The Future of GameFi is Play-2-Earn: Interview with Chase Layman

Ishan Pandey: Hi Chase, welcome to our series “Behind the Startup.” Please tell us about yourself and the story behind Attack Wagon Games?

Chase Layman: First off, thanks so much for the interview. I’ve been in the crypto world since about 2017 and buying NFTs since late 2018. Through it all, I’ve seen great ideas and poor ideas along the way. We want to bring something new to the gaming table, specifically play-to-earn games. I’ll get more into that soon. Attack Wagon was founded in January 2021 as a development studio for Free to Play and Play To Earn Games. Our first game is called Scrap Guilds. It is a Sci-Fi RPG that facilitates the use of the Attack Wagon token ($ATK) and includes a variety of different avenues for players to earn money through playing and passive means.

Ishan Pandey: What was the driving force behind developing this ‘play to earn’ ecosystem? How will this help diversify the use of blockchain beyond cryptocurrency?

Chase Layman: Everything we are building for our games is meant to include all gamers. We want a gaming ecosystem that brings the crypto gamer looking to make money while playing and the regular gamer who wants to try out a free game and have fun playing something that also pays them. We plan on each of our games having no entry fee so that any gamer can find a home here.

Ishan Pandey: Please tell us a little bit about Attack Wagon Games and its coming launch- Scrap Guilds?

Chase Layman: The first game coming from the studio is called Scrap Guilds. Scrap Guilds is a Space Shooter RPG. You’re a scrapper for hire and your ship is your lifeblood. As you progress through your ability skill tree, you collect and use different magic types for your blasters and shields. Mix & match these magic types and abilities for different results and strategies to take down a wide range of opponents. Because Attack Wagon is a game studio and not just a single game, we have many more games in the works also. This plays well into other facets of our ecosystem as our land sales not only make marketplace fees from one game but every game we ever create.

Ishan Pandey: How can we effectively combat the increasing strain on Ethereum’s Mainnet as a result of record-high usage fluctuating transaction fees?

Chase Layman: One of the biggest questions in our current realm is how do we ease the strain and make it simple for gamers to use our system without having to take a learning course over the process. First, we feel that Layer-2s are the answer and specifically for us, Polygon has been an amazing partner. Second, our automated system in-game allows you to start playing the game immediately and connect your wallet as soon as you are ready to start making money to enjoy the game no matter your play style.

Ishan Pandey: Could you kindly explain to our readers how the metaverse play-to-earn paradigm differs from the play-to-earn concept used in mobile gaming?

Chase Layman: We are not a metaverse project firstly but a play-to-earn project. As far as play-to-earn is concerned, we want people to play games that are fun and inclusive where you can enjoy the playstyle and earn some money from spending your free time in our games. If you are spending time in our world, why not get paid for your time? While we are not a metaverse project, we still respect what they are trying to do, bringing real-world value and work to a virtual world.

The term time is money comes to mind when talking about our company and the games we produce. If you are going to spend your valuable time with us, why not be rewarded for it. I believe this is the goal of most metaverse projects, which is why they are trying to bring so much “Real Life” work, products, and more to their worlds. I think the thing that will make play-to-earn eventually pull ahead will be the amount of fun you have spending time in each of these places.

Ishan Pandey: Blockchain technology is poised to have a transformative impact on the gaming world, not only, particularly because of remote gaming servers and how they assist gaming operators and their clients in giving a better experience. What are the benefits that come with implementing blockchain technology in the industry?

Chase Layman: The biggest benefit will come from the ability to make games ‘Play-to-earn’ and the fact that we can essentially make our games ‘Free-to-Play’ in the process. There is no need for advertisements, micro-payments, etc. If you have a healthy ecosystem where people buy and sell from each other, you will continue to prosper as a studio with no need to charge users to be involved in the game.

Ishan Pandey: What does the roadmap ahead look like for the blockchain gaming ecosystem as a whole?

Chase Layman: Attack Wagon is building games that suck you in, games that are fun and pay you for playing. With that being the case, we don’t want to produce just another Pokémon or arcade clone, so we are putting all effort and expense into building our first game. Our roadmap is full of good opportunities to get early as we grow from our Land at the end of march to our NFT marketplace, where you can buy and sell NFTs for in-game use later on. On top of those 2 big events, we also have free NFTs to give out, smaller intro games for holders and more before the first game releases this year.

Disclaimer: The purpose of this article is to remove informational asymmetry existing today in our digital markets by performing due diligence, asking the right questions, and equipping readers with better opinions to make informed decisions.