Sipher Play-to-Earn NFT Action Adventure Game Preview
Evolution of Gaming Series — Part 2
There is a perception in the NFT space that most of the upcoming blockchain games will be sub-par. While, it’s true that a fair number are either simple clones of existing Street Fighter style games or half-baked projects that get rushed in order to keep up with the NFT community’s hyper-inflated and unrealistic expectations, there are plenty of professionally produced blockchain games in the pipeline right now that will disrupt the gaming industry. In the first article of this series we looked at a thrilling and fast-paced, free-to-play NFT card game, called One Shogun, slated to launch later this year. Future articles will examine BYOverse, Andrometa, and Star Atlas which are just a few examples of upcoming high-quality projects, but today will dive in on Sipher, an action-packed “fighting and exploration game.”
“Experience the thrill of playing in an immersive 3D game world with the potential to earn.”
Watch This (Alpha Gameplay)
Sipher’s alpha gameplay, released in January, garnered a lot of hype and excitement for what is still very much work in progress. And it’s obvious why; watching an Inu (a Sipherian bear race) brawler spewing volleys of gunfire from a multi-barreled grenade minigun is exhilarating. Once seen it cannot be unseen and it’s really hard not to get excited even for those who don’t typically enjoy arcade-style gaming. There is something fresh and cool about the sing-n-gun karaoke-style blast fest. Who wouldn’t want to lay down some high pitch suppressing fire from a machine-gun-synthesizer-guitar? Be sure to tune in and give it a spin: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isEdzuomu6Y . While you’re at it don’t forget this is just an alpha sample and there is much more to come. A recently released teaser promises even more eye candy.
Fast and Furious (MOBA)
Who doesn’t want to make money while on an adventure, playing, looting, blasting things, and having megatonnes of fun? By definition, Sipher is a “multiplayer online battle arena” or a MOBA game. In many respects, MOBA games are similar to RTS games but offer faster-paced engagements as the player is dropped into combat right away in a top-down perspective controlling a pre-selected unit with no need for initial resource gathering and build-up. It’s pure action. Payers get to explore the world of Sipheria, face hordes of NPCs and their uber-powerful bosses, discover secrets and hidden relics, fight for land, and harvest resources for on-chain activities. Those brave enough to face off against other players are encouraged to form or join a guild and “challenge others for domination in battle arenas… and establish their social and commercial footprint in the game world.”
“The world setting is vast, the story deep, and the boss encounters will be great. We envision a world mixed with sci-fi and fantasy lore, a strong pan-Asian root with a few pop-culture inspirations.” — from the latest Dev Update
Grab your Gear and Have no Fear (The Extended World of Sipheria)
Gameplay is typically just one layer of the blockchain game experience. However, in the extended Sipherian metaverse outside of all the fun battling and exploring of the world, players will get to claim land, set up building facilities, and acquire loot and resources. Through these commerce-related activities, players will get access to production and become craftsmen who design and fuse in-game buildings, materials, and equipment. They will then be able to sell these fully tradable items on Sipheria’s internal Bazaar or any of the secondary markets such as Opensea or Looksrare just as any other NFT. This virtual economic activity will become the backbone of blockchain gaming.
Just Keep’em Coming (Cloning)
Another interesting and fun mechanism promising significant utility is character cloning. By combining a genesis Sipher with an unused “Vessel Core” players will be able to generate a new Sipher clone that can potentially exceed its parent’s trait statistics. The “Vessel Cores” will have varying degrees of rarity which will determine the cloning success rate and will be earnable by playing the game, staking $Sipher tokens, or participating in community events. But, be aware, only the genesis NFTs will have the capacity to produce clones at the Laboratory facility on the Moonbase.
“There is no maximum amount of Siphers in the world as the world is vast and limitless.”
Meet me on the Moon (The Social Hub)
Sipher’s grand ambition is to not just be an exhilarating adventure game but also “an open-world social experience.” The promise of user-generated content is permeating throughout the blockchain metaverse landscape with the goal of engaging the players in a long-term reciprocal relationship. To that end, Sipher is building a social hub for all metaverse inhabitants… on the moon. After all, this is the metaverse and anything is possible. This sprawling virtual complex will bring together all the Sipherian races where they can kick back and engage in “crafting, questing, bantering, or simply jamming out in the metaverse.”
“Moonbase Station is purposely built as a base for explorations and expeditions, with facilities supporting our Sipherians in all kinds of activities such as Mercenary Guild, Crafting Stations, Bar, Hall of Fame, and more!”
You Still With Me? (User Engagement)
It’s become a common practice in the brave new world of NFT gaming to offer perks to the early adopters to keep them engaged and rewarded for their faith in the project. The Sipher team has kept their fanbase busy with starship loot boxes, $Sipher coin airdrops, holder exclusive comic releases, loyalty programs, merch & sculpture offerings, and a variety of Twitter caption contests, egg hunts, and art competitions.
One of Us (Loyalty Program)
Sipher offers four tiers of collector loyalty rewards. Holders who own 1 Inu and 2 Nekos are entitled to a single private-sale spot for the next character launch. The so-called Builders who hold 3 of each race will be able to buy 2 new characters before the public. Sentinels holding 6 of each, will get 2 private sale spots and 1 recruit (free NFT airdrop). Finally, those at the High Table holding 10 of each will get 2 recruits and be entitled to 3 private slots.
For many projects that struggle to maintain the price of their NFTs above the mint price, private sale spots are not very exciting however, Siphers continue to hold value well, and with more and more content being pumped out on a weekly basis and marketing ramping up closer to game launch, those future whitelists might offer significant upside.
Learn more about the Collector Program: https://atlas.sipher.xyz/upcoming-programs/the-collector-program
Meet the Extended Family (New Race Drops)
Two races, the Inu and Neko, have been launched so far and the team has been teasing the community with a steady trickle of sizzling sneak peeks of the mighty Buru (Bull) race slated for an April-June launch. However, on April 1st the team put out a surprise announcement stating that a new monkey race called Saru will be dropped before the Buru. Those who are part of the collector’s program, depending on their tiers, may get new free recruits and privileges to use their private sale spots before public mint starts. The initial Buru launch has been purposely delayed so that it can be properly showcased in its full glory in the upcoming Demo before the mint.
Engage! (Spaceships)
At the beginning of April, spaceships started to land on the newly launched Ather Labs website dashboards. Every Sipher NFT holder is entitled to claim a spaceship lootbox. Every week, for the next nine weeks, a different spaceship will be available for claiming per each genesis Sipher NFT held. If you own 10 Siphers you’ll be able to claim 10 spaceships with Inu holders getting 1–2 extra claims. Each loot box contains 5 parts that come with 6 color schemes and rarities. A holder might even get super lucky and find five legendary parts! However a more modest mix is likely, which is perfectly fine as players will be able to mix and match different parts from their loot boxes or mint them on the Polygon chain (low gas) and offer for sale.
Spaceships will also be visually showcased via pre-game cutscenes but their primary function is to increase players’ storage capacity to transport all that loot collected in the game. They will also have utility as in-game wearable accessories that offer a variety of buffs such as increased speed or boosting loot chances.
Learn more about Spaceships: https://medium.com/sipherxyz/spaceships-overview-and-mixing-off-chain-on-chain-433fcc1db823
Tell me More (Comic and Lore)
Building an immersive virtual world is never an easy feat and requires easily digestible lore that makes the gaming experience much more rewarding and believable. To help build the underlying story while the game is in development Sipher launched a beautifully drawn Sipherian Tales comic accessible exclusively to NFT owners. The first part tells the story of a restless young Inu and an elderly Buru master on a fishing trip and it is thoroughly entertaining. These small touches allow the players to teleport into the Sipherian landscape, soak in the lay of the land and identify with character motivations long before the game is available.
What’s your ETA? (Roadmap)
Sipher has been consistently hitting the milestones on their aggressive roadmap with minor adjustments made in reaction to market conditions and to ensure maximum traction of certain events such as the Buru collection launch. There is a lot to look forward to with upcoming Dutch auctions for sculptures and merchandise, further releases of the Comic, and the private launch of a highly anticipated playable demo. Yes, a playable demo! The official PVE game launch is slated to launch as soon as October and will be followed by a PVP demo early next year.
Check out the latest dev update for more juicy details: https://medium.com/sipherxyz/april-2022-dev-update-bull-ish-61ce20939ccd
Show me the Meat (Tokenomics)
Solid tokenomics is the heart of every blockchain game but it is also very much an uncharted territory. The Sipher team has been taking the game economy very seriously — as one of the biggest criticisms of blockchain games is their inherent unsustainability. Sipher has released a study of the issue in a series of articles outlining the breadth of the problem and a variety of solutions. It’s a fascinating study that showcases the inherent challenges and creativity that is required to come up with a robust solution and it’s refreshing to see how diligently and transparently Sipher is approaching this issue.
Part 1! The current state of monetisation and the mistakes of the current P2E Space: https://sipherhq.notion.site/State-of-Monetization-6578f4dbb18041f88d6d6c41036bf7ac Part 2! Sipher’s 3 party economy: https://sipherhq.notion.site/SIPHER-Three-Party-Economy-9104634653eb4bef8dbe6a24713052ee Part 3! How does SIPHER protect our Earners from a permanently inflationary economy: https://sipherhq.notion.site/SIPHER-s-Plan-for-a-Deflationary-Economy-3ff497c41adf49febaa6bd139ad3a7a0
I Got Your Back (Partnerships & Guilds)
Guilds have become an essential element of the budding play-to-earn industry by providing access to an experienced and organized player base that dissects the game mechanics in order to maximize player rewards. Sipher is already well-positioned in this regard as it plans to launch a guild directory on its site and has already announced the partnership with 14 guilds including: AAG Guild, Apollo Squad, Avocado Guild, GuildFi, Loot Squad, Merit Circle, MetaGoons, MTTM, Railings University, ReadyPlayerDAO, Real Deal Guild, Unix Gaming, Yield Guild Games, and Yield Guild Games-SEA.
A new partnership with BreederDAO was announced on April 18th as well. This partnership is all about “expanding the accessibility of the game to a broader set of participants in the Play-to-Earn space” and helping bring the multitude of Sipherian NFT assets to “a big amount of guilds, scholars and players alike.”
“BreederDAO is the NFT asset factory of blockchain games. We provide high-volume asset production, tailored to specification, for some of the largest guilds in the Metaverse so they can supercharge their Play-To-Earn economies.”
You can read the full announcements here: https://medium.com/sipherxyz/sipher-officially-partners-with-p2e-guilds-4ec725b4cb1c
I Sure Hope You’re Fully Doxxed. (The Team)
With the amount of rug pulls in the NFT space, investing in a project with a fully doxxed team should be one of the first steps in any due diligence. According to their latest dev update, the Sipher team now has 128 employees working on the project, so it’s hard to expect to get to know everyone. However, the team is very open and active in hosting AMA and lounge-style spaces, as well as posting updates on their social channels. Perhaps most importantly, building a successful venture is not the first rodeo for the CEO, Tin Nguyen who is a member of the “Forbes Vietnam 30 Under 30” and founder of DreamPlex and FreshHouse who is very candid and active on all channels. Tin even has his own “diary” site where he reveals that “As a gamer, I always dreamed about making games” and “successful games probably have no single common formula except for one, player’s love for the game.” An inspiring leader is a key to success and Sipher most certainly has one.
You can read more of Tin’s thoughts here: https://tinnguyennotes.com/2021/07/31/why-i-am-building-sipher/
I’ll Take Two (Valuation)
There are currently two collections available on secondary markets — the Sipherian Surge collection of four Inu (bear) subraces followed by Sipherian Flash of four Neko (fox) subraces. Despite the recent softness of the NFT market, both collections have retained above-mint valuations. Sipherian Surge, being the inaugural character series, comes with a number of perks such as early access to the game and an extra starship loot claim. This is reflected in the average price of 0.37eth being double of the Neko series at 0.22eth average during the last three months. With the launch of the starship loot boxes there has been steady demand and prices are holding. With several roadmap milestones coming up there are solid fundamentals for the prices to remain steady even with the new race mints coming up.
Check out more analytics at: https://dune.xyz/blowfish/SIPHERIAN-SURGE
Are we there yet? (Final Words)
Blockchain gaming is new, with many challenges and exciting promises. There are numerous projects in the scene that are taking the easy way and releasing “games” that hardly deserve the name. As always, it takes some digging to find the true gems, and Sipher definitely looks like it’s on the way to becoming a diamond. One thing seems clear, the gaming industry is evolving whether players like it or not. If you want to get an early adopter understanding of what is coming, investing in a well-executed product like Sipher gets you a ticket to take a peek into the future while having fun (and making money?) while you’re at it.
Disclaimer: The author owns NFTs in several projects referenced in the article and therefore may present a biased opinion. No information contained in this article should be used as financial advice.
By Raftor.eth
https://twitter.com/RaftorTSE2
Sipher Links:
Sipher Twitter:
Sipher Website:
Ather Website (Collection & Rewards Dashboard)
https://dashboard.atherlabs.xyz/
Sipherian Surge Collection (INUs)
https://opensea.io/collection/sipheriansurge
Sipherian Flash Collection (NEKOs)
