearned from MapleStory, butare using the extra cash to liveit up – shopping, eating and go-ing out with friends.
Characters require longhours of training to be “lucra-tive”, and some gamers are treat-ing the game like a business. Da-ni said: “I don’t even like thegame any more. Now I just playfor the money.”
There are plenty of takers,too.
“Buying characters saves meboth time and energy since Idon’t have to spend hours train-ing the characters,” said Gary.“The game is only interestingwhen the characters are at ahigh level, so buying charactersallows me to start enjoying thegame immediately.”
Players involved in these “ille-gal” deals risk having their ac-counts suspended. But thatdoes not appear to bother them.
Dani said: “Nobody is hurt,and the deal benefits both par-ties. So what's wrong withthat?”
Not sure what is good English andwhat is not? Write to The Sunday Times
and we will get master teachersto answer your queries.
This is a weekly series in support of theSpeak Good English Movement.
OUR LANGUAGE EXPERTS are (left to right): Mrs Joy Lee, Mrs Regina Davamoni, Ms Connie Seng and Ms Jeyalaxmy Ayaduray. All four are master teachers in English language –experts who help teachers develop good teaching practices and programmes.
HOW TO SEND IN YOUR QUERIESPlease use the keyword
<english> SMS/MMS: 75557 Email: [email protected]
Q I AM a junior college student who
recently started a relationship. Eve-
rything was going well until the girl
I am dating kissed me.
I made a sudden movement and
held her head with the intention of
planting a kiss on her forehead.
Apparently, she misunderstood
my action and became frightened
and upset. She left and later sent me
an SMS saying that she wanted to
break up.
I tried explaining to her and apol-
ogised for whatever had happened
but she still refuses to have a rela-
tionship.
I love her very much and I com-
mitted myself to the relationship on-
ly because she said that she was com-
mitted to it.
Please help me to make the right
decision. I am devastated.
Devastated
A Dear Devastated,Gosh, we have all been there, onetime or another, when a well-mean-ing action from both parties turns in-to a disaster. Perhaps you can blameit on the paradox of human differenc-es which is reflected in books suchas Men Are From Mars, Women AreFrom Venus.
Nevertheless, the situation has re-sulted in an awkward misunderstand-ing.
Your girlfriend may have been car-ried away by a romantic moment toinitiate a kiss. When this was not re-ciprocated, it may have embarrassed
her, which could have accounted forher strong reaction when you affec-tionately held her head.
You do not need to make the rightdecision but a sensitive next move,so here are some possible options:� Write her a letter explaining themisunderstanding and your good in-tention which backfired. Ensure thatthis is accompanied with a dozen redroses.� Send her a single long-stemmedrose with a couple of movie ticketsto the latest romance flick. In yournote, tell her that she could pick youas her partner to the movie.� Send her an apology card with aromantic line (if there was one) fromthe movie that both of you watched.� Send her a song via a radio sta-tion.
� Send her a box of chocolates witha short note.
Think creatively and I’m sure youwill be able to come up with some-thing that will get her attention.
POSED PHOTO: WANG HUI FEN
WHEN safety advice is not expressed clearly, itdefeats its objective of warning people. Here’sone such sign with many mistakes and ambigui-ties. Let’s scrutinise some of the instructionsabove.
As a non-edible item, it is evident that clay can-not be consumed. Perhaps the people who putup this sign are playing it safe. However, to statethat eating clay could result in the “strangling” ofa person is an incorrect usage of the word.
To strangle means to kill someone by squeez-ing his throat tightly so that he cannot breathe. Itwould certainly be most frightening if the claycould take a life of its own to strangle someone!For clarity and accuracy, we suggest: “Avoidputting clay into your mouth, or you may chokeon it.”
Guessing at the meaning of the second instruc-tion, we think it would read better written thisway: “Keep your hands clean and dry when han-dling the clay.”
In the third line, “it” in the sentence seems torefer to the clay. It is baffling that the clay shouldassume more importance than the nose, eye ormouth that comes into contact with the clay.Surely the safety of the child warrants more at-tention than the cleanliness of the clay. So com-ing back to the instruction, we would go with:“Clean your nose, eye or mouth immediatelywith water if it comes into contact with the clay.”
“Tickle” is also inappropriately used in thefourth instruction. Usually, a person “tickles” an-other or something “tickles” you. Hence, theclause “…as soon as you tickle in playing clay” isungrammatical and inaccurate in usage. Wewould go with: “Stop using the clay if you itch orcome out in a rash.”
Try your hand at correcting the rest of the in-structions.
When to sound the horn“HORN to warn others of danger and not to ex-press your frustration. Horning unnecessarilymay alarm or anger other road users into makingunpredictable moves which may lead to acci-dents.” – Singapore Police Force
This road safety advice will certainly be familiarto all drivers or those learning to drive. While Sin-gaporeans will not question the meaning of theadvice, an Australian friend of ours was amusedby it and the way Singaporeans have mangled theEnglish language. Here’s why:
The “horn” in a vehicle is a device that is usedto make a loud noise as a warning or signal toother people. A “horn” may also refer to a musi-cal instrument, or a hard bony outgrowth foundon the heads of cattle, sheep and other animals.
“Horn” is usually not used to describe an ac-tion, much less convey the meaning of soundingthe horn.
Although the Oxford Dictionary does recordthe use of “horn” as a verb, it means to butt orgore with the horns, as in “the rhino horned theexplorer”.
[� Counsellor
Life can get overwhelming sometimes. But you don't have to suffer in silence. Writeto TeenConfidential, and we will get trained counsellors to help you through yourproblem. Email your letters to [email protected]
Some teens arebreaking the rules byselling their virtualgame assets – andthey’re making a killing
An awkward move, now she wants to break up
PAY AND PLAY
OUR LANGUAGE TEACHERS are (from left): Ms Connie Seng,Mrs Joy Lee, Ms Jeyalaxmy Ayaduray and Mrs ReginaDavamoni. All four are master teachers in Englishlanguage – experts who help teachers develop goodteaching practices and programmes.
� More questions answered in the online edition ofEnglish As It Is Broken at www.stomp.com.sg
