AMA Recap: Planet Mojo
Date: Aug 24th, 2022
Host: DeFiNaut
Guest: Michael Levine, Founder
Hello, Raccoon family and crypto enthusiasts!
We recently hosted an AMA with Planet Mojo. Here’s the AMA transcript for those who missed the live session. We sincerely hope you have as much fun reading it as we did while running the AMA!
INTRODUCTORY QUESTIONS
DeFiNaut|DeFiRaccoons: I hope you are all as excited as I am to learn more about Planet Mojo today
Hope you are all ready #raccoonfam! Today we’re having another educational follow-up AMA with Michael Levine, CEO and the rest of the team at Planet Mojo!
That’s correct, today is the second time we’re being honored with their presence! And they’re here today to share us many of their exciting updates and releases.
As you know there will be 2 parts, the muted part where me and Michael will be talking about Planet Mojo in general aswell as the latest news and updates! Then we’ll unmute an have the community ask questions and some winners will be chosen. We’ll also choose some twitter questions while we’re at it. A total prizepool of $100 (2 live chat and 2 twitter qs will be winning $25 each).
So Michael and the rest of the team, without further ado, can you please briefly tell us who you are and what your role is at Planet Mojo? We’d like to just get a few introductory questions for the raccoons that have not yet heard about you and Planet Mojo!
Hope Camacho|Planet Mojo: Very excited to be here today with you all! Hey there! My name is Kendrea and I’m the head of community for Planet Mojo. Been in the space since 2017 and have seen how much we’ve grown as an industry. Gaming is the next frontier! So excited to be here today to share with you all what’s been going on since we last got together! It’s an amazing time and I’m glad to be building with the EXCITING project! We’ve been PlayTesting Mojo Melee with a select group of community members and it’s just been awesome to see the insight and group collaboration.
Mike Levine|Planet Mojo: Thanks for having us back! My name is Mike Levine, founder and Creative Director at Planet Mojo. I got my start in the industry working at LucasArts, if anyone remembers titles like Monkey Island, or Dark Forces: Jedi Knight, and many more! Since then I have run my own companies doing our own games and doing games for companies like Hasbro and more. We made a VR game a couple years back called Sam & Max (Sam & Max: This Time It’s Virtual!” and while we were making that, I began a deep dive into blockchain, NFTs and what “Web3” Gaming could become.
Ralph Gerth|Planet Mojo: Hello, I’m Ralph Gerth, Executive Director at Planet Mojo. I started working in game development with Mike at LucasArts back in the 90’s. My background is in art but over the years my roles have included game design, programming, producer and studio founder. Prior to joining Planet Mojo, I spent about 15 years designing Grand Strategy Games modeling complex economies and AI. And I’ve been with Planet Mojo for about 8 months.
DeFiNaut|DeFiRaccoons: OK I believe your experience speaks for itself! And also happy to see that people from big names like LucasArts are making the switch to #web3 gaming. Let’s share the cinematic trailer with the community so they understand what a beautful game it is 😄
So it’s time for the infamous elevator pitch, for the raccoons that aren’t aware of the game and were not here yet the last time 😄
What is it all about, and what key unique features are you looking to bring to the web3 gaming space?
Mike Levine|Planet Mojo: Planet Mojo is a magical Web3 gaming metaverse platform being built by gaming veterans from LucasArts, EA, Activision and other great studios. Players compete with customized teams in a suite of eSports, PvP games, set on a mysterious alien planet with an evolving narrative. The long-term goal is to create a sustainable gaming project for the next generation of gamers, where they own their in-game assets & have a say in the project’s future direction.
Planet Mojo is a continually evolving gaming world and platform where players can deploy their assets in an expanding catalog of competitive games and environments. Battle against other players, enter tournaments, complete quests to earn tokens, rewards, and purchase land (Biomes) to customize your own personal plot of Planet Mojo.
With core pillars of a Fun First and Play-to-Own, we intend to raise the bar for blockchain games both graphically and playability wise. Long term value begins with having fun core gameplay that keeps players coming back. The variety of games will grow and diversify with governance level directions from the Planet Mojo community. That is YOU!
DeFiNaut|DeFiRaccoons: ok that was a good pitch! I see that you guys aim to raise the bar for sure with the graphics, they are really outstanding!
I’ve must have rewatched the trailer 4–5 times 😄 haha
Yes very cool, especially the bear, I like the bear
So I read it’s an auto battler game, can you please tell us what type of game this is. What characters from the trailer will we be able to play? Are all of them represented as NFTs?
Mike Levine|Planet Mojo: she is one of our initial 6 champions you use to make teams to battle in our first game, Mojo Melee
DeFiNaut|DeFiRaccoons: So this means that all characters visible on the poster will be playable?
Mike Levine|Planet Mojo: yes! The game is called Mojo Melee, it’s an AutoChess Battler similar to games like TeamFight Tactics, ChessRush, DOTA2 Underlords, etc. Except it’s web3 enabled, and the initial release will use webGL, played right in the browser with incredible graphics!
You can play with your own Mojo and Champion NFTs in Mojo Melee but there will also be a Free-2-Play mode for non-NFT holders.
DeFiNaut|DeFiRaccoons: I like that it’s playable directly in the browser, I feel like a lot of play2earn / web3 games make it difficult for themselves by imposing unnecessary barriers with games that need to be installed
Mike Levine|Planet Mojo: If you own the NFTs there are extra perks (many). If you do not own them, you can play with non-NFT versions and eventually unlock the real NFT (either for FREE or at a major discount)
yes WebGL and very easy to get into and play!
DeFiNaut|DeFiRaccoons: that’s a great strategy adoption wise! I have to commend you for this.
Mike Levine|Planet Mojo: We will also make a mobile version soon
Hope Camacho|Planet Mojo: We want to make the game as accessible to the masses as possible!
DeFiNaut|DeFiRaccoons: And especially since a big big part of the play2earn crowd is sometimes from developing countries, they not always have the necessary means or equiment to go with heavy load games. So directly from the browser is awesome!
Hope Camacho|Planet Mojo: Absolutely! The game should be ENJOYED by all. That’s our GOAL!
DeFiNaut|DeFiRaccoons: So you already explained about your own background but let’s talk a bit about the entire team. Can you share with us about the team building this amazing game. How many are there in total? How many devs?
Mike Levine|Planet Mojo: We’re a pretty lean and mean team of 20 or so people. The core team itself is composed of industry vets spanning over 25 years of experience from companies like LucasArts, and EA, and some blockchain veterans as well. We know how to deliver and design great games. Now we are bringing this development background to Web3 and believe this is the next paradigm shift in gaming!
DeFiNaut|DeFiRaccoons: Yeah happy to see that you indeed have solid experience in traditional industries. Makes me confident you guys will deliver!
OK elephant in the room… I read there’s a FREE mint of the Mojo Melee “VIP Playtester Pass”.
Can you tell us more about this event, what does it constitute? What can players do with the VIP Playtester Pass NFT?
Source: https://twitter.com/WeArePlanetMojo/status/1559865430088507393?s=20&t=u5-bMx7nDbswFcnl1JkYbw
Mike Levine|Planet Mojo: Yes! See here: https://www.premint.xyz/mojo-melee-vip-playtest-pass/
This is a FREE NFT that includes these features to the holders:
- Early Access to playtest Mojo Melee, Planet Mojo’s upcoming AutoChess Battler
- Provide critical feedback to help shape the game
- Chance to win Rewards based on feedback
- Increase Collection Tier in-game to gain access to Rewards and special events
- Unique In-Game Badge
DeFiNaut|DeFiRaccoons: Nice. There was a good question about this in the twitter section, so will keep that one for later! Can you share with us when you expect the playtesting to take place? Will it be like specific periods of time on and off? Also is there a maximum amount of people that can register or win this nft?
Mike Levine|Planet Mojo: We have not set the exact date for this yet but it will likely be several playtests starting mid september. We do live playtests as we are testing REAL multiplayer against other players. Without bots (though we have those too)
The minting of this NFT will be a timed period. There is no limit other than minting during the small window of time
we will announce when this is after the premint ends
DeFiNaut|DeFiRaccoons: I read that players will be able to compete in ongoing play-and-earn tournaments with crafted Battle Stone NFTs made in Biome (Land) play. Can you tell us more about this Battle Stone NFTs?
Ralph Gerth|Planet Mojo: Yep. BattleStones will have utility as a method of gaining access to Tournaments and other rewards. They can be earned, purchased or sold. During the pre-Alpha and Early Access testing phase of Mojo Melee, we are integrating new and existing features into the game at a pace where we can test and balance. BattleStones are one of several features that we’ll approach carefully since they will be NFTs and have value within the economy.
DeFiNaut|DeFiRaccoons: Yes if there’s anything that many of today’s big play2earn games have taught us, is that you need to be really careful with in-game economics. They can make or break the game!
Hope Camacho|Planet Mojo: Absolutely! Balancing is the key to sustainability in economy!
DeFiNaut|DeFiRaccoons: ok cool, then a question about your planned MojoVerse. You mention that in time teams will be able to participate in several games and experiences inside the Planet Mojoverse. Is this your own Metaverse? Can you tell us more about what it will look like? When do you plan to have this live?
Mike Levine|Planet Mojo: The vision of Planet Mojo is to offer a variety of “fun first”, competitive interconnected games players can move between with their customized teams and assets with land play binding it all together. As mentioned, our first game will be the AutoChess Battler “Mojo Melee”. We’re in the pre-alpha testing phase now. It’s now a fully playable multiplayer game and has received very positive feedback from our testing groups. There’s still content, balancing and other work to be done but we are super pleased with the progress thus far.
In addtion, Planet Mojo has been working on a land-based game called Mojo-Land. While we are not ready to release all the details on that game yet, Mojo Land is currently up and running. The environments are based on the magical and lush world of Planet Mojo.
After that we are already planning our next game, but we also want to involve our community in that decision.
We want each game we make to be great and not a bunch of subpar mini games
DeFiNaut|DeFiRaccoons: Oh it’s already a fully playable multiplayer and not just against AI, that’s fast! 😄 well done
Mike Levine|Planet Mojo: yes this is the real thing. Playing against Bots is only so much fun
DeFiNaut|DeFiRaccoons: ok so 1 question I had aswell, to just circle back a bit to the content, in the trailer you see this corruption or alien force take over living species, can you also battle this entity?
Mike Levine|Planet Mojo: When we do our full official release it will be “Season 1” and then more seasons. The story will progress each season. How’s that?! The Scourge has arrived, and is lurking
OK let’s get a bit technical shall we!
DeFiNaut|DeFiRaccoons: With NFTs being launched on multiple different blockchains could you please explain to the Raccoon family why Planet Mojo has decided to go for Polygon? Do you plan to move to other chains later aswell, can you tell us which ones specifically and why?
Mike Levine|Planet Mojo: We went with Polygon because of its accessibility to the average player in regards to their gas fees and commitment to growing a sustainable network. Their commitment to the earth and preserving its resources is very much aligned with our game as well as our overall mission.
We realize that the blockchain is becoming more of an ecosystem dedicated to cross chain experiences for its users and their ability to choose so yes — in the not so distant future we plan to support several chains simultaneously. We have built a robust backend to support this as we move forward.
DeFiNaut|DeFiRaccoons: ok I like that vision. Polygon is definitely going places and they seem to offer solid support and a nice ecosystem to the games developing on their platform
Let’s talk about the partners 🙂
What partnerships do you currently have, and what value do they bring to the project both short-term and long-term? Have you gone through any pre-seed or series A fund raising yet?
Mike Levine|Planet Mojo: We have been honored to have some of the best partners in the space (see below). We have raised over $9M in funding and have been very careful with our use of funds. We have a long runway.
Animoca, Courtside.VC, Sfermion, Collab+Currency, Sky Vision Capital, Republic, Alameda, Polygon, Spartan Capital, Merit Circle, Genblock Capital, and Guilds, DAOs and launchpads: Rainmaker, Unix, Avocado, Tuzayne, ReadyPlayerDAO, PolkaStarter
Each brings their own strengths to our partnership within their strategic investment and insight to their vast experience in blockchain and gaming. Many others as well
DeFiNaut|DeFiRaccoons: ok let’s move to the final muted question before we listen to what the community has to say! Can you tell us about the roadmap and what plans do you have for 2022?
Ralph Gerth|Planet Mojo: Over the coming months we will take the game to open beta, and then to mobile and other platforms. Release our Land Play, and new NFTs.
LIVE QUESTIONS
Q1: Community support is one of the biggest aspects of a project’s success. Most projects have programs that interact with their users. Does Planet Mojo have any special plans to attract and expand the community and improve the user experience?
R1: We’ve been very organic in our community building strategy. Its been mostly by word of mouth. When a community is happy and valued, they invite their friends to come along. Community is key to the success of our game and very important!
Q2: What inspired the designers to create the different characters and clans, and the world in general? Does the team have a inspiration for this?
R2: We are very interested in the natural world and wanted to create a game based on characters that fight for the environment against a destructive force.
TWITTER QUESTIONS
Q1: https://twitter.com/langitberwarna/status/1562270264280645633?s=20&t=xHo8L9SlwaGc9sowULG8yA
R1: Here’s a graphic laying out our plans for Rank vs Unranked play/
Q2: https://twitter.com/1nch_cs/status/1561727962776469504?s=20&t=xHo8L9SlwaGc9sowULG8yA
R2: For us, it’s all about providing value and an experience for our community! We want to go over and above to demonstrate our commitment to the game and to you! We want you to experience the game and that’s why the FREE MINT!
Q3: https://twitter.com/kenny_kimora/status/1562266840973611017?s=20&t=xHo8L9SlwaGc9sowULG8yA
R3: BattleStones will have utility as a method of gaining access to Tournaments and other rewards. They can be earned, purchased or sold. Follow us on on Socials to get information on NFT sales. There is a Mojo collection page on OpenSea here: https://opensea.io/collection/mojosplanetmojo
Q4: https://twitter.com/ArumiChannn/status/1561716605658476544?s=20&t=xHo8L9SlwaGc9sowULG8yA
R4: Yes. We will introduce a FREE PATH for players to be able to experience the game. It’s important to us to make the game reachable to all those who want to play.
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