What's Your Gam3? #33

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.

What’s That Gam3? [review]

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].

Call of the VoYd

TLDR: 

• Quick to start playing

• Simple core loop, which is easy to pick up

• The variety of maps increases the replayability

• Engaging art and animations

• Energy is a little stingy

• No “forced” ads

How to play

• Playable on mobile

• Free to play with in-app purchases and rewarded ads

Game Loop

• Launching the first time you have a starting hero and only 1 map unlocked

• There aren’t many instructions required you move your character around and they start shooting

  

• Waves of enemies charge straight at you from the start for you to defend yourself

• Each enemy killed has a chance to drop resources

• There are several resources in the game; some are used during a single run to improve your hero during that playthrough, and others are meta resources used for persistent upgrades.

• When you get enough XP in the game, you are offered 3 upgrades to choose from. These range from faster shooting to meteors falling from the sky.

• While playing there is also a progression bar. This progression bar shows when bosses will arrive.

• Killing a boss rewards you with a lot of resources and also heart chests. These chests contain a random selection of character upgrades for that session.

  

• A key resource is also Vs, which are randomly dropped, and these are the resources that can be converted into real-world money.

• You also collect gear to equip your hero improving your stats

• There is also the choice to spend the Vs in the game to level up your hero in a persistent way.

• Once you kill the final boss of a map you unlock a new map

Game feel

• Controls are extremely simple and I’ve played with each hand on its own

• A short burst of play allowing you to play whenever you get a slot

• The power progression is “felt” giving a good feel when you are improving your hero

• The obstacles and different maps help separate it from more simplistic versions of the genre

• The art style and animations are well done-and engaging

• There is a lot to read when it comes to equipment and merging, I just used the auto button, but if you like min-maxing there is some extra depth here

  

• The rewarded ads are done well, I want to watch the ad for the reward it isn’t being forced on me

• Unlocking new heroes by finding them on the map is an interesting way of tieing in the next hero

Rating

• Very accessible

• Avoids beating you up with ads

• Progression to encourage repeated play

• The variety of maps and heroes increases replayability

• Free energy is a little slow to refill

• Other areas of improvement are polish not expected at this stage of development

• I enjoyed the game and would recommend it.

Web3 integration

• The project has a live token

• Eventually, you can cash out tokens collected in-game

• NFT Petz on Polygon

• You can sign in with the Immutable passport

WYG? Gam3 changers Ep. 35 - Arto - Game Economies

Background and Career

Professional Journey:

• Arto Huhta, co-founder and Economy lead of Tribo Games, working on Rumble Arcade.

• Background in mobile game development with 11 years of experience.

• Initially worked in traditional finance and economics, including a role at the Bank of Finland.

• Transitioned to gaming for a more dynamic and creative environment.

Transition to Web3 Gaming

Motivation and Vision:

• Attracted to Web3 for its potential to create open economies and decentralized systems.

• Interested in building games that leverage blockchain technology for innovative player experiences.

Challenges and Insights:

• Highlights the difficulty of adapting traditional game economies to the open economies of Web3.

• Emphasizes the need to design games with blockchain integration from the ground up rather than adding it later.

Game Development Philosophy

Economy Design:

• Extensive use of data, simulations, and number crunching to build sustainable game economies.

• Importance of balancing fun and monetization from the outset.

Web3 Integration:

• Focus on creating player-owned economies and aligning incentives between developers and players.

• Balancing accessibility and economic depth to ensure long-term player retention and engagement.

Project Highlights: Rumble Arcade

Game Concept:

• Rumble Arcade is an event-centric mobile game with isolated experiments for different tournaments and rewards.

• Emphasizes accessibility while offering exclusive events and competitions for more engaged players.

Studio Approach:

• It avoids tying the studio to specific designs too early to maintain flexibility.

• Plans to leverage learnings from each game to inform future projects.

Market and Community Engagement

Community Building:

• Focus on creating a loyal player base through consistent updates and community engagement.

• Utilizes Discord and partnerships with other communities for collaborative events.

Target Audience:

• Aims to attract both Web3 and traditional gamers by offering a blend of familiar and innovative gaming experiences.

• Recognizes the need to eventually reach beyond the Web3 bubble for large-scale success.

Future Vision and Industry Trends

Mobile Gaming Potential:

• Believes in the significant potential of mobile gaming for Web3 due to its large market and faster development cycles.

• Sees mobile games as a promising test bed for innovative blockchain concepts.

Web3 Gaming Evolution:

• Anticipates the emergence of new game designs and economic models that fully utilize blockchain technology.

• Stresses the importance of continuous experimentation and adaptation in the rapidly evolving Web3 space.

Personal Insights

Favorite Games:

• Enjoys a variety of games, with significant playtime in mods and custom maps for Half-Life and Warcraft III.

Data-Driven Approach:

• Advocates for the use of data to inform game design and player engagement strategies.

• Recognizes the challenges of interpreting data in the new context of Web3 gaming.

Contact and Follow-Up

How to Get Involved:

• Follow Tribo Games and Rumble Arcade on social media for updates and community events.

• Engage in the Discord server for exclusive events and tournaments.

Listen to all episodes of WYG?: Game Changers on Spotify!

Thanks for making it to the end. That is all the new games for this week. Do you know any games you’d like 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!