Upcoming Blockchain Game Delivers a Visual Feast
Looking at what's currently available — without naming any names — some of today's blockchain games might go by the name of Crypto Pixels or Blockchain Blur. In other words, the publishers are more interested in gameplay than aesthetics.
Not that there's anything wrong with pixelation to impart a throwback vibe. One piece of artwork you'll see in this post is very pixelated, albeit on purpose.
But if we expect blockchain games to mature and expand their reach, they must be fun to play and great to look at. Now that games have overcome the graphical processing power that held them back for decades, art is a critical component of every AAA blockbuster.
Of course, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, as they say. You may find Natalie Portman to be strikingly gorgeous, but she may remind others of a rabid sea donkey wearing too much makeup. That said, I'll let you decide on the style and detail of the collectible, tradeable, playable non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in Keys to Other Games — or KOGs.
What are KOGs, exactly? I'll explain ...
An Entire Gaming Ecosystem
NFTs are ideal non-physical collectibles. Since they reside on the blockchain, it's easy to publicly verify scarcity and ownership. Better still, like their 'regular' cryptocurrency predecessors, NFTs are easy to transmit without concern for borders or fee-grabbing middlemen.
KOGs is the first of a gaming series featuring interchangeable pieces. As new games come out of the studio, you'll be able to use the same NFTs across separate titles. Now, I won't go too deep into the gaming aspect here. Why not, you ask? Because I've already written a few articles about the series:
Read More
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Now Live: Gameplay Trailer for the World's First All-blockchain Mobile Game
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POGs is Slamming its Way to the Blockchain
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Non-fungible Tokens Can Redefine Cryptocurrency Mining
In a nutshell, a reimagined version of milk caps — POGs — is soon to launch. Two versions, on two separate blockchains — Komodo (mineable) and WAX (for sale soon) — will exist. But there are so many other plans for the game pieces, aside from using them to enter tournaments and unlock special items. There's even talk of Intelligent NFTs that can perform some cool tricks.
William Quigley, CEO of the WAX Blockchain, has interesting thoughts on what 2021's NFTs can do:
"... produce content out of thin air, or assemble itself into something, would have a detailed record of past ownership, how many times it was used, traded, to whom and would provide creators with valuable data."
Exciting stuff! And, the KOGs you'll see here is the first wave of NFTs that do more than just sit in your wallet so you can stare at them.
The game has been in development for 18 months and there's no firm launch date set. The NFTs for the WAX version, however, go on sale about nine days from now.
We don't know the exact mintage figures just yet. But we do know that in addition to 12 Slammers, 100 designs from 10 separate artists compose the 1st Edition game pieces. Once they've sold out or are fully mined, that's it! Secondary markets are where you'll find them.
We do know that there's an ultra-rare design of which only 25 pieces will ever exist. And nobody can buy one. How do you put one in your digital wallet? Well, first you'll need to enter ...
How to Win 1 of 25 Limited Edition NFTs
Now, the only way to score the bonus design NFT is to grab a golden ticket.
No, winners don't get a VIP tour through an eccentric candy mogul's chocolate factory.
There will be 25 winners, but only time will tell if some of their names are Augustus or Violet or Mike Teavee.
All that's required to enter the contest is leaving your name and email on the KOGs on WAX pre-registration site. Be sure to grab a super-simple WAX Cloud Wallet account in case you win!
We'll all find out who the winners are nearer to the sale date — August 18.
But enough about interoperability and verifiable ownership. Let's get to the art!
Works in Progress
It's important to note that none of the designs are set in stone and are subject to change. But since the sale date is so close I wouldn't expect any radical adjustments.
In addition to the game's newsletter, artwork is spread across multiple social channels:
Telegram
Discord
RedFOX Blogs
So, what I'll do here is centralize the revealed pieces and display them by category. Keep in mind that there are many illustrations we've yet to see. But what we've seen so far is excellent:
Space Military
Futuristic personnel battle for survival at the galaxy's outer reaches.
'80s Retro
Celebrating simpler times and the rise of personal technologies.
8-Bit Goodness
Intentional pixelation — all video games used to look like this.
Collections & Gameplay
Sometimes the pieces look best when they're displayed right next to each other.
