http://www.nationmultimedia.com/page.news.php3?clid=2&theme=A&usrsess=1&id=112006CARD GAME: Making a QUICK FORTUNE
Published on Apr 17, 2004
If your child is addicted to card games, you may not like what Pornpol Rakboonyuang has been doing.
But having been immensely successful in releasing Thailand's own card game, which is making its way to international markets, the Assumption University graduate is nevertheless an example of how passion, creativity and artistic skills can combine to bring a quick fortune.
Pornpol's obsession with fantasy characters and stories has presented a big alternative in the local card-game market, long monopolised by foreign card games such as Yuki and Magic Gathering.
For years these two card games drained a lot of money from Thai kids. But once children were introduced to the first complete version of Pornpol's Summoner Master game, that all changed.
"I'd never played a card game before, but I was attracted to the fine lines of the fantasy characters on every face of the card," Pornpol, 29, said of his creation.
Initially the game was influenced by chess, but Pornpol could not put the characters into pieces because there were more than 50, each possessing a "unique power" that had to be written on a card.
In 1998 Pornpol was in his third year at Assumption University's Faculty of Communication and Visual Arts when he began to recruit people to draw characters in the game for him.
Compliments he received from people who saw the team's fantasy characters spurred him to finish the game.
"Thai kids were playing card games from Japan and America despite the high cost and their ignorance of the languages. So I thought I would create a Thai-language card game at a reasonable price," he said.
After graduating, Pornpol landed a job and had no time to work on the game. That's when he decided to quit his job and asked his parents to give him six months to complete his dream.
"I told my parents that if I didn't succeed in six months I would find another full-time job," he said.
He didn't need to find that job. Pornpol and his team released the first complete version of Summoner Master in December 2000, with thousands of packs quickly sold.
Nine versions of the game have since been released, sparking overseas interest.
"The United States wants to buy our patent, which we are discussing at the moment. Once we have an agreement with the States, Australia is next in line," the young entrepreneur said.
One of the main attractions of the game is that males and females of different ages can match wits, Pornpol said, adding that he constantly consulted with youngsters on ways to improve the game.
"The gap between the creator and the target group is very tiny as I'm always asking the kids what is good and what needs to be improved," he said
Pornpol boasted the game taught social skills because it could not be played alone and how a player reacted during the game could reflect his or her personality.
Children also meet new friends through the game, and the level of concentration required when playing benefits players in real life, he said.
Pornpol said he had never intended the game to encourage gambling, although players often bought cards they did not have from other players.
"Some teachers think this card game is gambling and want to take it away from the students, but any game is gambling if people bet money on it: look at soccer," he said.
"Some kids have Ultraman and Harry Potter as their heroes; others have the characters in my game. No one ever destroys foreign products. If people don't want to encourage the kids to play this Thai card game, that's up to them. But they have no right to take it away," he added.
Poonpak Taechlertpaisarn, a 17-year-old student at Trium Udom School, is a huge fan of Summoner Master.
He said his brain was constantly working overtime devising strategies when playing and he had also met new friends through the game.
"Each card has a different level of power. In order to outwit the other player, you have to do the maths as quickly as possible in your head so you know which card stands the highest chance of beating your opponent," Poonpak said.
He added that people could easily get hooked, which had happened to him once.
He said he had learnt discipline now and made sure he had enough time to study properly.
Chanunya Satapanawattana
THE NATION
