ShardTalk: Interview with Tony Iumaiev of Dark Country

In this episode of ShardTalk, we interviewed Tony Iumaiev, Head of Marketing of the American Gothic card game Dark Country.

ShardTalk is the gaming interview segment that connects our readers to people who are shaping the blockchain gaming space. Lets begin!

Name: Dark Country
Genre: TCG
Quick info: Public beta in Q2 2020. Supports Ethereum, EOS, TRX, WAX, and other networks. User-friendly for blockchain or non-blockchain players.

Q1: How is your framework able to support multiple blockchains?

We are supporting two blockchains such as EOS and WAX, and ETH is coming in a matter of weeks. Besides, we are talking with other blockchain representatives in order to understand if there are possibilities and a new user base to reach out to. 

Our multi-chain solution means that we have smart contracts that accept payments and also smart contracts that keep all of the data about users, purchases and their NFTs. Once implemented users will be able to export/import NFT game items across any blockchain we support. For those users that don’t use blockchain, we still keep (virtualize) their accounts on-chain, eventually, they can adopt and become blockchain users and receive the power of NFTs. 

Q2: How has this helped in the development of Dark Country?

From the early beginning of our dApps development way, we were facing two major issues – lack of userbase and complicated onboarding. Here in Dark Country, we are trying to cope with both. 

Multichain framework and one-click onboarding give a lot of benefits. We can engage a wider audience from multiple blockchains or even an audience outside crypto. 

The next thing is that all NFT power becomes available for any player with our solutions. Owning, trading, exchanging, improving – every player will have his own unique set of NFTs and could make with them whatever he wants.

All of these features really help us to develop and raise project recognition.

Q3: What made you decide to create a Gothic CCG?

If we talk about the gothic setting, I need to say that we did research before launching the project and found out that all blockchain games are quite regular. Better cases have magic, gods, fantasy settings. Others are mixed without any defined setting.

So we decided to make something unconventional. We took a look at the general gaming market and found the American gothic setting fittable for us. Moreover, this setting has growing popularity now.

As for CCG genre – first of all, this one is the best to unleash the potential of NFTs. So we decided to start with CCG and prepare a few different modes. But our vision is wider. We are thinking about the gaming ecosystem where users will have an opportunity to create content, get benefits for sharing it and use it in various games and mods.

Q4: Can you share with us the unique features Dark Country has?

First of all, it is NFT power. We are preparing a solution, where user can have a unique item with its history and unique visual appearance

Art. We work out each item in detail to make it look awesome. This is the advantage that distinguishes us from others.

Access. Multichain framework and one-click onboarding that was described above are the features that connect all blockchain platforms in our dApp and can connect blockchain gaming with the regular game world.

Q5: One interesting feature of Dark Country is Esports. Can you elaborate more on that?

Yes, we are planning to redirect up to 10% of all gatherings to an esports pool. This pool will be used to support our events and tournaments. We will hold several types of regular tournaments, where users can get rare items and money prizes.

Q6: What are some of your personal favorite cards in Dark Country?

Oh, you know – there are a lot of them! Because in the development process we prepare a lot of content and I have an opportunity to choose my favorite card almost every day. If we talk about now – I’ll choose the Wendigo card. This is a powerful man-eating creature.

And for the favorite card by abilities, I’ll choose Bartender. He is not strong but he can give you a drink and provoke a chaotic spontaneous fight in a saloon.

Q7: How can people start collecting cards from Dark Country?

There are a few options available to get Dark Country cards.

The first one and the most simple – on darkcountry.io. There is a 50% limited offer for new users, so anybody can get some cards at a good price.

The next option is NFT marketplaces. In a few weeks, our cards could be bought on opensea.io,  simplemarket.io and others.

Also, I’ll recommend joining our Telegram group and follow our promotions. There are always some ways to get free cards there.

Q8: What are some goals you have for Dark Country?

Our first major milestone, for now, is to launch Private and Public Beta of classic CCG/TCG game mode in Q2 2020. After launching Public beta, we are expecting to reach 8 000 monthly active uses.

The next goals we are working on are an expansion pack launch and co-authorship functionality presenting to reach till the end of 2020.

To get more info about a longer period roadmap, you should visit our website.

I need to say that all after 2020 is not unambiguously defined. It is more a vision of the project, which may be adjusted by relying on community feedback as well as campaign results.

Q9: Is there anything you will like to share with our readers? 

Sure! We have some updates that users will be interested in.

In a week or so we will launch an NFT migrator. It is a tool that gives a solution to transfer an NFT from one blockchain to another. So users will have an opportunity to operate their NFTs on a blockchain they want.

Also to get Dark Country NFT items in a more pleasant way, we will give a 20% discount for any user, who will register via this link.

Dark Country
Website
Telegram
Twitter

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