Over the past few years, the traditional gaming industry has been turned on its head by the many applications of blockchain technology. NFTs now allow gamers to assert and exercise their digital ownership rights of in-game assets as well as vote on the future of games that they regularly play.
Shrapnel will be the first moddable AAA first-person shooter (FPS) blockchain-based game, and we are thrilled to be supporting the team in bringing a classic game mode into web3 space. As part of the collaboration, Merit Circle Ventures has invested $250,000 in the seed round.
What is Shrapnel?
Following the collision of asteroid 38 Sigma with the moon, the people of earth were forced to evacuate from the Sacrifice Zone, a heavily guarded area that bore the brunt of the constant asteroid showers. The tide changed as people realized the value of rare precious metals, including shrapnel, found within these asteroids, and a power struggle ensued. Contractors turned into mercenaries as bands of national and corporate-backed entities began missions into the dangerous Sacrifice Zone to collect as much shrapnel as possible.
Shrapnel is a first-person extraction-based game in which players are tasked with finding and extracting valuable resources from the zone. The result of many teams competing for these rare resources is a high-stakes, competitive environment that encourages risk-taking and rewards expertise. After collecting resources, players can choose to double down and try to secure more resources or to fight their way to one of many extraction locations.
The game involves operator classes including — Assault, Survivalist and Infosec — each offering its own skills-based progression tree. As players use these classes, they unlock a variety of abilities and equipment that can be used in gameplay. Taking advantage of complementary strengths while avoiding any conflicting abilities encourages players to strategize and create dynamic alliances.
Personalize your arsenal
Shrapnel’s gameplay is centered around the player’s loadout, featuring the gear that they have crafted and the items they have extracted from in-game sessions. Equipment such as weapons and armor are highly customizable and offer a range of additional utility. Mercenaries are also equipped with single-use consumables, technology and gear such as night-vision goggles that give mercenaries an edge while scouring the battlefield.
Using a suite of professional-grade creator tools, players are encouraged to create their own content. These can be minted into NFTs and traded in the Shrapnel marketplace. Here, players can create vanity items and design maps that are used in gameplay. In order to incentivize players to create custom content and support the expansion of the game’s ecosystem, they may stake their $SHRAP on their created item, receiving rewards based on how well the content performs.
One token to rule them all
The token of the project, $SHRAP, has a variety of uses. Besides governance, where players can use their voting power to steer the direction of the game and platform, the token is also used as the in-game currency. Creators are rewarded for their unique maps, skins and assets through sales in the marketplace or through incentives included in grant programs, while players can collect $SHRAP in order to upgrade their gear. These mechanisms serve as a currency sink to ensure that the value generated by both players and creators is not diluted as the community grows.
Through the marketplace, players can visit land plots owned by creators and examine the uniquely crafted items that are seen on display. Creators, on the other hand, have the ability to mint new items from a range of classified materials that are in limited supply. Through these mechanisms, there is ample opportunity for players to create value and generate revenue through whichever model best suits their needs.
Merit Circle x Shrapnel
Rather than defining it as play-to-earn, the team at Shrapnel considers a more sustainable approach, calling it play-to-own. At Merit Circle, we are not only focused on improving the lives of those that we reach, but also firmly believe that work can be play, and the focus on entertainment in this play-to-earn industry should not be lost.
We are very excited to be collaborating with Shrapnel and be amongst its early supporters. While there is still some time until the game is released, we are keen to follow up on the team’s progress, so be sure to keep an eye out for upcoming releases.
Our collaboration will be centered around introducing our community to the game and educating them on strategies and in-game mechanics. We are excited to be able to offer our scholars multiple routes when it comes to choosing how to play the game. Through the plots of land and classified materials, we will be able to create in-game items unique to Merit Circle and provide our scholars with the necessary equipment to charge into battle!
This content is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be relied upon as legal, business, investment, financial or tax advice. You should consult your own advisers as to those matters. References to any digital assets and the use of finance-related terminology are for illustrative purposes only, and do not constitute any recommendation for any action or an offer to provide investment, financial or other advisory services. This content may not under any circumstances be relied upon when making a decision to purchase any digital asset referenced herein. There can be no assurance that the investments mentioned herein will be profitable. The digital assets referenced in this report currently face an uncertain regulatory landscape in several jurisdictions. The legal and regulatory risks inherent in referenced digital assets are not the subject of this content. The content speaks only as of the date indicated. Any reference to investments made herein are made by Merit Circle Ventures, held on trust for a purpose to accelerate and further the growth of the Merit Circle ecosystem. The assets held by Merit Circle Ventures are not controlled by the DAO or held on behalf of it. The DAO can however exert certain limited checks and balances on it and signal non-binding wishes to it via governance. Merit Circle Venture’s mission and purpose is aligned with the DAO’s.
For more information about Shrapnel and its team, follow here:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/playSHRAPNEL
Discord: https://discord.com/invite/shrapnel
Website: https://www.shrapnel.com/
To stay up to date on our adventure, follow Merit Circle on these channels:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MeritCircle_IO
Medium: https://medium.com/@meritcircle
Discord: https://discord.gg/meritcircle
Website: https://www.meritcircle.io
Gaming platform: https://gaming.meritcircle.io
Governance forum: https://gov.meritcircle.io/
Snapshot: https://vote.meritcircle.io/#/
