Joseph Rubin Co-founder & CEO, Blue Monster Games IncGameFi, Crypto gaming or “play-to-earn” games have become a fast-evolving trend in the crypto sector. GameFi refers to blockchain games that let players earn cryptocurrency by playing them.
As cryptos continue to be a global phenomenon, industries all around the world key in the revolutionary technology. Online gaming, in particular, has become a breeding ground for exciting innovation in this space.
Cryptopolitan spoke with Joseph Rubin Co-founder & CEO, Blue Monster Games Inc behind set to launch GameFi Kart Racing League, a play-to-earn NFT game that uses 3D NFTs characters and is a kart racing game.
The interview covers the Kart Racing League play-to-earn NFT game, challenges play-to-earn NFT game developers face, improving the GameFi sector, NFT technology among other trends.
Here are excerpts:
Tell us more about your crypto-gaming platform?
Sure, our game is a fast-paced fun-centric kart racing game. This gameplay was inspired by popular titles like Sonic and Mario Kart, but the crypto and NFT aspects of the game are much more along the lines of Axie Infinity. Essentially, to play, you will need to have a Racer NFT. These are 3D characters that we developed, and each has a unique look and attributes (i.e. speed, acceleration, etc.). Players can either buy a Racer NFT or join one of our free-to-play options, which are also commonly referred to as scholarships. Once you have a Racer, then you can play the game as much as you want, and in turn, earn real money. The winner of each race will be rewarded in Essence of Creation or EoC, which is our in-game currency that will be launched alongside the game. In addition, we will have a seasonal ranking system where the highest-ranked players will be rewarded in KOO or Kooopa Tokens, and rewards will vary depending on your rank (where the highest-ranked players get the most from the KOO token pool).
What are the unique features of the GameFi platform (Kart Racing League)?
There are so many unique features implemented in the GameFi project. The fact that we are using 3D NFTs is a big thing that we haven’t seen elsewhere. Also, never before has there been a crypto kart racing game. The whole platform is filled with very novel and innovative features. For example, we will have the world’s first NFT marketplace where users can borrow and lend their NFTs to others. Players can loan their Racers out to those that can’t afford to buy one themselves or those that just want to try the game temporarily. These loan agreements will be governed by smart contracts (on the Ethereum blockchain) and will provide the owner of the NFT with a fixed income. Therefore, people can earn money off their NFTs even when they aren’t using them.
Ahead of the launch of the Kart Racing League online multiplayer game, what progress has been made so far?
In terms of progress, we are on track to launch our NFT marketplace in the next week or two, and the game will be launched in the first week of October. Tons of progress has been made. We’ve built this game from start to finish in almost less than 10 weeks, and the game is just about ready for the public. We’re just adding some finishing touches to the game, but the game itself is now playable and undergoing demo testing by the team. There are some gameplay clips that you can find on our Twitter page (https://twitter.com/KartRacingNFT), which will give you a sense of what the real game will be like. On the NFT front, we have now fully-generated all of the NFTs, and we will be showcasing different variations on our social media platforms, so make sure you follow @KartRacingNFT (and @KooopaToken).
Despite its promising outlook, NFT Play-to-earn gaming platforms are yet to hit mainstream adoption, how are you working to change this?
Well, play-to-earn gaming (and GameFi in general) is extremely new. We plan to change this by being the biggest name in the play-to-earn NFT gaming space. Our company, Blue Monster Games, is already working on another NFT game as we speak. I can’t reveal too many details, but this next production will be an MMORPG. We think play-to-earn gaming is the future of the video game industry. Who’s going to play a game when you can play another, equally-fun game that pays you a salary? It’s a no brainer. I guarantee every new game decades from now has some sort of play-to-earn aspect, where players can monetize their in-game time; otherwise, who’s going to play? GameFi is the future of gaming. Our mission at Blue Monster Games is to develop as many good NFT play-to-earn games as possible. So, I guess to reiterate, we are working to help achieve mainstream adoption by being the source of all of the best play-to-earn NFT games out there.
Talk about liquidity and how gamers can access, play and earn on the Kart Racing League.
Sure, I think I briefly described the process previously but the economics behind the game are quite fascinating: in terms of liquidity, after the initial launch, it will be a completely player-run economy. In terms of how gamers can access it, again, they will need to have a Racer NFT. These will be available for purchase on our NFT Marketplace very soon! There will be many ways for players to earn in the game, including tournaments, seasons, and individual races.
What other exciting plans do you have for gamers eventually when they get onboard?
We plan to host some exciting e-sports tournaments that will payout prizes in KOO tokens. In addition, I think gamers will be most excited about all of the future games that we will be developing. We want to have play-to-earn NFT games in every genre you can think of, so if you have any game ideas, please send me an email and we will work to bring that game to life. We have an incredible development team, which is really the key to making all of this happen.
What is your reaction to the massive adoption of NFT across all spheres?
I’m blown away. I think most of it is ludicrous. There’s people paying millions of dollars for JPEGs of a rock. They’re spending obscene amounts of money on things with no utility, which is why I think gaming and GameFi is such a good fit for NFTs since it provides them with actual use and utility. Otherwise, the value for me is just too speculative for me. It’s like art. Who’s to say what’s valuable art and what isn’t? It’s all speculation.
Do you think at any point, NFTs are going to come before cryptos, like people would rather invest in Non Fungible Tokens than cryptos for reasons best known to them?
I think NFTs could overtake cryptocurrency in terms of popularity, but they can never operate without crypto I think NFTs could overtake cryptocurrency in terms of popularity, but they can never operate without cryptocurrency. The NFTs require the blockchain to work, the blockchain requires miners to work, and the miners require payment in cryptocurrency to work; otherwise, they wouldn’t mine. I think its all connected, but I don’t really class either as an “investment.” Traditionally, an investment is something that will go up in value, and cryptocurrencies (and now NFTs) are very volatile. Personally though, I’d rather put my money in NFTs at this stage, but it has to be the right NFTs. I wouldn’t buy anything for its looks or art. I’d buy NFTs with some utility. If they have a future use case, then that will help ensure the projects longevity, which is another big aspect of an NFTs valuation. If you had two NFT projects for example, X and Y, that were similar yet X started in 2017 and Y started this year, then X would likely be much more popular and valuable.
NFT-gaming is becoming a thing in the crypto industry, as a stakeholder in the industry, what challenges do you face?
Wow. Great question. What concerns me most is all the regulatory hurdles that are involved in the space. Obviously, you have the initial concern of whether or not the tokens are securities (under U.S. law), which is something we will need to discuss with attorneys, but that is an issue that every crypto-related company faces. More specific to NFT gaming, we have to consider things like: is play-to-earn gaming a form of gambling? If we are paying our players rewards, are they considered employees? Is lending or borrowing an NFT the same as lending financial assets (whereby we’d need to properly register ourselves with state and federal authorities)? There’s so many legal questions that we need to address and I wish that we could’ve already addressed, but as a startup, we couldn’t afford hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees. Now that we have some capital, we will be setting aside a significant portion to retaining attorneys to address these issues.
What other things do you wish to address or talk about?
We plan to grow this GameFi company very quickly and are planning to take it public on the stock market. To do that, we are in need of some help from some industry partners, so if anyone reading this is interested in investing in Blue Monster Games or partnering with us, then please feel to reach out anytime: [email protected]
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