NFT games are all the rage today, with titles such as Axie Infinity being incredibly popular in the Philippines. Bulletpunk: BitWars is a new NFT game supported by Smart in partnership with Quiccs. It promises a new way of engaging with digital art by Quiccs, one of the Philippines’ most renowned contemporary artists.
In case you’re unfamiliar with NFTs, here’s everything you need to know about Bulletpunk: BitWars, starting with an explanation of what an NFT is and a rundown of what to expect in the game.
What is an NFT?
An NFT or Non-Fungible Token is a unit of data typically used to represent digital art such as photos or videos. Think of it like a receipt or a Certificate of Authenticity of sorts, but for digital items.
Of course, having an NFT of a digital art piece does not mean that others can’t copy your item. People can still save that digital art on their PC or phone. But NFTs aren’t designed to prevent that; instead, they are a secure way of granting authenticity or a sort of “limited edition” value to an art piece or other digital works. In this sense, an NFT is comparable to a signed copy of artwork or collectible by an artist.
To give you a better example, think of a photocard of the K-Pop group, BTS. On its own, a photocard has some value, but it’s not exactly that rare, not to mention that people can print a photo card of their own with a good enough printer. But if you have a photocard with signatures from all the BTS members, that photocard instantly becomes more valuable to you as a fan. It also means that the photocard will have way more monetary value. After all, a signed photo card like that is guaranteed to get a higher price in an auction compared to an ordinary photo card.
You may be wondering, how secure are NFTs? After all, experts are trained to verify signatures for physical art but not for digital art. That’s where the blockchain comes in. Each NFT is stored on a blockchain, a digital ledger maintained and kept secure by computers from all over the world. Without getting too technical, computers maintain a blockchain by making complex computations that encrypt data effectively. So, in theory, blockchains are secure by design, meaning they should be resistant to hacking.
What are NFT games?
When NFTs first gained popularity, their main application was for digital art, but NFTs were quickly adopted in other fields as well, including video games. NFTs become integrated with several games by being used to represent either in-game items or characters. This gives NFT in-game items proof of both rarity and value.
To give you a better idea, think of Mobile Legends. The game features lots of rare skins, but at the end of the day, even if you get the rarest skin, there will still be other players with the same item.
With NFT games, each rare item or character is designed to be truly unique, and the blockchain entry that comes with your item/character is proof of that. So, if you have a highly sought-after character in an NFT game, you can sell it to get some other items you want. Or if you want to stop playing, you can also opt to sell it to other players in exchange for in-game currency which you can then convert to cryptocurrency units. With these, you can choose to invest in another NFT game, digital art, or even have it exchanged for real-world money (aka fiat money).
There are several implementations of NFTs in games, but the core principle remains the same. To go one step further, some games reward you with in-game currency while playing. After some time playing, you can use this currency to craft NFT-backed characters/items, or even exchange them into crypto which has monetary value. This is why play-to-earn games like Axie Infinity exploded in popularity over the past year.
What is Bulletpunk: BitWars?
Recently, Quiccs together with partner developer OpenDrive launched Bulletpunk: BitWars, a new NFT game. Calling it a game is a bit of an understatement though as Bulletpunk: BitWars is a fusion of NFT art and games.
In case you’re unfamiliar, Quiccs is a Filipino artist who is renowned in the contemporary art and streetwear scene for his line of TEQ63 vinyl art toys. Quiccs’ work has a huge following, so much so that he collaborated with sportswear giant Adidas in 2020 for an exclusive art toy collaboration.
Bulletpunk: BitWars is a project that gives fans of his work a more interactive way to engage with his art, and it gives aspiring collectors a chance to own a Quiccs art piece while avoiding the troubles of physical logistics for a TEQ63 piece. Plus, BitWars features characters that are digital versions of Quiccs’ TEQ63 art toys, but instead of being just digital art that you can view, you can use them with other players in exciting battles.
So, how does BitWars work exactly? Players who join Quiccs’ new game will get a unique character that’s randomly minted for them. This character is based on one of six main options, though each player’s character has a different set of stats, skills, and design elements to make them one-of-a-kind. If players get lucky, they may even get one of four Legendary characters with truly unique designs and powerful skills.
With a character in hand, players can engage in battles. But unlike your typical mobile game where you have to control the character, in BitWars, the game does it for you as it is an auto-battler. If you’re unfamiliar with auto-battlers, these games essentially simulate fighting without the need for player input, so you don’t have to actively play it during battles. This gives players the satisfaction of winning battles in games, all without having to grind for hours on end.
Winning battles isn’t just for bragging rights though. By winning against other players, you can get exclusive rewards, including real-world Quiccs art toys. To add even more depth to the gameplay, Bulletpunk: BitWars will soon get unique equipment and skins to strengthen the NFT characters.
How to get started with Bitwars?
To get started in BitWars, players must buy into the game using the cryptocurrency Solana. After using Solana to get started, players will obtain a unique NFT character inspired by the subcultures of graffiti art, mecha robots, samurai, and streetwear.
To get started playing Bulletpunk: BitWars, you must first get a Phantom Wallet so you can buy Solana. Here is a step-by-step guide on setting up a Phantom Wallet:
- Visit phantom.app and download the extension on your preferred device or browser.
- Add the Phantom extension to your selected browser.
- Set up your Phantom account (do not share your Password and Secret Recovery Phrase with anyone).
- Open Phantom wallet and click on the text beside your Wallet to copy your Wallet code.
Once you have your Phantom Wallet set up, you can buy Solana with your credit card directly on Phantom via MoonPay or FTX, or deposit from other crypto exchanges like Binance and Coinbase. But don’t forget to buy a little extra Solana for “gas” or transfer fees!
When you have enough Solana, you can buy your very own Bulletpunk: BitWars NFT character on the official Magic Eden secondary market site: https://magiceden.io/marketplace/bitwars. Or once minting is open again, you can mint your own character on the official BitWars minting site: phygital.bitwars.com.
Another way some lucky subscribers got started with BitWars is through Smart’s special giveaway. Here, 50 minting spots (also known as the “white list spots”) were awarded to those who followed official mechanics on Smart’s social media and the BitWars Discord. If you were one of the 50 lucky users, you got to mint your own Bulletpunk: BitWars NFT ahead of the general public. To get more updates on the Bulletpunk: BitWars game, get on the official Bulletpunk: BitWars discord, and to stay up to date on the latest offers from Smart, follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
