For 36 hours, several computer game buffs had to assume the role of Werefox in online fantasy game Perfect World (http://w2.cubizone.com).
They were taking part in Gurney Plaza's 36-hour Computer Games Challenge in Penang which kicked off at 10am on Saturday and ended at 10pm the next day.
Fuelled with determination, the 16 all-male contestants were geared up for the challenge. After all, it is common for most game enthusiasts to lose track of time as they manoeuvre their avatars through adrenaline-pumping missions.
Among the contestants, Danyel Chong Boon Hui, 13, shared this view.
“My brother (Jayson Chong Boon Keat, 25) and I are used to playing computer games for hours in our room.
“So, we thought we'd give this competition a shot,” said the Form One student from SM St Xaviers.
However, fatigue won over the brothers. They called it quits after nearly 26 hours in the challenge.
After catching a half-hour nap at home, they returned to the plaza to cheer on the other contestants.
The first contestant to quit left the game after midnight while a group of six including the brothers withdrew on Sunday morning.
The mechanics
Cubinet Interactive Sdn Bhd marketing manager Michael Cheah, who coordinated the event, said there were 105 levels in Perfect Game.
“For the event, we connected the game to a test server which only allowed the contestants to play. “We chose Werefox, who is among the game's six characters, for the contestants because she can tame animals to back her up in combat.
“These animals can perform poison and venom spells to wound her opponents.
“When Werefox conquers a land, she will receive coins to shop for tactical skills, weapons and potions,” he explained.
The contestants were allowed to take intervals of 10-minute toilet breaks and 15-minute meal breaks.
If they took longer than the allotted time, marks would be deducted accordingly.
They were also required to play six short games called Bug on a Wire, Twins, Panik in Chocoland, Bubble Trouble, Mission Mars and Trapshoot.
The winner had to achieve the highest combined score from Perfect World and the six short games.
Third-time running
The plaza’s marketing and communications manager Pauline Teh said this was their third 36-hour event.
“In 2005, we organised a 36-hour sleeping competition while last year, it was a 36-hour challenge to watch television.
“This year is focused on online games because we thought that that's what kids do nowadays.
“After all, it's not often that shoppers get to sleep overnight in a mall,” she said with a laugh.
Her director Phuah Choon Meng presented the prizes to the winners.
The first prize winner, Tony Kok Chin San, 23, won a laptop worth RM3,000 and an RM500 SenQ cash voucher.
The second prize winner, Lee Choon Fei, 25, received an RM1,000 SenQ cash voucher and RM300 cash while third prize winner Lim Wei Ping, 19, got a RM500 SenQ cash voucher and RM200 cash.
The top three scored 267, 265 and 252 marks respectively.
Kok said the first thing on his mind after the competition was to have a good bath.