gm Space Monkeys!
Thanks to all for tuning into our recent AMA with Galler.io on June 20, 2022. Our Chief Apes Taylor (Business Lead) and Nick (Marketing Lead) had a great time responding to their questions and sharing insights with the community.
And now enjoy the AMA recap!
Galler: What kind of game is Meta Apes? What’s the mission here?
Taylor: Meta Apes is a free-to-play, play-and-earn MMO strategy game that’s specifically designed for mobile. The narrative is set in a post-apocalyptic world, which means humanity has come to an end, and this whole new era ruled by Apes has begun.
Next on the agenda is space domination, and each player will have to work closely with others in their gang to win the ultimate race to space. We launched about three weeks ago, and it is currently available on both Google Play and the App Store.
Additionally, it is the first gaming application to launch on the BSC Application Sidechain (otherwise known as BAS).
I think if you’ve played any other games of this genre, you’re probably already familiar with the core gameplay, but it really boils down to 4 components — 1) building, 2) competition, 3) community and 4) exploration.
About the mission, Meta Apes was created out of this belief that players are entitled to not only greater transparency, ownership & freedom within the game but also a genuinely entertaining & high-quality gaming experience and one that is community-oriented.
So, our vision is to create a differentiated & fun “new-generation” game that marries the benefits of both Web2 and Web3 gaming.
Galler: Thanks! That’s a really exhaustive definition. How is Meta Apes differentiated from the other blockchain games we’ve seen to date?
Taylor: We’ve seen a lot of new crypto-enabled games enter the space in the last year or so, and the good news is blockchain gaming has really grown tremendously. In 2021, NFT game sales totalled about $5 billion. And yet, we’d all agree that we’re still in the early innings of blockchain gaming as an industry.
What sets Meta Apes apart, as mentioned earlier, is that we have taken the best practices from Web2 gaming, such as high-quality graphics, player experience, ease of use & accessibility, and integrated them with the features and benefits of Web3 which we all love, such as NFTs & tokens, which can be fully owned and controlled by the players themselves.
Moving forward, we firmly believe that there needs to be a greater focus on the quality of the Web3 gaming experience, especially on the user end. Meta Apes aim to deliver that while also allowing the players to earn and own their in-game assets.
Galler: What’s so special about the Meta Apes gameplay? Why do you think I should play Meta Apes?
Nick: So, I can hop in here. The short answer is — because it’s fun!
It’s strategic, social, and filled with fun graphics and characters. We think there’s something for everyone, whether you are coming from Web2 or Web3. If you’re a Web2 gamer, then you have the ability to earn while playing a fun mobile game that you usually would’ve been playing anyway. If you’re a blockchain gamer and you are looking to play to earn, we think we’ve raised that quality bar with a much more interactive and entertaining gameplay.
In addition, Meta Apes also provides a community-oriented experience and social gameplay, including collaborating with your gang, something that we think appeals to both traditional and blockchain gamers alike and really gives it a longer life cycle.
Galler: You recently partnered with us (Galler) on your first mystery box event. Can you tell us more about the NFT fighters? Where can I get them?
Nick: Yeah, we recently had a successful launch of the blind box on Galler, and we’re very excited about this partnership. NFT fighters are currently only available to trade on Galler.
There are a couple of advantages to owning NFT fighters.
First, they generate $SHELL, which is our utility token and in-game currency, and the amount generated depends on the rarity of the NFT fighter. Secondly, they come equipped with more skills. Let’s say regular non-NFT fighters come with 4 skills, and NFT fighters can have 1–3 extra skills in addition to the existing 4. They also have increased strength and power.
Besides the skills and strengths, they also come with special effects that are purely cosmetic. Different backgrounds, lighting, halo & displaying of the user ID, all of which non-NFT fighters do not have.
Lastly, something that isn’t out yet but is coming soon. You can identify which “Deputy General” would create the strongest and the most powerful bond when partnered with your “General”. When your fighter reaches a certain level, then you’ll be able to send your fighters to battle in pairs. If you have an NFT fighter, there will be a way for you to identify which “deputy general” would be best paired with your “general”, which really helps as you progress through the game in the later stages.
We’ll talk a little bit more about that coming up in the discord. So follow us there for more information.
Galler: I heard you mentioned $SHELL. Can you tell us more about your project’s tokenomics?
Taylor: Meta Apes has a dual token model — $SHELL, which is the utility token, and $PEEL, which is the governance token. We believe that this particular genre (aka strategy) is especially suitable for creating a more sustainable token design and the dual token model is the best way to create a longer-term focused and sustainable economy in the game.
$SHELL is the utility token that serves as the in-game currency. As Nick mentioned, it is primarily generated by holding NFT fighters, but you can also earn them via in-game rewards if you are a free-to-play player, or it can also be purchased through in-app purchases.
It is then used in a variety of ways in the game, whether that’s upgrading buildings and NFT fighters, accelerating building, training troops and researching. So, let’s say you are now at Level 12, and it’s taking quite some time for you to upgrade your buildings and train your troops. You can use $SHELL to buy speed-ups, train your troops or pay for a much faster upgrading experience. Troops mean power. So, $SHELL equals power in Meta Apes. You can also buy in-game resources, such as iron and food. And I think this diversity of emission and consumption channels allows the $SHELL economy to have a lot more sustainability and flexibility.
On the other hand, we have $PEEL, which is going to be the governance & native gas token of Ape Chain (the name of our own chain on BAS). $PEEL has not launched yet. Please stay tuned to our discord for more details. We’ll, of course, share it with the community in a timely manner.
Galler: Which blockchain is Meta Apes currently on?
Taylor: It is currently on BAS, which is a new developer infrastructure that allows devs to build large-scale applications with higher throughput and significantly reduced transaction fees.
We decided to go this route because by having our own chain on BAS, we’d be able to achieve much greater customization, higher performance and greater scalability, but all with the sound architecture and security of the existing BNB chain.
I think ultimately, this allows both the developers and the gamers to have a much better experience by helping avoid some of the common issues that we’ve seen, such as network congestion, which leads to a poor gaming experience. Making sure the players have the best experience possible is our #1 priority and this is something that we’re extremely committed to and something that we’ll continue to work on because we know that it is very important to achieve long-term success as a community.
Galler: What’s next in terms of your roadmap? Where’s the project headed towards?
Nick: As Taylor mentioned, $PEEL hasn’t been released yet. Stay tuned to us on discord for more updates. Then over the course of Q3 and Q4, we’ll continue to release new features that can improve our game and player experience, such as a referral system, other NFT collectables, a clan-based validator system as well as staking. We also plan to have more blind box events and NFT fighter sales.
In the long term, our main goal is to keep pushing to create decentralized community governance and community-driven gameplay, for example, community-voted features/activities such as mini-games and stuff like that.
Taylor: I also just want to reiterate that we are extremely open to feedback and always want to know what our community wants, has in mind and is looking to see in the game. If you play the game or have any ideas and suggestions, please join our discord, and there will be a channel for you to leave your feedback. It’s hugely helpful for us because this is something that we’re hoping to build with the community and players over time. Thank you to those who have already provided feedback, and we truly appreciate any and all feedback.
And that wraps up the AMA. We hope you enjoyed it.
As always, subs to our Medium publication. Follow Meta Apes on Twitter and Instagram, and join the gang on Discord.
