Games have always been one of the main reasons to strive for better technology and usage. The used platforms (PS4, XBOX, PC,..) don't really matter in these cases. The gaming market has grown enormously over the past decades. And of course, games won't stop to make use of the blockchain technology either. More likely the other way around. Blockchain-based games might be the main reason to get the average person to get into this new type of technology.





The issue

The variety of buyable in-game content (eg. skins, skills, customizations,..) is hefty. Yet a lot of gamers don't seem to realize, that everything they buy for their game of choice, is currently not really their own. Nor can it be transferred to other games and be used without the current boundaries. Every game or gaming company establishes and uses their own way of promoting and selling their goods. Question: Do you want to be able to use that unique Counter-Strike skin that you have been using for years and years and grown to love, in other games? Do you want to be able to transfer it into gaming titles you always have dreamt of? In fact, do you want to purely own it and be able to see the evolution it made during years, in different gamers hands?



The solution

What else can it be, than making use of Blockchains, to make all above possible? Digital assets aren't just skins. They can be anything someone can imagine in a game. While bigger companies still shy away from making steps into the blockchain universe, a lot of smaller teams have made it their undertake to change the gaming design we grew up with.





My discovery

About a year ago I stumbled across this article. It got me interested to dig deeper into the company called 8 Circuit Studios itself and how they want to influence the game experiences we know.



The guys at 8 Circuit Studios have taken on the task, to add usage of digital goods, resulting in real ownership of in-game assets. In spring 2018 they released their proof-of-concept mobile title named Alien Arsenal. The exercise was obtaining different types of aliens and evolving their skills to beat an enemy boss. The title is still available on Google Play and Apple App Store. Just by creating an account everyone was eligible to claim a few 8 Bit Tokens (8BT), which the studio created and will use on the Ethereum blockchain to fuel their gaming assets.





Current projects



Everyone involved is not only trying to create gaming titles that stand out because of the new technology, as well they want to make their games fun and enjoyable, which should be a great combination on its own.





Project Genesis



Project Genesis is currently their main title in development and getting pushed out to keen players in its pre-alpha gameplay. The title is one of its kind by making use of 2 different gaming modes in one. On one hand, it is space combat by utilizing different types of space ships. And on the other hand, it is nothing less than a First Person Shooter to defend one owns mothership against the enemy.



The gameplay is really easy to jump in to. 8 Circuit Studio's team currently offers the ability to join not only their game testing, additionally they ask for feedback into what direction or how the game could or should evolve to. I myself have taken part in a few pre-alpha testing sessions already.



The last family and friends test session, which lasted a couple of hours, just wrapped up last Easter weekend. I must confess, the development and added content to the latest state of the game, can literally be called easter gifts, as the improvements have been massive from my last playtest a little back.



The current build offers up to 8 space ships and 3 different types of avatars to choose from (this list will expand as the development goes on). Of course, each can be personalized to a certain point. The below picture shows my avatar called Hacker and my selected ship in the back.



With several other changes on layout, settings, gameplay, functionality and else. There have been 2 additions I personally enjoyed a lot. One of them is the so-called Breach Pod. It literally behaves like a parasite, getting shot at/into the mothership that has to be conquered. And offers the ability to infiltrate without the boring approach of opening a normal entry.



By following this link, you can see the way of infiltration in action.



The biggest surprise for me was the ability to enter a completely new map. It is pictured below, with one of the base motherships, called n-Satoshi.



Besides seeing the development and game progress, it is really fun to join the testing phase, alongside with other players from all over the world.





Becoming Testpilot

The latest playtest might have just ended but the next one will come. If this sparked your interest in trying out the game and eventually influence its development, you can sign up as test pilot and get your hands on the game before it will see a full release here: projectgenesis.com.





Conclusion

The current blockchain gaming market is rather small. Every technical evolution has a steep learning curve. Developer have to face bugs, kinks and the most important question, which blockchain offers the possibly best solution for their game creation to be used. But whoever ends up making baby steps now, might have the first mover advantage in the next years.



The guys around 8CS can be found in their official Discord.

For questions or suggestions, please comment below.

Thank you for reading.