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In an exclusive interview with Finbold, Stanislav Lepka, the CEO of SpaceCatch, a key player in the GameFi and Web3 arena, delved into the current state of augmented reality gaming while evaluating the quality of existing projects. Lepka emphasized the significance of well-executed and managed projects in attracting funding, using SpaceCatch as a case study to illustrate its distinctive features. In this line, she looked at the missed opportunities for GameFi during the crypto bull run.
During the interview, the CEO also explored untapped opportunities within the GameFi scene, underscoring the importance of collaboration among key players. At the same time, Lepka pointed out the significance of bringing on board the right partners when tackling complex GameFi projects like SpaceCatch.
Finally, Lepka examined the intersection between GameFi and other crypto projects, such as non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and discussed their impact on the overall player experience as well as touching upon how artificial intelligence (AI) will likely influence GameFi in the long term.
SpaceCatch presale has raised over $1.6 million. What do you attribute this success to, and how will these funds be utilized to further develop the project? As of the current date, January 18th, the SpaceCatch presale has raised a combined total of $2.2 million in the Community and Public rounds, demonstrating massive support from our core community. We truly appreciate that the majority of our investors have joined a community genuinely interested in SpaceCatch due to the project itself, not solely motivated by the clear potential for high investment gains.
In the current market, it is evident that our community values our development progress and the SpaceCatch concept. This highlights that, even in such market conditions, it is possible to raise a significant amount of money when the project is useful and managed and developed properly. Notably, most of the raised funds will be invested in a rapid and robust development, with the goal of providing the best AR&Web3 project possible.
Given the GameFi sector’s competitive and seemingly saturated landscape, how does SpaceCatch set itself apart, and what makes you confident that there is still substantial room for growth and success in the GameFi space? Interestingly, upon examining the actual number of active players in GameFi projects that entered the market in the last few years, it appears that the market is far from saturated. We more likely see from market data, that the GameFi market represents a huge opportunity now more than before, with lack of high quality, sustainable GameFi projects. More likely, it is saturated with projects that promised amazing play-to-earn models with high ROI, but ultimately disappointed players and investors with their non-sustainable models. Additionally, the technical aspects and development quality were at a very poor level. So the last bull market showed an enormous interest of players, but the technical executions of projects were far from the optimum.
We strongly believe that there is room for a high-quality AR game with sustainable move-to-earn features. From the very beginning, SpaceCatch is not designed to bring ROI for players in days or months. Instead, the primary purpose of SpaceCatch is to deliver the best AR gaming experience with implemented Web3 features, leading to natural cooperation among players through the SpaceCatch marketplace.
Currently, we are in the development and testing process of the current beta version 0.21.9, which is being tested by our test group using iOS and Android devices. In the coming months, we will be launching the beta version of SpaceCatch for the public, allowing users of all kinds to experience what SpaceCatch is about and get a glimpse of the final product. We have chosen this strategy to reassure our community about the development capabilities and as a showcase that SpaceCatch is consistently on the right track toward its final goal: to entertain and achieve success.
Can you discuss any notable partnerships or collaborations that have positively impacted SpaceCatch’s growth and outcomes? To answer this question, it’s important to understand that building such a big project like SpaceCatch requires having the right, capable, and reliable partners of more kinds than expected from outside of the company. What individuals often overlook is that in such projects, there is much more happening than just development itself. We rely on partners in various areas, including development, marketing, social media management, offline events, online events, Web2&Web3 promotions, legality, taxation, safety, data analysis, funding, auditing, PR, HR, market making, listings, and many others. In each area, we have partnerships with the strongest institutions or companies possible.
In general, we utilize the services of the most professional individuals on the market, as crypto lawyers from Mavericks Legal, marketing agency Disence, Pixelfield as a professional gaming development studio, or for example: we are a member of the most prominent Czech Game Developers Association. We also engage Certik for crypto audits and KYC verifications, and Kairon Labs serves as our future market maker, among others. There is so much happening in SpaceCatch that the full list of important partners who have a direct impact on the project would be longer than this interview in total.
Could you elaborate on the strategic decision behind incorporating both non-inflationary and inflationary NFTs in SpaceCatch? How does this dual approach contribute to the overall player experience and ecosystem? In SpaceCatch, each NFT has its own significance. Having non-inflationary NFTs results in a limited supply of the most unique items, causing a natural increase in their price in the event of the game’s success and increased user engagement. On the other hand, having inflationary NFTs is crucial for those NFTs that need to be regulated based on the number of players over time, or players’ certain activities over time in the game. Their purpose is not to be unique but to serve as a price tool for in-game processes and activities within the game.
Inflationary NFTs are necessary for in-game progress and cannot be unique to the extent that, without an investment of thousands of CATCH tokens, players will not be allowed to continue in the gameplay. Additionally, the utility of inflationary NFTs within the game results in their burning once they are used by a player, creating a new space for new gameplay activities for players and generating new NFTs through a combination of physical activity and in-game actions.
Building a game driven by complex artificial intelligence can present challenges. Can you elaborate on some of the key challenges faced in developing the AI components for SpaceCatch, and how they were overcome? AI, in general, brings a massive opportunity to tailor games to each individual player, or create a tailored way to motivate a player to discover new areas of the game. With abundant GPS data from every player, AI can, for example, create a custom position of Aliens for players. This encourages them not only to use the app during their daily routine walks but also motivates them to discover new places or take a different route. Additionally, AI serves as a powerful tool to generate custom tasks for each player based on their recognized strategy, encouraging them to break out of their gameplay routine and explore other aspects of the game through personalized motivations.
Having such a powerful tool like AI as developers allows us to interact with thousands of users and give them the sense that the game is truly designed for them. It enables us to communicate with each user as if they were the only one in the world. This approach undoubtedly presents numerous challenges, but with the extensive experience gained in the last few months with AI, we are currently testing and implementing even more challenging features.
In SpaceCatch, players engage in a battle to protect the human Metaverse against alien forces. How does the game’s AI system enhance this narrative, and in what ways does it adapt the storyline in response to individual player actions and decisions? It’s a great example of how AI can slightly alter the storyline for every player to make the game more challenging and entertaining. With data on players’ activity, we anticipate that players will often utilize a few out of the many options that SpaceCatch offers. Some will focus mostly on NFT booster creations, others on AR combats, and some on achieving the fastest in-game progress. This diversity is perfectly fine because, in the end, it creates an ecosystem of individuals, each with its own role. Through the SpaceCatch marketplace, there is clear visibility of what activity is valued by others and to what extent. This allows for a free market economy among players, enabling them to adapt their in-game strategy accordingly, making the game even more enjoyable and strategic.
On the other hand, AI is a powerful tool that creates custom motivations for these individuals to discover other aspects of the game. This provides them with a full picture of the game, making it more entertaining for them in the long term. For us as developers, this offers an opportunity to work with the user base and guide them to explore new implemented features through adaptation of the main storyline.
This also includes the implementation of new AI features in the future, as the game becomes more complex and undergoes regular development and updates. AI tools are still relatively young in the GameFi industry, so we are continually seeking new utilities to deliver as much long-term fun in the game as possible.
What trends and developments do you foresee shaping the landscape of Web3 and GameFi in the coming years, and how does SpaceCatch plan to position itself in this rapidly evolving ecosystem? We believe in delivering the best entertainment, high technical execution, regular updates, industry standards, the sustainability of play-to-earn, and in-game motivations that create a commitment to the game. We also believe in professionalism, and we always keep in mind: High quality product first. Considering all the mentioned aspects that we believe are required for a successful GameFi project with long-term success, we position ourselves as a sustainable, solid, and entertaining project backed by a professional gaming studio and tens of professionals who bring their best into the project.
We believe that in the following years, communities and players will value such an approach leading to a great product, and so far, it seems that we are on the right track with the massive support of our community. Thank you all for that; SpaceCatch will always strive to provide you with long term, sustainable fun!
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