Dev Spotlight: Axie Infinity
Find out more about the most visually impressive blockchain pet battler on BitGuild.
Just last week, we saw the launch of Axie Infinity on BitGuild.com, the latest in a series of partnerships with 3rd-party developers. Previously, we brought you a brief game overview. Today, we’re having a chat with Aleksander Leonard Larsen, COO of the team behind Axie Infinity.
Join us, as we give you an inside look at this exciting new game and the creative forces behind it. If you’ve never played Axie Infinity, there’s no time like the present — follow this link to start your journey today!
What drove your team to create a blockchain experience in the first place?
The emergence of NFTs (non-fungible tokens) and the early CryptoKitty community influenced the genesis of Axie Infinity. Many of the core team members played CryptoKitties from day one but quickly decided that the applications of Erc721 extended much further than a simple marketplace and breeding game. We set out to build the game we wanted to play ourselves.
Your game features a bold and unique visual style. What serves as the inspiration for this?
For this one, I had to go to Masamune, our head illustrator & co-founder. He says:
“The first sketch I did of an Axie was Puff, our Axie #1 in the game. It was a quick sketch, everything flowing from instinct. The name of the project was originally Chimera because Axies are a mixture of all the coolest body parts that I’ve observed in nature. Puff has the gills of an axolotl, antlers, and a fish tail. I think drawing from nature with its endless sources of inspiration will keep the art unpredictable and exciting.”
It’s well known that there are several creature collection games on blockchain already — what sets Axie apart from the rest?
Compared to other collectible assets we actually have real gameplay. Our battle system is fully animated and it is just the first of many experiences we are making on top of the Axie platform. The quality of the art is also something we are constantly getting good feedback on. Not to mention our community which we have grown organically over the last 9 months — keeping people happy while developing is something that we take great pride in.
What’s the biggest challenge, in your opinion, facing crypto and blockchain game adoption for mass audiences.
The biggest challenge is without a doubt lowering the barriers of entry and making crypto less scary for the general public. Currently, a lot of developers get too caught up in the technology without focusing on UI/UX which is what is key to get people to actually use your dApp.
With Axie Infinity we want to create a great game which can work as an introduction to the blockchain for the masses. We are currently working on a demo mode which
will allow players to get a taste of the game without owning any cryptocurrency beforehand.
Axie already has a fairly vibrant and loyal player-base — What’s your plan for keeping your players happy in a world where new games come and go so quickly.
We are building a community where blockchain enthusiast, gamers, streamers, and engineers gather. They come for the artwork and stay when they realize our community is the real deal.
The entire team is present on our discord server and everyone is helping out when they can. To us, Axie Infinity is more than a job, it is our passion project and we are working day and night to provide exciting and compelling experiences.
Play Axie Infinity now!
BitGuild aims to bring blockchain and cryptocurrency adoption to the masses by providing compelling experiences that are easily accessible. Between the official BitGuild portal, our discovery platform for great crypto games, and GuildChat, our decentralized wallet mobile app with an integrated social suite, we’re firing on all cylinders to usher in a new age, changing the way people interact with their digital goods.
