About the Gamer:
Lunami’s name is very well-known among the Lineage community. When she first entered the world of online games back in 2001, it took her only a short period of time to become one of the top level players. She also won the Lineage Trivia award on MeetGee.com and gained celebrity-status thereafter.
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Senior Gamer: Lunami
First time encountering online games: 2001
Played Lineage for: 10 years
Class: Princess
Longest consecutive play: 18 hrs
Interest: Cosplaying OLG characters
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▲ Lunami was noted as one of the hottest Lineage gamers of all-time. The magazine Talker contains many interviews with her in past issues.
Q: How did you encounter Gamania games?
Lunami: It all started with my younger neighbor, who was the biggest fan of Lineage! I was just a pc-gamer at that time, and had no knowledge of online games at all. My neighbor recommended Lineage to me with such enthusiasm that I just had to try it out to satisfy my own curiosity.
I remember it like it was yesterday. On Oct. 9th, 2001, one day before the Double Tenth, I asked my neighbor to help me install the game on my PC. He walked me through the character creation, the controls and all the other basics. I opted to be an elf. However, I have always dreamed of being a princess, so I created a princess shortly after. At that time we needed to roll for attributes. I had no idea when “STR +21” meant, and consulted my neighbor on it. “How is that even possible?!” He was totally mind-blown. That’s when I found out that the highest result for the point-roll is 20, and 21 is one of the rarest occasions. To this day, my friends still laugh about this. They suspect that I must have taken some magic potion to come up with STR +21 (laughs).
Q: How was Lineage integrated in your life? What phases did you go through? Which memory had the biggest impact on you?
Lunami: Lineage accompanied me through the best years of my life. I spent a great deal of time making friends in-game, and also because I had weak health, I had to stay at home a lot. My online friends sometimes referred to me jokingly as “Aspirin”, but they were kind-hearted people. I was a student back then, and Lineage was my world. I was always online, even when I was studying or reading. Many friends notice my habit, and would make fun of me: “Hey, you should be preparing for your test! Get offline!” Or, that remark came from me, their response would be: “Shouldn’t you be studying, too?” Many will wonder if playing games affect schoolwork. Well, to be honest, a lot of gamers are studying in national universities, or even enrolled in doctoral programs. It all comes down to how you arrange your own time, I guess!
Sometimes I stayed up all night to play Lineage. I would hear my dad’s footsteps around 7 AM and I would scramble into bed, pretending to be asleep. Once the coast was clear, I’d crawl out from under the covers and turn the screen back on. I go down to breakfast at 10, as if nothing was going on. There was this once time when I played for 18 hrs non-stop. That was crazy! But even crazier, I had friends that played for 2 days straight, only leaving their seats at the internet cafe to go home for a quick shower.
Q: How did playing Lineage expand your social network?
Lunami: To be frank, I am very shy in person, and not very conversational. I didn’t have much friends before Lineage. Knowing people in the virtual world was much easier for me, and I wasn’t nervous about meeting up after I got to know them. I am extremely grateful for this network of friends, especially because we share the same interests. I met my boyfriend through this game, and we both are very involved in most Lineage activities. My favorite is when I get to hold cosplay conventions, or attend game expos, meetings or concerts in cosplay. I am also a guild master, so people respect me a lot, and their sincerity keeps me motivated.
▲ Lunami’s collection of Lineage products are mostly limited edition items.
Q: How would you describe what Gamania games mean to you in a simple sentence?
Lunami: Lineage has made my past 10 years the best years of my life, and they are full of beautiful memories! Besides my love for gaming, I love to cosplay. I’ve hand sewn 3 complete outfits for the Lineage princess: the earliest version, korean version, and japanese version. I participated in a Gamania event dressed as my favorite character. We were at a BBQ in Queenstown, I was delighted to find out that Gamania was holding a event there. I dashed over to take pictures with everyone: after all these years, I am still a fan at heart.
From the years 2001 to 2011, I was active in Lineage. When the game upgraded accounts and combined servers, my account was frozen for some reason, and I never started over. My friends also had moved down, and we participated less in game-related events afterwards. That is when I said goodbye to my former gamer-self, but I have never regretted a day of it. It only consists of good memories, and there is not a day that goes by without me smiling on the thought of one of them.
▲ Lunami has designed several figurines of her character (left).
▲ Lunami’s favorite pastime is to cosplay the princess in Lineage.