Frank Cheng, co-founder of Funi Magus and the driving force behind Aperion, the world’s first NFT-based God game, shared his journey in the Web3 gaming industry at the Koregamedesk Gaming Pulse event. Frank’s path to becoming a game developer began with his passion for gaming, which took root during his childhood in Hong Kong.
Growing up playing Nintendo, PlayStation, and PC games, Frank never imagined becoming a game developer. Initially, his career led him away from game development. After studying in the US, he realized programming wasn’t his forte and pursued consulting and private equity instead.
The rise of mobile gaming around 2009-2010 marked a turning point for Frank. This shift allowed him to reconnect with gaming in a way that fit his busy lifestyle. Mobile games offered more flexible playtime, rekindling his interest in the industry. His experience in private equity then became a crucial stepping stone, exposing him to various tech startups and talented game developers across Asia.
Creating Aperion
Frank’s journey back to gaming culminated in creating Aperion, the world’s first NFT-based God game. Launched under the banner of Funi Magus, Aperion represents Frank’s bold step into the rapidly evolving world of Web3 gaming. He views Web3 as the latest technological advancements embraced by the gaming industry, following the progression from internet games to browser games, mobile gaming, and blockchain-based experiences.
Developing Aperion presented unique challenges. Frank and his team introduced several innovative features to address these challenges. They refined the NFT breeding system popularized by games like Axie Infinity, implementing tighter restrictions to better control supply.
They also introduced an aging mechanism where NFTs increase in value over time, adding a new dimension to asset ownership. Additionally, Aperion allows players to consume certain NFTs to enhance the value of others, creating a dynamic in-game economy.
Bridging Web2 and Web3 Gaming
One of Frank’s primary goals with Aperion is to bridge the gap between Web2 and Web3 gaming. He recognizes that many traditional gamers hesitate to engage with blockchain-based games due to their complexity or perceived risks associated with cryptocurrencies. To address this, Aperion incorporates a unique scholar system and gradually introduces blockchain elements, allowing players to ease into the Web3 aspects of the game at their own pace.
Frank candidly discusses the challenges facing Web3 gaming developers. Balancing development time with market cycles is a significant issue. The success of Web3 projects often hinges on launching during favorable market conditions, which can conflict with the time needed to properly develop and polish a game. Additionally, with funding frequently coming directly from the community, developers need to be more transparent and responsive to user expectations, adding pressure to the development process.
Future Directions
Despite these challenges, Frank sees significant opportunities in Web3 gaming. Community-based funding offers developers creative freedom that may not be possible with traditional publisher-funded models. Moreover, blockchain technology enables actual digital ownership of in-game assets, opening new possibilities for player engagement and value creation.
Looking to the future, Frank proposes using blockchain for centralization rather than decentralization to limit the speculative trading of NFTs while still leveraging blockchain for verifiable digital ownership and transfer records.
Frank Cheng’s journey illustrates the exciting possibilities and complex challenges of Web3 gaming. His story is one of passion, adaptation, and innovation, embodying the dynamic nature of the gaming industry and the transformative potential of Web3 technology.
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