Creative storytelling is at the core of any narrative game
As more begin to recognise the power of Web3 and the seemingly infinite possibilities in this new realm, many game developers jump far too quickly into the NFT gaming hype, trying to craft a captivating story, build a community, and gain the trust of the public for an undeniable reputation in the NFT gaming industry. With hype within a community fluctuating rapidly, how could this impact a new project’s success?
The success of a narrative game is dependent on how well its lore enthralls the community. So, if the essence of any narrative game (NFT or not) is the story itself, shouldn’t this be the priority? Unfortunately, many game developers are overcommiting in a desperate attempt to jump on the bandwagon and not get left behind. As a result, they fail to sufficiently consider how they can produce something of value for their target audience.
The approach of the team behind Ghost Town Showdown pales in comparison to the rushed attempts that flood the industry today. Before even creating any NFTs, Ghost Town Showdown wanted to build a narrative backbone that the community could fall in love with. Combining elements from familiar card games like Hearthstone and battlefield strategy classics like Final Fantasy: Tactics, this PVP battle brings PFP communities together to fight against malevolent ghosts who are threatening the destruction of Ghost Town.
Ghost Town Showdown’s game-first approach prioritizes the player’s interactive experience
The first of their four guiding principles is to provide a rich player experience. After all, the sustainability of any game solely depends on the players’ long-term adoption and active participation. To increase retention rate, Ghost Town Showdown also aims to foster a climate of collaboration within the community because everyone wants to feel like they belong. Only then can they truly experience joy from the game. For those who love games, what brings you more joy than playing a game with people who share the same passion for games as you?
When Ghost Town Showdown made their debut on the internet in Feburary 2022, they announced their vision to create something meaningful for the players through their game-first approach. Because the game is their focus, they only plan to launch their 10K collection of NFTs in May 2022, close to the game’s release. This approach stands in stark contrast to other NFT games who minted their NFTs several months ahead of their game’s release.
Ghost Town Showdown allows for full integration of PFP NFTs in which avatars come to life for a rich metaversal experience. This will attract players from other communities and provide more use cases for NFT avatars. As the community grows, the value for the game and the NFTs will grow, thus contributing to the game’s ever evolving ecosystem in the near future.
A highly interactive narrative places storytelling power in the hands of the players
Not only does Ghost Town Showdown set themselves apart from other NFT games by choosing to mint their NFTs close to the game’s release, but they place a strong emphasis on creating a firm imaginative ground to anchor the story for a captivating narrative. By providing the backbone of the story, they draw players into the game by giving them the opportunity to drive the plot forward through achievements on the battlefield, role playing, and pooling resources as a faction for their battles.
Storytelling is intuitive to human nature, and Ghost Town Showdown uniquely capitalizes on man’s incessant desire to be in control of their story in order to make a name for themselves. With the opportunity for a communal storytelling experience, Ghost Town Showdown offers shared ownership and agency to direct the lore, which could be a great way to build community and achieve state-of-the-art gameplay. Players are more than just little pons in the game. They are responsible for where the story goes in the near future because it all depends on what they choose to do in the present.
The P2E system rewards active player participation
The opportunity for profit often serves as extrinsic motivation for any experience. However, because Ghost Town Showdown values play above profit, they have decided to only install P2E systems that will enhance the enjoyment of the play space. This focus on fun and entertainment could potentially be a winning strategy.
The ‘free-to-play’ model has been successful in Web2 (as seen in Fortnite), where player adoption leads to greater monetisation capabilities, which would be interesting to see how this plays out in Web3 where players have control over their assets and economy. But because not much has been revealed about the tokenomics of their game, it is difficult to comment on how their rewards system stacks up against their competitors.
The tokenomics is certainly a potential factor for the team to work on because building a sustainable P2E system is something that many developers struggle with. If a clear and well-planned approach for tokenomics is not taken, it will likely be a drawback for players. It all depends on their execution and overall adoption within their community.
For now, all we currently know (as of 1st of May 2022) is that $GHOST is the native currency of Ghost Town that can be earned by winning matches, participating in a specific number of matches each week, or winning tournaments and grudge matches. Players will also be rewarded if they add value to the space through memes or other forms of social engagement. $GHOST can be used for narrative choices, cosmetic upgrades, or for the upgrade of metadata stats, which would increase the rarity and potential value of the player’s NFT avatar.
Simulturn equalizes players to ensure fair play
Ghost Town Showdown features the unique simulturn system that eliminates the first turn advantage. Even though most games randomly assigns the first turn to a player, those who get to play first automatically are more statistically likely to win. Ghost Town Showdown’s simulturn system operates such that both players finalize their moves before the game continues.
For context, the showdown is a battlefield where players must out-maneuver their opponents by knocking out the Marshal, who essentially like the “King” in chess. Players must manage their Action Points in each turn to direct the wranglers (or soldiers) on the team to move, attack, or use one of their abilities. They also have a deck of cards (both good and ‘bad’) that they can deploy to control the battle space.
Instead of ‘reacting’ to the opponent on the battlefield, players get to strategize their next move, which results in an up-tempo play experience and solves the first turn advantage dilemna. This novel feature is likely to contribute to high retention rate of players, drive a potentially high demand for gamers to join the community, and ultimately increase the value of the game and the NFTs. After all, who wouldn’t want fair play?
Taking the path less traveled may be costly
Ghost Town Showdown has certainly invested time and energy into creating the backbone for a narrative that their community can fall in love with. Their player-driven narrative and their novel simulturn system combined with a game-first approach is likely to contribute to a high player retention rate. Players get to be part of something bigger and not get taken for a ride, but actually have a say in where the story goes.
As with anything new, it is not all rainbows and unicorns. Until now, not much has been mentioned about the developing team behind this game because they are undoxxed. So far, they have only revealed that their team is comprised of an established startup founder with multiple exits, a professor of game design for game development, and a professor of English literature for world building. While their educational background is impressive, an undoxxed team is usually a red flag in the NFT industry. Yet, they promise to deliver a ready-to-play game with NFTs that can be fully activated as avatars.
Unlike other NFT games, Ghost Town Showdown will only mint their NFTs close to the game’s release date. While it may sound promising that they have taken tangible steps to build and invest before minting their NFTs, how will they build and sustain community engagement until such time? There may be a loss of a hype, and they run the risk of disappointing players if their P2E system is not well executed.
As for my pennies’ worth of thoughts, Ghost Town Showdown does stand out from its competitors in their captivating narrative, game-first approach, and simulturn system. But there are also some concerns around the long waiting time for the NFTs and the game’s release, their tokenomics system, and the credibility of the undoxxed team. If well executed, this highly interactive and immersive narrative will serve to foster player engagement and community building which can almost guarantee a high player retention rate. But for now, it is too early to tell if Ghost Town Showdown will be the next hit in the NFT gaming industry.
May 17, 2022 
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