State of web3 gaming

Like many of you, we have been inspired but the growth of this exciting new space that is at the convergence of video games and web3. There is an incredible opportunity to change the old definitions of 'work' and 'leisure' by creating entertainment products that reward the players for their time and attention in ways far less intrusive than previous efforts like advertising or in-app purchases (IAP). We LOVE the decentralized concept of building WITH our community and dissolving old barriers between the creators and the consumers to align all our goals toward a singular success.

But let's be honest, this new method of game design & monetization has had a rocky beginning.

Unlike many groups in the space, we come from videogame development (almost 100 years between 3 founders!) and we are approaching crypto as a new opportunity. For us, the game is ALWAYS first. That's why we use the term Play&Earn (P&E), to emphasize the importance of both Playing AND Earning...equally.

We are constantly looking at the market and playing many of the popular games. Many games have come and gone quickly due to fundamental mistakes. We are learning from others. While there are some groups doing fantastic things, we have noticed a number of re-occurring issues we plan to solve with Cthulhu Awakens.

Issue: Game quality and depth not there - The 'first round' of games has not been up to the quality standards of traditional 'gamers'. They are often created by teams who have not developed games before and it shows. Poor UI/UX, confusing (or overly simple) mechanics, Flash-style graphics, and poorly balanced economies (more on that later) are common among these projects. Crypto games will not 'mature' or grow as an industry until we outgrow these issues (thankfully that is starting to happen and we should see some major improvements in '22).

Solution: Cthulhu Awakens is being developed by a 'real' game team with world-class artists, storytellers, engineers, and game designers. Because the game is 'Mobile First', the graphics are not always comparable to AAA console titles, but the PC versions will receive major visual upgrades. It's almost cliche, but we still say "Gameplay is KING!" here.

Issue: We have seen some gamefi projects grant too much (NFTs, tokens, etc.) for a lift in the almighty DAU (Daily Active Users). This causes inflation and (often worse) dramatic profit-taking which puts further strain on the market. Too much inventory etc. without appropriate in-game incentives for folks to re-invest in the economy can destroy the whole project.

Solution: We understand that our Cost Per Install (CPI, or new player acquisition) MUST ALWAYS be lower than the LTV (Lifetime Value) of each player (on average) to build a viable system. This is easier said than done, but with Cthulhu Awakens we ensure that new users recieve generous free goods so they can play the game for a substantial period and determine for themselves if the product has value for them.

Only after they have exhausted these free resources is there any reason for them to spend. As for 'free' crypto stuff (NFTs, tokens etc.) our system is designed to make these digital goods affordable instead of free which helps keep the economy balanced. We will allow users to 'craft' NFT's with our in-game token which can be earned by gameplay alone.

Issue: This one has multiple components. From app discovery to Metamask plugins to convoluted earn-out schemes and high 'buy in' costs, many games make it downright difficult to participate. Try this experiment, google "Crypto gameplay now" and start a timer until you are actually playing. Now try the same exercise w/ Steam :) We need to do MUCH better with the discovery/market problem AND with the amount of friction associated with playing.

Solution: We do not pretend to have a complete solution for this ongoing systemic issue for our industry. This is a conversation happening broadly throughout crypto-gaming and we are planning to leverage a range of solutions. We are seeing startup companies tackling various aspects of this; one of the most important is paying for NFTs with FIAT currency and/or obfuscating the wallet entirely (at least for complete newbs, more sophisticated users will want to continue to manage their wallet(s). We are working on a UX design that makes the transition from F2P to Crypto seamless (example, a Player's first NFT Agents can be crafted easily).

Issue: Many projects rush to secure as much capital as possible (either through heavy VC financing, early NFT sales, or both) and then proceed to mismanage those funds. We have seen many projects that range from casual incompetence to highly unethical behavior. We've seen poorly designed economies that require constant tweaking/manipulation by the dev team to stay viable, which causes insecurity and instability for retail investors.

Solution: We have a range of solutions for this and our primary goal is to build for the long-term success of our ecosystem. We have a multi-game, multi-utility vision for sustainability. We will always prioritize what is good for our players/investors and the ecosystem more broadly. Specifically, we have worked hard on the economy to be 'self-balancing' as it automatically adjusts prices/supply and rarities to ensure a balanced system. Where other groups say "we need money, let's mint some NFTs!", our system is designed to only mint additional NFTs when certain thresholds are met within the ecosystem itself.



Issue: Many games reward 'whales' (or players who spend a lot) to the detriment of other players.

Solution: Like many solutions on this list we have a number of approaches. The first is that because much of the game is PvE, how an individual plays this part of the game will have little impact on others. The game has limits on what you can purchase and the player will determine for his/herself how much to spend vs. grind to progress.

For the PvP portion of the game, we will have 'Ranked Matches'. Through some sophisticated heuristics, we will endeavor to ensure that players engage with others at their level so the contest becomes more about skill, strategy, and game knowledge than about the quality of your Agent Team.

Finally, extremely powerful and rare NFTs can be crafted not just purchased so there is a chance that even the most frugal player can build a world-class team simply by playing the game.

Issue: Over-hyped projects raise a ton of money and fail to deliver.

Solution: The sad reality of the crypto game space is there have been all too many flashy game projects that have failed to deliver. We know the deal. Some project raises some $ selling NFTs, asks another company to make a flashy (pre-rendered) trailer/video, raises more $.......tries to make a game, and fails.

Our approach has literally been to do the exact opposite. We spent almost 2 years building our game FIRST, then constructed a crypto strategy around it. We 'found the fun' as our #1 priority, and will be offering players/investors a solid value proposition before our first NFT is sold. We will be putting a playable demo into people's hands before we have our first NFT mint. We are all 'steak', that just happens to be sizzling too.

Issue: No value in the first NFTs you get because everyone has them.

Solution: This is a common problem in CCG (Collectible Card Games) where there are mulitple copies of the 'common' cards. We do not have this problem. When you craft your first NFT, it has a chance of becoming extremely rare and valuable. Of course, new Players can always purchase a better set of Agents on the market.

Issue: Some crypto-games are not really 'games' and are really not that fun....but you can make money by repeating some banal task. Others (less common) have decent gameplay mechanics but the 'Earn' portion has significant problem (like high barrier to entery, poor economy, high volatility, insufficient liquidity etc.).

Solution: Coming Soon