Meet the Alto Cryptogame Challenge Finalists
The winning demo will be announced at PGConnects in Helsinki
The Alto Cryptogame Challenge is full steam ahead, with more than 30 teams from all over the world having registered and pitched their game ideas. But only the best can make it through, and the judges have selected five teams from Nigeria, Germany, Japan, India, and the Netherlands to go on to the next round. These teams are now busy working on their demos which will be submitted on August 31. The demos will be reviewed by our panel of judges, and the winners will be announced on September 12 at PGConnects in Helsinki.
And so, without further ado, Alto is honored to present our five ACC finalists, along with the exciting games they are working on:
BioHackers
Located in India, the BioHackers team is headed by Founder Tejas Nikumbh, who also serves as Lead Designer and Lead Developer. Nikumbh has extensive experience in the tech space, having worked with Y-Combinator backed startups and been part of Entrepreneur-in-Residence programs at MIT as well as Entrepreneur First. Nikumbh’s right-hand-man is his childhood friend Prasanna Dhavale, whose expertise in digital marketing and SEO makes him the perfect choice to handle the team’s PR and marketing strategies. Together, they are the brains behind BrainFunc.
BrainFunc stands out from the crowd right out of the gate by being an e-learning game — something that hasn’t yet been seen in cryptogaming. The game revolves around the different parts of the brain, with players collecting neurons to construct brain parts and battle other players. Battles will test players’ knowledge of the function that each brain part performs.
Both neurons and brain parts will be available as cryptoitems, with neurons being essential to collecting all of the 13 component brain parts. Each brain part will also be linked to a number of special items from the ACC Edition Challenge Loot to be used as skill cards based on the brain part’s function. For example, the Temporal Lobe, which is involved in primary auditory reception, will be linked to sound-based skill cards such as Haste Drums and Horn of Resounding.
BrainFunc is an original and worthy concept with strong didactic potential. And with BioHackers’ commitment, which includes a team of medical advisors for biological accuracy, we’re eager to discover what their demo has in store.
Codeglue
Founded in 2000 in the city of Rotterdam, Netherlands, game studio Codeglue has spent the last two decades creating games with unconventional art and design and an emphasis on high-quality gameplay. Though they focus mainly on PC and next-gen console games, they are always on the lookout for the latest innovations to incorporate into their projects — which is why they believe blockchain gaming is the perfect fit for them. Spearheaded by team leader Peter de Jong, they present to us Crown of Carnage.
Set in a high-fantasy world, Crown of Carnage is a team-based collectible card action game with a focus on spellcasting. Two teams of wizards enter a dungeon, where they gather spell shards and battle monsters on their way to reach the Monster King and steal the Crown of Carnage. Each player in the team will be able to choose a spellcaster with a unique playstyle, then go into battle using a set of spell cards and equipment.
The crux of the game is all about team synergy, so players will have to choose the most effective combination of skills and spells in order to defeat their enemies. Non-fungible tokens will exist in the form of spell cards and character customization items, which will include the Challenge Loot as well as original cards, equipment, and wizards.
Crown of Carnage’s teamplay element gives an interesting twist to the CCG genre, and together with Codeglue’s distinctive art style, it makes for an intriguing project that we can’t wait to check out.
Ugarsoft
As an ICT consulting firm, Ugarsoft might not be the most obvious candidate to participate in a game development competition. But the Nigeria-based company offers more than meets the eye. Though their main line of business revolves around IT and communications solutions, Ugarsoft has put together a blockchain division to work on projects that include fintech, private blockchains, and of course, gaming. The Nigerian and Finnish team, led by Ugochukwu Aronu, has created CryptoBarons.
CryptoBarons is a multiplayer strategy and RPG in the vein of Clash of Clans. But building the game on the blockchain will open a host of new possibilities that will set it apart from such a familiar genre. The gameplay is simple: players buy use game resources to build their kingdoms, mine gold and train their armies. By battling and defeating armies from other kingdoms, they can acquire more resources. The “richest” players will become Barons, and they’ll be able to receive commissions on transactions from other players.
All game assets such as workers, soldiers, and buildings will be ERC721 tokens which will increase in value as players vanquish more enemies and gain experience points. These items can be sold and traded to be used in CryptoBarons or any other game. The Challenge Loot will be available as rare items that will perform several functions like increasing food rations or dealing extra damage to the enemy.
Strategy and RPG are tried and true genres that have seen tremendous success in the traditional gaming world. Ugarsoft will now bring this gameplay model to the blockchain, and we couldn’t be more excited to see where it goes.
Digital Token Alliance
Originally from Germany but based in Thailand, the Digital Token Alliance (DTA) is a group of blockchain enthusiasts and gaming industry veterans who are passionate about emerging technologies. Their goal is to create unique experiences that forge human connections, and have dabbled in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and augmented reality. Now the team, with Frank Duffner at the helm, enters the cryptogaming space with Loot Hunt.
Loot Hunt might just be cryptogaming’s answer to Pokémon GO. DTA’s ambitious concept consists of a location-based, AR roguelike TCG with coop boss battles. Players are given a generic set of cards at the start, then go on dynamically-generated quest paths along real-world locations where they can find loot, rest, and battle AR monsters known as Titans. Players will also be able to band together to fight Titans and share the loot.
Though the basic card deck will not be cryptoitems, every single card unlocked through quests will be a non-fungible token, including original Loot Hunt cards as well as Challenge Loot. Since it is a coop rather than a PvP TCG, players with high-priced cards will not be seen as overpowered foes but rather valuable allies to play with.
AR gaming has yet to gather steam beyond flash-in-the-pan titles so it will be exciting to see how DTA can combine it with blockchain technology to build a game like we’ve never seen before.
kiokumushi
kiokumushi is a small development team based in Tokyo whose singular goal is to show the world the potential of cryptogaming by creating games as addictive as any other. Led by Yuya Ohtsuka, the 4-person team consists of three engineers and one person in charge of planning and design. The fruit of their labor is called Treasure Dungeon.
In a throwback to our favorite tabletop games, Treasure Dungeon is a straightforward dungeon crawler consisting of 5x5-square dungeons. Players must travel one square at a time until they reach the end of the dungeon. If they land on a square with treasure, the loot is theirs. But if they land on a monster and their HP goes down to zero, they must leave all the treasure behind for the next challenger who enters the dungeon.
Cryptoitems will be available in several forms in Treasure Dungeon. Players can visit taverns where they’ll be able to hire Guardians to help them capture a dungeon. All Guardians will be ERC721 tokens. ACC Edition Challenge Loot will also exist in as rare items in the treasure chests. If found, they’ll increase players’ combat strength and boost their chances to beat the dungeon.
Sometimes, the simplest games are the most compelling. We’ll be quite interested to see how kiokumushi can bring blockchain technology to a classic genre and make it a force to be reckoned with.
As you can see, there is no shortage of creativity and ambition among the game concepts submitted by our finalists. Now it remains to be seen who can most effectively execute their idea and create a demo that is not only fun to play, but seamlessly integrates the Challenge Loot and — most importantly — demonstrates what game development on the blockchain has the potential to achieve.
