Block & Chain Game Studios Weekly Newsletter November 2, 2018
Block & Chain Game Studios
Weekly Newsletter
November 2, 2018
News @ Block & Chain
This week, we kicked our road-to-launch marketing efforts into top gear for Blockfight and Draggin’ Dragons. We invite everyone to follow our forums and social media channels for these gems!
Fiction plays an important role in any game, no matter how simple. Blockfight, while it is a mechanically straightforward game also has a rich backstory. Today, we want to share that story with you. Don’t feel sorry for any of these denizens as you battle them to the death!
Blockfight is our launch title and it will be ready to play later this month!
We also announced the launch of Draggin’ Dragons with a killer “movie poster”. The Draggin’ Dragons fully playable open beta launches later this month! We will share more details on the beta features and instructions to play in the coming weeks. will Spread the word!
Game Maker’s Corner
Todd Gillissie: Principal Game Developer
I often get asked by friends if I would be willing to talk to their child who is interested in getting into gaming as a career. I love to encourage kids to create art, so I have no problem talking to those that are interested.
I know, you may be thinking, “video games are art?”, to which I say “absolutely!” Anything that starts as an idea and turns into a real piece of entertainment is art to me. However, just like in filmmaking, there are a lot of vocations required in order to create that single piece of final art.
It starts with an idea, which turns into a design. The initial design doesn’t need to involve any visual art. I see a lot of confusion from people thinking that “designing” is the process of creating visual art. Visual art is a completely different skill of its own, and can even be broken down into various sub-skills: 3D modeler, concept illustrator, texture artist, animator, user interface designer, and more. The importance of music and sound are often overlooked until you realize how dull a game is without good audio. The programmers pull all of these elements together and make it interactive. Finally, play testers make sure everything works properly before the game is released.
In addition to all of the technical and creative skills required, producers have to coordinate everyone and make sure everything is on schedule. For games that get regular updates, there are product managers that figure out how to keep the game engaging over time, and data analysts that figure out what players like and dislike.
For large game studios, there are usually people that specialize in each of these skills, but in a small studio such as Block & Chain Games, we all wear multiple hats to serve these functions. Personally, I love working in a small studio because I enjoy working with many disciplines, and having a direct impact on the quality of the games we’re working on.
In the News
What’s hot in gaming, on and off the blockchain? Here’s where you find out!
https://sludgefeed.com/neo-exec-sees-gaming-as-lowest-hanging-fruit-for-crypto/ — “We believe that in the future digital assets will cover so many areas we can’t even imagine. But from today’s point of view, the lowest hanging fruit within the space are native digital assets, and games are already in a digital form on your laptop or your phone. These are areas that are quite easy for game developers and game players to adopt.”
B&C: At B&C we understand and appreciate the value blockchain technologies bring to gaming. We love to see indie game developers realize their dreams (and not become beholden to venture capitalist) because of the crowdfunding abilities that blockchain enables and seek thes developers to join our platform. Also, blockchain game servers don’t run the risk of shutdowns by big corporations like “typical” games do. WoW will end one day. If it was on the blockchain, it might well live forever!
https://blockonomi.com/gaming-blockchain-mainstream/ — Now that blockchain is creeping into other areas, people are wondering if it could be a tool for gamers to create new ways to play. So far blockchain game development has been limited, but that is changing.
B&C: While “traditional” blockchain games like Crytokitties suffered from severe performance issues, they and the Ethereum network paved the way for games to come. The phenomena of these early games and the impact they had in the cryptosphere are undeniable. Today, we see more and more companies going after more traditional game mechanics, requiring much faster networks to be played in “realtime”. At B&C we are extremely lucky to have the Halo Platform blockchain at our disposable. We don’t have to work around any performance limitations and can build games with mass appeal that can bring millions of casual gamers to the blockchain!
Join The Block & Chain Community!
Originally published at community.haloplatform.tech.
