Kevin Lambert
@kevinlambert
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Co-founder & Chief Product Officer @koingamesio . Game Designer for 27+ years. Designed Microsoft Solitaire, Dungeon Siege 2, Tron2. Making excellent web3 games.
Joined February 2009
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Pinned Tweet
Had some ppl ask where my Twitter banner came from.
I designed a multiplayer mode in Microsoft Solitaire (I know, lol) and we ran an internal tournament for the game's 25th anniversary.
Tonight Show found out & ran a parody. Best free marketing ever. 😂
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1/
Here's why Play 2 Earn is dead, along with what will take its place in web3 gaming - finally kicking off the next bull market in crypto and NFTs:
Thread 🧵👇
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Living the good life (temporarily) as
#2
on the leaderboard in the
@Imaginary_Ones
Bubble Rangers mobile game. 😅
Great example of a simple but fun and addictive game with a lot of attention to detail and high production value. Much like their previous Bubble Rider game.
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It's funny how a 16-bit pixel art game on the Super Nintendo from 1995 called Chrono Trigger still blows away every pixel art web3 game in existence by a mile.
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Strong prediction: The
#1
web3 game in 5 years will have an extremely low floor price for the average NFTs in their ecosystem.
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I've heard web3 game studios say, "The quality bar is so low in web3 gaming, it'll be easy to crush the competition!"
That's the wrong mindset.
If you're building a web3 game, the competition isn't other web3 games, you have to be better than similar web2 games on PC & console.
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1/10 I can't believe more people aren't talking about the
@Imaginary_Ones
whitelist experience for their upcoming mint.
One of the best user experiences I've seen since 2020.
I hold zero of their NFTs and was not asked or paid to tweet this.
This deserves attention. Thread. 🧵
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Web3 gaming companies out there hiring PhD economists to fix broken economies rather than hiring better game designers and UX people to make the games more fun.
If the game is fun without an earn component, you won't need a PhD economist to create a sustainable economy for it.
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I'm reporting/blocking like 6-8 bots a day who are mass tagging with malicious links.
This is getting out of control.
Anyone else experiencing similar?
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Here's the $KARRAT price chart from
@mypethooligan
I don't know what kind of voodoo they're employing over there, but I can't remember the last time I've seen a huge airdrop token claim with a chart this stable for a day.
Very impressive launch, guys. 👏
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Who are the most humble and impressive founders in web 3 gaming that I should be following or looking to collab with?
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Evidently Chat GPT thought the Restrict Act was a joke.
Hilarious? Scary? Sad? Embarrassing?
Yup.
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Web3 game studios: Here's why the
#1
PRIORITY you should be concerned with is making the game fun without an earn component.
If the game isn't fun, the best tokenomics in the world, the coolest items, or the most innovative economy won't matter.
It will be gone in 1-2 years.
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VERY rarely does a web3 game knock your socks off.
But it happened to me with
@playSIPHER
's closed alpha.
Honestly the most polished alpha web3 game I've ever seen.
I own zero NFTs, I'm not an investor, and wasn't asked to promote this.
Respect to
@AskTinNguyen
& his team. 👊
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Some key performance indicators in gaming:
- ARPU (average revenue per user)
- ARPPU (average $ per paying user)
- LTV (lifetime value of a user)
- Retention (how long users stick around)
- Churn (how many users leave)
- Conversion (% free -> paying)
Retention is my favorite.
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@CryptoCobain
A lot of explanations, but here's one:
Person A mints (~0.04 ETH)
Person B (friend of A or alt wallet) purchases for 0.25
Person B sells for 0.16.
What looks like a screaming deal on OS and an idiot is actually a 4x profit.
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“Hi Kevin. We are building a Play to Earn game wi…”
*deleted*
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Friday was my last day as Head of Design for Microsoft Casual Games.
The time has come for me to combine decades in traditional game development with 5+ years in blockchain, crypto, and NFTs to help bridge the gap between web2 & web3 gaming. 👊
Story:
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A game isn't desirable because of the items.
Items are desirable because of the game.
Let's make it more about the game. 👊
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1/6
Want to know which web3 games will crush it?
Being a game designer for 27 years with my games in over a Billion players' homes, coupled with a deep immersion in web3 since 2017, I have a unique vantage point on web3 games in development.
A few examples: 🧵👇
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There is no "perfect difficulty" for a game.
This is why you almost always see difficulty settings in the best games.
@The_Beacon_GG
went rogue and chose a difficulty that's not too hard or too easy.
It's pretty close to perfect for the web3 gamer demographic.
Great job. 🏆
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13/
Web3 gaming will be a catalyst for the next bull market, but the games have to be built correctly. We are doing this at
@koingamesio
. 🙏
If you enjoyed this thread:
1. Follow me
@kevinlambert
2. RT the tweet below to share this with your readers
1/
Here's why Play 2 Earn is dead, along with what will take its place in web3 gaming - finally kicking off the next bull market in crypto and NFTs:
Thread 🧵👇
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Today they're called "blockchain games", "NFT games", or "games with NFTs"
5 years from now they'll just be "games" and the others will be "games that don't have any ownership."
The shift is coming. Are you ready for it? 👊
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Hey
@cz_binance
is there any chance the deadline for USA-based customers to stop trading on
@binance
will be extended since
@BinanceAmerica
is not quite ready for business yet? I'm sure I speak for many users who would love to stay in the pool until we have a new home. :)
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Broke: Playing video games is a waste of time.
Woke: Playing video games can develop problem solving, spatial and hand-eye coordination skills, as well as vision and speed skills.
Bespoke: Playing video games without owning your items and contributions is a waste of time.
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Absolutely *LOVE* my Eye of Galli [PL] from
@ParallelNFT
. Thanks
@fitchinverse
for putting together such a fun and creatively inspiring contest. 🤝
I'm planning to have many more animated art pieces in the future. LFG!
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12/
TL;DR:
1. Consider "where the money comes from" that's paid to players.
2. Money out must constantly be balanced with $ in or a death spiral will begin.
3. Set expectations that only a small # of players will be able to earn.
4. Primary motivation to play must be for fun!
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Bridging is one of the worst customer experiences in blockchain today.
I'm looking forward to the day where it doesn't matter which chain my assets are on.
My fantasy world has games and products seeing & letting me use my stuff wherever it is without asking me to bridge. 🙏
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6/
People start quitting the game. They came for the promise of earning. That was their motivation & now that's not happening.
And here's the kicker: EVEN IF THE GAME IS FUN, people will quit if their primary motivation was to earn money.
Reference:
@PhantasmaOG
Studies have shown that children who love to play piano and are given $10 each time they play, after a few months, if the $10 reward is removed they quit playing.
Why?
The motivation to make money replaced their love to play. When the money dried up, piano was no longer fun.
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@not_katarina
No routine, are you kidding? I have a great routine:
1. Wake up
2. Check price
3. See price dipping
4. Check price
5. See bad price
6. Decide can't take this anymore
7. Realize I have over-invested, by a lot
8. Conclude it is what it is
9. Ask devs to do something
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Players will only care about owning items if a game is good.
Game developers shouldn't even worry about items & economy until you are confident you have a good core game experience.
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8/
It's about setting expectations.
Magic the Gathering has a HUGE secondary market.
How many people started playing Magic to make $?
Very few. Why? Because you won't find the words "earn" or "money" anywhere in the game's marketing.
The only expectation is play for fun.
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7/
The critical point here is "motivation".
A majority of player motivation MUST to be to play for fun.
Any earning has to be something players did not expect or plan for as a primary motivation.
So how can a web3 game accomplish this while still having an earn component?
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In video games, it's important for everyone to understand the basic mechanics at a glance.
The concept of "I have to attack this character first" is an extremely common mechanic in card games.
It's called "Taunt" in Hearthstone and "Defender" in
@ParallelTCG
.
Look how easy it…
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Games don't say "We use Amazon Web Services to store your data. We're the best AWS game in the space. LFG!" 🚀
Why?
Because 2.99 Billion gamers don't care what tech you use. They just want a great experience.
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This feels like the first step toward the future of digital/physical clothing. Thanks
@RTFKT
@clegfx
@CardilloSamuel
for this super-cool experience. 🤝
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Web3 people in gaming:
- Will people like this game?
- Will the value of the assets go up?
- I'll buy stuff if I can make money from it.
Web2 people in gaming:
- Is this game fun?
- What do the items do?
- I'll buy stuff if it looks dope & I have a great time in the game.
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The first web3 game to showcase the value of digital ownership that goes beyond “you can sell it” will absolutely crush it and be copied for years.
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Shrapnel's token is coming.
This will likely be the best web3 game on Avalanche by a wide margin when they release.
Does this mean $AVAX will also see some action?
Shrapnel's token is listing on Bybit, Huobi & KuCoin in the next 24hrs
Their Operator NFTs have already doubled in price but:
-> There's been no announcement from the Shrapnel team yet, probably because they're sleeping in Seattle - most people still don't know
-> Gaming NFT…
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There is literally only *ONE THING* blockchain can bring to gaming that it didn't already have: True digital property ownership.
That's it.
And that's the one thing that is about to light up a whole world of exciting new game experiences. 🔥
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P2M (Play to Mint) even sounds more exciting and sustainable than P2E. 🔥
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In ~30 years of making games, I've attended GDC (Game Developer's Conference) more times than I can count.
With
@WolvesDAO
and so many amazing web3 gaming folks attending, this year is looking to beat them all.
I can't remember the last time I was this excited for GDC.
LFG! 🍻
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9/
Here's my take on what a sustainable web3 game will look like through the lens of who is making money.
Notice how it's only a small fraction of the entire audience.
This can be sustained without needing constant exponential player growth.
Here's one example of a sustainable web3 game from the perspective of who is making money.
If you presented a game like this as "Play to Earn" you would have A LOT of disappointed players.
"Play and Own" implies a distribution like this without having to use the word "earn" 🧠
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What does "ownership" of an item mean in a web3 game?
You have exclusive rights to:
- Use it
- Give it away
- Let someone borrow it
- Monetize it
- Create something with it
- Destroy it
- Take it out of the game
The experience around the last point is super intriguing to me.
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Whitepapers and Litepapers are for crypto products.
Games have design docs, presentations, trailers and demos.
If we want to mature web3 gaming from the current view of "a bunch of crypto & NFT bros", optics matter. 🤝
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Waiting in line to pick up the new Zelda Tears of the Kingdom 1 day before official launch. Got my limited edition plaque. 🗡️🛡️
#GamerLife
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Parallel caught the attention of web2 card game enthusiasts & there's passionate debate on both sides:
"NFTs are a scam!"
vs.
"Ownership of your stuff in games is great!"
Time will show that although there's plenty of grift & greed in crypto, there are also excellent products.
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Imagine playing a game you enjoy for 1 hour, getting $17 for playing, all while the game is in beta without even full rewards turned on?
Wake me up, I must be dreaming.
If you'd like early access to the
@ParallelTCG
closed beta, here's an invite link: 🤝
Back in the top 50
@ParallelTCG
10 game win streak over last couple days and highest prime earning to date! // 👿
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1/ I've seen some polarizing opinions on $BNB lately. Here are the sentiments I've seen from both sides, presented objectively:
Thread.
👇
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11/
Tournaments with prize pools. Everyone knows from traditional competitive gaming that only the top players earn in tournaments. 👍
If the game is eSports enabled, a fantasy league where people can earn in an ecosystem that won't touch player motivation also achieves this.
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A game allowing you to take cosmetics into a sequel is a biz decision.
And it goes perfectly with the ethos of web3 gaming: the experential value of ownership & interoperability.
Web2 players are starting to care about this.
Wait until they see what we're cookin' in web3. 🔥
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@CameraTrickTips
@kolindeshazox
OMG the flat earthers were right all along. It's also only a few hundred yards wide.
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Crypto wallets have always been a massive UX pain point. A lot of people have tens or hundreds of them.
ENS names like kevinlambert.eth are a step in the right direction.
@clustersxyz
feels bigger to me. As a UX maxi, I love to see steps like this. 🍻
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It's nice to see the web3 community finally coming around on this after a year of "if someone makes a really innovative economy, it can still work".
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@CryptoGodJohn
NFT chains (not assets) have a good chance to go parabolic in the next few months. Strongest players in this scene are $WAXP (Topps, Capcom, Atari, etc...) and $FLOW (CryptoKitties, NBA TopShot, UFC)
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Am I seriously going to wear something called "Angel Pants" by
@RTFKT
in public??
You bet I am. 👊😇
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Wow, the BEST battle pass card in
@ParallelTCG
and I won one of the 250 Special Edition copies.
Of all the BP cards, this is the one I wanted the most. 🙏
Feeling lucky! 🍀
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1/2 Today I was invited on a livestream of players who are still playing my first game from 1997.
They asked me about the game, the team, and what I've worked on since.
Then they played this clip and it totally choked me up
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.
@ParallelTCG
is up for web3 Game of the Year.
IMO the best Web3 TCG and it's only in closed beta 👀
If you follow me, you know I've been playing, ranked in the top-50 players.
They're about to go to open beta. You can get access using this link: 🤝
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Global leaderboards in competitive games ain't it. Hear me out. 🌶
I designed a multiplayer mode in Microsoft Solitaire where players raced to complete a gauntlet of puzzle-style challenges (think chess puzzles but for Solitaire) as fast as they could.
It started with a global…
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In addition to working on one of the most anticipated games in the web3 space,
@mypethooligan
has cracked out a few video gems in the last year.
To the Hooligans team: Please keep a small portion of your budget dedicated to these types of videos. They're awesome. 🤣🙏
With the current shakeup at Twitter, Hooli would like to offer his professional services.
@elonmusk
Hooli has a message for you 👇
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I've been looking forward to the day when I could say "I'm spending a lot of time enjoying a web3 game."
@ParallelTCG
has been the first game to hit that for me. ♥
If you want access to their beta, you can use the invite link below and you'll get a free apparitions pack.
.
@ParallelTCG
is up for web3 Game of the Year.
IMO the best Web3 TCG and it's only in closed beta 👀
If you follow me, you know I've been playing, ranked in the top-50 players.
They're about to go to open beta. You can get access using this link: 🤝
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2/
Play 2 Earn doesn't just imply, it flat out promises that average player Timmy can earn money simply by playing the game.
And who wouldn't want to make money simply by playing a good game, right?
But let's look at where this money comes from.
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Getting balance right in a collectible card game is SUPER HARD.
The current balance in
@ParallelTCG
beta is really impressive.
Not perfect by any means, but all 5 factions are playable and seen at high competitive levels.
Not enough people praise getting this right. 👏
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Pro tip for anyone building a PvP game with a matchmaking queue:
Don't enable a second game mode until your primary game mode has enough liquidity that queue times are less than 5-10s.
This includes ranked, casual, draft, etc...
Once you have enough DAU you can add new modes.
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Brace yourself for more announcements like these as NFT bull market funding runs out.
If you want good web3 games, look for teams who have made successful games in the past. 🫡
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NFT project teams are sweating, trying to figure out how to sustain their business and bring value to their holders.
Meanwhile web3 game teams are excited knowing they will be the catalyst for the next NFT bull market.
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Vengeful Ally is a 2 cost 1/2 that gains +1/+1 whenever a friendly unit dies.
Not only is this effect VERY powerful in card games, it's also a Universal card, so it can go into any deck.
Was a no brainer to get this signed when I pulled the SE from the faucet. //
@ParallelTCG
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We haven't shared many details on the game
@koingamesio
is building, but lil' info:
- *ZERO* barrier to entry. No blockchain knowledge, wallet needed, or even email address.
- Mobile & PC
- Session length target of ~5-7 min.
- Fun to play AND fun to watch
More deets in 2023. 🍻
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Awesome ppl I met at GDC:
@gabusch
@RealJonahBlake
@paytkaleiwahea
@SamSteffanina
@Alliestrasza
@Masongos_
@SlayerXgg
@CryptoStache
@0xJesusMartinez
@paulbettner
@KatyjustCANnot
@ParallelTCGpod
@WolvesDAO
Looking forward to crushing web3 gaming with you fine folks. 🫡
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1/9 Are you into web3 gaming?
Great, me too. 🤝
Here is a SUPER IMPORTANT SECURITY THREAD that will save you from getting your wallet drained when playing them. 🧵 👇
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1/15 Another weekend, another "Why Play 2 Earn is dead" thread.
But this time I'm going to shake things up by talking about how it may actually not be dead.
WTF? Has Lambert gone soft? Engagement farming? Did he sell out to Cardano?!
Read on to find out. 🍿🧵
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Token holders look for "yield" and gamers look for "fun".
It hasn't been proven 100% yet, but I believe a successful web3 game will need a crisp separation between those seeking yield and those seeking fun.
If you blur them too closely, retention & engagement will suffer.
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Web2 people are disgusted by the grift & greed they see in web3.
What's funny is web3 builders & enthusiasts are equally disgusted by the same thing.
We can't remove 100% of the bad actors, but we can at least drown them out with excellent products built by ethical people. 🤝
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The
@koingamesio
leadership team spent the last few days jamming on our web2 / web3 economy solution.
Not ready to share anything yet but we’re cooking up something very unique!
Pillars:
- ZERO barrier to entry
- Absolutely no pay to win
- Anchored to a proven web2 game economy
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Although I have a competitive itch in gaming, I always prefer collaboration.
This is one of the reasons I enjoy web3 game development as much as I do.
I can't think of another industry where so many founders & communities are eager to help each other out and work together. 🤝🍻
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4/
Because the 50% who are buyers now also want to earn. They will soon become sellers.
Then you have 100% of players who want to earn and you will need 100% of new players to be buyers.
Then you need 200% new players to balance buying and selling. Then 400%. Then 800%. Etc...
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In 2017-2021, I did a ton of Technical Analysis on crypto charts.
This pattern is "higher highs and higher lows."
Generally (but not always) seen in a bullish uptrend.
The coin is $PRIME, the token associated with
@ParallelTCG
.
Uptrend is likely due to utility in a fun game.
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10/
Once the expectation is set that only a small fraction of players will earn, the stage is set for some exciting web3 components to be added to the game.
In addition to not talking about earning or money, here are some examples how this expectation can be set (more exist):
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Animus eggs
@RTFKT
floor in free fall.
Partly b/c ETH is up in USD, but the larger piece is holders expected more experential utility and value that wasn't evident in the launch.
It's sad b/c the art quality is incredible & so is the collectability story.
Web3 gonna web3 tho.
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We need fewer chain maxis and more product maxis.
It isn't Bitcoin vs. Ethereum vs. Solana vs. ... 🥱
It's about products that enrich lives. 🔥
Amazing games, beautiful art, super convenient services, incredible life hacks... These are the things we should be fighting for. 🤝
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Anyone else noticing a trend of launching a competitive hypercasual game in prep for a larger web3 game?
Examples:
- Otherside (Dookie Dash)
- Pixelmon (Adventures of Kevin)
- Sugartown (Multiple minigames)
- Imaginary Ones (Bubble Rangers)
Anyone have thoughts on this trend?
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This illustrates one of the current challenges with web3 gaming.
Too many people with a "I'm here to make $" motivation relative to players with a "I'm here to have fun" motivation.
The antidote for this is more good games and bake time for these motivations to mature.
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Awesome meeting at GDC with
@0xDayvee
,
@DiegoVidaurres
, &
@TimothyJooste
.
Possible
@koingamesio
+
@The_Beacon_GG
collab in the future? Maybe. 😉
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Any web3 game founders or devs going to be at GDC and want to meet up? Hit me up in DMs.
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Onboarding & bridging are the worst user experiences in web3.
@Immutable
has done great work on onboarding with their Passport wallet. 👏
If they get an amazing bridge UX & a marketplace that rivals OpenSea & MagicEden, they could easily be the
#1
web3 gaming ecosystem, IMO.
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If you are building a PvP game, you absolutely need a designer on the team who has been a top-ranked competitive gamer in the past.
The psychology of top-tier competitive play is different from regular PvP and you want to make sure your game appeals to the best of the best. 🏆
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My beautiful Rank 7 dragon in
@wndgame
stole a Wizard. 🧙♂️🏴☠️
I think I'm gonna name him Grifty.
To the minter of the wizard that Grifty nabbed, I hope you can at least take some solace knowing he is in a good home with good people who respect the arcane arts.
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As a game designer, it's important to run surveys to validate that the game resonates with players.
But you have to be very careful to ask the right questions.
If you ask players, "Do you want candy for dinner?"
They'll say "HELL YEAH!!" and blame the game when they feel sick.
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Look how much I pale in comparison to this beast of a human
@RealJonahBlake
Was amazing to hang in person at GDC 👊
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From the web3 gaming panel at NFT Seattle.
🕹️
@Kevinlambert
points out that most gamers don’t care about play to earn, they care about fun games!
👾Someday people will look at blockchains the same way as data services.
😂Nobody cares whether your game uses AWS or Azure.
👀Full
@NFTSeattle_io
video in pinned tweet
#Web3
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5/
What happens when the # of new players coming in stops doubling?
Supply outpaces demand. Prices drop. You start to hear things like, "Last week I made $50! This week it was only $20."
Regardless of why it happened, what do you think happens when earning in P2E slows down?
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When a player plays a game for fun, they get a hit of dopamine (chemical in the brain that makes you feel good) when playing.
If a player makes money in a game, this is like switching from dopamine to a harder drug.
Just like IRL, there's no "going back" from the harder drug.
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I back video game projects on Kickstarter all the time. Many of them go dark for 6+ months at a time while they work.
What I like about building web3 games is there's an opportunity to be more transparent with players during development.
This will lead to better games, IMO.
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