Connect with us
Prague Gaming & TECH Summit 2024

Uncategorized

Exclusive Q&A with Giovanni Petrantoni, President and Founder of Fragnova

Published

on

Reading Time: 6 minutes

 

The term visionary is often over-used. They are like UFOs in a sense– often talked about and rarely seen.

So, ladies and gentlemen, we are happy to interview a person with true visionary traits here. Welcome Giovanni Petrantoni, President and Founder of Fragnova. Let’s jump straight his fascinating visions and ideas.

Q. Let’s start with a brief intro about yourself, as you seem to have quite an interesting career: music, writing, blockchain and so on. Our readers would certainly love to hear it?

Advertisement

A. I spent a lot of my early career coding and creating software, which ultimately led me to join the Tokyo-based Silicon Studios developing game engines. The work I did on Linden Lab’s Second Life also inspired a lot of the work Fragnova does today. I put a lot of energy into coding and creating new in-game items. It may seem minor, but originally Second Life didn’t have any swimming mechanics, so I engineered that myself. It was fascinating to see not just how popular small additions to the game could be, but how much potential the players themselves had to completely alter and shape the experience.

To this day, I still believe Second Life is far and above the closest thing we’ve come to a true metaverse; the fact that two decades after launch it still has millions of users is a real testament to that. However, ever since the term metaverse was popularised a few years ago, it’s become somewhat meaningless because so many ‘metaverse creators’ are really just building walled gardens with MMO elements, brand collaborations and virtual events. For the metaverse to live up to players’ expectations it needs to be open and interoperable.

Q. Now on to Fragnova. What exactly does Fragnova aim to achieve – a French revolution of sorts in game development?

A. Our ambition is to establish the Creation Operating System and for the decentralised ecosystem that makes up Fragnova – The Metaverse Store, The Creator Store and our game engine, Claymore – to form the foundations of an open metaverse, and not the walled gardens we have now.

The Fragnova network is a blockchain that empowers game creators and democratises game development. Blockchain means the use of assets or even full games are fully stored, tracked and recorded to pay out royalties, assert ownership and keep track of licensing rights. So we’re aiming to restructure the business of making games. Currently, large companies take the lion’s share of profits, leaving creators overworked and underpaid – so, the French Revolution analogy isn’t far off, as it’s absolutely about giving more control and rewards to the creators at the bottom rather than the publishers and platforms at the top.

Advertisement

User-generated content has become a huge part of modern gaming, you just need to look at Minecraft or Roblox to see what is possible when there is a creator-led ecosystem. Empowering their creators has become a vital part of keeping games fresh and players engaged. Beyond these two examples, there are dedicated communities of modders that sacrifice large amounts of their time to get all kinds of incredible projects over the line, to little benefit for themselves. Imagine the level of polish in User Generated Content if creators were better compensated for their time and could make a living out of these projects.

This idea of ownership isn’t just a monetary concept either, as avid gamers ourselves we’ve experienced the pain of many of our favourite games going offline in the past, losing all the time and effort you’ve invested – potentially over many years. Blockchain is immutable, which means games built using the technology can’t be deleted, and this technology opens the door to community-run servers..

Q. What kind of features can gaming enthusiasts with zero coding knowledge expect from Fragnova?

A. We are building Fragnova for users of every level – one of the inspirations for what we are doing is PlayStation Dreams, which combines a really powerful set of creative tools with an interface that is more accessible and intuitive than conventional tools.

But with any game engine, there’s going to be a bit of a technical entry barrier unless people are willing to put in the time to learn the basics. The majority of users will probably be most at home in the Metaverse Store, where they can buy and sell in-game items and collectables, and playable experiences. However, they can still partake in the modding of games, which usually demands less coding while still allowing users to be creative.

Advertisement

Q.Tell us about Ambal Duels, the first-off-the-blocks games from Fragnova. Is the development going as per plan for release?

A. Ambal Duels is a free-to-play strategy card game, and it will be the first blockchain-enabled game to be built using our new game engine, Claymore. Ambal began life as a successful Kickstarter campaign for the physical version of the game, Ambal Tournament, but rather than simply create a digital version of the original, Duels takes the game concept to create more one-on-one strategic duels. We’re excited to bring the game to the digital realm and continue growing the game’s community.

The blockchain aspect of Fragnova means that everyone who worked on the game, right down to the designers and card artists, will have a fair stake in the game’s profits. As with any game developed on the Fragnova ecosystem, creators can decide on editing permissions for their work, and allow the community to create their own mods, spin-offs or entirely different versions of the game – with a portion of the profits always going back to the original creators.

The game’s alpha is currently planned for Q2 2023, so definitely watch this space!

Q.Could you shed more light into the Metaverse Store and Creator Store? How do they help gamers and developers in terms of monetization? Is it possible for existing gamers and developers – who use other or independent platforms – to migrate to your platform?

Advertisement

A. The Creator Store is a place for devs and creators to license and offer game assets, like 3D models or audio scripts, or even full games. Blockchain makes each and every asset trackable. So when it’s used in the development of other games, the original creator will earn royalties depending on the success of the project, something unprecedented in the existing asset stores.

The Metaverse Store is an asset store where players can buy and sell in-game items. Furthermore, every item uploaded to Fragnova can be “detached” from the Fragnova chain and migrated into many other chains (for example, Ethereum), allowing creators to sell and trade items on any possible platform.

The important point about the use of blockchain is that it’s not about turning a game item into a crypto asset with the aim of trading it and making money – the blockchain element is there to provide control and ownership in a way that simply hasn’t been possible before in the digital domain.

Q.Could you elaborate on Claymore, the game engine of your platform?

A. Claymore is a multiplatform game creation system focusing on full immersion in which creation and gaming take place in the same environment. Uniquely, Claymore allows developers to seamlessly upload their creations directly to the marketplace. Developers can also import game assets directly from the marketplace.

Advertisement

We built it on top of a new programming language we call Shards. Software development is still in a palaeolithic stage in terms of innovation and so we had to take a full stack approach. Shards allow us to express how games can interoperate with each other from the bottom of the stack, as well as allow us to build the foundation of a rich visual environment where creators can interact, build, inspect and modify their creations in a no code, AI-assisted way which is Claymore itself.

In future, I hope Claymore will rival industry mainstays like Unreal or Unity, as I believe there’s a real opportunity in the industry to bring in a fresh approach. Other incumbent engines are too big to change and adapt to modern gaming concepts like Web3 or the metaverse – at least without an extraordinary amount of investment and work. Both have been built over decades, so changing anything is always a complex task when legacy technology is involved. Equally, when you have an established brand, a massive user base and a huge number of stakeholders, it can be really difficult to pivot and keep everyone happy.

We are working on a pretty aggressive development roadmap so I’m hoping that we’ll have opportunities for creators and developers to get hands-on with parts of the engine and give us their feedback as soon as possible.

Q.Fragnova was founded on 2021. How do you look back at the journey over the last one year or so. Could you tell us about the development and funding so far and the path forward?

A. In about 14 months we’ve managed to realise a lot of the platform’s different elements and we’ve seen a really positive reception so far. One of the biggest challenges has been building the team and growing the company at the same time as developing the platform itself – as the founder I have to be involved in everything!

Advertisement

But perhaps one of our biggest challenges has been addressing the misconception that blockchain and crypto are all the same thing, which has been especially hard while we have been in such a hype bubble around NFTs and all the talk of the metaverse. We are now seeing the hype bubble deflate, so I am hopeful that we can go back to discussing blockchain as a means of doing more than just speculating on crypto. The reality is that blockchain is just a vehicle to help realise our ambition of stimulating the create-to-earn gaming economy.

Q.Finally, a tricky question. Your Linkedin bio says you like to ‘research, create and sometimes destroy’. Is there anything in the gaming industry at the moment that you would like to destroy?

A. That’s actually a very old line I just left there, but still belongs to me and indeed I think I kind of just answered that question with my previous answer! I would have to say the way the tech industry needs to hype the next big thing when the reality is that new technologies need to have utility and appear in the right place at the right time. Blockchain is a technology that has a lot of potential, but there also needs to be the right application for the right audience to give it lasting value.

 

 

Advertisement

Powered by WPeMatico

Continue Reading
Advertisement

Uncategorized

Sends company confirmed its participation in the ICE London Conference 2024

Published

on

 

 

ICE is the global showcase of innovative technologies, home to 600+ international brands providing access to products and services designed to enhance growth potential. Sends financial company confirmed its participation in the conference inviting to the brand’s stand for meetings.

The 6th of February is the opening day of ICE London 2024. The Sends team will spend three days of the conference meeting the current partners and establishing relationships with new ones in London. On its LinkedIn page, the company noticed that it had set up a stand to provide all the information about activity and business propositions, to meet with associates, and to engage with conference participants.

“Sends team is eager to meet the partners and new people at ICE London 2024. This event is iconic among gaming companies and market players. Organizers predict record attendance for the last London edition. We can’t miss this global event’s opportunities” , commented Anastasiia Pervushyna, Director/MLRO in Sends.

Advertisement

One of the shareholders (owners) of this company is Alona Shevtsova, a businesswoman, philanthropist, and active participant in the Ukrainian and UK FinTech community.

Recent international industry events during the past year have already clearly shown the value and significance of in-person events for our industry and we expect that to be very evident in London as well”, Alona Shevtsova added.

Sends provides Internet acquiring, multicurrency personal and business accounts. Opening a SEPA/SWIFT/Faster Payments bank account is available within 48 hours after submitting the necessary documents. Sends is available in the web and app versions.

In 2025, the ICE London conference will relocate to Barcelona, Spain. The historic edition of the world’s largest and most international gaming expo ends in Great Britain. This country has hosted the event since 2013.

ICE London 2024 will be held from the 6th to 8th February at ExCeL London. To schedule a meeting with Sends representatives, please use [email protected] email or the conference application.

Advertisement

*Sends is a trade name of SMARTFLOW PAYMENTS LIMITED.

SMARTFLOW PAYMENTS LIMITED is registered in England and Wales (Company number 11070048).

Continue Reading

Gaming

It’s time to speed up AI: Slotegrator presented new exciting solutions at iGB L!ve 2023

Published

on

 

A new era in the iGaming industry has begun: AI-powered solutions are now becoming affordable. Slotegrator presented the new AI-powered capabilities of its turnkey online casino platform at iGB L!ve 2023 in Amsterdam.

Every year, Slotegrator presents its newest innovations at iGB L!ve. This year, the company added several new features to its turnkey online casino platform, basing the additions on the results of internal customer research and global market analysis.

Upcoming trends are a constant source of speculation in the iGaming industry. As an industry trendsetter itself, Slotegrator knows what to bet on; last year, the company predicted rapid AI growth, and these capabilities have already been integrated into the company’s solutions.

 

Advertisement

The upgrades include:

  • The business intelligence (BI) module has become an Artificial BI module. Now it not only helps operators track the analytical data they need to make strategic decisions, but allows them to compare their project with others that operate in the same market. It’s an effective tool for analyzing competitors’ activities and to improve the entire business strategy.
  • ChatGPT was integrated to offer operators 24/7 business consultation. While the strategy will ultimately be up to the casino operator, ChatGPT’s capacity to offer advice can prove invaluable.
  • Fraud Detection (for collecting Big Data to reduce risk) with AI makes it easy for casino operators to set the parameters of what constitutes potentially fraudulent behavior and then segment players accordingly and take action when necessary.

 

Also, Slotegrator integrated a multiplayer chat function – an effective retention tool that emphasizes the value of live communication and offers opportunities for networking and creating player communities. The solution will see the addition of AI capabilities as well.

“This is just the first set of innovations. We are planning to use AI to boost our platform even further. The industry standards are changing, so the market can’t afford to use old tools now. Our participation in iGB L!ve 2023 demonstrated this completely,” says Dmytro Taran, COO at Slotegrator.

Continue Reading

Uncategorized

SANDSOFT GAMES ANNOUNCES SECOND ‘PRESS START’ INTERNSHIP PROGRAM

Published

on

Reading Time: 2 minutes

 

Sandsoft Games – the mobile-first game developer, publisher and investor powered by AAA talent, is thrilled to announce the launch of the second season of its pioneering internship program, Press Start. Available to local residents with an interest in getting into the games industry, the full-time internships aim to foster and nurture exceptional talent for the gaming industry in Saudi Arabia.

Following the success of the first Press Start initiative which began in December 2022, aspiring games industry professionals are once again invited to embark on the journey of creating a playable mobile game within a span of six months. Aligned with Vision 2030, the Press Start initiative has been engineered to nurture diverse local talent and provide a boost to the regional games industry. The Press Start cohort will receive support from Sandsoft’s leading industry experts in various areas, allowing them to specialize in one of three disciplines: design, art, or coding.

Successful applicants will work from Sandsoft’s flagship Riyadh Studio, with access to cutting-edge equipment and resources. Press Start is overseen by a team of esteemed games industry veterans who have contributed to renowned gaming franchises like Candy Crush Saga, FIFA, World of Tanks, Need For Speed and more, including Sandsoft’s Head of Studio in Riyadh, Yahsir Qureshi.

Advertisement

Yahsir Qureshi commented:

“Riyadh is a city full of exceptional, diverse talent and love of gaming. It’s our job to identify this talent and help nurture future leaders who will shape the legacy of the KSA and global games industries. The tremendous success of our original Press Start program has been immensely rewarding for both the participants and Sandsoft Games as a whole, with a number of interns expected to join us as full time team members. Initiatives such as Press Start play a significant role in boosting employment prospects in the region and we can’t wait to welcome a new cohort to our Riyadh studio.”

Basem Alasmar, Game Designer at Sandsoft Games and member of the inaugural Press Start program, continued:

“When I first saw the program on LinkedIn, I was immediately drawn to the idea and the challenge it presented. Working in a gaming company has always been a dream of mine, so I was naturally intrigued. What captivated me even more were the experienced individuals at Sandsoft Games and the impressive game titles they had worked on. Their expertise and track record truly impressed me. This program continues to inspire me to strive for greatness, pushing me to create amazing things, learn extensively, and enhance my skills in my chosen field.”

Press Start is open to Saudi Individuals of any age and educational background who have a demonstrable interest in game development and are available to work in Riyadh. Applications are open until July 7, 2023, at 23:59 AST.

Advertisement

Powered by WPeMatico

Continue Reading

Trending

Get it on Google Play

Fresh slot games releases by the top brands of the industry. We provide you with the latest news straight from the entertainment industries.

The platform also hosts industry-relevant webinars, and provides detailed reports, making it a one-stop resource for anyone seeking information about operators, suppliers, regulators, and professional services in the European gaming market. The portal's primary goal is to keep its extensive reader base updated on the latest happenings, trends, and developments within the gaming and gambling sector, with an emphasis on the European market while also covering pertinent global news. It's an indispensable resource for gaming professionals, operators, and enthusiasts alike.

Contact us: [email protected]

Editorial / PR Submissions: [email protected]

Copyright © 2015 - 2024 - Recent Slot Releases is part of HIPTHER Agency. Registered in Romania under Proshirt SRL, Company number: 2134306, EU VAT ID: RO21343605. Office address: Blvd. 1 Decembrie 1918 nr.5, Targu Mures, Romania