The blockchain world is full of games of varying scope and quality. So far no crypto game managed to make its entrance in the mainstream world. While it still might be a long way to go there's no doubt in my mind that blockchain gaming will be the logical next step and sooner or later mainstream adaptation will happen. Until then we still have a lot of games to chose from. In this new series I hope to do I'm going to take a look at blockchain games that are in its earliest development states. I'll first discuss what the game is all about and how gameplay works. I'll then give a first impression of where we are right now and conclude with an outlook of what's to come for the title. The first game we're going to try is the recently started Rising Star Game.
The Game
Rising Star Game puts you in the shoes of an aspiring musician that's dreaming of becoming the next big show some day. You start the game with nothing but your guitar and a desire to become famous. Since stardom (usually) doesn't happen overnight you have to slowly earn it with some first baby steps. Illegally perform in the streets until the cops drive you away or go to the open mic night and give it your best.
Rising Star game is a classical idle browser game at it's core. You send your alter ego on different missions which have varying requirements and take a different amount of time to complete. Afterwards you wait for the mission to finish, claim your reward and start the next mission. Your ability to go on more missions is dictated by the amount of energy available. Every mission uses a bit of your energy and once it's all spent you have to either wait for it to refill or you have to spend Starbits (the ingame currency) to replenish it immediately. Starbits are earned as a mission reward but can also be traded with other players. Other than buying more energy Starbits can also be used to buy different items that grant a permanent boost to your characters stats. Rising Star Game utilizes the Hive blockchain allowing players to buy and sell Starbits as well as all other ingame assets.
Where are we standing right now?
Rising Star released into its playable Alpha very recently and consequently there's not much of a game there at the moment. When you start the game there's exactly one repeatable mission for you. Once you've finished it several times and made your first level you can chose to do a second mission. Reaching level 5 to earn a third mission is going to take several days if you don't invest Starbits to replenish your energy. When a mission ends you are awarded your Starbits and you have a chance for a number of random events to happen. You might find a four leaved clover increasing your luck, find a pizza increasing your energy or have some drunken guys cheer for you and become your fans. The game already has a simple achievement system implemented that awards additional Starbits for completing certain missions a given number of times. Buying anything is rather expensive at the start and once again, you'll have to play for some days in order to afford anything if you don't invest some Hive.
At its current state you've probably seen almost everything the game has to offer after your energy runs dry for the first time. Also energy seems to refill pretty slowly so as of now there's not much to do in the game other than fire it up once a day, empty your energy on several missions and come back the next day. Investing Hive could speed up the process but considering that there's not much to do other than start another missions I don't see much of a point in doing so.
Where are we heading?
If it wasn't for its utilization of Hive, Rising Star could have been released 15 years ago without bringing anything new to the genre. That said, it doesn't have to in order to find its niche. There are many players out there enjoying these kind of games and allowing to trade everything you earn in the game definitely makes it interesting. The game will grow and add new mechanics and ways to kill your time. The background story is nice and a fresh breeze from the usual settings most similar games offer. So in time there might be more of a game here. Don't expect the core gameplay to change fundamentally from where we are right now though. I don't see the going-on-missions concept changing completely. The available missions culminate in a Saturday headline gig in your home town and the promise to open up the next zone.
The requirements to play that show are pretty huge so it definitely will take quite some time to get there. Still the concept of different zones allows for some interesting gameplay choices. Imagine going on a tour to Japan for example. Not much money to be made but you can find a lot of new fans. Need more Starbits? Stay in the US and do more profitable gigs. Everything considered I can certainly see the game become quite enjoyable to fans of the genre.
Is it worth your time?
Kinda. If you enjoy these kind of games and you want to be with it from the beginning then there's nothing wrong with picking it up right away. It's free and it doesn't take much time to play each day. Considering its early Alpha state you're not missing out on much if you wait for a while though. The game still has a very small player base and looking at Hive-Engine there only has been a single transaction so far. Don't go in expecting it to go big some day. It might find its niche, it might not. Personally I'll keep starting it up occasionally to see where it's heading but it's no game I see myself playing every day for a prolonged time.
As always, feel free to tell me what you think about Rising Star in the comments. Thank you all for reading and see you next time.
