What's Your Gam3? #35

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].

Moonray

TLDR:

• Unique game style

• Low player base

• Certain assets give an in-game advantage

• Mixed quality of maps (design, ignoring polish)

• Repetitive

• Quite high skilled

• Too early for a Play2Airdrop

How to play

• Playable on PC, via Epic

• Free to play

Game Loop

• There are two game modes: deathmatch and team deathmatch

• You also have a selection of maps. These are at various stages of development, with some still being grey boxes.

• Once you’ve picked your mode, you are loaded into the arena, where you must choose your weapons.

  

• You have one melee weapon, and one ranged weapon

• Different avatars offer slightly different weapons to choose from

• In the arena, your aim is to score points. There is a points cap and a time cap, whichever happens first.

• The points are collected for healing, causing damage, getting kill assists, and getting kills.

• You can collect ammo, health, and a grappling hook throughout the arena.

• Additionally, some maps have essences that you can collect, which have a short-term effect; for example, a green one gives healing over time.

• The character has several movement abilities, such as sprinting, jumping, rolling, etc.

• There are also multiple ways to attack, from a light, quick attack to a charged-up power attack.

• In the team deathmatch, you also have crystals in your home base to defend while attacking the opponents.

  

Game feel

• I found its initial play pretty frustrating. This was probably a skill issue, but I can see it being a barrier for new players joining.

• When I played, there were never more than 25 players online at one time. This made filling a game challenging, and I had to rely on bots often.

• Many mechanics promote hiding until someone is low health before jumping in or shooting from a distance.

  

• Additionally, when human players are in poor health, you’d spend much time chasing them around the map if you didn’t have a grappling hook.

• Partway through my testing, I found that if I connected my wallet, I unlocked a different avatar. This avatar had better guns than the base avatar. While I didn’t have to pay for it, this felt akin to “pay 2 win”.

• I like the idea of the team deathmatch; however, because of the attack/stun mechanic, it usually results in “bully circles” where you’d just get unlocked by a whole team.

• While playing, it felt like a bit of a chore and repetitive rather than something I was excited to play.

• It could be a genre mismatch, as many people have played it for hours.

• The game's play2airdrop live feels premature. It isn’t ready for UA, and considering the number of online users, it doesn’t look like it is working.

• The game does show potential but has a long way to go.

Rating

• Frustrating stun locks (skill issue?)

• Low player base

• Lots of running around

• “Paid” advantages

• Shows some promise

• A mixture of not for me and too early

  

Web3 integration

• The project has Moonray Foundation NFTs on Poly.

  

WYG? Gam3 changers Ep. 36 - Knighter - Web2 games joining web3

Background and Career

Professional Journey:

• Nicholas Schrick, CEO and creative director of Tavern Light Games, known as Knighter.

• Leads the development of Raven Quest, a pixel-based MMORPG built upon the success of Raven Dawn.

• Finance background that provides an edge in managing game development budgets and strategies.

Development History:

• Raven Dawn achieved significant success with 20,000 monthly active users, self-published with a $10,000 marketing budget.

• Leveraged a strong community and organic reach to grow the game.

Game Development Insights

Early Influences and Creativity:

• Developed a passion for gaming early on, creating complex board games inspired by video games like Diablo and Warcraft.

• Transitioned from finance to game development through community engagement and open-source projects.

Modding and User-Generated Content:

• A strong advocate for user-generated content and modding.

• Believes in the power of community contributions to enhance game worlds and provide unique experiences.

• Supports modding through tools and approval systems to integrate player-created content.

Project Highlights: Raven Quest

Game Concept:

• Raven Quest is a dynamic MMORPG with a player-driven economy, open-world exploration, and deep lore.

• Features include customizable characters, multiple PvP and PvE modes, and a classless system with diverse abilities.

Pixel Art Style:

• Distinctive pixel art inspired by Ultima Online and Tibia.

• The chosen art angle adds depth to characters and environments, creating a unique visual experience.

  

Self-Publishing and Community:

• Successfully self-published Raven Dawn, building a strong community base.

• Plans to consider platforms like Steam and Epic Games in the future, leveraging initial community support.

Web3 Integration

Blockchain Elements:

• Utilizes blockchain for secure and transparent player-driven economies.

• Ensures safe and controlled environments for trading in-game assets, reducing reliance on third-party markets.

Community and Marketing:

• Emphasizes community involvement in the development process.

• Plans to use play-to-airdrop as a marketing strategy, ensuring realistic and bot-proof rewards.

Future Vision and Industry Trends

Upcoming Features:

• The early access release for Raven Quest on August 29th features a polished and battle-tested MMORPG experience.

  

• The first expansion for Raven Dawn will be released on August 9th.

Long-Term Goals:

• Aims to create a sustainable and engaging game that balances fun and monetization.

• Plans to leverage dual development in Web2 and Web3 to maximize resources and enhance the gaming experience.

Personal Insights and Gaming Preferences

Favorite Games:

• Extensive experience with MMORPGs, with significant hours in World of Warcraft and Starcraft II.

• Enjoys competitive PvP environments, especially arena battles in World of Warcraft.

Community Building:

• Believes in hiring passionate community members to strengthen development.

• Focuses on providing regular updates and engaging the community through teasers and small playtests.

Contact and Follow-Up

How to Get Involved:

• Follow Tavern Light Games and Raven Quest for updates and community events on social media.

• Join the Discord server to participate in discussions and gain early access to the game.

Final Note:

• Nicholas encourages listeners to join the Raven Quest community and stay tuned for upcoming releases and giveaways.

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!