After I read Evrik’s deep dive into how employees spent their time at the workplace, I realized this sharp-eyed prick disclosed my own tendency to binge-play. Yep, I have to make a coming-out: sometimes I delegate my tasks to the Dream Team and spend my time shooting enemies and collecting all sorts of loot.
What surprised me is that some games seemed to be regular WEB 2.0 time killers, but turned out to be new-generation blockchain games! I guess, you may also be playing them without suspecting that you’re breaking the WEB 3.0 ground. So, let me introduce these gems. Whether you’re a seasoned crypto veteran, or a newbie, they will help you with onboarding in blockchain gaming.
My list is crowned by a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) that won the “Games Choice” award at the first GAM3 Awards in 2022. The Harvest is a Solana blockchain-based WEB 3.0 NFT third-person shooter with searching and extraction elements.
Your team’s ultimate goal is to gather as much Essence of Life as you can. You will fight fancy creatures that appear all over the battlefield, as well as extractors and other teams trying to grab your resources. Each game lasts 10 minutes, so you won’t get bored with collecting. But if you extract the smallest amount of resources, you’re out!
At each game level, heroes get experience and boost their powers. You can also get cosmetic improvements and skins — they are available as collectible NFTs.
But what made me feel like I’m playing a WEB 2.0 game? I didn’t know that the Essence of Life represents the $EOL token — there’s another coin that drives all inner transactions (in fact, you can play-through without spending much Essence of Life). There’s a maximum cap of $EOL that you can gather and steal every day, so you can focus on the storyline and battles instead of earning. Besides, you can start the game without buying NFTs. A perfect deal!
I won’t pretend like I didn’t know Bluelight.inc was a WEB 3.0 game when I started playing it, but if you’re a noob in blockchain gaming, you may not even notice that it features a $KALE token. Why? Because Bluelight.inc is a free-to-play game! Anyone can begin building their virtual startup without buying NFTs or even connecting their Metamask wallet — it’s possible to sign up using your email and host your team in a coworking space without paying rent.
So, what’s Bluelight.inc is about? The vibrant city of San Crypto immerses players in the atmosphere of a business tycoon party. In this virtual Silicon Valley, everyone dreams of establishing a unicorn company and outperforming the Bluelight corporation.
To make it happen, you will manage a team of managers and workers who deal with projects of different complexity. For every successfully finished project, you will earn coins and $KALE tokens that can be used to buy or rent offices (and buy furniture to improve them), get buffs for your characters, and NFT perks.
The game has two modes:
- Tycoon mode where you furnish your office, assemble worker card packs and communicate with the world of San Crypto.
- Collectible card mode where you complete projects by devising smart strategies and managing your team correctly.
So, if you’re tired of shooters and want to put your thinking cap on, Bluelight.inc is a perfect option to while away the time at work (and during your weekend, too :)
Are you a diehard fan of the Pokemon cartoon? Then you won’t be embarrassed by old-school pixelizied design of Portal Fantasy — a game where heroes travel the globe, carry out tasks, catch Porbles, fight with them, and level up. This unique role-playing game is an explosive mix of both conventional and blockchain gaming (though you won’t guess it’s WEB 3.0 at the first glance). A pixelated world full of magic and mystery immerses players into an epic storyline.
In Portal Fantasy, users perform two roles: Architects who design the world using an in-built map editor, and Heroes who engage in epic missions and combat to defend the Pyli Kingdom from perils. The game gives players the option to interact with blockchain NFTs or completely ignore them by fusing features of pixel art adventure RPGs with the immersive capabilities of the WEB 3.0 domain. Portal Fantasy’s economy does not rely solely on blockchain — there is a simple off-chain currency (ORB), one class of gaming NFTs (Porbles), and a layer of non-game-related collectibles (cosmetics, pets, and memories) — a perfect mix of goodies!
For completing tasks and taking on creatures in the game, players can win prizes. To improve the gameplay further, users can purchase and sell NFT gear and stuff in the game’s marketplace. It allows personalizing characters and buffing skills with magical equipment. The game is available on PC and mobile devices, so you can play at work and while commuting ;)
Blankos Block Party allows players to create, play, and interact with each other. Instead of focusing on tokenomics or WEB 3.0 elements, the project places a lot more emphasis on the pleasure and entertainment aspects. You and your buddies will compete against other players in several entertaining and interesting mini-games. Besides, you can fulfill your own ideas and become a creator, too: develop games, designs, and other things.
The absence of tokens sets Blankos Block Party apart from Play-to-Earn and WEB 3.0 games: I also realized that I could not earn cryptocurrency by simply playing it. However, users can purchase NFT characters to enhance their experience. Each Blanko hero can be bought on the official market.
Known for its unique gameplay, Blankos Block Party allows players to earn various kinds of rewards including Moolahs, Blankos Bucks, and NFT goods. Since only Blankos Bucks can be used to purchase game NFTs, these are the ones you should concentrate on collecting.
Skyweaver is a WEB 3.0 game that’s available both in browser and on iOS/Android devices, which is why mobile players won’t even guess that it’s blockchain-based. It is hosted on the Polygon network and is labeled by creators as a Win-to-Earn game (which means losers get no rewards). Similar to Blankos Block Party, it does not feature crypto tokens, but allows players to buy, sell, and give away their NFT cards. You can also acquire them via very strategic gaming as you advance with arena victories and become a legendary Skyweaver.
Being at the core of Skyweaver mechanics, cards are divided into two fundamental types:
- Units belong to a player permanently until defeated or consumed by an effect. They have Attack and Life points which can be added in a variety of ways. Also, units may have their own spells, armor and guard qualities, and trigger effects. The relationships between cards may be quite complicated at times because almost every card has at least one of these abilities, if not more!
- Spells represent effects that are applied on the battlefield. For example, they can enhance Units’ Attack or Life, affect or destroy Units, damage certain targets, or give your Hero a life. Used Spells are discarded.
Players may get Silver and Gold cards in the Conquest mode by consistently winning matches. Later on, they can sell these cards to make money. Note that if you lose in matches, you’ll have to get one more ticket to participate.
While cards for your deck are given for personal achievements, you can also purchase them on the official marketplace with USDC — a Sequence or a Metamask wallet will be required at this step. And this is where I realized I was playing a WEB 3.0 game.
Avalanche blockchain-based MMO RTS Pulsar is a free-to-play realm of mining, construction, and combat. Everyone may travel through the Pulsar’s universe, creating their own NFTs, borrowing them from other players, and exploring the game’s vast regions.
To become a full-fledged participant, you don’t have to hold the game’s native token, $PLSR, or own NFTs. You don’t even have to connect a crypto wallet to start.
However, a variety of bonuses and interesting experiences are available to premium users who hold Land and Units NFTs. These include mining $PLSR, investing in more NFT sales, upgrading current ones, and trading on the open market.
Four distinct Land NFTs, or Biomes, are available on Pulsar, each with special characteristics which are crucial to the gameplay experience (Land Size, $PLSR Quantity, Resources, Resource Rarity, and Security Rating).
On top of that, Pulsar provides other land mechanics including F2P Lending, taxing, and delegation, all of which increase the game’s complexity. Landowners may appoint a Commander to manage their property and resources in exchange for a tax of a percentage of the resources extracted.
Wrapping Up
Alright, guys, if you like spending free time exploring virtual worlds and shooting enemies, these games will definitely cater to you even if you are not a crypto nerd. If you are a complete noob in blockchain games, these projects are great for onboarding into the industry. Not that they allow earning tons of tokens, but I guarantee you’ll have fun and enjoy new gameplay experiences.
