Vortex Gaming

These days, you can't leave out 'fandom activation' in branding activities related to games. Starting with calling players 'Brave Warriors' and encouraging active activities and gameplay related to the brand. In 2025, it may be a bit common and cringey, but it's still worth applauding, assuming that the elements that make up the game and the things you can enjoy through fandom activities align well.

However, I was disappointed that I couldn't easily find fandom activities related to hardware brands in Korea. Although the context is a bit different, the camera market seems to be the closest example. In the meantime, I was very happy to see a brand that announced that it would start active fandom activities in Korea. It's ASUS's gaming brand, which everyone has heard of at least once, even if they are not very interested in computers,ASUS ROGis the main character.

Although it was not well known in Korea, ASUS ROG has been continuing an immersive worldview and story through ROG SAGA since 2019. ASUS ROG's fandom event was held as an extension of this narrative, and the fandom name 'ODD:EYE' was also decided through a vote on the official community. And on March 22nd, ASUS ROG will summon ODD:EYE agents for the first time. Under the name 'ASUS ROG ODD:EYE ASSEMBLY'.

ASUS ROG ODD:EYE ASSEMBLYI was lucky enough to participate in, but I was a bit nervous because I had never participated in a fandom event before. To relieve my tension, I decided to immerse myself in this narrative a little more.

After a quick search, I found out that it started with the changes in the world due to the emergence of a superhuman group called gamers, the division of humanity due to conflicts between forces, and the seven heroes who are trying to prevent it. They are all gamers and pioneers of society who fight for the freedom of all people regardless of race, gender, status, or innate superpowers.

Although taking pictures is not for the freedom of all people, I decided to express myself as a 'Shooter' as an ODD:EYE agent from the moment I arrived at the event venue. Taking pictures is sometimes expressed as shooting among experts. I straightened my mind and moved to 'Basement One' located in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, which was the meeting place. The meeting point was near Exit 5 of Apgujeong Rodeo Station.

I arrived at the meeting place a little earlier than the time and decided to take a quick look around. From the entrance, posters of all the warriors of freedom greeted me. When I arrived at the meeting place, I was greeted by a space that felt a bit hip to be called a product exhibition place, and too well decorated to be called a secret place.

In addition, I noticed that they had prepared a large space for the experience zone where you can directly see and experience ASUS ROG's new equipment, as well as a space where agents can talk to each other. Also, the bar table with the neon sign of ROG's slogan "For Those Who Dare" was impressive. In addition, the decorations suitable for a secret meeting place seemed to provide a lot of immersion to ODD:EYE agents.

When it was 16:00, the meeting time, the event started with a comment from ROG ODD:EYE's operator, commentator 'Kim Jung-min'.

After the toast with special drinks, a privilege only for the strong, an introduction to the latest equipment for victory followed. Through the ROG headquarters messenger, we were able to hear about ASUS ROG's new technologies and the latest equipment. We introduced SCAR, STRIX, ZEPHYRUS, FLOW, which are the main lineups of ASUS gaming laptops, and ALLY X, a UMPC, and GM700, a complete gaming desktop.

After the explanation of the equipment, the agents were able to see and experience it directly in the experience zone. You could experience it at any time throughout the event without a separate given time.

Personally, the most impressive equipment was the 'ROG FLOW Z13' and 'ROG ALLY X'. Is it because I like light equipment? In the case of FLOW Z13, I was interested in the fact that it was equipped with high-performance graphics compared to its overwhelming portability, and that I could enjoy the performance of RTX 5090 through ROG XG MOBILE. In the case of ALLY X, I was very curious about the upgraded performance and portability because I was very satisfied with the previous generation product.

After the equipment introduction, a quiz event was held to test the agents' strategy, knowledge, quick judgment, and information analysis skills. Agents who answered correctly were given a small coffee gift certificate. The quiz event ended sooner than I thought, but I think it was because the agents had already been selected during the summoning process.

After the quiz event, the legendary test was held to continue the flow of battle. The test was conducted through ROG's legendary guardian, 'Ambition (Kang Chan-yong)'. The test item was adopted as a Mundo dodgeball mini-game, which was no different from a 1:1 match on a stepping stone, and 7 agents were selected and conducted. Kim Jung-min, who found his main job, was in charge of the fierce legendary test broadcast.

After the legendary test, we had a Q&A session where we could ask Ambition anything under the title of the legendary teaching. What were the agents curious about about the legendary guardian?

Combat rations were provided for the agents who had lost their stamina due to various activities. In addition, we had catering and networking time where we could replenish our stamina through food and drinks and share strategies with our colleagues. When I first arrived at the meeting place, I thought there were more sofas and tables than I thought, but I thought it was for this, and all the agents were able to replenish their stamina comfortably.

Next, a DJ party was held to join the ROG signal. It was a time to explode the agents' combat power and transmit the ROG SAGA signal while watching the video containing the original sound source and production process of ROG SAGA. 'DJ GG' participated as the ROG beat controller.

Next, DJing by the beat controller continued to maximize the agents' combat power. The scene of the agents' combat power explosion, no words are needed. Let's meet in the photo.

Lastly, we held a lucky draw event to present ODD:EYE agents who responded to this summons with a badge of honor and essential equipment for the battlefield. The prizes included a 50,000 won Steam code, a ROG-only bag, ROG's high-end gaming gear, and a ROG ALLY X gaming UMPC, which amplified the expectations of many agents.

The founding of ROG ODD:EYE 1st term was concluded with a commemorative photo. When I came out of the meeting place, it was already dark. 1/3 of Saturday was gone, but it felt like I had a dream. The ODD:EYE agent badge shining in the room made me realize that it was not a dream.

The ASUS ROG ODD:EYE ASSEMBLY fandom event, which is clearly differentiated from other hardware events, seems to be a wise choice from a branding perspective. Gamers who love each hardware brand have their own special reasons. ASUS ROG's move to encourage a new culture for domestic gamers in a way that respects them is even more anticipated.

웹진 인벤백승철 기자
2025-03-24