Compete and earn game, Lost At Sea has partnered with creative technology studio, Appetite Creative to create, design and build a brand-new multi-player blockchain-based game.
“We really enjoyed all aspects of designing and developing this game which offers a fun and immersive experience for people of all ages. The six levels, power ups and options to buy and sell NFTs combined with bright graphics and fun characters, make it truly a game for gamers and novices alike,” said Jenny Stanley, Managing Director at Appetite Creative.
To learn more, we spoke to Jenny about the project and how it came to life.
What was the brief?
The bright, lively and intuitive user experience, where boats race in a variety of water-based courses, follows brave sailors who were once Lost At Sea and are now ready to embark on a mission to secure their well-deserved riches. It offers players the opportunity to compete against opponents to earn $WAVE tokens or other cryptocurrencies like $SOL.
Tasked with designing a full Game Design Document (GDD) where all the aspects of the game and challenges were addressed, Appetite Creative developed a fun in-browser game with multiple levels and features, hosted on Solana. The family friendly game offers a unique experience for a wide target audience ranging from young people to adults.
Users can choose levels, characters and the number of opponents to race, putting the power and digital ownership into the player’s hands. In addition to providing a fun way for players to earn, the Lost At Sea team has pledged to donate a portion of the proceeds raised by the game to the Team Seas foundation, an organisation dedicated to removing trash from our oceans.
The project looked to transform Lost at Sea NFTs into a 2D gamified experience with a compete and earn model, playable through both desktop and laptop. The Lost At Sea collections available include 2D and 3D sailors and Admirals from cross-chain NFT platform Magic Eden. NFT holders of the NFTs can play to earn $SOL & $WAVE tokens.
How did the initial pitch/brainstorming phase go?
The client team was really involved so it was fun and we all had brilliant ideas spinning around. Jay in particular, on the client side, is very creative so we felt like we were really working together as one big team.
What was the process behind ideating the concept?
Extensive! Two factors were considered throughout development. Firstly, the game needed to be fun and easy to play. Secondly, it needed to accurately represent the Lost At Sea brand. Honestly, we had an absolute blast developing this game.
Countless meetings over the course of the past year and consistent dedication from our teams paid off. We now have a fun, easy to play family friendly game that accurately represents the Lost At Sea brand. It’s a colourful, nostalgic game for all ages!
What was the production process like?
We really enjoyed all aspects of designing and developing this game which offers a fun and immersive experience for people of all ages. The six levels, power-ups and options to buy and sell NFTs combined with bright graphics and fun characters, make it truly a game for gamers and novices alike.
What was the biggest challenge during production? How did you overcome it?
The biggest challenge during production was the integration of the ‘real-time’ game with the Solana blockchain. As the blockchain takes time to settle and process transactions, ensuring that the game ran smoothly and seamlessly with the blockchain was essential to its success.
This was managed by implementing efficient algorithms and techniques to handle blockchain transactions in ‘real-time’ while ensuring the game's performance was not impacted. Additionally, optimising the game's performance to minimise delays and lags helped overcome any challenges.
What kit/tools/software were used to create the project?
The project was built using Unity for game development, Svelte for building the app, TypeScript for programming, Tailwind for styling, Solana web3 for blockchain integration, and Git for version control.
What is one funny or notable thing that happened during production?
The client's children arguing and fighting to play it!
What’s the main message of this project and why does it matter?
The project has always looked to utilise this emerging new and exciting space to help better our planet, while having fun. The world’s oceans are vital to our survival and must be treated with respect.
One of the missions at Lost at Sea is to help preserve our precious waters. For this reason, they have joined the #TeamSeas initiative. The team has already donated over $20k USD and contributed to removing over 20 thousand pounds of waste from our oceans.
How long did it take from inception to delivery?
Lost At Sea was created in 2021 and released to the world in February of 2022. Game development has been underway since the project's inception and we are proud to say as of March 2023 - WE ARE LIVE!
What do you hope it achieves for the brand?
The aim with Lost At Sea was to create an engaging game which makes a positive impact in our world in a fun and entertaining way. The intention with the project has always been to help better our planet.
With the release of the new game this core principle hasn’t changed. The game is just another fun way for its community to help make a positive impact in our world.
