Crypto: Against All Odds - The First of a New Round of Crypto Games - Article

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Cryptocurrency has received a sharp increase in interest in recent months. Its position in wider culture tended to be meme’d, left to the enthusiasts to construct and work their bubble of knowledge. However, more and more businesses have begun to take it more seriously, with even PayPal allowing users to manage bitcoins in their e-wallet. The GameStop saga which inspired the Dogecoin rush added to cryptocurrency’s buoyancy, an effect that was magnified when Elon Musk began Tweeting about it.

Soon after that Tesla announced it had invested $1.5 billion in bitcoin, with the company citing its need to diversify holdings. Cryptocurrencies’ - especially Bitcoin’s - prominence continues to grow as its value hits new heights almost weekly. Its representation in culture is changing, as is its use. And now games are cropping up inspired by cryptocurrency, notably a new release called Crypto: Against All Odds.

Crypto: Against All Odds

It never usually takes too long before new technology is used in a gaming context. There are those that are no-brainers – the likes of VR, for instance, which is being used in specialised headsets and for next-gen consoles. Cryptocurrency, aside from being used in the context of payment methods, has fewer clear applications for the gaming world.

Crypto: Against All Odds both confronts and avoids that question. It’s a tower defence game stylised and inspired by cryptocurrency. It doesn’t incorporate the blockchain technology which underpins cryptocurrency, nor cryptocurrency itself, but rather takes inspiration from it. The premise is that the player is a blockchain security specialist, who uses crypto defenders (in the form of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin among others) to ward off the threats of hackers, bugs, ransomware, and 51% attacks. There is a wider conspiracy narrative in the game, which the player must uncover by completing levels, exploring clues on forums, and talking with non-player characters. Upgrades are available too, so the player is capable of more as the game progresses.

Cryptocurrency and Gaming

This isn’t the first time cryptocurrency and gaming have crossed paths. Many online casinos have been accepting the major options (Bitcoin and Ethereum, for example) as valid payment methods for a while now. Gamers have been able to head to online casinos directly and check or use sites like Newcasinos.com which aggregate and compare online casinos under different categories, with “Bitcoin casinos'' being one.

Cryptocurrency’s use here offers flexibility (as Bitcoins can be broken down into 100,000,000 satoshis, much more than standard currencies allow), speed (as cryptocurrency transactions are validated faster than traditional methods), and security (as cryptocurrency’s blockchain technology offers pseudonymity and robust security measures).

There are even casinos that are Bitcoin exclusive. All of this goes to show that online casinos have found valid and important use for cryptocurrency.

Crypto-based Games

Crypto: Against All Odds isn't the first game to have cryptocurrency form a fundamental component of the gameplay itself. Prior releases with a cryptocurrency theme have often revolved around trading, either cards (e.g. Skyweaver, which a member of the Crypto: Against All Odds team worked on) or land (e.g. Crypto Crusades). Cryptocurrency lends itself to this kind of gameplay as it holds no intrinsic value, and is therefore only as expensive or cheap as the interest in it is. Its price at the moment, in real life, is soaring because everyone is talking about and investing in it, but at its core it's volatile; its value can bottom-out in no time at all as soon as people lose confidence. It's a bubble.

However, there is high-reward. A gaming world’s currency has the chance to rise significantly should it become more and more popular. And those who have invested in virtual land or specific cards, like in Skyweaver or Crypto Crusades, could see a high return. There are examples of virtual real estate being bought up within game worlds and already going for hundreds of thousands of dollars in anticipation.

As cryptocurrency becomes more commonplace, and as the wider public begins to understand and potentially use it, it’s likely that these and other similar niche games will become more popular. In-game value through digital purchases is a standard concept for many mainstream games already. So is this really such a radical departure?

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