
The interviews Rooms at Token2049 in Singapore earlier this month had adjustable stools that sank lower the longer you sat on them. Thanks to tight security at the conference, I was late for the meeting. Aleks Larsen, the chair of Sky Mavis, was almost on the floor.
A better writer may be able to spin this into some sort of metaphor. Could a quip be about the value of s' two tokens? Or something about s' perceived slow decline over time into irrelevance?
The game publisher Sky Mavis, a Vietnam-based developer, pioneered play-to-earn gaming. It attracted millions of players - some of whom played it for a living - then its token collapsed, it was hacked, and the industry dismissed it as little more than a scam.
Even so, Larsen, the chairman and co-founder of Sky Mavis, says it's not done yet. As we attempt to stop our chairs from sinking, '' Axie' made this industry happen, he tells DL News.
Web3 games aim to rival their web2 rivals. Many projects promise graphics and gameplay on par with industry's top AAA games, including big-budget studio games like and Think the production values of plus web3.
As Web3 develops, Larsen is increasingly worried about games not properly exploiting the benefits of web3 technology, and those that call themselves AAA games.
'' Re basically competing with the AAA games of web2 without the benefits of web3 in any real tangible way,'' he warns.
The AAA Games label has devolved into a marketing gimmick, Larsen said. In contrast to proving themselves through their work, teams rely on metrics such as NFT floor prices or the number of developers they employ.
And not every good game is AAA. On Steam, you'll find that indie games are well-represented.
Gamers are not a forgiving bunch. A former employee of Steam told me they used to prank players by posting about updates and not changing anything, and players would still complain about the new 'changes'. However, they will often opt for convincing lore, world building, and interesting premises over slick graphics.
Games like and have traded insults over whether the other team is big or experienced enough to actually produce the game they promise. Larsen sees it differently,: Too many cooks can spoil the brew, especially if they're seconded from other studios.
The initial versions were incredibly low quality and very simple, said James Ewing, the director of Apple's computer-software division, in a statement.
But the industry is being hit with delayed projects that under-deliver, and some are s' biggest contractors.
He sees criticisms, especially from those who haven't produced tangible contributions, as harmful to the industry's collaborative growth.
In the height of hype, it became a cultural phenomenon, especially in places like the Philippines. When I first heard about Yield Guild Games founder Gabby Dizon, he told me a few generations of his family played it. Dizon, himself, became one of the world's biggest breeders.
A company has created an app where people can pay their utility bills using the game's Smooth Love Potion token.
The idea of the original game was simple. To get started, players needed to acquire three axies - think colourful, chubby axolotl-type creatures - to use in player-versus-player battles.
The different axis had different strengths and weaknesses. If he won the match, who would receive a token called Smooth Love Potion.
Two tokens were used: SLP and AXS. At their peak, they boasted a combined market cap of $11 billion.
Today, SLP has lost 97% of its value and SLP is down 99%. The chain it was built on, Ronin, was hacked by North Koreans in one of the biggest cyber-heists ever created. The culprits owe more than $600 million.
If the damage was so severe, it's rather exceptional that it was able to survive. The gaming industry, and crypto writ large, lost sight of the one-time juggernaut. The workers at Sky Mavis, still quietly and consistently, have soldiered on, the company said in a statement.
Will crypto eventually ascend to something close to its zenith? Is it doomed to be a vestige of its former self for the foreseeable future?
I visited again last week to check out the game's mechanics.
It's one of only two web3 games I've played for weeks at a time and actually gotten into. My boyfriend couldn't stand my early 2022 phase. He would roll his eyes every time he heard the soundtrack coming from my laptop.
My original axies have vanished in some wallet I cannot remember, consigned to that portion of my mind I try to repress, where my starving Neopet and abandoned Tamagotchi also live.
I acquired a few of them and re-downloaded the Sky Mavis hub. It's still cute. And unlike a lot of its critics who make big promises that never come to fruition, it actually exists.
Aleks Larsen, the executive director of Sky Mavis, was mistakenly identified as the CEO of the company. The CEO is the co-founder and chair of the company.