I've had a few people ask for my take on Origins including the founders reaching out. I like that Origins gives the entire actual game away for free, and the gameplay seems solid, but there are a few things that I understand people (including myself) have reservations about.
The game is almost certainly more player friendly than marvel snap and I'm not here to defend snap and their monetization which I do think is even worse.
The fact that it was considering using nft/crypto is something to look at but not the main problem. Nft/crypto got the stigma it has now because of what it propped up and became flooded with, which is speculative gambling markets and pump and dumps. People would buy the digital assets to try and buy it for a pure speculative investment rather than any underlying value. A 'good' having an underlying value is what should drive it's worth rather than it's manufactured scarcity.
Their takeaway being that they want to be like CSGO skins/cases doesn't lend the credibility or legitimacy I think they are trying to put forth. That market was also loaded with speculative gamblers and scams, and should be met with some skepticism.
A lot of the conversations I've seen around the game have been less about the actual gameplay and people talking about their "rare cosmetics" that'll be worth so much in the future, and how they are ready for their value to go up. Not about how cool the cosmetics look in game or the value they bring in game.
I personally don't mind digital assets that bring value and can be traded and sold, etc. As long as there is actual value and it's main purpose isn't a ponzi scheme to the first people get paid out to the next to the next to the next until someone is a bag holder.
I think the tell will be if the game focuses on cosmetics that are cool because they bring something to the actual game, that you actual want to play with it, show it off, and not just be about how much it'll be worth in the future. If it tries to lean into the rarity and potential future value it'll be marked as another shady marketplace overrun with grifters. I worry a big part of the success of the Kickstarter are the people "investing" in the speculative side and not people there for the actual gameplay.
That all being said, you can engage only with the game itself and not have to do anything with the cosmetics/marketplace side, but there is always the association with what is the driving monetization behind the game. It reminds me a bit of the decision when I was reached out to stream on kick and the fact it's backed by gambling even though it has some more creator friendly policies.
The game is almost certainly more player friendly than marvel snap and I'm not here to defend snap and their monetization which I do think is even worse.
The fact that it was considering using nft/crypto is something to look at but not the main problem. Nft/crypto got the stigma it has now because of what it propped up and became flooded with, which is speculative gambling markets and pump and dumps. People would buy the digital assets to try and buy it for a pure speculative investment rather than any underlying value. A 'good' having an underlying value is what should drive it's worth rather than it's manufactured scarcity.
Their takeaway being that they want to be like CSGO skins/cases doesn't lend the credibility or legitimacy I think they are trying to put forth. That market was also loaded with speculative gamblers and scams, and should be met with some skepticism.
A lot of the conversations I've seen around the game have been less about the actual gameplay and people talking about their "rare cosmetics" that'll be worth so much in the future, and how they are ready for their value to go up. Not about how cool the cosmetics look in game or the value they bring in game.
I personally don't mind digital assets that bring value and can be traded and sold, etc. As long as there is actual value and it's main purpose isn't a ponzi scheme to the first people get paid out to the next to the next to the next until someone is a bag holder.
I think the tell will be if the game focuses on cosmetics that are cool because they bring something to the actual game, that you actual want to play with it, show it off, and not just be about how much it'll be worth in the future. If it tries to lean into the rarity and potential future value it'll be marked as another shady marketplace overrun with grifters. I worry a big part of the success of the Kickstarter are the people "investing" in the speculative side and not people there for the actual gameplay.
That all being said, you can engage only with the game itself and not have to do anything with the cosmetics/marketplace side, but there is always the association with what is the driving monetization behind the game. It reminds me a bit of the decision when I was reached out to stream on kick and the fact it's backed by gambling even though it has some more creator friendly policies.
Hey Bynx, great to meet you. I'm the founder of Koin Games, the studio building Origins. Like Kevin, I'm a big fan. I've been watching since the early days of Snap, back when you won the Conquerors broadcast.View quoted post on X
I want to start by saying I appreciate that you take the time to look up a company before deciding on working with them. Hopefully, after I clear a few things up, you might still be open to the idea of working with Origins.
Here is a quick history on how Origins TCG started with blockchain and NFTs and ended up like Counter-Strike on the Steam marketplace.
From day one we have had one simple dream: to bring the physical collecting experience from Pokémon, One Piece, and Riftbound into digital TCGs. There's something so special about being able to fill out your binder, trade with friends, and collect things that have real value, even if you never intend to sell them. As my wife always reminds me, "Why does it matter if the price goes up if you never sell anything?" 🙂
When we started this journey, it was at the very beginning of using blockchain and NFTs for games. There were a lot of messy things back then, but there was also so much hope that blockchain was the answer to true ownership in digital. So we started to build in that direction. We partnered with Immutable, and we announced (but never launched) Project O as a game that would use blockchain and NFT tech to give players true ownership.
But as we kept building, the adoption we all expected never happened, the stigma with gamers kept growing, and ultimately we realized that if we wanted to reach our goal of true ownership in digital, we needed to look outside of blockchain. The obvious answer was to follow in the footsteps of the most successful digital collectible ecosystem of all time, Counter-Strike, and to build on Steam.
Just to make it very clear we have zero blockchain in our game, and we never will.
Origins is simply a really fun game that gives every player every card for free, and just like Counter-Strike, every item you can buy is limited, rare, and truly yours.
We know not everyone cares, but we believe players deserve free and fair competition. We believe players deserve to own the items they choose to spend money on.
I'll finish by saying that while it hasn't been the smoothest path from where we started to where we are now, I'm very proud of the journey we've been on. Most of my favorite products and companies, like Apple, Fortnite, and Tesla, made some massive mistakes along the way to finding something great, and I believe that's what's happening with Origins.
Thanks for taking the time to read this, and if you're open to it, I would love to jump on a call and chat. My DMs are open.
