Zero hot take – Web3 Gamer – Cointelegraph Magazine

In this first edition of Cointelegraph’s monthly Web3 gaming column, we highlight some of the best stories and events in the blockchain gaming space in recent weeks, as well as upcoming releases.

Fortnite player sells Dookey Dash prize

It’s been just over a month since NFT behemoth Yuga Labs, the company behind Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) and other top NFT gatherings, rolled out the skill-based game and NFT coin, Dookey Dash.

Sent on a mission by a dog named Gary, players must navigate through the sewers, avoid obstacles and collect power-ups in search of a golden key.

For three weeks, holders of Sewer Pass NFTs competed for the top spot on the leaderboard and various prizes. Although holders of BAYC and sister gathering Mutant Ape Yacht Club could claim a free pass, buying one wasn’t cheap. The floor price is currently 2.4 Ether (ETH) ($3,888)

Playing Temple Run in a toilet is a lot.

Yuga Labs reported that the game was played more than 7.5 million times, equivalent to 80 years of play time and an average of around 28 hours per pass. Over 9,000 pass holders used $APE to buy boosts, about a third of active players. That said, it is not clear how many individuals played the game. Only 51% of sewer passes have unique owners, meaning many people hoard multiple passes.

A bonus round of the game, Dookey Dash: Toad Mode, closed the leaderboard on March 1.

The top prize, “The Key”, went to Kyle Jackson, better known as “Mongraal” on Twitch and YouTube. The 18-year-old professional Fortnite player, no doubt appreciating the very important loot he had just acquired, immediately listed The Key for sale on OpenSea.

Although he wanted 2,222 ETH ($3.6 million) for it, he eventually sold it this week for 1,000 ETH ($1.6 million) to American scrap metal boss Adam Weitsman.

According to Spencer Tucker, Yuga Labs’ new head of gamers, the game is just the beginning of how the company is thinking about connecting the dots between NFTs, gaming and community engagement.

“We want these things to be fun and weird, while continuing to push the boundaries of what people perceive of the NFT industry,” he said.

“More than a jpeg, it’s about utility, innovation, creating interactive experiences and hopefully onboarding new players to the web3 space.”

Dungeons & Dragons reverses NFT ban

Wizards of the Coast, the publisher of Dungeons & Dragons (D&D), was forced to walk back proposed changes to the Open Game License (OGL) in January. For more than two decades, OGL has allowed people to create D&D-derived projects, such as graphic novels and plays.

Among the now-dropped changes was a ban on NFTs and other blockchain integrations. Ironic, considering Wizards of the Coast is owned by Hasbro, which itself debuted a Power Rangers NFT collection on the Wax blockchain last year.

The company also sought to introduce royalties to be paid by content creators of a certain size and new powers for Wizards to terminate the license of projects.

The drama affected American company Gripnr, which is building a D&D game with NFT integrations called The Glimmering. Its CEO and co-founder, Brent McCrossen, said he was “thrilled” that the updates had been reversed and that the published rules and lore of D&D had been moved to a Creative Commons license, making it freely available for use in perpetuity .

“We weren’t just going to pack up our belongings and go home,” he said.

“NFTs and other potential new technologies are not a valid reason to repeal the OGL. We will similarly object to any future attempts to limit the use of blockchain; it is fundamental to GRIPNR’s core business,” he added.

While the Wizards of the Coast ban has not ultimately panned out, it follows similar moves to ban NFT mods from Minecraft and Grand Theft Auto servers.

But while Grand Theft Auto makers Rockstar Games sent out cease-and-desist letters to builders shortly after the ban was announced, Microsoft-owned Mojang Studios doesn’t appear to be enforcing it, as NFT games still exist on Minecraft -serve.

Square Enix launches NFT-based game Symbiogenesis

Elsewhere at the dark and violent intersection of traditional and Web3 gaming, Square Enix has released more details about its upcoming NFT game. Symbiogenesis was first announced in November as an Ethereum-based game. It has since switched to Polygon and plans to launch in the spring of this year.

Among traditional game producers, Square Enix has been one of the most positive on Web3. The president, Yosuke Matsuda, doubled down on that position in his New Year’s letter in January, predicting the growth of a more mature blockchain gaming market over the coming year.

The game will be set on a floating fantasy continent, and players will have to unlock storylines through NFTs, which can be bought, traded or earned through completing missions.

Other AAA game studios in East Asia are also engaging in Web3 projects. But while they have generally been more willing to experiment than their American counterparts, there are still some holdups.

Rumors in Kyoto are that the powers that be at Nintendo HQ aren’t keen on NFTs, despite some vague public statements of “interest” – so don’t expect Pokemon NFTs anytime soon.

And even the crypto-curious firms remain cautious. No one is risking their most valuable IP yet, preferring to test the answer with lesser-known titles.

Wagyu Games rolls out ‘kill-to-earn’ zombie shooter

One of the most anticipated Web3 games in recent months, Wagyu Games launched its zombie first-person shooter, Undead Blocks, at the end of February.

With all the hallmarks of a classic zombie shooter – including a multiplayer mode – Undead Blocks claimed around 2,500 active daily players during its beta.

But the full launch now includes kill-to-earn features for NFT holders. Players can earn in-game token ZBUX for killing the living dead, which can be traded or used to buy NFT weapons and upgrade. The game also has another token, UNDEAD, for management that can be wagered for rewards.

The company has hyped up its rewards for players at a time when other games are becoming more cautious in their approach to rewards and tokenomics. There are many contenders out there fighting to become the project that proves there is a sustainable way to share rewards with players, but no one has done it yet.
Play-to-earn has also fallen out of favor as a driver of growth. A 2021 Blockchain Games Alliance survey found that 67.9% of gaming experts predicted play-to-earn would be a significant growth driver. A similar survey in January saw the figure drop to just 22.5%.

Hot take — Illuvium: Zero

In January, Illuvium rolled out the private alpha for Illuvium: Zero, a building simulation based on gathering and processing natural resources on Illuvium land NFTs. The Australian company’s third game followed quickly on the heels of the private beta version of Overworld in December.

Think SimCity BuildIt, but more… purple.

Assessing an alpha is arguably a grossly unfair thing to do. Alpha versions of games are still in their early days. They must have bugs and lack full gameplay. The fact that it’s almost as good as BuildIt (not to be confused with non-mobile versions of SimCity) says far more about BuildIt than it does about Illuvium.

Read more: Better than Axie Infinity: Kieran Warwick’s 2032 plan for Illuvium

But it follows similar principles. There is a select set of buildings you can add to your land, some of which require unlocking by building other buildings. You can then use these buildings to extract resources and store them. I am curious as to what these resources will ultimately be used for.

Despite being limited to 6,500 players, Illuvium says the game has been the most popular of the three it has released, potentially due to its availability on mobile devices and the use of NFTs that players have already invested in.

“As for future versions of Illuvium, the team has several plans to improve graphics and gameplay,” said co-founder Kieran Warwick.

What’s coming

Gods Unchained Mobile Version — Gods Unchained announced plans for a mobile version in February. It is currently rolling out the pre-alpha to active community members and asking for feedback. The test period ends on 22 March.

Chain demonstration — Looking a little Pokemon-esque, the early access version of Chain Monsters is coming to the Epic Games Store on March 6. Also available on iOS and Android, players can explore the open world of Ancora, capturing and battling monsters.

Illuvium: Beyond — Illuvium’s fourth game will be a card collection game where players earn points based on how their cards are customized and by completing milestones in their collections.

Otherside Second Trip — Yuga Labs will launch a Second Trip to the Otherside sometime in late March, with updates to avatars and other new features. It will be followed by a second experience, Legends of the Mara, which will be a “standalone 2D experience powered by Apecoin.”

Do you have tips, questions or comments? Please direct all vitriol, abuse and declarations of love to me on Twitter @quinnishvili.

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Callan Quinn

Callan Quinn is a British freelance journalist covering crypto and technology. She has worked as a business journalist in China, Great Britain, Somaliland and the Republic of Georgia. Previously, she was also NFT’s, gaming and metaverse reporter on The Block.