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Panayam Kay Arthur Lapina: Ang Kauna-unahang manlalaro ng Axie Infinity sa Nueva Ecija

Photo for the Article - Panayam Kay Arthur Lapina: Ang Kauna-unahang manlalaro ng Axie Infinity sa Nueva Ecija

For the English version of the article, go straight here.

Sa isang bayan sa Nueva Ecija, maraming mga Pilipino ang kumita ng sapat sa kanilang pangangailangan dahil sa paglalaro ng blockchain game na Axie Infinity. Bumisita si Leah Callon-Butler, columnist sa crypto news site na Coindesk at director ng Emfarsis, kasama si Nathan Smale, principal consultant ng Emfarsis, sa Cabanatuan upang makita ang mga Pilipinong nagbago ang buhay ng dahil sa โ€œPlay-to-Earn.โ€

Dito sa ang unang parte ng โ€œPlay-to-Earn Profiles,โ€ aking ininterview si Art Art, ang kauna-unahang Axie Infinity player sa Cabanatuan na kasama sa documentary na pinamagatang: โ€œPlay-to-Earn: NFT Gaming in the Philippinesโ€ na produced ng Yield Guild Games kasama ang Delphi Digital at dinirek ng Emfarsis.

Ano na ba ang pinagkakaabalahan ni Art Art ngayon? Ito ang kanyang Kwentong #SalamatAxie at #PlayToEarn.

PLAY-TO-EARN | NFT Gaming in the Philippines | Subtitles

Tagalog: Arthur Lapina: Ang Kauna-unahang manlalaro ng Axie Infinity sa Nueva Ecija

Si Arthur o mas kilala sa pangalan niyang Art Art ang kauna-unahang manlalaro ng play-to-earn game na Axie Infinity sa Nueva Ecija. Nalaman ni Art Art ang online game na ito noong March 2020. Ng mga panahong iyon ang conversion ng Small Love Potion (SLP) ay nasa 0.19 centavos pa lamang.

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Mula sa pagiging isang simpleng empleyado sa isang restaurant sa Nueva Ecija, isa na siyang scholarship manager ng online game na Axie Infinity. Meron nang 25 scholars si Art Art, pangarap nyang makapag bigay pa ng Axie scholarship sa kanyang mga kababayan hindi lang sa Nueva Ecija kundi pati na rin sa bayan ng Zambales at Montalban.

Paano mo nalaman ang Axie Infinity? Sino ang nag-introduce sayo sa game?

Nawalan si Art Art ng trabaho noong March 2020.  Naisipan nyang maghanap ng trabaho online. Sa Facebook nakita nya ang play-to-earn game na Axie Infinity.

Art Art: โ€œBata pa lang ay gamer na talaga ako pero kahit isang beses sa buong buhay ko hindi ako kumita sa paglalaro online kaya bago sa aking ang concept ng play-to-earn.

Inusisa ko ang website ng Axie Infinity at nalaman ko na kailangan ko palang bumili muna ng Axie para makapagsimulang maglaro. Medyo nag dalawang-isip ako, sanay kasi ako na pag may gusto akong laruin ida-download ko lang ng libre. Tapos tiningnan ko din yung Facebook page ng Axie Infinity, meron lang 1000 likes so napaisip ako kung sulit ba.

Photo for the Article - Panayam Kay Arthur Lapina: Ang Kauna-unahang manlalaro ng Axie Infinity sa Nueva Ecija

Dati ang isang Axie ay nagkakahalaga lang ng Php100 ang isa, para makapag simulang maglaro, kailangan ko ng tatlong Axie kaya mga Php300 ang kailangan kong ilabas nun. Para sa katulad ko na walang trabaho mabigat ang Php300. Pero nagbabakasali ako kaya nung April 2020 bumili ako ng unang team ko. 

Familiar na ako sa cryptocurrency kaya madali lang sa akin gamitin ang Ethereum (ETH) para makabili ng Axie pati na din ang pag-i-install ng Metamask sa phone ko ay madali na lang din.

Paano ka natuto maglaro ng Axie Infinity?

Natuto ako maglaro ng Axie Infinity sa sarili ko lang. Sariling sikap kasi nung mga panahon na iyon wala pang Youtube tutorial videos, Facebook live stream, kahit online na active community sa Facebook wala din. Sa Discord Philippine channel apat o lima lang yata kami

Natuto ako sa pag o-observe sa mga laban ko sa battle arena, kailangan kasi marunong ka gumamit ng card combos at alam mo kung kailan gagamitin ang ibaโ€™t-ibang klaseng cards sa game. Hindi madaling laruin ang game na ito kailangan may strategy ka para manalo ka ng maraming SLP.

Gaano ka na katagal naglalaro ng Axie Infinity?

Na-discover ko ang Axie noong last week ng March 2020, bumili ako ng sarili kong team at nag-start maglaro first week of April 2020. Mga mahigit 13 months na ako naglalaro. Isang taon na din mahigit.

Ano ang mga challenges mo ng nagsisimula ka maglaro?

Mga ilang linggo pa lang ako naglalaro ng Axie na-realize ko na mas malaki pala kikitain ko kapag mas marami akong account. Kaya bumili pa ako ng tatlong account. Nakakalungkot lang kasi ang kinikita ko kapag 15th and 20th of the month ay umaabot lang sa Php1500 – Php2000 kasi 0.19 centavos lang ang palitan ng SLP nun. Kaya naisip ko ibenta na lang yung bagong tatlong account na nabili ko. Sabi ko sa sarili ko di naman ata ako kikita ng pang kabuhayan dito kaya mas mabuti pang humanap na lang ng totoong trabaho.

Photo for the Article - Panayam Kay Arthur Lapina: Ang Kauna-unahang manlalaro ng Axie Infinity sa Nueva Ecija

Pagdating ng July pumalo sa Php11.00 ang SLP. Nakapag withdraw ako ng P14,000.00 yun na yata yung pinaka-malaking sahod na nahawakan ko kahit pa ng nagtatrabaho ako sa restaurant hindi ako kumikita ng ganito kalaking halaga.

Tuwang-tuwa ako pinost ko sa Facebook yung picture ko na hawak yung pera at ung cellphone ko na may nakasalang na Axie Infinity.

Nang makita ng iba ko pang mga kamag-anak at kaibigan yung post ko lahat na sila gusto maglaro ng Axie Infinity.

Proud ako na lahat ng humingi sa akin tulong na makapasimula sa Axie ay natulungan ko at naturuan ko maglaro pati mag claim ng SLP at gawing piso ako din ang nagturo.

Paano binago ni Axie Infinity ang buhay nyo?

Hindi lang buhay ko ang binago ni Axie, binago din nito pati buhay ng mga kaibigan at kamag-anak ko.

Sa ngayon po meron na po akong 25 scholars, plano ko sana nitong taon na ito magkaroon ng 100-150 pa na scholars para makatulong po ako sa maraming kababayan ko sa Nueva Ecija, sa mga kaibigan ko sa Zambales at ang mga kalaro ko din online.

Nagkaroon ako ng financial freedom dahil sa Axie. Hindi ko ito mararanasan kung sa restaurant pa din ako nagta-trabaho hangang ngayon. Yung kinikita ko po sa trabaho ko dati madalas kulang pa at parati kaming kapos sa araw-araw.

Ngayon po inaabot na ng 5 digits ang kinikita ko sa Axie. Binigyan ko na din ng sariling account ang mga magulang ko. May pera na din silang sarili galing sa Axie.  Masaya sila kasi kahit pa matanda na sila nabigyan pa din sila ng opportunity na kumita ng pera.

Nagpapatayo kaming buong pamilya ng bahay, galing lahat ang perang ginagastos namin dito sa kinikita namin sa Axie. Lahat po ito SLP.

English: How Arthur Lapina Started the Axie Infinity Phenomenon in Nueva Ecija

In one rural area in the Philippines, an entire community has earned a living from playing the blockchain game called Axie Infinity. Leah Callon-Butler, columnist for major crypto news publication Coindesk and director of consultancy firm Emfarsis, together with Emfarsisโ€™ principal consultant Nathan Smale travelled to Cabanatuan to meet the very people whose lives have changed because of โ€œPlay-to-Earn.โ€

In the first part of โ€œPlay-to-Earn Profilesโ€ article series, I interviewed Art Art, the pioneer Axie Infinity player in Cabanatuan who appeared in the documentary: Play-to-Earn: NFT Gaming in the Philippinesโ€ produced by Yield Guild Games in collaboration with Delphi Digital and directed by Emfarsis.

What’s Art Art up to these days? This is his #PlayToEarn and #ThanksAxie story.

PLAY-TO-EARN | NFT Gaming in the Philippines | Subtitles

Arthur Constantino, also known as Art Art, started the Axie Infinity revolution in Nueva Ecija. He discovered this play-to-earn game last year, 2020. At the time, the Small Love Potion (SLP) was only equivalent to Php0.19!

He was the first to introduce the game to his family and friends.

Since Art Artโ€™s involvement in Axie, a lot has changed in his life. From being a regular restaurant employee, he is now providing an Axie Infinity scholarship program in Nueva Ecija.

With all the overwhelming opportunities it provided him, he dreamed of extending opportunities to his fellow Novo Ecijanos to earn a living through playing the game.

How did you learn Axie Infinity?

I discovered Axie Infinity in March 2020. At the time, I just got laid off from work.

I was looking for work online when I saw Axie Infinityโ€™s post on Facebook. I got very curious about its captivating play-to-earn business model. I’ve always been a gamer but never in my life I earn anything from playing any online games.

Photo for the Article - Panayam Kay Arthur Lapina: Ang Kauna-unahang manlalaro ng Axie Infinity sa Nueva Ecija

I immediately looked at Axie Infinityโ€™s website. I was a bit skeptical because the game requires you to buy at least three Axies to start playing. Iโ€™m not used to that, all the games I play can be downloaded free so paying upfront to play is something Iโ€™m not accustomed to.

Axie Infinityโ€™s Facebook page during that time has only around 1000 likes so thereโ€™s not much to say whether Iโ€™m getting back my moneyโ€™s worth soon. Around the first week of April 2020 the cost of one Axie was less than Php100. To make a team I need to spend at least Php300. For an unemployed person like me in the middle of a pandemic, P300 was a lot, but I took my chances.

Since Iโ€™m familiar with cryptocurrency, it became easy for me to buy my first set of Axies using Ethereum (ETH) and set up Metamask on my mobile phone.

How did you learn to play?

I learned to play Axie Infinity on my own.

During that time thereโ€™s no tutorial on how to play the game, no Youtube videos, no Facebook live stream, not even an active online community.

There were only four or five of us in the Discord Philippine channel.

I learned by observing my own gameplay, what card combos work best, which card to use to attack different Axie types. I developed a suitable game strategy of my own.

Itโ€™s all self-taught, Axie Infinity is not an easy game. You have to strategize so you can maximize your true earning potential in the game.

How long have you been playing now?

I discovered Axie Infinity last week of March 2020 and started playing the game the first week in April 2020. I have been playing Axie Infinity for over 13 months now, a little over a year.

Have you introduced other players to the game?

Photo for the Article - Panayam Kay Arthur Lapina: Ang Kauna-unahang manlalaro ng Axie Infinity sa Nueva Ecija

Iโ€™ve introduced playing Axie Infinity to a lot of people including my cousin Zabrina, her husband with her teenage son now plays Axie for a living.

I taught and trained many community members here in Nueva Ecija about Axie Infinity and for that they are forever grateful to Axie Infinity and to me who introduced it to them.

The pandemic has brought us so much hardships in life but because of this play-to-earn game we lift each other up, giving us access to this kind of new opportunity we didnโ€™t know was possible.

To date I have 25 scholars, before the end of year I wish to give at least 150 more scholarships to my community in Nueva Ecija, Zambales, and Montalban and to all my fellow online gamers that were not yet introduced to the game.

What have been your challenges when you started playing?

After a couple of weeks playing Axie Infinity in April 2020, I realized that I could earn more by having multiple game accounts, so I bought three more teams.

The value of Small Love Potion (SLP) at that time is Php 0.19. It was so disheartening because Iโ€™m only getting Php 1500- Php 2000 every 15th and 30th of the month for four Axie teams. So I sold my other three accounts to my friends. I thought this would not work out and I should start finding a real job.

Then in July 2020, the SLP conversion rate skyrocketed to Php11.00. I managed to withdraw Php14,000.00 worth of money. That was my first biggest payout! My friends whom I sold my other accounts were very happy too.

Photo for the Article - Panayam Kay Arthur Lapina: Ang Kauna-unahang manlalaro ng Axie Infinity sa Nueva Ecija

I was so grateful for my first big payout. By far the largest amount of earnings I received, I never received this much salary from any of my previous day jobs.

I posted my big โ€œwinโ€ on Facebook, with a picture holding the money on my left hand and my phone with Axie Infinity on the right hand.

I told myself: My journey with Axie Infinity has only just begun.

After my celebrated Facebook post about my success story, all my friends and relatives started expressing interest to the point of begging me to teach them about the game.

Iโ€™m proud to say I helped them all get their own accounts and trained them to play the game.

How did playing Axie Infinity change your life?

Photo for the Article - Panayam Kay Arthur Lapina: Ang Kauna-unahang manlalaro ng Axie Infinity sa Nueva Ecija

It was not just my life that was changed. Itโ€™s also the life of many of my family and friends.

Axie Infinity gave me financial freedom. Something that I will never achieve if Iโ€™m still working in the restaurant. My salary before couldnโ€™t even last until the next payday. We barely make ends meet.

Currently Iโ€™m getting five to six digits pay from playing Axie Infinity, more than enough for me. I gave my parents their own Axie account, theyโ€™re also playing every day and they are very grateful that they find an opportunity to earn money of their own at an old age .

Currently my parents and I, including my siblings have been pooling some part of the money we all get from playing Axie Infinity to build our dream house. Itโ€™s our very own house fully funded by SLP!

This article is puiblished on BitPinas: Panayam Kay Arthur Lapina: Ang Kauna-unahang manlalaro ng Axie Infinity sa Nueva Ecija

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