Pangya: Diary of a Novice Virtual Golfer #1
June 9, 2009 by Joel Tan
Filed under Asian MMO, MMO Sports, Random Rants
It’s been quite a while since I laid my hands on a virtual golf club in the casual online game Pangya, and I’ve got to admit that the sight of Blue Lagoon has me on edge. I steel myself for the task at hand—that of teeing off and starting a nine-hole run of the Blue Lagoon course in Pangya’s Practice Mode.
“I used to be good at this,” I tell myself repeatedly as I watch my avatar (character or toon) Cesky move into position for the tee off. “Used to be—the operative term.” Mumble, mumble.
The first hole is about 416 yards away. “Shouldn’t be too hard, considering it’s Par 4,” I tell my daughter, Cesky, as she watches attentively from the seat beside me. “Watch Dada sink this one with a Birdie.”
I press on the space bar and watch the indicator slide from 0 to 230 yards, the maximum distance allowed by a driver, without any bonuses from equipment and other gear. I hit the space bar again and, true enough, a chime rings indicating my swing is at maximum. “Now if I can only hit Pangya,” I manage to mutter as the slider moves back to zero and that small pink (purple?) area that will give me a good hit on the golf ball (or comet, in Pangya speak).
No go on the Pangya, but the club hits its mark. The comet soars across the course and lands on the fairway about 190 yards from the hole. “Good enough.”
My virtual self (a girl named after my daughter) goes through the same motions as in the tee off, this time sending the comet nearer the hole. The ball lands on the green, but still a few yards away from the hole. What happens next is the stuff of Tin Cup legends. I miss the hole twice! “Duh!”
Fortunately, the comet eventually rolls to a stop less than a yard from the hole.
Unfortunately, the two bungled shots resulted in a Bogey for me.
So much for my first day back on the Pangya fairways.
