Beta testing participation + Base chain popularity + LianGuairadigm investment, participating and active behavior to strive for subsequent airdrop rewards may be a wiser choice.
In addition to SocialFi and DeFi, we seem to rarely see the presence of GameFi in recent hotspots.
There are too many games that have gradually disappeared in the cycle from 2021 to 2023, both in terms of tokens and the games themselves, and now they have basically reached the bottom where no one cares.
One possibility is that the game naturally dies in a death spiral, but there is also a possibility of “hibernation”.
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In the previous bull market cycle, some games raised large amounts of financing at high valuations. When the market environment is not good, they may choose to keep a low profile or silently build in order to find new emotions and catalysts.
For example, LianGuairallel, a collectible card game introduced in this article, received a financing of $50 million from LianGuairadigm in 2021, with a valuation reaching $500 million at one point.
After the financing, LianGuairallel seems to have been relatively quiet. On the one hand, it may be due to the unfavorable market environment, and on the other hand, it may be due to polishing the game itself.
After two years of silence, the game’s beta testing finally went live at the end of July this year. Taking advantage of the current popularity of the Base chain and the rise in TVL, the game also put its NFT cards on the Base chain for Minting, and at the same time, it is launching a series of marketing activities with Base, intending to take advantage of the trend.
Recently, Luca, the CEO of Penguin NFT, tweeted that LianGuairallel is fun to play, and there are also some other influencers discussing this game.
Is it just hype or is there something real? In the recent market, blockchain games are widely believed to potentially lead the next wave of narratives. Therefore, with curiosity and anticipation, the author also tried this game and provided a detailed introduction and interpretation of the game’s participation methods.
Old model, new packaging
First, let’s take a look at the content of the game itself.
LianGuairallel does not have much innovation in terms of gameplay, and it essentially follows the rules of traditional collectible card games:
- Match and assemble a set of decks, considering the combination of different card functions;
- Engage in 1v1 matches with others, using strategies and rules to win;
- Cards can be traded on the market to select the most suitable deck.
The part that integrates with Web3 is also easy to analyze:
- The cards are presented in two versions: NFT and non-NFT. Both versions have the same functionality, but holding the former has the possibility of earning tokens;
- The NFT cards are listed on trading markets such as Opensea, and they are bought and sold based on supply and demand;
- The game comes after the assets. The complete version of the game has not been announced yet, but various pre-sale NFT card collections are already quite abundant. The game should have undergone an Alpha test before, so the card series on the market are also called Alpha.
As for the functions, prices, and ways to earn in-game tokens, we will discuss them in the next section.
At first glance, the gameplay and assets of LianGuairallel seem to follow the traditional model of card games. However, in terms of expression and worldview, the game has a unique packaging – science fiction.
Common card games are often based on a worldview of swords and magic, where the cards usually bear the shadow of Western fantasy or the Middle Ages. But the overall card design of LianGuairallel leans towards futuristic science fiction, with different races, characters, and props from different planets as the main focus, making it stand out in the market.
In addition, the introduction page of each card also indicates the illustrator, which may provide convenience for creator economy and royalties. Overall, it is more like an art collection than a card introduction.
For a card game, it is difficult to make significant innovations in terms of rules. However, the novelty of art style and worldview can easily create a good first impression, which is advantageous for attracting players.
In actual gameplay experience, it is not particularly noticeable that it is a Web3 game. The UX interface for deck, resources, and countdown is superior compared to general Web3 games, but there is still a certain gap compared to industry-leading games like Illuvium in terms of tabletop design, card animation, and model design.
Although these two games are not strictly the same type, comparing them forcibly may be biased. However, the investment in UI and animation can reflect the game’s resource reserves and level of dedication.
If we consider LianGuairallel’s fundraising in 2021 as the start of game development, then the Beta version released after two years of silence, from the perspective of a “new round of Web3 games,” I believe it has just passed the passing line.
However, a more realistic scenario is that LianGuairallel may not have followed the traditional game studio approach of designing a game from the beginning and then announcing it. Instead, it is testing the waters in sync with the encrypted market, releasing a portion of the game to see the market’s response, and if it’s good, continuing to refine it.
Beta Testing Participation and Token Economy
Currently, the game released information about the Beta testing on July 31st.
However, if you only register on the official website now, there is a high probability that you will not qualify for the beta testing of the game. The official statement is that more registered players will be invited to participate in the test play every week.
However, there is another way to participate, which is to directly purchase beginner card packs. Each beginner pack is currently priced at 0.05E and users need to switch to the Base network and reserve a certain amount of gas fee to make the purchase.
At the same time, each beginner pack is differentiated based on different races in the game world, and contains 40 cards of different qualities and functions for players to form an introductory card deck. Once the deck is set up, players can start playing.
This design is somewhat similar to the card game “Gwent” in web2 card games, where different races and factions have different deck styles and gameplay. However, it should be noted that all cards are currently presented in English, so understanding the effect and combination of each card still requires a certain learning and gameplay threshold.
If we look at it from a purely economic perspective, the minimum cost to participate in this beta test is 0.05E, so what are the returns?
After completing a match, the system will reward the token in the LianGuairallel game: $PRIME. However, the specific reward rules are determined by a series of factors:
Ladder ranking. Based on the player’s skill level, there will be a matchmaking rating, and the higher the rating, the more tokens can be obtained.
Other asset gains. If players also hold key items in the game, it will accelerate the acquisition of PRIME, similar to experience cards.
Number of NFTs in the deck. More NFT cards = more PRIME.
Winning streak. Higher winning streaks = more PRIME.
The daily emission of PRIME has a limit, which is currently set by the official as 5 victories. After that, no matter how many victories there are in the match, there will be no additional PRIME, which is equivalent to a fatigue mechanism.
However, the author did not participate in the competition to win the full reward. One reason is the language barrier of the game itself, and the other reason is that in order to maximize the reward efficiency, more initial investment is needed (such as buying NFT cards, keys, and other enhancements).
It is worth mentioning that the game is currently in the Beta stage.
Participating in Beta testing + Base chain popularity + LianGuairadigm investment, participating and active behaviors to strive for other airdrop rewards in the future may be a wiser choice.
Therefore, for ordinary players, if you are interested, you can enter and play freely with 0.05E, without the need to grind specifically. In addition, since the game announced the Beta test, its token PRIME has almost doubled, so rushing into the secondary market does not seem to be a wise choice.
Boosted by Base and LianGuairadigm, riding the wind?
Finally, if it were not for the boost from Base and LianGuairadigm, the author might have considered this a relatively ordinary card chain game.
But in the crypto circle, sometimes what we play is not the game itself, but the heat and expectations close to the resources. A little-known fact is: the co-founder of Coinbase is also the co-founder of LianGuairadigm. Therefore, the connection between the two companies is relatively close, and they often invest in projects together.
So, for LianGuairallel, LianGuairadigm has invested before, and it is currently launching the Beta test of the game when BASE L2 is going online and gaining popularity. The fact is self-evident that the beginner card packs are being sold on the BASE chain.
Taking advantage of capital and the momentum of the new chain, projects that survive in the cold winter of chain games want to rise with the trend. The project team is certainly aware of this, and smart and keen Web3 players will also seek popularity.
In terms of actual performance, if you have used the Coinbase wallet, you will find that in addition to the function of asset custody, it also integrates marketing information and directly guides users to NFT-related activities, where you can find the presence of LianGuairallel game card packs.
L2 needs ecology, and ecology needs a popular L2. After being bound together, if the user experience is convenient and excellent, then under speculation and airdrop expectations, naturally there will be people willing to pay.
Currently, Base’s major event is called “Onchain Summer”. In addition to this card game, different NFT activities are also launched every day. In the big event of creating heat in L2, by choosing to participate in certain small activities, players have expectations, the project team has traffic, and Base itself can gain more influence.
As summer is coming to an end, can blockchain games experience a revival? We look forward to more stories tied to valuable resources and also anticipate more outstanding products.
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