What's Your Gam3? 15th Oct

Welcome

Welcome to What’s Your Gam3? 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.

Thoughts on the week

Web3 doesn’t need to solve fun

About 9 months ago web3 Twitter came out with the epiphany “games need to be fun”. This is a ridiculous statement to say in a gaming industry, but it is more ridiculous that it actually needed saying. At this point, it has become a cliche and it is hard to go a day without hearing it. I think we have now over-adjusted, gone are the staking protocols with extra steps, and now we are seeing real games. With this in mind can we drop “games need to be fun” and accept that everyone knows it?

Another great point from an interview I had with Mythic Protocol this week really got me thinking. “Web3 doesn’t need to solve fun, web2 games have already done this”. What web3 is adding is all the trading, proof of flex, proof of rarity, undisputable signs of achievement, world wide prize pools, and much more “around the game”. If none of these are important to you and you truly do just want a fun game, save yourself the hassle and build a traditional game.

What's Your Gam3? Ep. 60

This week on What’s Your Gam3? I spoke to Golden Tides. You can hear the full episode on YouTube! 

Golden Tides

I talked with, Mason Richmond, screen-named "maso rich", co-founder of Psychedelic Games, and we delved into details about his game project titled "Golden Tides".

Gameplay and Mechanics

"Golden Tides" is described as an open-world 3D EA sports-oriented game. Drawing inspiration from various games, Richmond remarked, "it's a top-down view like League of Legends. But the controls are similar to Overwatch. The moves are similar to World of Warcraft, and the pacing of the game is similar to Fortnite." Rather than a traditional battle royale aiming to eliminate opponents, players race against one another to uncover treasures, completing quests that lead them closer to the ultimate prize.

Richmond further highlighted the cooperative nature of the gameplay, emphasizing it's "a team game for sure." The game is structured for teams of four, with each team comprised of "one tank, one healer, and two DPS". With the initial launch set to introduce 12 characters, Richmond provides insights into character roles, stating, "three of them will be tanks, three of them will be healers, and six of them will be DPS."

Maritime Elements: All About the Ships

For maritime enthusiasts, the game doesn't disappoint. Richmond enthusiastically declared, "ships are like their own heroes." These vessels are equipped with various interactive features like helms, boost factors, cannons, shields, and harpoons to ensure dynamic and exciting ship-to-ship combats. In a twist, teams are only completely ousted from the game when their ships are sunk. The design also promises aesthetic diversity, with plans for NFT skins of ships in the pipeline.

Innovative Gameplay: Quest Racing

Golden Tides is setting its sights on introducing a groundbreaking gameplay mechanism. The heart of this innovation is the questing system, described as "tournament-style questing." This unique system involves "two people doing one quest" in a competitive format until only four teams remain, all vying for a "final treasure map." The developer passionately conveyed, "I am going to use this questing system to create a gaming experience that people have never had before." This innovation is paving the way for an entirely "new genre," likened to a "quest racing type of battle royale." The enthusiasm is palpable: "The most exciting thing is it's not in the game yet."

Principled Approach to Monetization

Golden Tides prides itself on its principled business model. They notably decided against prematurely capitalizing on NFT sales. Instead, their approach was to "build the game first and then plan to sell later." The developer humbly admitted, "I'm nothing special. I'm just a classic person," emphasizing the traditional business ethos underpinning their decisions. Their reluctance to ask fans to "spend money on something that doesn't exist yet" reflects their commitment to delivering value first.

Community and Player Engagement

Underlining the importance of the community, Richmond described the testing phase, saying they've been inviting communities to test the game and collect valuable feedback. This, he believes, builds a bond with players, making them feel they are part of a "building family". The aim, as he reiterated, is to make the community feel like they have a say in the games they enjoy.

Roadmap to Beta

The Golden Tides gaming project is buzzing with anticipation. The team behind the project announced, "In the next three months, we're going to be looking to go to beta." They are keenly focused on engaging with their community, inviting them to participate in the game's development. Players are encouraged to join their Discord channel, aptly named the "Golden Times discord," to dive into the Alpha stage. For those dedicated fans, the promise is clear: "if you stick around there, you'll definitely get beta access." The developers emphasize that they are actively seeking feedback, noting, "We're ready to take you guys. And it only helps us if you love the game."

Don’t forget to join us next week!

Gam3 Changers

Farmer Nash- Founder of Goombles

Journey into the Crypto and Gaming World

Farmer Nash, the founder of Goombles, described his entrance into the crypto world in 2020, discovering Bitcoin and sharing, "Before that, the originator doing mortgages and when I discovered Bitcoin, I've been a lifelong gamer." Farmer Nash's interest in gaming led him to discover the project called the Sandbox, which he likened to "Minecraft or a Metaverse where you could actually own your property in the universe." This discovery, along with his experiences with games like Axie Infinity where he managed over 100 players, helped him identify a gap in the market. He observed that many of his favorite games faltered because they "were too tightly tied to the economic side of the game instead of the actual game side of the game." Inspired by this observation, Nash conceived Goombles, explaining, "if we made a game that's fun first and then we added blockchain layer on top of that, kind of like the icing on the cake."

The Challenges and Passion of Game Development

Developing a video game is a formidable challenge, as Nash highlighted, "Not only is the market extremely competitive, but you have to get everything combined. That's 2D art, 3D art, music, game design, level design. You have to get everything involved in one." Despite the hurdles, his lifelong passion for video games propelled him forward. "If you ask me what I wanted to do, since I was 4-5 years old, I would have said build a video game," Nash stated. He believed he brought a unique perspective to the table on what an NFT game should entail, leading him to embark on the journey of developing Goombles.

The Vision for Goombles

One of Nash's primary concerns with most Web3 games was that "people weren't actually playing them. They were mostly just farming." He hopes that Goombles strikes the right balance, providing both an engaging game for casual players and an intricate economy for Web3 gamers. Nash emphasized that the central aim is "trying to make a gameplay loop that's fun, addictive and keeps people coming back." He believes the integration of blockchain will enhance the gaming experience, attracting a broader spectrum of players.

Furthermore, Nash identified an intriguing trend: a sizable portion of gamers in regions like India and South America are mobile gamers. With this insight, he saw an opportunity in the Web3 space for mobile gaming, considering it has "less competition for mobile games in Web3." Given the nature of Goombles as a "mid-core tower defense title," Nash asserted, "I think mobile is the way to go for our project."

Decision to Launch on Cardano

The choice to launch Goombles on the Cardano blockchain was influenced by two significant reasons. First, Nash remarked on the sheer size of the Cardano community, describing it as a "sleeping giant." Second, his previous interactions and relationships within the Cardano community proved invaluable. Nash did acknowledge potential scaling issues in the future, suggesting they might need to consider layer-2 solutions on Cardano.

Advice for Aspiring Web3 Professionals

For those looking to enter the Web3 space, Nash's advice is straightforward: "Expect to get paid less." He emphasizes the need to hone one's skills in the Web2 world before venturing into Web3. "You got to be someone that has amazing skills and actually has something to bring to the table," he advised.

Personal Gaming Achievements

Outside of his professional pursuits, Nash is an avid gamer with "an ungodly amount of League of Legends hours." He mentioned playing the ADC position but noted that his all-time favorite character is Lee Sin. In a lighthearted twist, Nash shared a personal accomplishment, revealing, "I reached my goal of hitting Diamond. I'm Diamond right now. But I did it. So you know the dream."

Listen now on Spotify. 

What I Played!

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].

Rumble Arcade

Rumble Arcade is an auto battler, where you build your squad, merge troops and defeat AI/human opponents.

+Lots of leaderboards to compete in
+Simple animations that convey a lot of information
+Asnychronous pvp allows for play at any time

-RNG can be brutal
-Later players have a harder time climbing the ladder
-The finer strategic details take a lot to understand via trial and error

I enjoy playing the game in bursts, I don’t play it continuously but I do check in often for new leaderboards.

The game is available to play on browser, by invite, or by holding a studio NFT, for more information follow their Twitter to keep up to date.

Mighty Action Heroes

Mighty Action Heroes is an 80s theme battle royale that recently added the ability to play on mobile.

+Great soundtrack
+Plenty of progression to keep coming back for
+Short round time for bitesize play

-Single map
-Guns can feel a little underwhelming
-Weapons are too sparse and pick up needs a reload which feels clunky

Whilst I’ve been enjoying playing a few rounds now and then, BR aren’t my go-to genre for mobile games.

The game is currently in browser and mobile, for more information follow their Twitter to keep up to date.

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!