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CryptoKitties is a lot of fun, for what it is. It's super deep and while it's more of a sandbox than a typical game, I became obsessed with it when it came out,

CryptoKitties is a lot of fun, for what it is. It's super deep and while it's more of a sandbox than a typical game, I became obsessed with it when it came out, though not for monetary reasons (if it has one huge drawback as a game, it's always been how much it costs IMO). Became so obsessed that I ended up hired by Dapper Labs and working on the CryptoKitties team, later helped design and launch NBA Top Shot on Flow. Now that we have (the markedly cheaper and easier) Flow and lots and lots of lessons learned from building NFT products, I'm excited for us to bring the next generation of CryptoKitties to life. If you want to check out a fun crypto game that just recently launched from another developer, I urge you to check out dimensionxnft.com with an open mind.

midislack 4y ago
OK but WHAT IS THE GAME? What do you DO with CryptoKitties?
- digitaLandscape 4y ago
  You breed them. It reminded me of horse breeding games my girlfriend used to play. Kind of fun. Not worth the ongoing cost though.
  - midislack 4y ago
    For me it's the Mary Kate and Ashley horse breeding game on the Game Boy Color.
    - hgsgm 4y ago
- JeremyNT 4y ago
  Disclaimer: I haven't played it, but I read this article. It looks like a pet breeding game. You "own" cartoon cats - visual representations of distinctive bundles of characteristics contained in a NFT. You generate more NFTs by "breeding" two existing cats (executing the smart contract), which results in random combinations of their characteristics in offspring. What to do with them? Speculate on their value, same as any NFT. As a "game" this sounds incredibly unsophisticated compared to normal video games - something that might have passed during the flash era of gaming, or maybe today on itch.io as a weekend project. The only "hook" outside of this is the speculation / potential to earn (and I imagine if you're in on the scam, earning is a lot of fun).
- alanfalcon 4y ago
  Breeding is a complex and nuanced game mechanic, which when coupled with the worldwide marketplace unlocks a dizzying rabbit hole. Once you understand the mechanics, you realize just why a Gen 1 Tendertears would be a grail collectible to own. I called it more of a sandbox than a game, but there are also Fancy Chases, events where a specific limited-time breeding goal is introduced and it's a race to be among the first to achieve this goal and breed a Fancy Kitty. Not saying it's for everyone, but it's definitely something that thousands of people found and find pretty darn fun (again: if expensive).
  - DonHopkins 4y ago
    Maybe it's just fun to spend money you don't need, or stole, or swindled, or need to launder.
  - secretsatan 4y ago
    I knew someone who described slot machines like that He ended up declaring bankruptcy
  - opyate 4y ago
    Sounds like gacha, where folks feverishly "collect" pointless pieces of little plastic. All these things (hoarding, compulsive buying, gambling) go hand-in-hand [0], and ends up emptying pockets and possibly devastating lives. 0: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3181956/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3181956/
  - ohgodplsno 4y ago
    CK's breeding mechanics are about as complex as Pokemon Gen1's breeding mechanics, and simpler than Gen3. Congratulations on passing the GameBoy bar. Additionally, all of the talk about openness is now out the window since the breeding code is closed source. Congratulations on also doing limited time events, welcome to the year 2000 of online gaming!
    - alanfalcon 4y ago
      Just because it's tradition to not let "someone being wrong on the internet" stand: https://www.cryptokitties.co/blog/post/learn-how-our-last-mystery-smart-contract-works/ https://www.cryptokitties.co/blog/post/learn-how-our-last-my...
- reidjs 4y ago
  You can trade them, or breed them with other cryptokitties.
- Sohcahtoa82 4y ago
  There's a free mobile game called Clusterduck which is basically the same idea but without the crypto nonsense. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pikpok.wtd.play&hl=en_US&gl=US https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pikpok.wtd... https://apps.apple.com/us/app/clusterduck/id1531250914 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/clusterduck/id1531250914 You basically don't do anything except watch what weird mutations come out from the breeding. In Clusterduck, you can only have up to 30 ducks, so once you hit the limit, you have to throw a duck into the pit to sacrifice it. Sometimes when sacrificing a duck, a large monster spawns from the pit, and if you tap it enough times, it'll spawn a duck with a "cursed" trait of some sort.
- Tao3300 4y ago
  You know how they call the lottery "a game"?
Chabsff 4y ago
You cannot have a conversation about "crypto games" without addressing how crypto makes the game better. For the sake of this conversation, it doesn't particularly matter how fun CryptoKitties is. What matters is how does the blockchain integration make the game better than it would otherwise have been. From my point of view so far, even the best crypto game out there would have been better if it wasn't for the crypto aspect of it. If this ecosystem is to provide value beyond the potential for making money, then what is it? It's hard to be excited about something that only has downsides.
- Kiro 4y ago
  HyperDragons. Someone made a game where you bred dragons that could eat CryptoKitties to absorb their attributes. The composability and interoperability of the blockchain means anyone can extend your game and build mechanics with your assets, without your permission. It's truly an open API.
  - pdntspa 4y ago
    And what here does the blockchain offer that a database table doesn't? Other than the ability to monetize.
    - Kiro 4y ago
      The fact that I can build upon CryptoKitties with no obstacle. If CryptoKitties was on a private database I would need to get access to their API and also trust them with the ownership/management of the assets. Now I can just build it on the blockchain and have people destroy CryptoKitties in my smart contract to get benefits in my game. No API functionality or permission from CryptoKitties needed.
      - lottin 4y ago
        So how does this open API works? Every time you use it you have to pay a third party?
sumeno 4y ago
Color me surprised that the person claiming to have enjoyed a crypto game is trying to shill a different crypto game

midislack 4y ago

OK but WHAT IS THE GAME? What do you DO with CryptoKitties?

digitaLandscape 4y ago
You breed them. It reminded me of horse breeding games my girlfriend used to play. Kind of fun. Not worth the ongoing cost though.
- midislack 4y ago
  For me it's the Mary Kate and Ashley horse breeding game on the Game Boy Color.
  - hgsgm 4y ago
JeremyNT 4y ago
Disclaimer: I haven't played it, but I read this article. It looks like a pet breeding game. You "own" cartoon cats - visual representations of distinctive bundles of characteristics contained in a NFT. You generate more NFTs by "breeding" two existing cats (executing the smart contract), which results in random combinations of their characteristics in offspring. What to do with them? Speculate on their value, same as any NFT. As a "game" this sounds incredibly unsophisticated compared to normal video games - something that might have passed during the flash era of gaming, or maybe today on itch.io as a weekend project. The only "hook" outside of this is the speculation / potential to earn (and I imagine if you're in on the scam, earning is a lot of fun).
alanfalcon 4y ago
Breeding is a complex and nuanced game mechanic, which when coupled with the worldwide marketplace unlocks a dizzying rabbit hole. Once you understand the mechanics, you realize just why a Gen 1 Tendertears would be a grail collectible to own. I called it more of a sandbox than a game, but there are also Fancy Chases, events where a specific limited-time breeding goal is introduced and it's a race to be among the first to achieve this goal and breed a Fancy Kitty. Not saying it's for everyone, but it's definitely something that thousands of people found and find pretty darn fun (again: if expensive).
- DonHopkins 4y ago
  Maybe it's just fun to spend money you don't need, or stole, or swindled, or need to launder.
- secretsatan 4y ago
  I knew someone who described slot machines like that He ended up declaring bankruptcy
- opyate 4y ago
  Sounds like gacha, where folks feverishly "collect" pointless pieces of little plastic. All these things (hoarding, compulsive buying, gambling) go hand-in-hand [0], and ends up emptying pockets and possibly devastating lives. 0: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3181956/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3181956/
- ohgodplsno 4y ago
  CK's breeding mechanics are about as complex as Pokemon Gen1's breeding mechanics, and simpler than Gen3. Congratulations on passing the GameBoy bar. Additionally, all of the talk about openness is now out the window since the breeding code is closed source. Congratulations on also doing limited time events, welcome to the year 2000 of online gaming!
  - alanfalcon 4y ago
    Just because it's tradition to not let "someone being wrong on the internet" stand: https://www.cryptokitties.co/blog/post/learn-how-our-last-mystery-smart-contract-works/ https://www.cryptokitties.co/blog/post/learn-how-our-last-my...
reidjs 4y ago
You can trade them, or breed them with other cryptokitties.
Sohcahtoa82 4y ago
There's a free mobile game called Clusterduck which is basically the same idea but without the crypto nonsense. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pikpok.wtd.play&hl=en_US&gl=US https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pikpok.wtd... https://apps.apple.com/us/app/clusterduck/id1531250914 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/clusterduck/id1531250914 You basically don't do anything except watch what weird mutations come out from the breeding. In Clusterduck, you can only have up to 30 ducks, so once you hit the limit, you have to throw a duck into the pit to sacrifice it. Sometimes when sacrificing a duck, a large monster spawns from the pit, and if you tap it enough times, it'll spawn a duck with a "cursed" trait of some sort.
Tao3300 4y ago
You know how they call the lottery "a game"?

Chabsff 4y ago

You cannot have a conversation about "crypto games" without addressing how crypto makes the game better. For the sake of this conversation, it doesn't particularly matter how fun CryptoKitties is. What matters is how does the blockchain integration make the game better than it would otherwise have been. From my point of view so far, even the best crypto game out there would have been better if it wasn't for the crypto aspect of it. If this ecosystem is to provide value beyond the potential for making money, then what is it? It's hard to be excited about something that only has downsides.

Kiro 4y ago
HyperDragons. Someone made a game where you bred dragons that could eat CryptoKitties to absorb their attributes. The composability and interoperability of the blockchain means anyone can extend your game and build mechanics with your assets, without your permission. It's truly an open API.
- pdntspa 4y ago
  And what here does the blockchain offer that a database table doesn't? Other than the ability to monetize.
  - Kiro 4y ago
    The fact that I can build upon CryptoKitties with no obstacle. If CryptoKitties was on a private database I would need to get access to their API and also trust them with the ownership/management of the assets. Now I can just build it on the blockchain and have people destroy CryptoKitties in my smart contract to get benefits in my game. No API functionality or permission from CryptoKitties needed.
    - lottin 4y ago
      So how does this open API works? Every time you use it you have to pay a third party?

sumeno 4y ago

Color me surprised that the person claiming to have enjoyed a crypto game is trying to shill a different crypto game