Block & Chain Game Studios Weekly Newsletter — September 14, 2018
Block & Chain Game Studios
Weekly Newsletter
September 14, 2018
Our biggest focus this week was implementing the user interface for Draggin’ Dragons. Brandon and Michelle, our elite UI Designers, have been hard at it and it shows. Have a look below for some screenshots!
News @ Block & Chain
Blockfight is all but finished at this point. We are focused on integrating a smooth flow of Halodium (our game currency) in and out of the game. Halodium is a token on our network, which will be used across all of our games and tradeable on our exchanges. Players will be able to, for example, win Halodium in Blockfight and take it to Dragons, where they can buy their favorite dragon from the auction house. And that’s just the beginning! All games on our platform will use Halodium so no matter what type of games you like to play, you will always have a tangible currency to play with.
Last week, we promised to share some screenshots. Well here they are! Speed races UI is nearly complete, which means our focus will soon shift to polishing the tracks and the races themselves. Next week, we will show you a race in progress!
Game Maker’s Corner
Anh Nguyen: Software Developer
My name is Anh, but everyone calls me “Tank”. I’m a game developer from Block and Chain Games, where I work with a talented team of designers and artists to build games that are coming to a browser or mobile device near you.
My favorite type of game is one that tells a good story. I find these games will linger in your mind for a long time, even after you’ve finished playing them. Some games give you the story up front and some use missions and quests, like Warcraft. Others just drop hints all around let you live through the story, like This War of Mine. So, ultimately, it’s not just about the story, it’s also about how it is told.
From my point of view, games are created to deliver experiences. It’s a form of art, like movies and music, but with a lot more ways to express itself to the audiences. I am inspired by and constantly looking for new exotic experiences and methods to build great games.
I like to think of game making from an explorer’s point of view. Blockchain is an exciting new platform, with which we are building and sailing our new “ships”. How do we make them float? Which direction should they head? What should be loaded on those containers? Questions need to be answered, blueprints need to be drawn up and “ships” to be built. Stay with us and see them come to life and leave our port, because you are their destination.
In the News
What’s hot in gaming, on and off the blockchain? Here’s where you find out!
https://www.blockchaingamer.biz/features/6167/blockchain-gamer-connects-helsinki-day-one/ — Pocket Gamer Connects conference was this week, featuring a dedicated blockchain game development path — With nearly 70 talks and panel discussions taking place, there was plenty of insight to be had and lessons to be learned. Blockchain enjoyed its fair share of attention, with these being some of the highlights from day one.
B&C: It’s great to see mainstream recognition of blockchain games. Those of us in this historical niche industry really believe that blockchain games are the new frontier of consumer play, much like AR/VR and mobile was not too long ago. There are a few data points in this article I find very encouraging:
- Companies are recognizing the ETH chain is simply to slow for games. Faster blockchains, such as Halo Platform’s, are the future of real-time gaming.
- “Real” game mechanics can and should be built on the blockchain. Rather than simple wagering, trading, and collecting games, much more robust mechanics can be applied to blockchain games. This is very much in alignment with our vision to make mainstream game mechanics for the blockchain.
- In spite of the bearish cryptocurrency market, there is a great deal of growth in the blockchain game space.
It was reassuring in many ways to read this article because it reiterated the premises upon which Block & Chain operates. Our aim to bring true game mechanics to the blockchain and thus to bring gamers into the cryptosphere is the right pursuit to grow and validate this important new technology.
https://www.finder.com.au/hashcraft-ubisoft-blockchain-game — The first rule of blockchain gaming seems to be: don’t talk about blockchain gaming. When gamers see the word “blockchain” they tend to think “cryptocurrency”. And when they think “cryptocurrency” they tend to have negative thoughts. As if crypto is a gateway to some evil monetisation strategy, brought to you by the same jerks that cryptojacked your phone and bought all the graphics cards.
B&C: Aside from the obvious reaction of “whoa, Ubisoft is making a blockchain game?!”, there is a little more to unpack in this article which I think is important for everyone to understand. Blockchain and Cryptocurrency do not amount to the same thing. The evidence in this article makes it clear as we see how companies like SonyTM (Playstation) and MicrosoftTM (Xbox) apply the blockchain as a tool to manage systems, not necessarily relating to cryptocurrency. At Block and Chain we have a similar mindset. I always say to the team “you don’t need to be a cryptocurrency user to play our games”. Our games are powered by the Halo Platform blockchain in many different ways and only some of them relate to the use of Halodium, our in-game currency. You will be able to play most of our games without ever using Halodium if you so desire.
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Originally published at community.haloplatform.tech.
