Published on: 23/09/2022
Worldspark Studios launches NFT collection for Sparkadia platform
Blockchain gaming developer Worldspark Studios launched its first NFT sale, Sparkadia Origin Collection, on Rarible and TokenTrove on September 20, 2022. The NFT collection will be usable for all games within the Sparkadia ecosystem and provide small bonuses like unique trophies or discounts on future sales.
“Sparkadia refers to an interconnected series of games, each developed by Worldspark Studios and all linked together by the same world, narrative, characters, and even economy,” wrote Worldspark Studios in its whitepaper.
This release follows the company’s roadmap outlined in its whitepaper, having launched its Sparkadia platform earlier this year and opened the closed alpha test of its first game, Edenbrawl, back in August. This will be followed by the sale of Passports, which will allow early access to the studio’s upcoming titles.
WorldSpark Studios predicted that Edenbrawl would be available to Passport holders by June 2023, with the closed beta of another upcoming title, Saga of Sparks, slated for December.
Edenbrawl will be the studio’s flagship title for the Sparkadia ecosystem. The company explained that the game would be easy to pick up but have great potential depth and a competitive focus.
Each hero will have an easy-to-understand set of abilities but have unique interactions and strategies to consider, giving the game staying value for a competitive audience. Worldspark Studios is also planning on hosting a competitive league and tournaments for players from all ranks.
Worldspark Studio’s vision for blockchain gaming
According to Worldspark Studios, many current Web3 gaming platforms and studios focus too heavily on monetization and play-to-earn as a concept. This leads to games being released that are not fun to play as features are stripped out to “make room” for the financial side.
To combat this phenomenon, the studio focuses on fun value and entertainment, not compromising to “cram DeFi and earning into spots where they should not be”. It highlighted in its vision for blockchain gaming that there should be “zero on or off-chain elements that affect gameplay”. Put simply, it believes that games should not be pay-to-win regardless of Web3 integration or monetization model.
“Edenbrawl is a 100 percent free-to-play (F2P) game with absolutely zero pay-to-win (P2W). All purchasable items, both off-chain and on-chain are strictly cosmetic. Players cannot purchase anything that would provide any sort of advantage over other players,” Worldspark Studios wrote.
The studio went a step further in describing its design philosophy, vowing that “Sparkadia will never put gameplay behind a Web3 wall”. Players should be able to fully experience the game without needing to interact with the blockchain elements. Besides not wanting to gate gameplay benefits behind anything financial, it also noted that a low barrier of entry could draw the mainstream audience into the blockchain gaming ecosystem.
“Our belief is that gaming will be the tool that onboards the next 100 million users to blockchain while also believing that blockchain is the next evolution for game economies,” wrote Worldspark Studios.
“If traditional gamers are going to accept blockchain games, it starts with reducing the barriers to entry, both financially and the amount of knowledge required.”
