What's Your Gam3? 8th 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

SocialFi

SocialFi "brings together the principles of social media and decentralized finance (DeFi)".

What this means in practice is that users buy keys/tickets in other members. In simple terms, these keys go up as more people buy and down as people sell. So far I have tried Friend.Tech and StarsArena. The good thing about the platforms is they offer a way for a creator to earn money on what they put out. Both give a % of trades back to the creator and StarsArena also allows tips on comments.

I like the idea of people being able to support their favorite creators, my issue is I don’t think that is what is happening here. Tips seem fine on content, it is the tickets with increasing prices I find difficult to see as real support. A flat subscription would be a lot better as it wouldn’t encourage speculation on the ticket price.

As someone who gets obsessed with stats, having an actual price on my head doesn’t feel very healthy. I also struggle with the celebrations of people flipping tickets and making a profit, as this all happens on the backs of others losing money. I understand that this could explain the majority of the space and stock market, but this one feels a little bit more personal with so many using existing followers to increase ticket prices.

Either way, probably just another social platform I don’t have the bandwidth to properly cover but hopefully some of the better ideas get integrated into X.

What's Your Gam3? Ep. 60

This week on What’s Your Gam3? I spoke to Gaming Arcade and Last Resort. You can hear the full episode on YouTube! 

Thanks to our sponsors this week, Big Time!

Gaming Arcade

Introduction and Overview

The CMO of Gaming Arcade joined to discuss their venture. "Imagine if like back in the days mini clip and you just combine it with web3," the CMO began. Gaming Arcade focuses on offering a plethora of hyper-casual games. "We are just bridging the gap between Web2 traditional gaming and web3 gaming," he emphasized.

Platform Features and Offerings

Gaming Arcade currently hosts seven in-house games, but the CMO hinted at hundreds more in the pipeline, including an undisclosed "Alpha game." The platform is developing its third-party integration SDK, which will make adding more games smoother. Furthermore, the platform has daily triumphs, rewards, and plans to host tournaments with prizes ranging from $1,000 to $10,000 based on daily user activity.

The CMO also discussed the platform's flexibility, mentioning that while they currently operate on the polygon chain, they are open to adapting to newer chains if they offer faster transactions and scalability.

User Experience and Gamification

Users can play for free, wager in challenges against others, and even create custom rooms for competitions. The platform currently supports browser-based gaming on both desktop and mobile, with plans to release a dedicated app in 2024.

For new users, especially in India, the company is focused on education around blockchain, and the platform aims to simplify the process. The CMO shared, "What we are doing with gaming arcade is we are having lightning fast user onboarding." This includes easing the process of purchasing in-game currency without needing complex wallet setups.

Market Strategy and Target Audience

While Gaming Arcade sees potential in the Indian market, the SEA (Southeast Asian) region remains a priority due to its more mature user base regarding web3 gaming. The company is also actively working on community building via platforms like Discord and Telegram.

Gaming Preferences and Selection

The CMO shared some of his personal game preferences, including "2048”. He emphasized the importance of data in selecting which games to onboard, suggesting games that don't retain users might be revamped or removed. While the platform is open to a variety of games, they are cautious about onboarding mere "gamified versions of earning."

Legal Considerations and Future Plans

Gaming Arcade has a legal team ensuring the smooth onboarding of games and market targeting. They are particularly keen on hyper casual games and are on the lookout for titles that ensure user retention. The CMO concluded, "Going in and also as you mentioned, with all the data of the kind of games that are being played on the platform, the SDK really comes into play."

Last Resort

The Big Launch: From Testing to Public Alpha

"Last Resort" is coming out of the shadows after about 8 to 10 months of rigorous development. The developers recall, "We have launched for the first time ever our public Alpha." The game was initially tested by about 200 individuals from their Discord community who gave invaluable feedback, identifying bugs and making suggestions. They've now opened up for everyone to experience their post-apocalyptic zombie game, with a special highlight on its availability on platforms like Elixir and Hyper Play. The game's creators emphasize the unique nature of their current offering: "you play the game you complete and the first mission that the commander can provide you and in return you're given a code to redeem one of our free founder, Genesis NFT."

Evolving Gameplay: Multiplayer to Single Player with Quests

From its early versions, "Last Resort" has seen substantial changes. The creator mentioned, "The version you played was multiplayer. The public Alpha that we released, we decided to go with single player." But the evolution didn't stop there. They've now included quests, giving NPC characters more depth and back stories, a feature missing in the previous versions.

Feedback and Player Responses

The developers acknowledged the feedback from the game testers, describing it as crucial. "It's amazing how many bugs you happen to miss," they remarked, while expressing gratitude for the understanding nature of their community, recognizing that it's an early Alpha and the product is still maturing. But amidst the challenges, there's something they're proud of: "We were number one on elixir number one most popular game on Elixir." And with a recent launch on Hyper Play, they are eyeing the top spot there too.

Community Engagement: Beyond the Numbers

While many are obsessed with numbers on platforms like Twitter, the "Last Resort" team finds more value in their growing Discord community, which jumped from 1,000 to 4,500 members in just a week after a collaborative event. They value genuine engagement over sheer numbers, hoping to nurture a community that believes in their game and shares constructive feedback.

Relationships Over Marketing Budget

Without the luxury of a big marketing budget, "Last Resort" heavily relies on relationships. They've initiated a content creator program, giving influencers unique roles and access in their Discord community. This relationship benefits both, as the influencers provide valuable feedback, help in translations, and are rewarded with special giveaways. They emphasized the significance of community, mentioning, "There's a ton of folks that honestly it's like kind of wild, like people who just voluntarily dedicate their time to helping other people in our discord with like no recognition."

[I am testing out different styles of summary, any feedback on what best captures the interview and shares the information, would be appreciated.]

Don’t forget to join us next week when we talk to Valeria Studios and Golden Tides.

Gam3 Changers

Changlu- Founder of PaladinsDAO

From Software Engineer to NFT Enthusiast: Changlu's Journey

In a recent interview, Changlu, the founder of PaladinsDAO, opened up about his journey into the world of e-sports and Web3 gaming. Originally a software engineer, he transitioned into e-commerce and found himself captivated by the world of NFTs in 2020. He noted, “I did a stint at cIma Capital, was the head of gaming there. And then from there I started out in style, which is what I've been working on for the last five months now, and it's a DAO.”

Seeing Potential in Web3 E-Sports

Changlu recognized the untapped potential of e-sports in the emerging Web3 space, saying, “I was a VC, right? So I knew that tons of money had been deployed into games.” He believes that while e-sports has brand recognition, its current model is somewhat broken and ripe for reinvention.

Changlu envisions an expanded role for Web3 in e-sports. "It would be very exciting for web3 gaming to be a bigger community. Maybe even more DAOs, more e-sports styles, more gaming DAOs," he muses. He also hopes for PaladinsDAO to evolve into a more established brand, with dedicated teams for various facets of the operation, like an e-sports team, tournaments team, partnerships team, and even a community head.

Building PaladinsDAO: A Community Effort

Changlu emphasized the importance of community in building PaladinsDAO. He wanted a way to invite those who were passionate about the mission to join and contribute. "In crypto, like there's a million different projects," he explained. His solution? “It's good that the way we attract the people who care about this mission the most want to put some skin in the game and want to like stay engaged on chain would probably be through like a DAO where they purchased NFT.”

For Changlu, trust is paramount. PaladinsDAO was carefully curated to ensure that trust. He shared, “we started super curated with 100 people only… this is how much I thought I could reliably like, screen them, like build trust with.” Collaborative efforts like tournaments have been significant for PaladinsDAO. While Changlu initiated the first two, the most recent one saw a broader involvement, showcasing the growing community spirit.

Web2 Gamers vs Web3 Gamers

Initially, Changlu was keen on appealing to the Web2 gaming community, believing that the volume and recognition lay there. However, his experience showed otherwise. He realized that “as a Web three project, you basically have no advantage at all in distributing to web2 gamers.” It made more sense to build connections within the existing Web3 communities and networks.

Exploring New Team Opportunities

The founder also discusses future prospects and shares that while there are no active teams currently in motion, several prospects are being considered. Among them, the most intriguing is the potential formation of a Web3 E-sports team. "It's like, let's work with our network, not against it," he says, indicating a strong inclination towards leveraging the emerging trends in the e-sports industry.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Changlu's perspective offers a peek into the world of e-sports and its intertwining with the Web3 domain. His insights, rooted in his experiences with PaladinsDAO, make for valuable lessons for enthusiasts and professionals alike.

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].

King Of Destiny

In King Of Destiny, you travel across eras and civilizations, build mythical cities, defeat legendary monsters, and battle your friends. The core loop is a “3 reel slot” represented by cards, that earn you various currencies and lead you to attack other cities.

+Lots of leaderboards to compete in
+Clean engaging graphics
+Plenty of progression markers

-No skill element
-Choice that doesn’t change the outcome
-Is pure gambling

Overall I have enjoyed playing it, but mainly for the competitive aspect versus others I know.

The game is available to play on mobile in some countries and by invite in others, for more information follow their Twitter to keep up to date.

Knights & Peasants

Knights & Peasants is a strategy game in which you complete quests with your Knights, craft food, equipment, and potions with your peasants, and compete in leaderboards. The game is fully on chain.

+Please aesthetic
+Range of professions that leads to collaboration with other players
+Interesting quest lines (all though may become repetitive with more play)

-On-chain leads to a slight delay in each transaction
-Really slow if only have a single Knight
-In danger of pay2win

It's too early to tell how much depth there is for the quests and storyline, however I'll keep my Knight adventuring for now at least.

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

Big Time

[BigTime is currently sponsoring other content I am creating, but not this review]

Big Time is an MMORPG with your aim being to clear dungeons, gather loot, gain experience, and get more powerful.

+Pocket watch mechanic allows for easy changing of class depending on the challenge
+Smooth play and clean graphics
+Variety of Dungeons to clear

-Requires a lot of time
-Solo play is very difficult, so requires finding others of the same level.
-Enemy AI can be a little wobbly leading to some easy battles.

This Thursday on my BigTime stream I played with a member from chat. This really does change the expirence of the game. Playing in groups feels key to the enjoyment, so I'll keep leveling up so that it is easier to group with friends without being under leveled.

The game is currently on PC and requires either an access pass or code, 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!