The next time a skeptic questions the momentum of the blockchain gaming market, inform him that by the end of 2021, the industry had attracted more than 1.5 million users, with a daily trading volume of gaming dApps growing to a half. billion dollars increased. Then cackle with satisfaction.
The breathless rush of gamers, developers and investors in the gamefi (gaming finance) space has been driven by the potential for profits through play-to-earn (P2E) mechanics, as well as the possibilities for rich gameplay thanks to the deployment of blockchain and NFTs (non-fungible tokens).
To date, most blockchain games have offered simple 2D worlds based on turn-based mechanics, focused on earning potential rather than fast-paced gameplay. But luckily that is starting to change…
Epic War, Immersive Gameplay
epic war is the first blockchain-based FPS (first-person shooter) to offer Triple-A graphics and gameplay in the form of its virtual reality (VR), free-play-to-earn (F2P2E) metaverse.
Interestingly, the fully 3D blockchain shooter is only part of the intended Epic War universe, which will be expanded with a series of comic books and movies. In the game story, players take part in battle royales where they have to battle with other gamers and enemy NPC creatures on a treacherous alien planet. Other notable elements include team battles with up to 16 players (8v8) in a single session. Boss battles further test players’ skills, and come in three different difficulty levels: normal, hard, and super hardcore.
The original Epic War token ($EWAR) is used to create new in-game characters, weapons, gear, battle cards, and purchase NFT items. It can also be used for governance purposes, giving holders decision-making powers about the future of the project. EWAR tokens are awarded to players and teams who are victorious in battles, and these tokens can then be used to enhance player character traits or sold to the highest bidder on exchanges.
Both winning and losing players can earn unique NFTs after each session, with tokens representing in-game items such as weapons, equipment and cards. Such artifacts can be sold, traded, or rented to other players for profit, and they are also provided after completing challenging in-game quests.
Epic War’s game engine has been built from the ground up using C++ code and uses the acclaimed unit motor as the technical foundation of its game world. The Unity Engine is used by many mainstream Triple-A game publishers and has been used in such releases as: Escape from TarkovCuphead, Wasteland 3, Subnautica and many more.
Future milestones
The team behind Epic War is from Vietnam, where they have years of collective experience in game design, blockchain development and full-stack coding. They are also collaborating with Japanese studios to develop Open World gameplay and VR metaverse stage. The team aims to release a beta version of the PvE and PvP game modes in mid-Q2 2022, alongside the DAO governance system, where players can have a say in future development decisions. The IGO (initial game offer) for the native EWAR token will also take place before the end of Q2. Continuing milestones on the roadmap predict a full game release and multi-chain integration by the end of Q3.
Multiple blockchain ecosystems will play host to Epic War when it’s completed, including Binance Smart Chain, Solana, Polygon, and NEAR, in an effort to provide players with the maximum number of benefits offered by different networks (speed, low cost, access to native stablecoins, etc.). Gamers can also look forward to the launch of the Epic War beta test in March.
Epic War’s long-term goals include integrating VR support and building out an expansive metaverse world where players can interact with the game in a 3D virtual space. Epic War builds on the promise of gamefi by expanding blockchain gaming to the level that mainstream gamers expect while integrating crypto and NFT rewards for the benefit of successful players.