Project Title: Blockemon
Project DAO: NFT Gaming
Project Member: ryzm.near
Blockemon (Blockchain Monsters) is a gaming universe filled with monsters that can be used across games in the universe. The universe will be modeled after the Mario Series; there will be some “main” monsters that will get their own games along with “supporting” monsters that will appear across various titles. Two main characters have already been created—a monkey and a dragon.
Each individual monkey will belong to a different monkey species and each species will look different from one another. Monkeys will have skill points (such as speed or health) that can be upgraded/increased by completing challenges in each of the games in the universe. These skill points transfer between games and will unlock different abilities/moves/challenges/whatever depending on the game you are playing. For example, I am currently creating an endless runner where the monkey’s speed skill points unlocks special abilities. When a monkey’s speed skill reaches level 2, the monkey is able to use the power dash special ability in the game. If the same monkey is used in another game, e.g. a tekken style fighting game, then the monkey’s speed level will be 2 in that game also. In the fighting game for instance, a level 2 speed doesn’t give you any special abilities but a level 3 speed gives you quicker dodging (or something along those lines). I am a big fan of the data transferability of NFTs on the blockchain and I want to leverage that as much as possible.
The dragon will act similarly to the monkey; it will have a multitude of species with each individual dragon having skill points that transfer across games. I may add breeding for the dragon, but I am still not sure if I want that to be a part of the universe (see below for further explanation). As with the monkey, the first game for the dragon will be a casual/hypercasual game. Right now I am leaning towards creating another endless runner for the dragon; however, the dragon’s endless runner will utilize tilt controls rather than swipe controls (i.e the monkey runner will be a 3 lane runner where the dragon runner will be more of a free roam runner). There is still a lot to hash out for the dragon though so some of this is subject to change.
Along with individual play, owning a monkey and a dragon will give users access to certain modes in games as well as full games altogether. Monkeys will be able to ride dragons, fight with them, etc. and monkeys will be able to “pair” with other dragons. Each individual pairing will also require leveling up to earn skill points similar to the individual monkey and dragon gameplay. For example, in the monkey endless runner, a user could unlock flying maps/game modes where their monkey rides a dragon. This could lead to “bundle” NFT packs where a monkey and a dragon are sold together. There is also the possibility of certain monkey species matching better with certain dragons, but that needs to be thought out more.
As mentioned earlier, I’m still undecided on whether I want breeding to be a component of the universe. On one hand, the ability to create NFTs from your own NFTs is a really cool concept that has already been proven to work for purely “art” based NFTs (e.g. CryptoKitties) and now for game oriented NFTs (zed run). If I add breeding then I would also have to decide whether I would want breeding to pass down functional characteristics (i.e. these 2 monsters will make offspring that has a higher base attack than normal) as well as aesthetics characteristics. I am wary of this because it could lead to a concentration of power in a few individuals who own the best type of whatever monster that could be bred. However, to counteract that, the special abilities/characteristics of each type of monster could vary game to game (or within individual game modes in the game such in as online vs single player). Also, advantages do not have to be absolute in that 1 type of monster is good in certain games where another type is good in the others.
My go to market approach is going to be based on flexibility so I can respond to changes in the market quickly. I first plan to create a casual/hypercasual game for the monkey and the dragon respectively. The monkey’s game is going to be an endless runner and, as alluded to earlier, the dragon’s game will probably be an endless runner too. I’m choosing these types of games because they appeal to a mass market rather than a niche group of gamers (such as racing games for example). These games are also simple to create and have flexible game engines. For example, with the dragon runner I will be able to port the same engine being used in the monkey runner with few modifications. Down the line after establishing the universe there are a few different routes I could pursue. I most likely will not have an extensive storyline in these first games so that could be something I focus on. It could be a platformer video game for the monkey (a la super Mario brothers) and a rpg game for the dragon (like Spyro for instance). Additionally, I will want an AR application for the universe where a user will be able to “play” with their NFTs. For example, a user would be able to take picture/videos of their NFTs interacting with the real world. I could see creating a selfie filter where the monkey will be sitting on the user’s shoulder or climbing on their head like a capuchin monkey would. There has also been significant improvements to body detection for AR apps and I see making a filter where the monkey climbs up and down a user’s body (maybe hanging by its tail when the user has their arms spread. I also plan to create VR applications such as a flying game where a user flies around on their dragon in an open world setting as well as a real estate game (e.g. users buy islands where they can “house” their monsters).
There is still a lot that needs to be figured out for Blockemon to be successful but I look forward to figuring it all out. I see a very bright future for NFTs in gaming and I can’t wait to make an impact!
