Battle for Giostone AMA #1 — Project Overview with Theeban Siva (Co-Founder)(Recap)
Battle for Giostone AMA #1 — Project Overview with Theeban Siva (Co-Founder)(Recap)
On 9/26/2022 at 2:00 p.m. (PST), an AMA session was held on Avalaunch Telegram with Battle for Giostone Co-Founder, Theeban Siva. The focus of this AMA will be the business development, vision, road map, and post-IDO plans.
Below we present to you an excerpt from AMA with questions and answers.
Dave | Avalaunch
Once again it’s on. Today is a special AMA for us.
And I’d like to welcome any and all who might be present to see a little science get dropped by none other than @theebansiva our resident Battle For Giostone co-founder and gamer extraordinaire.
@theebansiva welcome. how are you?
Ready to do this like we always knew this?
Theeban Siva | Giostone
Hey guys! Thank you for having me here, and I am ready!
Dave | Avalaunch
Excellente. Let’s kickstart this AMA session with a brief introduction about yourself. How did you get involved in crypto and how did the events transpire to your current position?
Theeban Siva | Giostone
Sure thing! I’m Theeban or otherwise known as 1437! I got into crypto when I retired from Dota 2 and decided to pick up Axie Infinity. I met Mile and the team through Axie and Dota 2 actually!
Dave | Avalaunch
A legit world champion Axie player and a pro gamer. I know you want to be modest but I’m free to brag about you.
How did the team come together, and what was the turning point to building the Battle of Giostone?
Theeban Siva | Giostone
The team is made out of people that have known each other for a long time, and have a couple of successful projects behind their back. The trust was already there because the core team has literally grown up together ever since they were kids, and they’ve upskilled and become better constantly. I feel like I was the missing piece, and I really felt that when I came to the office in Macedonia and they treated me like a part of their family. Virtual bonds form even stronger friendships, especially when you’re working on a vision that will unite gamers and rewards them for their time, effort, and skills.
Dave | Avalaunch
Yeah, this is a long time in the making.
Got it. Moving on — For our audience that are not yet aware, can you tell us a little bit more about the Battle for Giostone? What is it and how did the idea of creating this game come about?
Theeban Siva | Giostone
Battle for Giostone is a MOBA game. The style was inspired by Dota2 but the gameplay is different and unique compared to Dota and League of Legends alike. Our game uses uniquely forged heroes that can be tailored to the preference of the player. Unlike the other popular MOBA games right now, we have a secondary win condition apart from destroying the enemy’s base.
Dave | Avalaunch
As an Esports MOBA there are different ways of ensuring victory, based on each player, their skills, the dynamic between the team and so on. Can you give us a high-level overview of the game mechanics at play?
Theeban Siva | Giostone
The typical MOBA has a pretty basic victory condition. You need to make way to the enemy base and destroy it. You can use any strategy in the world to do that, and that’s the main objective. If both teams are evenly matched in Dota 2 for example, a game can last for an hour or more. Sometimes it can last 15 minutes, if there is a massive difference in skill or strategy. An hour is too long for a single match in our opinion, which is why we implemented something completely novel.
We wanted to take things a bit further. Instead of having a single victory condition, we added another one to ensure that all games are completed in 30 minutes max. So, players will have 25 minutes to destroy the enemy base. If they don’t do that by then, the dragon Gio summons all of them to a deathmatch field on the map, where they have to battle it out to the death.
That adds even more complexity to the game because some teams will want to wait out the entire match and wreck their opponents in the final battle. Others would want to finish things as quickly as possible. This adds incredible depth to the game since you won’t know what your opponent’s tactics are going to be.
Dave | Avalaunch
And this is one of the places where balancing must be quite a consideration. I know you’ve got your share of experience with that. — With several Web3 games already available on the blockchain, how does Battle of Giostone aim to remain competitive and increase its user base? What makes this game unique?
Theeban Siva | Giostone
The entire blockchain space has been thirsty for a MOBA game. On top of being a Free to Play game, the competitiveness makes it different from everything that’s already available on the market. The token is deflationary, the designs are going to look insane. The game is literally a bridge between the Web2 and Web3 worlds.
There are a lot of variables in the game and ways to get the custom hero that you want that only you may know how to pilot. This will be a game that will be unmatched in terms of uniqueness overall and even on a match to match basis. No two matches will be the same.
Last but not least, the game will be fun to play and watch, which is a breath of fresh air compared to some of the games that came to the space as pale copies of others or simply looking for a cash grab.
Dave | Avalaunch
This is true. MOBA’s absence to date is conspicuous. This is filling a need and I’m confident you all are more than capable of making it special.
The economy of the game is run by two tokens: BFG is the driver but also GIOS. Can you tell us what they are, how they differ and how they work to maintain the game ecosystem?
Theeban Siva | Giostone
The BFG token is the main currency of the game and players will be able to use it for pretty much everything in the gaming universe. First of all, players will need BFG to be able to buy Heroes. It will also be used for buying skins, Compendium purchases (similar to Battle Passes), as leaderboard rewards, and investors will lock up a quantity of BFG to participate in revenue sharing from inside the game.
GIOS on the other hand will function as in-game currency. Players that own NFT heroes will receive a few GIOS tokens after every victory and will be able to forge new heroes. That’s the primary purpose of the token. Of course, they could also be able to convert it to BFG, but the rates will be purposefully kept low to stimulate more forges.
Dave | Avalaunch
Gotcha. Good to see a single token really drive the ecosystem while GIOS lives off chain and is just there for hero forging. It makes more sense than most. For those wondering how do you strategize to maintain a stable price following the launch, what can you tell us about your plans to ensure a successful token launch and long-term price sustainability of the token?
Theeban Siva | Giostone
Since people have wanted a Web3 MOBA ever since the space started to exist, they see the long term potential of the game. Everyone knows we’re in a bear market, but the thing that makes or breaks a crypto game is the community and how fun the game is.
We believe that the people who invest in our token see the long term benefits that come from holding it, mainly because of the revenue sharing model.
Locking up your BFG tokens as an NFT makes it gain value and adds real utility. The NFT bubble popped a while ago, and nobody is going to invest in something that doesn’t have real utility. Since investors will be getting a percentage of the revenue all the time, there’s no selling pressure, and I think we’ll have a pretty stable launch with people holding their investments until the next bull cycle.
Dave | Avalaunch
Rock on. With arguably one of the strongest backers in the Avalanche ecosystem already secured, what are your plans for further strengthening The Battle of Giostone partner ecosystem? Are you working on any exciting collaborations you can tell us about?
Theeban Siva | Giostone
The Battle For Giostone ecosystem is strong at the moment, but of course, we’re still working on a few new potential collaborations. However, the thing that we’re most excited about are guild collaborations. The game is made by the players, and they’re the crucial component of the masterpiece we’re building.
Guilds like METAT8, Real Deal Guild, Mad Lads, and others are already playing the game, and we’ve got a massive Tournament with 16 teams already signed up in our Pre-Alpha mode. That’s 80 competitive players and many who support them that already love the game and want to play.
Dave | Avalaunch
Looking at the roadmap there’s a lot of interesting events lined up for the next few months following the launch, including the Heroes NFT pre-sale (which someone asked about earlier), launch of the marketplace, and of course the grand opening of Esports. Are you able to divulge any insights on any of these to our community right now?
Theeban Siva | Giostone
For the last part, as I mentioned before, we’re already making the grand opening of Esports competitions. We’re building with that as the foundation, and we think that hosting Tournaments before the final version of the game cements our place in the Web3 space as true visionaries of how progress needs to look like.
Of course, there are massive balancing changes at the moment, and the game is still under heavy development, but what we’re seeing from people is that they’re here for it. They want to be a part of the corrections and they want to see how the meta evolves to train for the real deal. There’s nothing better than that.
Dave | Avalaunch
Your experience in the Web2 esports space is invaluable, seeing how it all gets built out. Good work. Let’s move into the final part of this section with a few more basic questions. What is the long-term vision, the end goal of the Battle of Giostone?
Theeban Siva | Giostone
The long-term vision is to have a sustainable ecosystem where everyone can have fun and enjoy being a part of our community and game. In a way that’s also the end goal. The road will be bumpy but we believe we will make it happen.
Dave | Avalaunch
Looking to the future, what are you most excited about?
Theeban Siva | Giostone
Tournaments. Since I love competition and watching it, I’m looking forward to seeing what kind of competitors will be participating in our game. The talent and entertainment these players will be able to showcase with the amount of variables involved in our game will be unmatched. Our large scale tournaments are going to attract the best competitors and countless hours of entertainment.
Dave | Avalaunch
I should have been able to guess this answer. You and @milegramatikov have big plans here.
Now, before we move on to the twitter portion of your program, one final question. Are there any points you’d like to discuss or touch upon, or perhaps share with the Avalaunch community?
Theeban Siva | Giostone
One thing that I would like to mention is that the game is going to be made for PC first. We’re trying to get a handle of the mechanics as per our Roadmap, but a mobile version of the game will be in the works as soon as we finish building the initial one. So for everyone that’s waiting for the game to come out for mobile, they’re going to wait a while, but it’s going to be well worth it!
Dave | Avalaunch
You have fared well to this point Ser.
Twitter Questions
@AdcDavidtai1999 who asks — For the moba games, are you planning to hold some national competition?
Theeban Siva | Giostone
Yes, we will have many large scale events throughout the year. We are very much Esports focused and that is our main goal.
@chimponzi_jam — How might your Revenue Model assist both the investor and your project in a win-win situation?
Theeban Siva | Giostone
We can’t talk about the investor and the project without talking about the players. They are the foundation that the game will be built on, and we must keep a player-centric model to keep everyone satisfied. The investors bring in fresh capital to the game yes, but the players bring in the entertainment, which then brings in the sponsorships, which then rewards the investors too.
@sentluciya — What are your long term marketing plans and do you have any partnerships that you plan on utilizing?
Theeban Siva | Giostone
Marketing in the Web3 space is quite difficult because there were a lot of unfortunate events or scams that has happened in the past year. Think of what happened with the Squid Game token and all of the dog-like tokens that popped up out of nowhere. Our long-term marketing strategy is to make a fun game that people will enjoy playing.
There’s nothing better than organic growth, and if people are really having fun and immerse themselves into the matches and the gameplay, the marketing will come naturally. Of course, we’ve got a lot of partnerships with influences in the crypto sector to get the word out, but ultimately it will depend on the quality of the game and the happiness and emotions the game evokes in the players.
@cryptotrung — Before a great project comes to fruition, great inspiration must precede it. How did you get the inspiration for the project?
Theeban Siva | Giostone
First of all, we’ve been gamers our whole lives. I’ve played Dota2 for 15+ years, and Mile has been playing it for that long too, even though not professionally. He’s organized esports events in his own country, and when the Web3 space started becoming popular, we both felt that something was missing.
We both love MOBAs, that’s the type of game we’ve played for our entire lives, and there was nothing like it being built. We decided to take matters in our own hands and create the first authentic MOBA on the blockchain. That’s how the idea for Battle For Giostone was born, and now we’re turning it into reality.
Dave | Avalaunch
This is exceptionally important imo and great to see.
Now, moving on…As ringworn veteran of marathon games, you must know we are not finished with you yet. There’s a gauntlet that is yet to be run and that is none other than the community question. For this, our very own @shahi297 will unmute the chat for a few minutes, the chat will populate with questions and we will mute once more. At this point, you will choose your 5 faves and please directly link to the question when you answer because prizes are on the line.
Telegram Questions
Lucas — Do you guys feel satisfied by seeing your progresses and achievements till now, when you look back to the day when you have started this project?
Theeban Siva | Giostone
Sometimes I look back at our older builds and I am amazed by what our team has done in this time frame. It has been such a pleasure to work with such hard working individuals and I;m even more pleased to say that we have been ahead of schedule and our roadmap.
Melanie Dalton — IS your project only for elite investors, what about others with small funds, is it open to everyone?
Theeban Siva | Giostone
Crypto is very inclusive and so are we. We want this game to be accessible to everyone so there are no minimum requirements to get started. In fact, it’s free for anyone to play and even earn your way to a new hero. You can play for free and climb the leaderboard with your skill only and claim great prizes. There is a place for everyone in our ecosystem.
Crypto? MindB — What’s your main focus right now, are you focused on the community or market/Exchange or the products?
Theeban Siva | Giostone
I don’t think you can take your eye off any of this. This is all part of running a successful project. It is possible to have more than one “main focus” and, in our case, these are all priorities. What we do know is, creating a great fun game will set us on the natural course to come out ahead.
Cobe Raelynn — What is your strongest advantage that you think will make your team leading the market?
Theeban Siva | Giostone
This is an easy one. I believe in our team. We are made up professional gamers and software developers. All the skills we need to make this go are inhouse. We’ve all had a successful working relationships and are ready to put our heart and soul into making this work.
De Ngo — How much does it cost to play any game on the Game platform? Can we experience Game for free?
Theeban Siva | Giostone
Yes!!! Battle for Giostone will be FREE to Play. You can compete with free to play heroes and claim leaderboard rewards! If you want to partake in the token economy then you will need to purchase an NFT hero from the marketplace. Also the NFT heroes are yours to keep, as free to play heroes will cycle out for other ones. So if you want to have the hero that best suits your playstyle or want to participate in the token economy, then eventually you will need to purchase or forge a hero. But of course, anyone can play the game!
Dave | Avalaunch
You’ve done it!
Theeban Siva | Giostone
Thank you for having me! It was a pleasure to answer all the great questions 🙂
Dave | Avalaunch
@theebansiva you’ve been an absolutely epic guest and guess what? This is the first of two AMAs with Battle For Giostone. Whoever is our next guest has a tough act to follow.
Good to have a rock star visit our chat.
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Battle for Giostone AMA #1 — Project Overview with Theeban Siva (Co-Founder)(Recap) was originally published in Avalaunch on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
