Blockchain Gaming World

We’re into the second year of the Blockchain Gaming World podcast, and kicking off with US developer Lucid Sight. We talk to CEO Randy Saaf and CTO Fazri Zubair about their forthcoming space MMO Crypto Space Commander (CSC), which they describe as like ‘EVE Online on the blockchain’. The game will be in Steam early access in late August, alongside a pre-sale of game items including the first ships from CSC’s recent licensing deal with Star Trek.  Topics covered include: Why Lucid Sight wanted to make a complex MMO such as CSC on the blockchain Why blockchain is an important feature of the game, not the entirety of the game How the development process has progressed (currently Alpha) How CSC will onboard gamers without requiring access to crypto or private keys/wallet etc Why Lucid Sight thinks item ownership is so important for blockchain game adoption The importance of building a community early in a game’s development, including Discord and streaming And how the financial opportunities of NFT trading encourages a deeper community Episode links  CSC website CSC Discord link Randy Saaf on Twitter Fazri Zubair on Twitter Discuss with Jon on Twitter & check out Blockchain Gaming World on YouTube 

In this episode, Jon discusses the ongoing development of blockchain strategy game CryptoWars with Experimental (aka e11.io) CEO Matias Nisenson. Development on CryptoWars started in mid-2018 and since the start of 2019, Experimental has been regularly testing various aspects of the game - from the blockchain infrastructure including Loom Network’s Layer 2 solution through to gameplay features.  The game is currently expected to be live in early 2020.  Topics covered include: Matias’ history prior to launching Experimental Why Experimental decided to make a strategy blockchain game Why he (still) rates Ethereum over other blockchains The strengths (and weaknesses) of using a sidechain like Loom, especially for UX Why games will be the gateway for mass adoption of blockchain Why CryptoWars’ economy is much more sophisticated than NFT sales The challenges of raising investment What’s next in terms of CryptoWars’ development Episode links  Experimental website CryptoWars website Matias on Twitter Discuss with Jon on Twitter & check out Blockchain Gaming World on YouTube 

In this episode, Jon discusses blockchain game sector trends with James McQuillan (@BCGbiz). Some blockchain game projects are now going live but few people seems to care. Similarly, it’s not clear when other high profile projects are going to go live. Certainly the sector seems much stronger when it comes to sizzle than it comes to actuality.  How big is this problem? How can we solve it? How can projects gain scale? Topics covered include: Is it too early to be talking about cross-chain interoperability? Blockchain game projects are now going live but does anyone care? WAX & Theta mainnet are live Robot Cache is open in Early Access When will Relentless, Decentraland, Gods Unchained, F1 Delta Time launch? Why are some many blockchain games/projects failing to attract users? & what can we learn from the games like My Crypto Heroes that have... Episode links - Sizzle Cheeze Wizards Decentraland Gods Unchained F1 Delta Time Relentless Robot Cache Episode links - Actuality Axie Infinity Blockchain Cuties EOS Knights My Crypto Heroes Discuss with Jon on Twitter & check out Blockchain Gaming World on YouTube 

In this episode, Jon talks to 8 Circuit Studios’ president James Mayo about the US indie’s approach to combining games and the blockchain. Notably, in the case of its in-development PC space combat and FPS title Project Genesis - using Unreal Engine, Ethereum, and scheduled for release in 2020 - this means a heavy focus on building a strong community through an open development process and regular playtests.  Topics covered include: James’ early experience in games with Nintendo and Microsoft Why he’s interested in blockchain for games 8 Circuit’s first blockchain experiment with a mobile game Why it then decided to make PC space combat/shooter Project Genesis Its open model of development, which encourages community building That neither gamers or publishers currently care about blockchain or NFT ownership Which is why 8 Circuit is game-focused Also a shoutout for James’ use of the term “transaction viscosity”... Episode links:  James Mayo - Twitter Project Genesis - website Project Genesis dev schedule - Trello 8 Circuit Studios - website Follow Jon on Twitter & check out Blockchain Gaming World on YouTube 

In this episode, Jon and co-founder Alex Casassovici (@alexksso) discuss the rise of the Azarus blockchain-based rewards platform for game streaming.  What’s significant about Azurus (which uses an EOS sidechain) is it doesn’t mention blockchain, onboards users through ther Twitch accounts, and can be retrofitted to any existing game. Also, its rewards urrency - AZA Credits - is locked to the platform and can’t be exported to crypto exchanges.  Basically then Azarus uses blockchain tech where it’s needed on the backend, but enables scale by using the traditional web services in ways that users are accustomed to. Topics covered include: How Alex got into blockchain The spark behind Azarus Thinking beyond NFTs Azarus’ advantage in terms of the ease for game developers to retrofit it How the AZA Credit works Why most traditional game companies aren’t interested in cryptocurrencies What’s next for Azarus? When will blockchain gaming take-off? Episode links:  Alex Casassovici - Twitter Azarus - web Azarus - Twitter Follow Jon on Twitter & check out Blockchain Gaming World on YouTube 

In this episode, Jon and James (@BCGbiz) discuss the week’s blockchain games news, which could be viewed as the many small steps developers are taking to bring about the success of the entire sector.  Topics covered include: Gods Unchained and its open beta Blockchain Gamer Connects Hong Kong MakerDAO’s hook up with Axie Infinity Zilliqa launches smart contracts The ‘rise’ of TRON Bitizens repays its pre-sales Decentraland’s Frame interoperability for NFTs The bet between people Jon couldn’t remember Like the show?  Donate ETH to semperaugustus.eth Follow Jon on Twitter & check out Blockchain Gaming World on YouTube 

In this episode, Jon Jordan talks to mobile game entrepreneur Tony Pearce about the formation and funding of Reality Clash developer Reality Gaming Group, and why he believes games will be the products that take blockchain tech mainstream. Topics covered include: Tony’s early years in mobile games Reality Clash’s 2017 ICO The UX pain points that need to be overcome Why Crypto Winter was horrible but necessary Why games and NFTs will drive blockchain adoption Why the big game companies aren’t interested in blockchain yet Why boom times are ahead… eventually Episode links:  Tony Pearce - Twitter Reality Clash - Twitter Reality Clash website Reality Clash Armory store Like the show?  Donate ETH to semperaugustus.eth Follow Jon on Twitter & check out Blockchain Gaming World on YouTube 

In this episode, Jon Jordan and game/blockchain developer Gareth Jenkins (@garethjenkins) discuss what’s been going on and what will be going on in the world of blockchain games, including chewing the fat over the new Dapper wallet and Cheeze Wizards. Topics covered include: The current state of the industry The possible impact of Ethereum 2.0 and Cosmos  Whatever happened to EOS and TRON? Issues around the integration blockchain, games and brands Dapper Labs’ new Dapper wallet and UX challenges Cheeze Wizards - the good and the bad The future of blockchain games Episode links:  Gareth Jenkins - Twitter Deckbound website Lunar Mines website Like the show?  Donate ETH to semperaugustus.eth Follow Jon on Twitter & check out Blockchain Gaming World on YouTube 

In this episode, Jon Jordan and James (@BCGbiz) discuss the Enjin Multiverse, which is a growing blockchain gaming platform, spanning everything from the technology to make blockchain games to rules for item interoperability, the Enjin cryptocurrency, a mobile wallet, plus strong developer support and an active crypto community. Currently over 20 games are using the platform, with more being added as Enjin rolls out its latest Enjin Sparks program.  Topics covered include: What is the Enjin Multiverse? How well does it chime with broader blockchain sentiments? Which games are using Enjin? How does the interoperability of assets work? Will it be a mass market or a niche product? Episode links:  Enjin website Enjin mobile wallet EnjinX Explorer Introducing the Enjin Platform List of Enjin Multiverse assets  Some interesting games using Enjin 9Lives Arena Age of Rust War of Crypto Follow Jon on Twitter Check out Blockchain Gaming World on YouTube Like the show?  Donate ETH to semperaugustus.eth

In this episode, Jon Jordan and James (@BCGbiz) discuss what’s been going on in the world of CryptoKitties’ developer Dapper Labs, which has announced new Robotic Traits, launched the open beta for its new smart contract wallet Dapper, and is totally confusing everyone with its just-announced somewhat surreal Cheeze Wizards game (at least, we think it’s a game). Topics covered include: CryptoKitties’ new RoboKitty Purrstige Traits, which will “unlock new features in other dapps” A wider discussion on the approaches to blockchain game item interoperability, including Enjin’s Multiverse The open beta launch of the Dapper wallet, which offers free gas and exclusive drops from games such as Etheremon and My Crypto Heroes, and tries to solve the onboard issues of wallets such as MetaMask, and Cheeze Wizards? What is Cheeze Wizards??? Episode links:  CryptoKitties RoboKitty blog post Dapper Wallet website  Cheeze Wizards Follow Jon on Twitter Check out Blockchain Gaming World on YouTube Like the show?  Donate ETH to  0xa2F7899ca1Bf8e602c09F1C70671926a967515cD