[Recap] AMA with NFans Global Ambassador Sara Frankel(October 23, 2021) (2024)

Q: Recently, N.Fans announced that its upcoming game Ninja Raiders League entered its second round of beta testing. When should fans expect the game to release, and what kind of changes has the game seen after receiving feedback?

A: With Ninja Raiders League, we decided to perform 2 rounds of beta testing for 3 main reasons:

1- To thoroughly ensure quality.

2- To maximize user participation.

3- To test all the changes implemented after the first round.

Such changes include bug fixes, performance improvements and optimization, as well as user-feedback on various game aspects including visuals and gameplay.

Fans can expect the game to be released upon the completion of the second round of testing, which is currently taking place.

Q: You are the first project in the world to obtain IP rights from Bandai Namco for NFTs. For the future, are there any particular IPs you look forward to working with?

A: We are excited to be working closely with Bandai Namco on IPs such as Naruto, and are always in discussion with studios and publishers for various IP rights.

To us, an ideal IP would be one that can benefit from blockchain technology, and one that has fans from all around the world who are eager to see something new being done with their favorite series, or movies, or video games… etc. While different members of our team would have different answers to this question, there’s one answer we have in common: we all look forward to hearing which IPs the community wants us to work with, because those are the ones that matter the most.

Q: One of N.Fans’ strengths are its handmade NFTs, which sell rapidly due to their quality and attention to detail — will we continue seeing such works from N.Fans as you grow and gather more IPs?

A: Certainly! Our handmade NFTs are one of our greatest strengths, and the speed at which they tend to sell are a testament to that fact. While we are expanding in what we do, we will never stop doing the things the community loves — especially if we are good at it!

In this day and age of procedurally or algorithmically generated NFTs, handmade NFTs are becoming a rarity, and their demand can be felt when observing the speeds and prices of such assets. This isn’t to say that we’ll never do algorithmically-generated NFTs, but fans can definitely expect our handcrafted works for their favorite IPs to continue.

Q: We know that there is some level of connection between 2 of your upcoming games: Ninja Raiders League and Path of Ninja. By playing the first game, you can get NFT card drops that you can use in the second. My question is, will we see such interoperability increase in the N.Fans Metaverse?

A: Having a vibrant, rich, active and interoperable metaverse is one of our major goals as a project, and the Ninja Raiders League/Path of Ninja interaction is just the very start.

A true metaverse is one where all its elements can communicate with one another, and what we are trying with our upcoming two games is something that is rarely observed elsewhere.

To us, it isn’t just a neat feature, rather it is a glimpse into the future where the decisions you make in one area of the N.Fans metaverse ripple across different areas of the entire space.

Q: E-sports is a growing field in gaming, but at this stage it is completely disconnected from the metaverse despite having areas where blockchain can improve. Does N.Fans see any potential in introducing Esports to the metaverse?

A: We definitely see the potential, and while we can’t confirm at this stage and time whether or not we will play a role in that process, if anyone is suited to undertake such a task, it would be N.Fans.

That being said, blockchain is undoubtedly an essential step for e-sports if it ever wants to scale in the future. Imagine decentralized prize pools that users can directly contribute to and see how those funds are spent, or NFTs of iconic moments in e-sports history being clipped and sold, or being able to own and equip the very cosmetics used by your favorite pro players… The possibilities are endless, and games with a vibrant e-sports scene that adopt blockchain the earliest will be miles ahead of their competition.

Q: As a project, I think you have so much potential, and I look forward to all the things you have in store for us. That being said, are there any projects you think you can cooperate with in the future?

A: They say unity is strength, and while various projects compete in this very space to get to the top, cooperation is just as solid a strategy, if not even more effective.

Collaborations are rather inevitable, and many projects cross paths in one way or another. While we can’t give any specific names, there are many projects that N.Fans can collaborate with, especially if it’s in the area of GameFi and NFTs.

The ideal dynamic would be if N.Fans provided the IP, skills, and technology, and the collaborating party provided the interoperability and bridges that lead to and across a multitude of different blockchains.

Q: For the various works you are producing, such as GameFi products like Ninja Raiders League, is there a particular platform you are focusing on like mobile or PC? Or is it meant to be compatible across all platforms?

A: Interoperability, compatibility, and other such aspects are an integral part of our philosophy. Whether you’re using a PC to access the N.Fans metaverse, a mobile device, or a VR headset, we believe you should be able to do so with the same ease regardless of your means.

Q: NFTs can represent real-life assets, and nowadays we are seeing the re-emergence of trading card games such as Pokemon and Magic: The Gathering. With that in mind, as a project with experience on NFTs and digital card games like Path of Ninja, does N.Fans see itself making NFTs of real-life collectible cards in the future?

A: If the situation arises, the community-driven demand is there, and the IP is suited for such a medium, then we do not see why we shouldn’t. N.Fans’ second game, Path of Ninja, is already a huge step forward for blockchain-based digital card games; not only does it utilize a world-famous IP like Naruto, but it also plays as an actual card battler — full of strategy, depth, and different play-styles.

There are many advantages that NFT cards have over real-life ones, including ease-of-use, immunity to deterioration and damage, and eco-friendliness, so there aren’t many reasons why one would create NFTs of real-life cards other than for certification purposes. Still, as an innovative project that thinks outside the box, we like to keep our options open, and if we see the opportunity to create something new by combining physical cards and NFTs, we very well might.

Q: Every product has its core audience and demographics, does N.Fans target one range of demographics with all its products, or different demographics with every product it releases?

A: At N.fans we like to be versatile and flexible, and at the same time we see value in being strategic and practical. As you mentioned, every product, and if I may add, every IP, has a range of demographics that it appeals to — so to try and appeal to a general audience with something that doesn’t resonate with some wouldn’t be logical.

Nevertheless, while our works are original, ultimately they are bound to the underlying IP, and what sort of demographic that IP appeals to. Since these IPs are not ours, we are not really responsible for doing the targeting — it is something that comes naturally with the IP.

Q: We know that N.Fans loves working with world-famous IPs and bringing them to the metaverse. Does N.Fans ever think about producing an original IP of its own?

A: It is definitely an avenue we can always go down, but before we ever reach that point we have hundreds if not thousands of globally-famous IPs to work with and introduce to the N.Fans metaverse.

As NFTs and blockchain get more and more adopted, more and more IPs will want to utilize them and step inside the ever-growing metaverse — and that is why N.Fans exists, to act as the bridge between the two. There aren’t many such projects as capable for such an undertaking, which is why at such a crucial stage in entertainment history, N.Fans has to be there for already established IPs and serve as the gateway between the real world and that of blockchain.