For those that still haven’t wrapped their heads around the concept that blockchain is much more than the technology underscoring Bitcoin, read on. Mobile apps and games company Tapinator (OTCQB: TAPM) and blockchain-focused video games studio Mego Corp. have teamed up to launch “Darkwinds,” a new head-to-head card trading game that runs on the Ethereum blockchain.
While Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, such as Ethereum tokens, couldn’t exist without blockchain, the decentralized ledger technology on which transactions are documented, the inverse is not true. What Tapinator and Mego are doing is cutting-edge in marrying the gaming world with the cryptocurrencies world in what is now a growing trend of “cryptocollectibles,” or collectible digital assets. Just like any other collectible, some assets are extremely rare.
The whole concept underscoring the game is part of a broader movement known as “dApps,” short for “decentralized applications.”
In the pirate-themed game Darkwinds, players compete to become grand master of the seven seas. Game elements are represented as unique, non-interchangeable trading cards. In tech talk, these cards are digital tokens, or cryptocollectibles, on the blockchain. Players have perpetual rights to the tokens for which they can sell, trade or give them away at their discretion either within or outside Darkwinds’ ecosystem.
Moreover, players can use ETH, the cryptocurrency of Ethereum, to buy “Booster Packs,” which contain 10, 25 or 50 cards. These cards are determined pseudo-randomly through a smart contract. Smart contracts, sometimes called self-executing contracts, make exchanging anything of value (in this case cards, in other cases cryptocurrencies) frictionless and completely transparent without the involvement of a third party while further defining and enforcing the obligations related to the transaction.
According to the game’s creators, the crucial workings of Darkwinds are governed by its ETH smart contracts.
"Cryptocollectibles and Cryptocurrencies represent a paradigm shift for games because players can now take an active part within games' virtual economies,” commented Mego CEO Cristian Gonzalez, CEO in today’s news release.
Taking an early leadership position in the dApp trading card space, Tapinator CEO Ilya Nikolayev says the his belief is that “gaming is one of the most promising verticals for blockchain technology and that home run, franchise games will be built as decentralized, Ethereum applications.
Nikolayev added that Darkwinds is the first of two games they are currently developing on blockchain technology.
Blockchain stocks have suffered a beatdown since Bitcoin peaked in January over $19,500 and began a precipitous slide to its current level around $8,000. Tapinator was not immune, with shares sinking from 72 cents down in January to just 12 cents on Tuesday. Shares are up with today’s news, gaining 25% to 15 cents with about two hours left until the closing bell.
