NFTs are meant to do so much more in games
Calvin Tee, an award-winning indie game developer with years of games under his belt, discusses the intersection of NFTs and gaming NFTs with us.
Who is Calvin Tee?
Calvin has been experimenting with game creation since 2002. He was deeply involved in the creation of games since his formative years. He won 1st place out of 800 entries in the RPG category of the Indie Game Maker Contest in 2014.
“Playing games is fun and all, but hearing someone call your game fun? Oh, that gives me life.” he exclaimed.
His first experience with game creation was introduced to him by his classmate. Before that, games were only seen as something he could play, so this new idea that he could make his own games was mind-blowing to him. Trying his own hand at creating games and seeing his friends’ reactions to it, that has become all he has ever wanted to do.
Calvin explains that he has been really fortunate to have found what he wanted to do since young. His journey hasn’t been without its difficulties, especially when he was told a number of times that he wouldn’t succeed as much in Singapore. But there are times when fun stuff comes along, and he gets sucked in. He hopes he can continue creating games until he is old and wizened, and leave nothing but fun times to be remembered by.
Calvin Tee in Affyn
Calvin’s role in Affyn is bringing game design expertise to the table. Affyn’s goals are to colour families’ lives with fun and convenience, and while Affyn wanted to use game design to get there, creating that experience with no reference to go on and new technology was an uphill battle.
Having spent almost 10 years studying game design and even longer experimenting with raw game ideas, what he brings to the table is that experience in understanding the mind of the player. What challenges give their choices worth? What experiences stay memorable? How do you make your player feel what you want them to feel?
Game design is psychology weaponised to create fun, and it’s harder than just copying things that exist. There are near-infinite different combinations to try. Being someone who, through the merit of getting to experiment with more of them early on, he has a better idea of what we can do to make it work.
Regardless of the challenges, Calvin’s goal is and always will be to make a game worth enjoying.
“I don’t approve of the current way NFT and art in games are used”
A big challenge coming into this project surrounds the use of NFTs and achieving Play-to-Earn. These types of games have recently seen a sharp boom: The trailblazer of the lot, Axie Infinity, achieved a whopping 453% increase in trading activity since June. The NFT market has grown tenfold since 2018. Looking at the numbers, it’s an incredibly lucrative market.
However, it hasn’t been all smooth-sailing for this new tech. When NFT art was first marketed, it claimed to be able to give artists more ownership over the artworks. To be able to track where their sold art was going and clamp down on theft. Instead, it’s exacerbated art theft more than ever in the pursuit of quick and easy money. Artists are finding their works minted without their knowledge, or deceased artists’ artworks appearing under a false moniker. On top of that, since its birth, NFTs have constantly drawn concerns over their energy consumption and impact on the environment. It is a technology steeped in controversy.
“I don’t approve of the current way NFT and art in games are used,” Calvin said. “Right now, it’s just a buzzword that says ‘You can earn money with it!’ but it doesn’t offer anything else of value. If this technology is to be adopted, it needs to offer more than that. If it aims to be the future, it has to better lives more than in just their wallets.” Calvin highlighted.
“Still, there is no such thing as an evil technology, it all depends on how you use it.” Calvin often mentions. He believes that there are other experts looking at its flaws, working on it, and improving it and are also aiming for the greater good.
Working within his skillset, Calvin describes his role as similar to a chef handling foie gras. He’s not a goose farmer, but he can figure out how to make good use of it. Joined with the plethora of skill sets and expertises in the team that makes up Affyn, Calvi thinks it’s like the stars are aligning at a perfect time.
“We might just be able to create something amazing!” He commented.
About Affyn: Affyn is a Singapore-based company building an integrated ecosystem with a Play-to- Earn Metaverse where the virtual and real world converge. FYN token will be the official blockchain utility token which users can earn and utilize within the ecosystem.
