Dapper Labs, the creator of CryptoKitties, has launched its upcoming token-powered basketball game NBA TopShot in beta.
It has been reported that the game allows players to own, trade, and play with tokenized representations of key moments in NBA history, as NBA TopShot is built on Dapper Labs’ Flow blockchain.
Caty Tedman, the head of partnerships and marketing of Dapper Labs, stated:
“The product is meant to give fans a piece of ownership over the action that happens on court.”
However, Tedman described TopShot as uniquely allowing fans to “truly own a piece of [the] action that you can then go out and sell,” letting fans “participate in the economy in an interesting and new way.”
This will not end for a while. Proud mama. @nba_topshot explained. https://t.co/5EWVINDKSe — Caty Tedman (@CatyTedman) May 27, 2020
The game was developed in close consultation with players, whose feedback has been used to inform the development of TopShot’s gaming experience.
Likewise, Tedman stated that fan feedback directly shaped how artwork is presented in tokenized form, in addition to requesting “a tap/swipe component” that has been incorporated into gameplay.
✅ Token art revealed. Sign up now so you're not stuck waiting on the bench: https://t.co/lzP4iIsWIm pic.twitter.com/z41raz3Nzg — NBA Top Shot (@nba_topshot) May 27, 2020
She added:
“We feel really confident that we put together something that basketball fans are going to love.”
It has been analyzed that TopShot’s tokens comprise a “smashed together unit of video and photography, and data from Sport Radar — the NBA’s official data provider,” with each NFT depicting and representing a specific moment in NBA history.
<img width="1958" height="1080" src="https://i2.wp.com/www.cryptonewspoint.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Dapper-Labs-Launches-Its-Token-Powered-Basketball-Game-NBA-TopShot-In-Beta1.jpg?fit=1024%2C565&ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-17117 lazyload" />
Image: TechCrunch
However, the tokens appear as three-dimensional multi-media cubes, with players can click into the moments to explore the NFTs, including watching videos, examining statistics, and exploring other media.
Users can also design their own tokens, and collaborate with one another to express their fandom through NFTs.
Dapper Labs has launched its new token based game NBA TopShot in beta https://t.co/d0tDxjudNa — Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) May 27, 2020
As per the report, Dapper Labs will offer a wide variety of semi-randomly generated packs with diverse pricing according to the scarcity of the NFTs contained within them, as players will not know which exact moments they are buying in a pack, they will know the type of NFTs they will receive. Opening a pack of moments will produce a short multimedia experience designed to build excitement for the NFTs’ revealing.
The game will also make it challenging for players to complete “sets” of moments relating to a common key event in NBA history. For example, players might need to already possess nine of 10 tokens within a set to unlock the final moment.
It has also been analyzed that the primary way to purchase tokens is through “packs” directly from Dapper Labs, however, users are also encouraged to scour the secondary markets to find specific moments that they might be looking for.
<img width="1024" height="576" src="https://www.cryptonewspoint.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Dapper-Labs-Launches-Its-Token-Powered-Basketball-Game-NBA-TopShot-In-Beta2-1024x576.png" alt="" class="wp-image-17118 lazyload" />
Image: Medium
Purchases can either be made with fiat currency through credit card or with a wide selection of crypto assets including Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH). Users who make a volume of purchases or trades will be required to submit Know Your Customer documentation.
Tedman stated:
“The beta launch will include the browser-based experience of the marketplace, showcases, challenges, and [a secondary] P2P marketplace.”
She added:
“Essentially, the full web product will be rolled out through the beta program. We are trying at every turn to make the product friendly for mainstream fans. We want to make sure that anybody, anybody’s best friend, could get into the product. not just ourselves in the crypto community.”
Thus, she concluded:
“We are targeting late this year for the mobile game to be released, but players from the web-based experience will be first to gain access through a beta program for that as well.”
Source: Cointelegraph | Image: USA Today