Do you ever wonder what would happen if we put FarmVille on the blockchain? Well, it has been made into a reality with Town Star – a strategic farming game of building, managing production, and using ingredients to craft goods.
Eric Schiermeyer, one of the co-founders of Zynga, set out to create a blockchain version of a farming game along with some other creative minds behind FarmVille and Words With Friends. They believe blockchain technology will revolutionize the gaming industry in the following years and have set out to be among the first ones to seize its potential.
They aim to create a game where fun should come first, and they made it so that the blockchain aspect of the game is invisible to players until they choose the play-to-earn option. The game uses simple mechanics that all players can enjoy, whether or not they are familiar with blockchain technology.
Thus, players can choose between two game modes: free-to-play, designed to familiarize the player with basics, and play-to-earn, with NFTs, where the nature of the game is more competitive. Players can participate in weekly competitions to earn additional $GALA tokens from the prize pool and compete in the high scores.
Their platform is intuitive, and their website has a lot of tutorials for beginners on how to get started in the game and what it is all about, making it easy for newcomers to get introduced to the world of Town Star.
NFTs
Almost everything part of the Town Star game has been made into NFTs. These allow players to take control of their gaming experience through actual ownership. They are scarce, tradeable on secondary markets, and offer a variety of benefits in the game. Items can be found in the OpenSea collection (link below) or purchased on the official marketplace. In the collection, you will find 277 different ERC-1155 tokens, with their floor prices ranging from a few dollars to more than 20 ETH.
You can obtain:
- The Bots. They are helper-workers that complete some of the tasks in the game faster than standard workers. They come in different shapes and sizes and also with other rarities. For example, the Cranebot is quite common and moves about three times faster than Town Star Builder. Then there is a FarmBot, that is extremely rare and has an unknown utility in the game.
- The Resource Stands that provide a continuous source of a specific crop, cutting out the need for farming fields to some degree. If the player correctly utilizes them can make a massive difference in the Town Star town. They come in three varieties: Wheat, Sugar, and Cotton Stand.
- Extra Storage. With town expansion comes the need for more space. The more players can control what goes where in the town, the better handle they will have on in-game efficiency. You can purchase Wheat, Brine, Grape, or Sugarcane storage.
- Other NFTs range from Fountains and Water towers to Solar Panels and small trinkets.
Most of the in-game transactions are conducted in the native utility token of the Gala Games ecosystem, $GALA. Purchases on OpenSea can also be made using Ethereum.
Players can also entirely bypass the NFT aspect of the game since Town Star is compelling and relaxing to play, even without rewards of any kind. Some players can enjoy the game for their own sake and not participate in weekly competitions.
Closing Thoughts
Gala Games is currently the leading game studio for blockchain gaming in the NFT space. Their native token, $GALA, is consistently trending in the top 10 gaming coins by market cap.
You can view many articles on how to get started and how to play the game efficiently on their website in the “guides” section. The graphics and the art style are designed in a way that works for kids and adults alike, and people f all ages can enjoy the game.
