The Big Time Preseason of the 3A Blockchain Game Has Started, Is a New Wave of Gaming Frenzy Coming?

On October 11th, the highly anticipated AAA blockchain game Big Time officially launched its three-month preseason. In addition to players who previously obtained passes, new users can also experience the game through an invitation code.

This work, created by a well-known game development team, places a high emphasis on game quality and playability, with gameplay similar to "Diablo." Big Time has established a gold farming mechanism, allowing players to earn the in-game token BIGTIME by clearing dungeons and defeating monsters.

Recently, multiple trading platforms have successively launched the BIGTIME token, with its price soaring from $0.01 to $0.15 within 24 hours. This significant wealth effect is attracting a large number of new players, and a new wave of gaming frenzy seems to be brewing.

Project Overview

Big Time was established in April 2021 and is a multiplayer action role-playing game aimed at PC. The game combines elements of fast-paced action combat, NFT collectible decorations, and time-traveling adventures, and is regarded as one of the earliest blockchain games featuring a AAA concept.

To ensure a smooth gaming experience, Big Time adopts the current mainstream "on-chain assets, off-chain games" dual-layer architecture, deployed on the Ethereum network.

A major highlight of the project is the official open market built using patented Vault technology. This innovation addresses the issue of expensive Gas fees for on-chain asset transactions. The Vault technology implements a highly secure off-chain data storage system, storing item records in a dedicated database while maintaining real-time synchronization with the on-chain asset circulation status. Therefore, players can not only trade assets on-chain themselves but also conduct Gas-free transactions using various payment methods in the public market.

After more than a year of testing and iteration, Big Time officially launched its preseason on October 11, 2023. Currently, new users need to obtain an invitation code from early players or purchase designated SPACE NFTs in the game to enter. It is expected that after the preseason ends, the game will be open to all users without any thresholds.

Team Background

The development team of Big Time can be described as luxurious. The founder and CEO was a former co-founder and CEO of a well-known metaverse project, and has experience in Silicon Valley venture capital and big data companies.

The core team members come from top game companies such as Electronic Arts, Epic Games, BitMonster, etc. They have participated in the development of well-known games like League of Legends, Fortnite, God of War, Call of Duty, and Overwatch.

The chief animator and creative director have over 30 years of rich experience in the animation and gaming fields, having worked for several well-known film and television companies and game studios.

Financing Situation

In May 2021, Big Time completed two rounds of financing, raising a total of $21 million. The investment institutions included several well-known blockchain investment funds and trading platforms.

In addition to financing from the primary market, Big Time has also sold various in-game virtual assets through the NFT market, including game pass NFTs from the testing phase, mystery boxes, SPACE NFTs, etc., with total sales exceeding $70 million.

Game Mechanics

The storyline of Big Time revolves around time travel. Players can form a team of up to 6 members to traverse time and space, battling monsters and bosses, clearing dungeons, and collecting rare items. In the game, players will encounter various historical figures and collect armor and clothing NFTs from different eras as loot.

The game features 4 main classes: Time Warrior, Space-Time Sorcerer, Shadow Blade, and Quantum Repairer, which correspond to Warrior, Mage, Assassin, and Support roles, respectively. Players can use specific items to change their class.

In-game virtual items include decorative NFTs and functional NFTs. Decorative NFTs are mainly used for character dressing and do not affect combat power. Functional NFTs include SPACE, Time Guardian, Forge, Armory, and Hourglass, among others, which play important roles in the game.

SPACE NFT is a personal metaverse within the game, where players can build equipment to produce game items. SPACE holders can also manufacture weapons and armor through specific NFTs. Most NFTs have rarity distinctions, and higher-level items typically possess more powerful attributes or additional skills.

By introducing the SPACE system, Big Time has implemented a creator economy within the game, allowing players to freely produce and trade in-game items. Additionally, the game features a rental market where SPACE holders can rent out their assets for profit.

Economic Model

Big Time adopts a single-token model, with the only token in the game being $BIGTIME, a total of 5 billion tokens, all generated through the game, with no reserves or financing distribution. NFTs are another core asset in the game; rare NFTs not only demonstrate status but also allow players to enter special areas or exclusive dungeons.

$BIGTIME is mainly used for crafting equipment and paying entrance fees for dungeons. In the upcoming preseason, the official plan is to airdrop 97.5 million $BIGTIME tokens over three months, with the amount based on the leaderboard of user account points. Points are related to user level, NFT usage, dungeon participation, and inviting friends.

$BIGTIME is generated through the game and has multiple consumption channels within the game, contributing to a sustainable economic cycle. However, as the token output increases, market selling pressure will also rise, and the healthy operation of the internal economic system still needs further observation.

Project Advantages

1. Significant improvement in game quality: Compared to earlier blockchain games, Big Time shows a clear enhancement in playability and graphics quality, presenting AAA quality.

2. Lower entry threshold: Ordinary players can experience the game for free without purchasing NFTs. The open market based on Vault technology has also reduced the complexity and costs of on-chain asset transactions.

3. Fair distribution of tokens: No pre-mining, all tokens generated through the game.

4. Powerful cooperation network: Established partnerships with over 20 gaming guilds, facilitating early game promotion and user acquisition.

Potential Risks

1. Centralized risk: The game runs on off-chain servers. If the team abandons operation, the on-chain assets may lose value. The development team has significant decision-making power over the game's development direction and rights distribution mechanism.

2. Development Uncertainty: The game is still in its early stages, and there is uncertainty regarding the quality and completeness of future content.

3. Industry Risk: The entire blockchain gaming industry is still in the exploration phase, lacking successful models, and any project faces uncertainty.

4. The sustainability of the economic model needs to be verified.

Summary

Big Time represents the development direction of a new generation of blockchain games, with significant improvements in production quality and playability. As traditional gaming talent joins the Web3 space, the blockchain gaming ecosystem is expected to see continuous progress. Currently, there are several other AAA blockchain games in development, all hoping to reshape the gaming economy through Web3 technology, allowing players to participate in creation and gain value from the games.

However, due to the performance limitations of blockchain, current blockchain games generally adopt the "on-chain assets, off-chain games" model, which can only serve as a transitional solution. This model, which lies between Web2 and Web3, has issues such as insufficient decentralization and potential security risks, which are difficult to completely resolve in the short term.

Nevertheless, the arrival of the era of blockchain gaming has opened a new chapter for the development of GameFi. With the continuous advancement of blockchain technology, we have reason to expect more mature and refined fully on-chain games to emerge in the future.