GAME ON: Web3 Insights from Anh Nguyen at Zone9 Survival. Now partnered with Myria
Myria brings you an in-depth interview with founder of Zone9 Survival, and product development manager, Anh Nguyen.
Tip: Did you know you can also ‘Listen’ to this article on Medium? Just click the ‘Listen’ button at the top of this page to turn this deep dive into Zone9 Survival into an audiobook.
Introduction to Zone9 Survival
Set in a post-apocalyptic world, Zone9 Survival is a 3D, MMORPG, Web3 AAA-quality game where players fight against zombies and mutant monsters doing whatever it takes to survive or stay on top. Designed by gamers for gamers, Zone9Survival is free-to-play, user experience-oriented and community-centric with players having complete control over their properties.
When and how did you enter the blockchain space?
We all know the massive economic breakdown in 2008 and the origin of blockchain. Back then, my friends and I were just young boys still figuring out what to do with our lives, and we could not stop thinking about how to get a decent job. Hours and hours working multiple jobs at a time led me to become a freelance writer for a small tech company. So I started to learn about this new technology of blockchain, fascinated by its advanced technology and the implementation that blockchain can bring to our life. Here I am now, with a gaming studio full of young, innovative minds; eager to dive deeper into the blockchain spheres.
What was the inspiration for Zone9 Survival?
The explosion of blockchain technology has helped developers create a decentralized, proprietary, and profitable gaming environment for gamers. Since only 1% of the total world population has gradually adopted Dapp and Web3.0 products, the blockchain gaming industry is expected to experience massive growth by the time blockchain technology is spread widely.
We started the project at the beginning of 2022. To research and conceptualize Zone Nine Survival, we spent 5 months researching the market and are currently progressing with our product development.
With Zone Nine Survival, we are building a game model with high-quality visuals, plot and game experience. On top of that, we are paying special attention to inflation control mechanisms with the aim of long-term development.
How many people are on the team? How did the team come about and grow?
Currently, we have 10 people in the core team that I truly appreciate. For the past 5 years, they have been my colleagues, my friends and my family. I was also lucky enough to have 15 amazing employees working for Zone Nine Survival with strong communication backgrounds from RMIT and Monash University. Our team is also expanding our connections and support to other gaming studios in Vietnam, such as Papa Group, our closest partnership with over 30 people dedicated to this project.
What were some of the early challenges in developing Zone9 Survival and how did you overcome them?
We have had a lot of conversations and debates about how the game economy and tokenomics for Zone Nine Survival would look. We are proud to be one of the first builders in the GameFi industry, but it comes with a lot of uncertainties because clearly, we have not gotten any projects that have successfully built a sustainable model similar to a web 2.0 game. We have looked up to Axie Infinity since day 1 and learned from its lessons around the collapse of the Play-to-Earn mechanism. We then faced struggles about how to create a game that is attractive in terms of game economy and tokenomics design for a while. It took us roughly 6 months of research and development to come up with this idea.
If these are not in your whitepaper or on your website, what is the type or genre of Zone9 Survival and what, in brief, are the mechanics?
Zone Nine Survival is an MMORPG, short for massively multiplayer online role-playing game. It’s a genre dedicated to hardcore gamers with intensive inflation control due to its own unique way of playing. When entering the game, you can be whoever you want, role-playing with different jobs and titles similar to the real world but in a Post-Apocalypse context. Zone Nine Survival includes various modes for players to try and explore, like PvE or PvP, Team battle, and Guild War. You can find the full version on our website.
What are the unique elements of Zone9 Survival?
First, Zone Nine Survival is a 3D, AAA-quality MMORPG built 100% for the users and the gaming community. Not only do we bring gaming value, but also value for creators that revolve around the community through community contributions such as art, designers, and those who can share their game knowledge back to beginners. We strive to eliminate the barrier of entry to GameFi and to create a Metaverse, a second life for users.
Second is the unique features that Zone Nine Survival has to create a competitive advantage:
- PVE and quests system develop according to the storyline (we have produced more than 30 chapters)
- Co-Op features for boss hunting and training
- Guild War to acquire lands and resources
- PVP mode that can develop into Esports in the future
Lastly, our purpose is to build a human simulation of a post-apocalyptic society, in which players will have complete ownership and full rights to build and truly immerse in our gameplay. Each Avatar class will have its own unique jobs and abilities for players to decide their own fate in the post-apocalyptic world.
Looking at the crypto and gaming industry today, if you could go back in time, what advice would you give yourself?
Well, if I had a chance to go back in time, I would probably buy some more BTC — who wouldn’t?
Overall, crypto, gaming, and blockchain are still rather new ideas to the majority. I used to have a lot of doubts about the industry a few years ago, but with all the fuzz, buzz, and so many uncertainties, looking at the industry now, it’s hard to keep your mind straight and keep pushing forward. However, if I had the chance, I would pat myself on the back for always looking forward.
My life motto and biggest motivation is “Success is an award for those who never give up”.
Why did you decide to build on Web3?
The world we currently live in is not designed perfectly for anyone. Thus, humans tend to find an escape where they can freely live their true selves. For example, listening to music on Spotify, interacting with friends through social media platforms or even playing the games they like. However, the platforms they currently use possess unseeable social risks due to the centralized characteristics and the developer’s control power. Facebook always brings a feeling of insecurity as being ‘canceled’ by someone or being exploited by traditional game developers.
Web3 allows us to go beyond that point. It gives everyone the ability to be free. As an MMORPG game, Web3 is truly a heaven for game developers with all the possibilities you can think of: data security, ownership and decentralization. Not only do we bring gaming value, but also value for creators that revolve around the community through community contributions. We strive to eliminate the barrier to entry to GameFi and to create a Metaverse, a second life for users.
In no more than 3 sentences, how would you explain Web 3 gaming to somebody working in Web2?
In traditional games, all the game features and assets are centralized and controllable by every game company. However, with web 3.0, the assets are owned by the community, fully-decentralized with complete ownership and tradable to other people. When the world shifts onto the ‘bespoke’ trend, web 3.0 is the new aspect of technology that can provide a personalized experience for users.
Talk a bit about your NFT collection. Tell us what you think makes it unique.
Our NFTs are a combination of artwork and in-game utility. Let’s talk about artwork. We have one of the best artists leading the team; shout out to Quang Phan, the best-selling Unreal Engine artist. You guys should check out his crazy work!
The first benefit of owning our first NFT batch is the PFP artwork, followed by other perks. If you own our artwork, once the game goes live you will be granted an airdrop of 3D playable NFTs that look exactly the same as your PFP version, weapons and consumables.
If you could invite a living or dead person to play a Web3 game with you, who would it be and why?
Mr. Tim Sweeney, Founder of Epic Games and the most popular and successful Battle Royale game, Fortnite. He has created a game capable of touching gamers of all ages, backgrounds and cultures. Additionally, he has also done a lot of community activities and combat environmental issues for the future generation. He is truly respected and someone I have always looked up to.
What is your favorite game of all time and why?
Ragnarok Online is my all-time favorite. It is a Korean MMORPG developed in 2003 and published in Vietnam from 2008 to 2010. It still exists today with several expansion packs.
I love it so much because of the two main components. First, the game itself is amazing and well-structured. It has a massive open world that allows players to freely explore what’s in the game, complemented by an everlasting storyline with thousands of quests and different jobs that led to some really creative player builds.
The second thing I love is the massive community. I don’t really know why, but as a hardcore MMORPG gamer, all I can say is Ragnarok Online truly gives me a sense of belonging.
Why did you choose to build on Myria’s L2 scaling solution?
In terms of blockchain, Ethereum is the most popular L1 with a market share of more than 80 percent of all web 3.0 users, including all the upcoming L2 like Arbitrum, Optimism, etc. This definitely helps us to be exposed to the mass customer base.
In terms of gaming, Zone9 Survival requires a lot of minting and trading activities that require a fast network and scalability to fulfill the needs of players. Also, ZK is a game-changing solution for every blockchain game now since it really optimizes users’ experience. With all the pain points we see right now, Myria can solve it all!
What plans do you have with Myria in the future?
We want to become a strategic partner with Myria and build a strong gaming community not just for Zone Nine Survival but for potential projects. The team believes in the power of community and looks forward to a space of like-minded people sharing the same vision about the new virtual gaming era.
What benefits do you hope to gain from your ongoing partnership with Myria?
For Zone Nine Survival and the team, we hope to mark our journey with glorious milestones. As a young studio, I know that the team can learn a lot from Myria as our guide to strengthen our steps in the crypto sphere. I hope that both Zone Nine Survival and Myria can work side by side to achieve outstanding outcomes.
What is your motto?
“Success is an award for those who never give up”.
Life is life and you simply have to work hard for what you want.
If, like Zone9 Survival, you’re keen to build your next blockchain gaming project and NFT collection on a flexible L2 platform that delivers speed, scalability, and security, get in touch with Myria’s dev team today.
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