Uncovering the future and importance of Web3 gaming with industry pioneer Steve Curran, whose worked for the world’s biggest brands

Please tell me about yourself and your Web3 project(s):  

I’ve been in game design, interactive entertainment, and marketing since the 90s. I am lucky enough to have the good fortune to work with top entertainment and consumer brands like Red Bull Records, Sony Entertainment, Warner Brothers, Atlantic Records, Puma, The History Channel, A+E Television, Burger King, Mattel, Animal Planet, and many others – working at the intersection of games, entertainment, and innovation, through the evolution of digital media, throughout the past 30 years.

Being in this space for so long, it has been fun to watch it evolve. I consider myself to be part creator, part technologist, and part entrepreneur. My team and I are really excited about the potential that Web3 gaming holds. As we researched the availability of Web3 games today, we found a particular gap in casual games, those fun and addictive games you can play during a quick break from work or school. Most visions for Web3 gaming were ambitious and complex or were about a token launch. And because the very essence of Web3 is about community and ownership, we challenged ourselves to create a casual gaming platform that was simple, fun, competitive, and social. We wanted it to feel instantly familiar and accessible.

As a result, that’s exactly what we have been able to develop with Burn Ghost. It’s a casual, play-to-win gaming platform that allows users to win NFTs and use crypto for small entry fees. The games we feature on the platform are quick, test your skills, and are a lot of fun to challenge your friends. We are starting to focus on Trivia, because we think there are so many exciting places to take that, from rewarding fandom, incentivized learning, and community tournaments. We’ve found that it works across demographics and generations.

We’re also currently getting our hands on some highly sought-after NFTs to offer as prizes, giving top performers access to tribes only the crypto-rich were previously able to access. However, there is a vast world of prizing opportunities to win with Burn Ghost beyond NFTs.

What does Web3 gaming mean to you?

I’ve worked in gaming and digital media evolution since the 8-bit Nintendo System. We went from playing individually at home using specific consoles and PC to mobile and cloud gaming, competing with one another online and VR games for an immersive experience.

Web3 gaming is the next evolution in this long journey, but it’s a big one. It’s transforming the gaming landscape by integrating metaverse and blockchain technology into the gaming industry. It will allow gamers to own assets like skins and ultimately port them between games. They can truly own those assets and, in some cases, sell them.

Moreover, in the case of Burn Ghost, it will allow players to win NFTs and game assets they might not otherwise be able to afford to buy. So it’s ultimately about democratizing gaming in a way we have never previously seen.

How does your project stand out among others?

Burn Ghost stands out for several reasons. Our team has been at this long enough that we know what it takes to build a cohesive, fun experience that keeps players coming back.

Firstly we focus on instantly familiar games which won’t intimidate users wanting to jump in and play. We are wary of introducing games that “whale” players dominate, building ways that players will feel like they have a good shot at winning instead.

The second thing that makes us different is our launch partners. We have gained the support of some yet announced partnerships that will bring with them world-class IP and fans. And third, the social features and outstanding prizes will make this continually dynamic and exciting.

Why do you base your game on trivia — why are some players so captivated?

Trivia is something that has crossed platforms for decades. Psychologists will tell you that playing trivia gives us a rush of dopamine when we answer a question correctly; it feels good to be a know-it-all. What else will you do with all that random information in your head? Trivia is also a great way to keep our memory sharp and our brains performing at their peak. Trivia is also very social; it brings people together.

Overall, it’s fun for us to connect and get to know one another better. Trivia gives us a burst of adrenaline in a positive way. Players retain what they learn in a trivia game more than they would if they just read a fact somewhere.

Our games let you feel like your knowledge gives you some agency over winning a prize instead of sweepstakes, and it is undoubtedly a lot more fun.

Why is casual gaming crucial to Web3?

Casual gaming was one of the most significant developments to entire onboard generations to Web2, and at Burn Ghost, we believe that history is about to repeat itself. Think about how often you have challenged your friends to cards, word games, or pool on your phone. Games like Candy Crush, Trivia Crack, Fruit Ninja, 8 Ball Pool, and Words With Friends are playable by kids and grandparents alike. They’re fun, don’t require you to spend hours honing your skills, and can add excitement to your day’s quick breaks. For example, when Apple launched the App store for the iPhone, they had not imagined that games would be the most popular apps. Likewise, Facebook never saw itself as a gaming platform; the explosion of social gaming onboarded a much wider variety of users to the platform.

On the other hand, Web3 is still relatively new, but it’s growing exponentially. With crypto as the initial use case for Blockchain, early adopters had to be pretty savvy. Even after the launch of the first NFTs, the digital assets were not well understood. It was only when projects recognized the need to build true communities and utility for holders that we saw the next wave. But whenever we see news about Bitcoin dropping or the FTX scandal, it creates barriers for people to join Web3 because they get nervous.

Casual gaming breaks through those barriers by offering a fun way for everyone to have involvement. We’re offering up Burn Ghost as that platform. So for newbies, winning their first NFT can open their eyes to this fantastic new world. And for degens, they get a chance to win blue chips they may have missed out on due to not being early enough on a project or a whitelist.

Do you believe video games are the most significant use case for Web3 — or art, music, etc.?

Blockchain gaming is still in its infancy, but it’s getting much attention. Despite the FTX collapse, VC firms have invested heavily in gaming. Music NFTs are taking off, with a current industry value of $1.2 billion, and are forecasted to grow to $4.24 billion by 2032, according to Market Decipher. The art NFT industry is expected to grow to $211.7 billion by 2030 according to Grand View Research, fueled by the growing use of crypto.

Gaming is enormous, though, the Web3 gaming market is expected to grow from its current $5 billion to an industry size of $37 billion by 2032, according to Fungies. If these projections hold, gaming will grow to more than 8 times the size of the music NFT industry. Art was the first use case, so it is the most mature of the three, and art is the most common access point to online communities and IRL experiences. It tends to cross music and gaming, which can explain its size.

Tell me the reasons why you believe some games go viral, whereas others fizzle out?

The number one reason a game goes viral is that it has to be more fun than anything else that is simply one click away. Marketing and promotion can bring people to a game, but the game keeps them coming back and telling their friends. It needs to be unique, have an excellent user interface, and work smoothly. What’s important to game virality is players invite others, and those other players accept and try the game. It is essential to create a gaming community where players can post and feel proud of their achievements.

Furthermore, one of the great things about gaming is the connection. It can provide people of all different cultures, ages, and other interests. It’s a shared passion that brings people together. Adding the right element of competition helps fuel this passion. When players know they can beat the high score, they earn something more than just bragging rights. This makes the competitive aspect of a game not only more fun but something they want to return to.

Do you have any thoughts about Bored Ape’s new game, Dookey Dash? 

I haven’t played Dookey Dash personally, but it looks fun. The first level reminds me of our FTX gameplay, a game we created to satirize the FTX collapse. I think it matches our thesis of focusing on simple, fun, accessible skill-based games that rank your performance for prizes — check it out!

How do you see the future of Play-to-Earn (P2E) gaming?

At Burn Ghost, we believe the future of P2E gaming is Web3. The P2E mechanism has been around since 2017 but has taken off over the past couple of years. Even big studios like Epic Games acknowledge its importance to the gaming industry. We’ve seen Web2 games moving in this direction, and with Web3, the culture of earning is already in place, so it’s a natural progression.

In addition, we’re seeing the launch of P2E games in metaverses such as The Sandbox, strategy games like Star Atlas, role-playing games like Guild of Guardians, and fitness games like STEPN. We believe that Burn Ghost will fill the space in P2E casual gaming.

Provide us with your socials so we can stay in the loop:

Stay up-to-date with Burn Ghost by adding our Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, Discord, and OpenSea!

Want to know more? Feel free to drop me a message on LinkedIn.

Subscribe to the NFT Lately newsletter to receive news covering the latest NFT-related drops, releases, reviews, and more.

NFT Lately explores the intersection of art and innovation with PLAY! POP! GO! Founder Amber Park, alongside development partner from Clique, Jaden Yan

Can you tell me about yourself?

I am a multi-hyphenate creative thinker: a visual artist and a storyteller. Throughout the course of my career, I have worn many hats — from art director to designer. Then, to creative director to director, to creative producer. In all these different roles, I realized that the common thread was there was no box.

Growing up, I was always a bit of a dork. Consequently, I was quite shy. I had a bit of a chaotic, dysfunctional childhood. This resulted in my feeling like I did not belong anywhere. Luckily, I found my safe haven through creativity. Whether drawing or painting, I realized I am able to create my own fantasy worlds and stories. I started to process and free my own mind through these self-reflected moments that carried with me as an adult. Hence, art became my best friend.

Following this, as an adult, I found my voice and identity through a creative career. Now, I am proud about not fitting in. I realized that this next chapter of my life is focused and inspired by this intention to free the inner-child. I can show people how their greatest superpowers are their imagination. My imagination saved me and my imagination healed me.

How did PLAY! POP! GO!? form?

Ultimately, it is my imagination that took me to new experiences. They then opened new places and opportunities that I didn’t even know existed. This became the starting point for PLAY! POP! GO! and the brand’s core mission and ethos: “for the dreamers, realized with positive intention, grounded in gratitude. The power of your imagination can take you anywhere.”

PLAY! POP! GO! are fashion, techhnology and art NFTs, and what I like to call an imagination playground. At the core of the project is cartoon & entertainment. The brand’s ethos matches my own non-linear journey as a multi-hyphenate creative and not fitting in any boxes.

Our brand is multidimensional and thus we have built a multiverse in which various divisions of the project exist: (1) IRL Luxury Streetwear Fashion Label (2) Product & Merchandising (3) Web3 division: PLAY3 and (4) Entertainment & Media.

In our first phase, our fashion label and Web3 division, PLAY3, will be launching and leading our dynamic storytelling.

I am excited to also have my tech and development partner, Jaden from Clique joining me in this interview.

Please reveal what makes your project unique:

Art is subjective. I cannot say what others might consider “unique” about it, but I will say that this is a project and a story that comes from a place of love, and we hope through art and the world we are building, we can inspire other creators to keep dreaming. I am thankful to have the opportunity to even share this story and am so excited to see how others connect with our story.

What’s the inspiration behind your fashion and art NFTs?

Amber: Highlighting my roots as a Korean-American as well as being inspired by Hello Kitty and Sanrio, I wanted to dream up the next generation of Sanrio meets Bape. I wanted to create an innovative approach to an IP entertainment brand that meets pop culture and high-end streetwear. On the other hand, I think fashion plays such a key role in storytelling in pop culture ties into music and entertainment in so many exciting ways. These are two things that I am such a fan of and have been such a fan of since I was a kid.

The art is a combination of mixed mediums: kawaii anime meets hyper surreal cute 3D character design. Everything about PPG is about radiating light, kindness and color and is fueled by imagination.

The art NFTs and the integration of character PFPs and a digital closet for our fashion plays off of this culture of collector’s mentality that we have seen in the video gaming world, streetwear and sneaker worlds. Our goal is to create a community through the shared passion and shared joy of experiencing and co-creating a story and world that’s presented through digital collectibles, physical product and art.

How come some NFTs in your collection are rarer than others? What’s your key for customization?

Jaden: Each trait is designed and built personally, and rarities are based off of the quality and also intrinsic representative value of each of the traits. Some traits do represent physical items or future physical drops in PLAY! POP! GO! fashion and merchandise lines.

Through partnering with Chainlink and integrating VRF, we have also ensured fair distribution and randomness for every single trait. Reasons being, to prevent manipulation of rarer/more coveted traits.

Who are your project’s key partners that contribute the most toward success?

PLAY3 has partnered with various major players in the space, including Polygon (SBTs) and Chainlink (VRF).

We will be deploying SBTs and additional rewards to holders on Polygon, and making use of Chainlink technologies to ensure a fair distribution of trait rarities.

Amber: I am really excited to be partnering with Jaden Yan and the incredible Clique team on the technical development of PLAY! POP! GO! There was such an incredible synergy and magic when I met Jaden, and it’s been such an incredible journey working with someone who is like-minded and is always open to creative conversation and listening to all my crazy ideas and figuring out how we can build them out in our project’s interface. As a result, I am so excited with what we are building and constantly we – the PPG team – is trying to actively innovate and keep pushing boundaries.

Jaden: In terms of deeper integrations, we are developing together with Clique to build greater off-chain utilities for our holders through their Identity Oracles. Holder’s will be able to prove their loyalty to the PPG community, so to speak, based on social media engagement, purchasing of physical items,  attending real life events, and taking part in our future game ecosystem. These proofs of brand loyalty will come in the form of on-chain badges, metadata, and changing traits. They will then be translatable into off-chain rewards like early access, discounts and exclusive benefits.

If you have advice for anyone creating their own NFT project, what would it be?

Amber: Be yourself. Be bold. Tell your story. Web3 is an incredible platform that allows creators to be in the driver’s seat where their IP becomes their platform. Their dreams, their ideas, their art – is the core and ethos of their project. Be genuine. Be unapologetic, and focus on building your story and your art to really foster community. Your art and  your story should be the core of your project and then the storytelling becomes the threading that should guide the utility.

Jaden: Build something with real utility that your community can truly benefit from and enjoy being a part of!

How do you feel about the NFT industry this year?

Amber: I am truly excited. I think it’s an incredible time and there is this renaissance happening. I think people are excited and hungry for stories and to enter new worlds and experiences.

Jaden: We feel that the industry as a whole has become much more sophisticated. Buyers are much more aware of cash grabs and rugs pulls, meaning that only projects with true utility and an intention to grow the web3 space will be able to prosper.

We see this as a huge win for the space overall and are excited to be able to prove ourselves as one of the projects that can deliver true utility.

What do you think the Web3 space needs to see more of?

Amber: I think the space needs to see more free-thinkers who are disrupting and making noise because this is what the space is built for and how I see the potential of Web3 really creating new opportunities. I would love to see more POCs and females taking charge, amplifying their stories, and building communities. I think right now there is still an exploitation and marginalization of female creators that mimics what you see in Web2 and IRL. There are some incredibly brilliant females and especially young creators with such powerful stories who deserve the space and platform to really shine.

Additionally, I would love to see more projects really focused on how they can harness their digital utility to bridge back to making real impact and change IRL.

My personal opinion is that technology and innovation as well as the progress of human capability and mind are important. Both truly matter when used to make our physical present existences a better place. Moreover, with all the things we are seeing socially, economically and politically in our current world’s climate – we can be using art and technology to bring people together. This can help to make a real difference and impact to better the world we live in.

Jaden: Web3 is still in desperate need for experienced founders and builders who truly want to execute on projects that bring sustainable and tangible value to users.

The growth of projects with long-term vision will be the true driver of further web3 adoption.

What’s in the pipeline for and PLAY! POP! GO! in 2023?

Amber: We have a lot of very exciting things that we are building in our virtual ecosystem, but also a lot of IRL immersive activations planned throughout this year.

PPG Fashion is launching its first capsule in early March. It will be the first of several capsule collections releasing throughout the year that will seamlessly tie back to what we are building in our digital gaming experience. With our launch of our PFP collection in March, our story will begin and our roadmap will be released.

Jaden: Without revealing too much, we have plans to build out an engaging social experience. However, holders and users will be able to play mini-games together, chat, and also collect various collectibles — all of which will be based on our collabs with major Web2 artists and brands!

Subscribe to the NFT Lately newsletter to receive news covering the latest NFT-related drops, releases, reviews, and more.

NFT Lately chats with Cryptopreneurs NFTs on aiding Indian entrepreneurs for business expansion through valuable digital assets

Tell me about your NFT project:

Cryptopreneurs NFT is more than just a collectable asset. The digital assets are unique collection of 3333 NFTs with more than 200+ traits. They offer a platform and ecosystem where holders can network, collaborate, and work with like-minded individuals.

Moreover, the NFTs come with exclusive access to a community of smart, experienced, and highly collaborative people. Therefore, the team behind the proejct have to knowledge to provide a useful roadmap, and convenience to start a B2B or D2C brand.

What makes Cryptopreneurs NFTs stand out from competitors?

The NFT project is the next big thing for Indian entrepreneurs. It offers users a solution to some of the most significant challenges faced by those trying to start a business in India. Consequently, entrepreneurs can learn high-income skills, build businesses or portfolios around those skills. They can then monetarize them by offering B2B services to international clients.

Furthermore, the platform allows for communication with experienced individuals who can provide guidance on building a successful business.

Tell me more about the digital assets unique use cases:

Our NFT collection is the perfect solution for Indian entrepreneurs who are struggling to get their ideas off the ground. With access to a supportive community of like-minded individuals, entrepreneurs can network and collaborate to lay the foundation for long-term business growth.

Additionally, the platform offers the opportunity to learn high-income skills that can be monetized by offering B2B services. All services are also available in North America, Western European countries and Australia.

Can you tell me about your portal, Cryptosphere?

Cryptosphere is a portal that will take you into the Atmosphere of Entrepreneurs. Cryptosphere will be the exclusive community only for the HODLERS. Following on, it will be accessible only to the HODLERS who have at least one Cryptopreneurs NFT. Real business owners and coaches will come LIVE and tell you how they got started. This can help collectors of the NFTs avoid mistakes while starting their businesses.

These brilliant people will cover various skills. This includes business fundamentals, NFT and blockchain development, Stock trading and investing, Web2 and Web3 marketing, e-commerce, etc. The biggest flex of being in this community is the wealth created. Members can learn new skills by collaborating with other Cryptopreneurs.

Check out our whitepaper to dig into all the details.

Anything else you would like to add?

Cryptopreneurs NFT is a one-of-a-kind collection that provides tremendous value to entrepreneurs. With its exclusive platform and ecosystem, such NFTs offer a supportive community of individuals who can provide guidance and support. All skills go toward building successful businesses.

There will be only 3333 NFTs to ensure a super high demand and exponential ROI for our investors. This platform is poised to revolutionize the entrepreneurial landscape. It offers a solution to some of the most significant challenges faced by those trying to start a business.

So, if you are an Indian entrepreneur looking to build your dream business, Cryptopreneurs NFT is the solution for you.

Join the Cryptosphere and take your entrepreneurial journey to new heights!

Subscribe to the NFT Lately newsletter to receive news covering the latest NFT-related drops, releases, reviews, and more.