MANILA, Philippines - A recent study shows that playing video games can induce creativity while another says that gamers are actually more sociable, as opposed to the usual notion that they just spend the whole day at home on their couches slacking and snacking on junk food.

Gamers are evolving and starting to make their presence felt. This could not have been more evident than when 14 schools in Cebu participated in the Level Up! Mural Painting Competition that began last October.

The country?s leading online games publisher literally went the distance in promoting and advocating responsible playing by beautifying 158 walls, each measuring 12x11 ft. The almost 1-km stretch, covering one side of the Queen City Memorial Gardens along A. Soriano Street, now features artworks in latex paint (provided by Nation Paints) by young gamers who used characters from Level Up!?s stable of online games that include Perfect World, RF Online, FlyFF, Freestyle and Silkroad Online.

?At Level Up!, we do more than just entertain our players,? Level Up! International COO Ben Colayco said. ?Given that a large segment of our player base is comprised of young individuals like these competition participants, one of the company?s aims is to nurture today?s youth by immersing them in other worthwhile endeavors without taking away their love for the game.?

Winners

Earning the judges? approval were Richard Nayne of University of Visayas, first place; Richard Romeo and Kristian Requinto of Cebu Institute of Technology, second; and Abel Cabug of University of San Carlos TC, third.

All three were given tuition for one semester. A consolation price of P1,000 each were given to fourth-10th placers. Winners were judged based on clarity of image, creative rendition, impact and relevance to the theme.

Nayne, a graduating Architecture student, said the winnings would be particularly helpful to his family as they would now have less to worry about financially. Nayne said his mother, who?s undergoing treatment for cancer, served as his inspiration in the competition.

Aside from the main competition, Level Up! also held online voting within the different online gaming communities, with Cabug winning an additional P6,000 after three of his entries earned the People?s Choice award.

Nayne and Efren Napuli of University of Cebu also brought home P2,000 each as they were voted by the Perfect World and Freestyle communities as People?s Choice winners.

While the beautification proves to be a noble idea, there is always the threat of vandals. But Colayco is hoping those who see the wall would be able to identify with the works and not mess it up.

?We?re hoping on the impact of the murals and that the vandals would realize people their age did those,? Colayco said. ?But we would still be looking at programs that would maintain what the students worked hard for.?

E-mail the author at dxmatilla@yahoo.com