The creator of the popular Facebook game FarmVille, Eric Schiermeye, has transitioned to the blockchain gaming industry.
Blockchain Game Partners, for which Schiermeyer is the founder and CEO, has announced that it is developing a blockchain-based gaming platform dubbed the Gala Network.
The platform seeks to cater to the innovation of developers, and will afford players full ownership over blockchain-based in-game items represented as non-fungible tokens. The items will be usable across multiple games built on the Gala Network.
Fifteen developers are currently working to build Gala.
Blockchain to revolutionize gaming experiences
Speaking to Venturebeat, Schiermeyer predicts that blockchain-based gaming will offer “a revolutionary experience for people” through allowing players to take full ownership over in-game items:
“Just like networked games and social games, I believe that blockchain games are the next evolution in gaming. Pretty soon, nobody will play a game that is a black hole of time and money, if they have good alternatives that allow the player to retain ownership of their time and money.”
Schiermeyer said that the industry-wide disruption driven by blockchain will spark a wealth transfer where real people can capture some of the value that would otherwise have been absorbed by large entertainment corporations:
“Unlike any other experience I’ve ever seen, when you spend money here, you actually get something, something that you can keep, and maybe even give away or give some to somebody else. You can’t do that in traditional free-to-play games right now. And people just accept that [...] We believe that by giving the players real value that the entire ecosystem will grow immensely. This is a tectonic shift that’s about to happen.”
Townstar will be the first game to launch on Gala
Blockchain Game Partners is collaborating with Sandbox Games to develop Townstar — the first to launch on the Gala Network
Mike McCarthy, the former creative director for FarmVille 2, one of the most successful releases from Schiermeyer’s game company Zynga, is among 10 developers working on Townstar.
Townstar will feature an in-game tokenized currency with a fixed price. The game also includes a pseudo-mining feature. Players can purchase “loot boxes,” which contain the parts needed to build a “farm bot,” which can be used to mine the in-game currency. Farm bots can also be purchased pre-assembled within the game for a much higher price.
The tokens will also be supported in future games launching on the Gala Network.