Blockchain gaming company Azra Games, founded by former Electronic Arts executive Mark Otero and dedicated to creating an in-game economy and virtual collectibles powered by web3 technology, has raised $15 million in funding, led by Andreasen Horowitz, for development and its first title: Mass fighting strategy RPG codename arcane design.
Otero is known for developing, creating and managing RPG subtitles, including a free-to-play mobile RPG. Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes s dragon age heroes While working as the CEO of EA Studio Capital Games.
“I’ve always been a stressed-out, roleplaying gamer since second grade,” said Otero. the hollywood reporter From its origin. “I was an ass master for over ten years, I got addicted to storytelling.”
But Otero has always wanted to “break” something, he says, explaining his vision of reaching the ultimate level of imagination. “When we were kids, we didn’t have rules and that’s why we mixed everything up; Inadequate toy box and broken robot parts. But in my childhood these were some of the best times I spent hours alone in these difficult situations. They mostly went to fight. [and] They destroyed each other.” The idea of having it all at once is part of the element you crave.
He explains that playing a traditional collectible game on a cell phone or computer can be limited. “Do you have a humanoid against a humanoid or an animal against a pet?” Otero points this out Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes Beat this somewhat limited category. “It was close to the final fantasy, but it didn’t come to an end.” with arcane designOtero’s vision is for the game to go beyond the standard 5v5 competitive multiplayer format. He says that in this massive combat RPG there will be giant creatures that will merge with heroes, villains and soldiers. “We will spoil them and it will be an interesting game.”
About Web Element 3, Otero says he thinks of the game in two layers: the upper layer is the visual element in which the player participates and experiences the world of science fiction, while the lower layer is the economy that sustains the game. . “We really see NFT cutting through the two layers, where there is an NFT component in the visual layer, then there is the NFT component when it comes to the economic layer from a customer ownership perspective.” He sees NFTs as a “fundamental advancement” for gaming because the blockchain, at a fundamental level, allows the player to own things.
Otero highlights Michael Noriega, Game Director at Azra Games, who was Technical Art Director Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes And drives the combat experience. arcane design. “It might surprise you that I’m not a huge fan of the games I’ve built in the past,” Noriega said. THR. “The games that inspire me are more cinematic, with good music and visual effects, for example. Skyrim s red dead redemption. Usually first person games. He points out that there are aspects of games that are “absolutely possible” in roleplaying games. We just haven’t seen games that use these types of cinematic systems effectively.
Next up is Neel Upadhye, who serves as creative development manager at Azra and, as Otero describes, will create the world and teach about the characters, monsters, and creatures that players will collect. upadia, Lord of the Rings It’s a “far and away” franchise that made him fall in love with history. “After graduating from film school for the first time, he majored in the games industry and worked at Electronic Arts as a creative director for fourteen years. THR. after work war of the galaxies On the EA multiplayer marketing side, Upadhye says this opportunity arcane design “Starting from scratch, shooting for the moon and creating our own space opera in a new galaxy no one has ever seen, in a world of science fiction and fantasy where technology and magic coexist,” was truly compelling.
Otero says this common love for RPGs has brought them together, and not just now, but for years. “We thought this was a great opportunity to create a big seed round to provide the innovation budget we needed to challenge and scale what is possible to achieve this fantasy.”
There is an unknown element, Otero also points out. “Personally, I haven’t and I don’t think any of us here have seen a game that we’re happy with and their long-term economy continues to play.” He goes so far as to say that there might not be one and that it might just be a collection of NFTs. “We just don’t know, but what we do know is that the NFTs will play an important role in our game,” he said. One is that players will be able to collect NFTs, but the other is that they will be able to create their own content to share and trade with other players. “There’s an interesting ecosystem that we’re building within the game where people can share with each other and play different roles. That’s a big part of our aspiration to build it.”
Other founders are entrepreneurs Sonny Mayugba, who serves as COO; And Travis Boudreaux, who serves as CTO, while supporters include Twitch co-founder Justin Kahn and Dapper Labs co-founder Roham Garegozlow.
Azra Games is headquartered in Sacramento with a team of twenty-four people.
Source: Hollywood Reporter
Camila Luna is a writer at Gossipify, where she covers the latest movies and television series. With a passion for all things entertainment, Camila brings her unique perspective to her writing and offers readers an inside look at the industry. Camila is a graduate from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a degree in English and is also a avid movie watcher.
