What's Your Gam3? #14

Welcome

Welcome to What’s Your Gam3? #14 My aim with everything I do is to introduce you to new games! As I continue to improve the newsletter, all feedback is gratefully received. Now, let’s see what has happened this week.

What’s That Gam3?

You can join me live as I play new games on Twitch! Alternatively, you’ll find edited versions of my playthroughs on my YouTube channel. [Don’t forget to follow and subscribe].

MixMob - Sponsored video

“World’s 1st card strategy racing game.”

TLDR: 

• A different type of racing

• Fast-paced

• Strategic deck building

• Competitive tournaments

• Engaging graphics and animations

How to play

• Currently playing in browser

• The mobile version is in testing on Google Play Store

• Free to play, with some paid events

Game Loop

• Firstly you get to select an Avatar to represent you. These have quirky accessories to cover the racers’ faces, this is tied into the game lore, aiming to conceal in racers’ identity

  

• Along a similar line, you are also assigned a random name - I am Cuddly Eggplant

• Next you have your Mixbot - this is your vehicle in the race

• Finally you need to pick or you can now create a deck before you can start racing

• Your deck consists of 10 cards

• The cards are split into 3 types; Offensive, defensive and remix.

• When building your deck you can see its “consistency” in a graph showing the spread across the different types.

• Each card has an energy cost

• The cards are also split across different factions, with a limit on how many cards you can have from each faction

  

• There is an in-game currency that is used for wagering in some of the races and also forms part of the prizes for winning.

• Now you are all set up you pick your race, with a choice of PvP or vs a Bot

• In PvP you can pick wagered tournaments or free play

• There are also larger-scale tournaments. Make sure to join the discord for more information on these, as well as to stay up to date on the project.

• The races are 1v1

• The map track consists of 3 lanes. Whilst racing you move between these lanes to grab boosts, and energy, dodge obstacles, and avoid incoming attacks.

• Your energy is also slowly building over time

• At all times you have a selection of 3 cards from your deck

• You have health and shield - once these reach 0 you are stalled for a few seconds

• The aim is to finish the 3 laps first. You are constantly on the defense and attack your opponent.

• On winning you are rewarded with a Glitch pod, these come in various rarities and contain different prizes. I won some of the in-game credits as well as some stickers. These stickers are used to complete your sticker book.

Game feel

• To call it a racing game can confuse expectations, as it isn’t a traditional physics-based racing game

• It is however fast-paced and requires quick thinking

• Keep an eye on the map, the obstacles, your energy, health, etc really splits your attention making each race feel intense

• Whilst the map didn’t change during my play, each game felt different and fresh

• The animations and graphics are clean and intuitive to understand what is happening

  

• The decks can be slightly unbalanced, but this can encourage you to branch out into your own constructed decks

• Being attacked by the person in front didn’t feel great and it is a little hard to catch up if you fall too far behind

• With the strategic planning with your deck and when to use it, can make for some key moments with the right play coming in clutch.

• Playing both platforms I enjoyed it on both, but mobile felt more “right”

  Can easily see people getting very competitive during the tournaments

Rating

• I enjoyed the fast-paced action

• The deck building gave plenty of strategic depth

• Even with a simple game loop, each race felt fresh

• I would recommend it, with the caveat that it isn’t a physics-based racing game.
  

  

Web3 integration

• Currently, the in-game currency is on chain

• The avatars are NFTS

For more information follow their Twitter to keep up to date.

Providence

“Survive the Singularity!

Providence is a game that offers a unique survival-on-a-loop experience.”

TLDR: 

• Enjoyable team v team craft survival with an extraction twist

• Very impressive graphics

• Easy and intuitive progression

• Exciting “world” boss

How to play

• Currently closed access on Epic Store

• Plays on PC

Game Loop

• The main demo is based on a slip-world

  

• This slip world only lasts for a set time before collapsing.

• Your aim is to get resources from the slip world to your homestead

• Right now there is only an example homestead, but eventually, it is where you will build your permanent persistent base.

• Enter the slip world you select a squad.

• Your squad consists of 3 other players.

• The world is populated with up to 6 squads.

• You land on your home base, which has various crafting stations and an extraction pad.

• At first, you can’t stay long outside of your base because of oxygen.

• You have to collect resources and upgrade your body suit.

• Upgrading your body suit also allows you to carry heavy items and get a better weapon.

• Most things can be harvested with your harvester gun.

  

• Some things don’t want to be harvested and you have to take it by force, aka killing the local wildlife.

• Other items are “heavy” items that need to be placed in a process to be reduced to useable light items.

• As you upgrade your suit you need rarer and rarer items, sending you further away from your base.

• To avoid a lot of running you can then use the build menu to craft mini outposts as strategic locations.

• A few resources are only found in single locations, this can result in a contested harvest, fighting with other players with your weapons.

• If you die you drop all your stuff and respawn at a respawner.

• After fully upgrading your body suit, the final objective of the demo is to kill Tarus

• Tarus is a giant beast that needs your full team to take down.

• It is a lengthy battle, but if you win you get the Taurus head.

• You need to return this to the extraction pad to “win”.

• Additionally to the head, you can also package up other items to be extracted with, taking them back to your homestead.

Game feel

• Even though it is the same loop, I have now played the demo several times, enjoying it each time

• The weapons handle well, and the movement feels fluid

• The graphics are extremely engaging

• The objective system is relatively simple, however, it is very effective in moving you around the map

• Having some resources be contested is exciting

• Need to be smart about your movement to get into caves or up trees, for other items add an extra dimension to the gameplay

• The Tarus fight was difficult and did take a long time, but it was satisfying to get the kill.

  

• When you are getting used to the game it is pretty easy to die, which adds a nice threat level to play

• There is plenty of crafting and building to get on with, even for a small demo

• The idea of extracting resources is appealing, and the time limit adds additional pressure

Rating

• Enjoyed the demo a lot

• The graphics are great

• The game handles well

• Even with a simple objective loop, it is satisfying to compete

• Whilst I didn’t play in VC with the team, I could see this being enjoyable.

  

Web3 integration

• The game is on AVAX chain.

For more information follow their Twitter to keep up to date.

What’s on the timeline

Wallet History

Overworld is currently a very hype mint with a lot of attention. Earlier in the week the WL checker went live and a lot of people found their wallets weren’t eligible. Jeremy came out with the above message [since deleted]. This was very irresponsible because the project is bound to be spoofed and insisting on the main wallet connection is unsafe.

It does raise the interesting question of how to prove someone is active without needing them to connect their main wallet. I have already talked to several projects that are looking to create an overarching profile, to which you connect all your wallets. This is then used for checking activity for mints whilst allowing you to still connect a burner wallet to the minting site.

I’m not sure how far they have gotten with this, but I see it as a key use case for blockchain. So much so that I own proofofgamer.eth and proofofflex.eth. Being able to show your achievements and history is such an obvious use case for the tech, it just needs to be handled safely.

Secret Phrase: SafteyFirst

What's Your Gam3? Spellborne

Catch up on all previous episodes on YouTube.

Game Overview:

Spellborne, described as an open-world animal RPG, combines elements from Pokémon and Stardew Valley. It's designed for high replayability and will be available across various platforms like iOS, Android, Windows, Mac, and Linux.

Cross-Platform Play:

The game's development emphasizes accessibility, allowing players to transfer progress seamlessly between platforms, and enhancing the user experience.

Development Strategy:

The team developed a custom framework to support efficient, multi-platform development. This framework enables rapid game updates and consistent performance across different devices.

Game Mechanics:

Starting as a single-player game, Spellborne plans to evolve into a multiplayer experience. Player choices significantly influence the game's path, unlocking unique questlines and varying experiences in each playthrough.

Community Engagement and Feedback:

The development team actively engages with both Web2 and Web3 audiences, particularly on platforms like Reddit. Community feedback plays a crucial role in shaping the game's development and features.

Web3 Integration:

The discussion includes plans to use Web3 for marketing, user acquisition, and IP integrations. Spellborne aims to incorporate on-chain gameplay features and enable cross-game asset utility, leveraging blockchain technology.

Future Plans:

Spellbornes's plans involve announcements regarding creator programs and game launches. The game's release is targeted for Q1 2024, with a focus on delivering comprehensive gameplay mechanics and various in-game events.

Don’t forget to join us next week!

WYG?: Gam3 Changers - Jonny, Founder TTOONFT & NexusLabsGG, Host Crypto_Banter: In the Game - Live on Spotify!

Catch up on all previous episodes on Spotify.

Introduction

• Jonny, Founder TTOONFT & NexusLabsGG, Host Crypto_Banter: In the Game

  

Jonny's Background

• Early Gaming Influence: Began gaming in childhood; influenced by consoles like N64 and Sega Genesis.

• Esports and College Life: Involved in esports; reduced gaming in college but reignited interest during Fortnite's rise.

Transition to Web3 Gaming

• Crypto Involvement: Entered crypto in 2017; combined interest in gaming and crypto leading to Web3 gaming.

• Axie Infinity Influence: Inspired by Axie Infinity's model of monetizing gaming time.

Current Projects and Views

• YouTube Show: Hosts a show on Crypto Banter, covering various aspects of Web3 gaming.

• NFT Gaming Community: Founded "This Thing of Ours," a community for Web3 gaming enthusiasts.

• Nexus Platform: Developing a one-stop platform for on-chain and asset metrics in gaming.

Perspectives on Web3 Gaming

• Gaming Tokens: Advocates understanding the economic aspects of gaming tokens in Web3.

• Information Accessibility: Emphasizes the importance of consolidating gaming data and resources.

Conclusion

• Future Outlook: Aims to enhance accessibility and transparency in Web3 gaming data.

Thanks for making it to the end, that is all the new games for this week. Do you know any you’d want to hear more about? Let me know.

Remember to tell your friends about What’s Your Gam3? Otherwise, they’ll hate you for letting them miss out on all the new games.

Remember to play games you enjoy!