Blockchain Cuties is offering new and distinct NFT markets by building on the experiences it has gained operating a blockchain-based game since 2018. In episode 54 of the Neo News Today podcast, Blockchain Cuties CEO and co-founder, Vladimir Tomko, discussed the perception of art versus utility in NFTs, as well as bringing users to the Neo blockchain. Tomko emphasizes the desire for artistic NFTs in today’s market:

If we look at the market, the majority of NFTs out there don’t hold any value. So, there is no utility. It’s basically just a collectible thing. The only value is its rareness. What’s very interesting is that it is easier to sell NFTs if it doesn’t have any feasible utility.

This is what we learned the hard way. Because if you have something, people can measure it, they can discuss it. They can try to tell you whether it is needed for them or not. But if it’s nothing, it is just like a picture, then it is a lot easier to create an emotional purchase.

Blockchain Cuties is an NFT game that spans five blockchains with plans to integrate an MMORPG style of gameplay. Its NFT-based characters have unique attributes for gameplay, though each character is only playable on its predetermined blockchain. It currently runs on top of Neo, Ethereum, Matic, Tron, and EOS.

Striving to obtain a balance between functionality and art, there are two markets in the Blockchain Cuties Universe: items and characters. Items have statistics and game-specific utility tied to them. As items are not linked to one blockchain, they are freely traded across the five networks.

In contrast, characters are unique to each blockchain and can’t be transferred across chains. These NFTs are more artwork-oriented. For example, when Blockchain Cuties launched on the Neo blockchain a pre-sold ecosystem character was Fabio Canesin because of his associations with COZ and Nash. Tomko touched on this dichotomy of NFTs in the game:

If you see that it has some battle stats, and you understand that this asset is very beautiful, but it’s not very effective. Then, it just drives its value down. But this is something that is embedded into our game. So it’s harder for us to try to create these two types of facades. One is for collectors. One is for effective gameplay. And we still didn’t find this perfect balance.

Moving forward, the team intends to continue tweaking the economic models. These changes will be made iteratively, based on how the game’s two NFT marketplaces respond. In the meantime, Blockchain Cuties will continue to support where its users choose to go. Tomko reiterated that he and the team have seen users migrating to where it is easiest to play the game, Neo. He said:

We have a majority of new players who want to try out Neo because it’s free for them to play. And this is just what happens like within the community when new players come in, they join the Telegram group or Discord and ask where to play. Existing players are money savvy, and they advise to play on Neo.

The full interview can be found below:

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