GameChat #2
'The Merge' was big news, so something called InfiniMerge must be infinitely better, right?
I might need to escape quickly after that pun. Good thing Shrapnel is here to hone my skills at getting in and then getting out alive, and if stealth is your game we have some whitelist spots to give away for readers who can sneak in and find us some new games no one knows about.
Do you know what people do know about? GameChat! We’ve got over 40 subscribers after just one edition. That’s more followers than a certain mobile game looking to break into web3 has on Twitter. Sure, they’re doing some things wrong, but are they also doing some things right?
What We’re Playing
InfiniMerge
The rapidly evolving InfiniGods universe is currently anchored by InfiniMerge, which takes a simple merge-3 mechanic and adds layers of special powers, competitions, campaigns, and of course some fascinating digital assets. You can get a feel for the gameplay and features in the video below #thinkingfaceon #hypesoundtrack.
InfiniMerge is free to play once you sign up for an account with an e-mail address. This gives you a safe place to store the power ups you earn and allows you to link the wallet housing any NFTs for use in-game. These come in two forms:
Followers are earned by hitting target scores in the campaign levels and weekly challenges, and placing well in the game’s frequent competitions. They are potent in-game assets that can merge tiles or destroy unwanted obstacles. While they are not NFTs themselves, accrue enough of them and you can load them up onto an ‘Ark’ to set sail on the OpenSea. Arks are freely tradeable NFTs which can be gifted or sold.
Elder Gods are much scarcer and more powerful. You don’t need them to play, but they are the key to hitting the higher benchmark scores and winning premium rewards in competitions. In Merge the Gods grant one of 5 powers - destroy, duplicate, upgrade, add time/turns, or shuffle - adding substantial nuance and tactics to the game.
There is a lot to explore. I recommend starting with a free account and playing around with the campaign levels. You’ll find that scores to start winning Followers are quite achievable with a bit of planning, and they can then be used strategically to hit higher scores and unlock richer rewards.
You’ll also want to join their Discord. With updates flowing weekly including new maps, campaign levels, and layers of utility in the game’s NFTs, you’ll never be short of having something to challenge yourself with.
What We’re Looking Forward To
Shrapnel
Shrapnel is an extraction shooter leveraging a token and NFTs to seed a multifaceted economy of players and creators. Get a feel for the game with their official trailer and the pre-alpha gameplay video below.
If the reaction to this week’s playtests at GDC are anything to go by, it’s every bit as good as it looks. The humanDAO team were lucky enough to score a whitelist spot via Balthazar; we can’t wait for mint day and getting into this one!
New Digital Assets
Without much fanfare, a popular idle battler on mobile added a new ‘blockchain civilization’ to its library of playable units. Game of Nations, which has over 500,000 downloads on Android alone, introduced Ethereals - special characters who inherit their power from a player’s existing army and have added time-limited bonuses according to their rarity.
These Ethereals are in fact player-owned, fully transferrable NFTs on Polygon, and they’re remarkably well done, with visual traits reflecting their rarity and beautiful integration into the game itself. The NFTs were awarded as prizes after a two-week competition, which was entirely free to play, although players could also stock up on additional in-game items to grind for the top positions.
100 Anubis NFTs were minted and distributed, with the rarity and accompanying in-game prizes based on the final leaderboard, and it was entirely possible to secure one with consistent use of daily free plays, even for new players.
All of this made for a great experience, and I especially liked how the concept of a digital asset housed on the blockchain was introduced subtly, allowing players to follow their own curiosity. Now for the downside.
For all the effort Game of Nations has put into the back end of this project, the marketing engine was surprisingly quiet and definitely didn’t follow a standard web3 gaming playbook. The game’s Twitter account has just 35 followers, and while they do have a Discord, there is a steadfast refusal to divulge details of the game’s roadmap or upcoming events and further prizes.
Perhaps Game of Nations is simply dipping a toe into digital assets and exercising deliberate caution to avoid upsetting its existing player base (notably, in their next ‘Champions Ascension’ event they have gone back to awarding standard in-game characters).
Anubis may be confined to blockchain history, never to realise its potential as a tradeable asset (total volume is still stuck firmly at zero), but nevertheless we commend the Game of Nations team for creating a thoughtful, accessible and fun implementation of NFTs into an established mobile game. May we see many more.
Bonus Content
Being early is all part of the game of web3 gaming, which is why we liked this thread so much, which highlighted six new games that are still building a following. Whitelist and ‘OG’ status roles abound!
Can you help us find the next gem? We’ve got five tier two whitelist spots for Shiba Shiba Doge to give away. If you want one, find us a game with under 500 Twitter followers and/or Discord members that you think we’d like, post it in a tweet and tag @humandao. If we add it to our watchlist, we’ll contact you for a wallet address to get on the list!
many games