Hi everyone, I’m Tyler Bushnell, Founder of Polycade, the modern arcade gaming platform! I’m here to talk about all things gaming, art, design, and Polycade. Let’s talk! AMA

Submitted by polycade t3_zef8nv in IAmA

Hey guys, Tyler here! I’ve been a huge fan of AMAs for years now and it’s always been on my bucket list to participate. With that being said, there’s no time like the present so let’s do it! I’m looking forward to hearing from anyone and everyone and diving deep into gaming and its intersection with art and culture. Hope you enjoy learning a little bit more about our most recent project, Polycade Limiteds, which I’m really excited to talk about: 

Polycade Limiteds will feature 12 artist collaborations, where each artist will redesign a classic Atari game, such as Asteroids®, PONG®, Centipede®, Missile Command® and Breakout®. Each reskinned game will be fully playable and reimagined with the artist’s vision - redesigning all graphics and backgrounds. Every rendition of each game will be released as limited editions of Digital Cartridges, available for purchase on the blockchain. 

Our first limited title release is with contemporary artist Shantell Martin who was tasked with reskinning the classic Atari game Asteroids®. The Digital Cartridge will include three editions (Artist, Gold, and Silver), with the minting date set for December 12 and the Digital Cartridges will be stored on the Ethereum Blockchain. For more information please go here: https://polycade.ltd/!

PROOF: https://i.redd.it/f2q7q3uql54a1.jpg

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redditorx13579 t1_iz64v7y wrote

Oops, you mentioned gaming and blockchain together. How do you expect to market that?

On top of that, it's already being done in spades by emulation hobbiest. There are literally thousands of games that have already been reimangined.

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polycade OP t1_iz67mtz wrote

Haha yes we're really challenging the perceptions by trying to connect these divisive spaces.

Our implementation of blockchain and traditional gaming is extremely similar to existing ideas that gamers have adopted, and also provides several improved aspects over those traditional paradigms. Using ERC-721 or ERC-1155 as the method for digital game ownership makes a ton of sense on the core level.

For example, the idea of a limited edition video game sort of already exists, since physical cartridges are limited by nature. Different however, is that the makers of those physical carts have not said "we will never release this game again", where the titles we are releasing are guaranteed limited - we will not release them again in a different form.

Also, the idea of digital game ownership already exists in gaming - every digital platform uses it (Steam, Epic, Itch). However these platforms are walled gardens - you are not permitted to sell your games. Our use of blockchain guarantees you the ability to sell your Polycade Limiteds games, and it's done easily via sites like Opensea.

​

Re: the hobbiest you mention - right now monetizing their creations is difficult (this is partially due to licensing). Looking to the future for our platform, we hope to provide these hobbiests with a marketplace where they can release and market their creations legally.

I'd also add - what we're doing with the Atari + Artist series is a little different from the emulation hobbiest, since we are providing people (artists in this case) who don't have the game creation skills a path to creating a game.

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redditorx13579 t1_iz69jp2 wrote

You might do better getting your dad to do a few. As a game collector, that would be worth more.

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polycade OP t1_iz6abqy wrote

Cool idea! He's not much of a visual artist, but I think we could definitely come up with a way to collab! Perhaps some of the original games with modified mechanics...

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ShazadM t1_iz7nepj wrote

Are you related to Nolan Bushnell?

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vinyl_smile1 t1_iz63qbf wrote

How do I access a Polycade Limited?

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polycade OP t1_iz64bnt wrote

Polycade Limiteds games will be accessible starting this Saturday 12/10. In order to access them, you will need to own one of our "digital cartridges" which is an ERC-721 contract on the ethereum blockchain.

You will be able to access and play the Polycade Limiteds game on our website (polycade.ltd) , via our downloadable gaming software (polycade.com/download), or by logging into any of our arcade machines (including the ones in public places like bars!).

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Admirable-Mud6153 t1_iz65mn2 wrote

favorite Atari game?

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polycade OP t1_iz681rc wrote

Super Breakout!! We had the arcade cabinet growing up, and for some reason I always gravitated toward it.

I also have a special place in my heart for Lunar Lander since it's such a weird game. Gravitar is cool too. And missile command. Aaaaah!

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spatialnorton09 t1_iz6j2cu wrote

When are you going to launch an updated version of Polybius?

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polycade OP t1_iz6kqkm wrote

Ahhhh how did you know we were planning this?!? We're so predictable.

This is in the works...we have plans to deploy Polybius arcade machines in random places across the US (maybe other countries too). Our goal is for the physical tokens from our Artist + Atari series to have a special use in these Polybius machines. This would also mean that the physical tokens are deflationary. Hopefully we can get to this IRL adventure within the next year!

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Rare_Buddy_3100 t1_iz63ygm wrote

Why is the gaming community so against NFTs?

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polycade OP t1_iz662vp wrote

I love this question because I think the real answer here is that there's a whole bunch of misunderstanding about what an NFT is.

Here's a few reasons gamers hate NFTs:

  1. Gamers smell scams from far away. Because the NFT space was wrought with scammers during the time that it was popularized in the media, NFT became synonymous with scams. It wasn't even about the tech...it was about how the tech was being used.
  2. NFTs were popularized by the idea of owning a jpg. This sounds really dumb at first and is a hard concept for anyone to understand, but it does actually make sense when you breakdown how IRL art really works. I'll have to find the link that helps explain this. Most gaming companies that jumped on the NFT wagon released collectible jpgs that had zero utility - to gamers this just felt like a cash grab.
  3. I think the dialog around NFTs and gaming was not well executed. Most proponents were talking about interoperability, which is a hard thing to make happen in most games - AAA studios wouldn't do it, and gamers know this. IMHO, the dialog should have been focused around the ability to sell your earned digital goods (this was discussed, but not the center of the conversation).
  4. Lastly, during the chip shortage of 2020 and 2021, crypto miners were snatching up all of the graphics cards on the market. This drove up GPU prices and basically made it so that gamers could not buy graphics cards, so gamers developed a unique dislike for crypto in general.
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OrShUnderscore t1_iz65lmp wrote

Do you guys have any plans for creating new standalone fightsticks? (Or rereleasing the old ones)

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polycade OP t1_iz68xe0 wrote

We didn't get much traction with them when we offered the product in our Indiegogo, but we've always loved the idea of fightsticks that can be dropped into an arcade machine. Maybe we'll revisit this! Always good to know there are people interested - thanks!

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gatorsocal t1_iz67xac wrote

What are your thoughts on microtransactions?

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polycade OP t1_iz69wxd wrote

As a traditional gamer, I pretty much hate microtransactions. The gaming economies that use microtransactions are typically pay-to-win types of games, which are just lame.

That said, I do think there are certain types of games where a microtransaction economy works, like MMOs.

I also think skin-based microtransactions are cool because they don't necessarily affect the gameplay.

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AvidGamer1778 t1_iz6dkx5 wrote

Are Polycade Limiteds any different from NFTs?

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polycade OP t1_iz6f8a7 wrote

I think the term "NFT" has developed a meaning in popular culture that is different from what the actual technology is. For most people, I think they believe an NFT is a jpg or digital image that you can own - that's not what Polycade Limiteds are.

The Polycade Limiteds implementation of the ERC-721 contract (aka NFT) should be thought of like game ownership on Steam, with two key differences:

  1. Unlike Steam, Polycade Limiteds games can be resold.
  2. Unlike Steam, the database that records game ownership can be viewed and reviewed by anyone, allowing people to verify the limited nature of the games we are releasing.
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tamagosan t1_iz71ojz wrote

What the fuck even is this?

So, I can't actually play any of these games, because they're NFTs or something?

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polycade OP t1_iz7f0d0 wrote

Like other gaming platforms, our Polycade Limiteds games must be purchased in order for you to be able to play them. Unlike other gaming platforms, you then have the option to sell them if you don't want the game anymore.

Let me know if you have other questions!

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tamagosan t1_iz7mcny wrote

So, these aren't games meant for everyone to be able to play.

They're an "investment."

Is that what this is?

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polycade OP t1_iz7tirw wrote

These games are limited edition (1,011 per release), which by nature makes them collectibles, like a piece of art, a physical game cartridge, or a baseball card.

The limited nature has some peripheral effects as well, such as cutting down on the tournament competition - which is meaningful since we'll be awarding over $10k in prizes from those tournaments.

For the most part, you need to own the digital cartridge to play the game, but there is a second way to play! You can access one of our tournaments, plus a week of practice time playing the game before the tournament, by spending one of our digital arcade tokens. Since the arcade tokens are more plentiful and cheaper than the cartridges, more people can check out the game and have a chance to win the prizes, which include several digital cartridges.

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tamagosan t1_iz7zd2b wrote

It sounds like something out of a cyberpunk dystopia, as opposed to the dumpsterfirepunk dystopia we live in.

​

I will learn to code video games if I get to make one that runs on a pregnancy test.

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polycade OP t1_iz80um5 wrote

I'm going to take this as a compliment, since cyberpunk is obviously better than dumpsterfirepunk. Thank you for this compliment :)

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rbender17 t1_iz62bir wrote

How did you come to form Polycade? Was there ever any doubt you would follow your father’s footsteps into the arcade gaming world?

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polycade OP t1_iz632es wrote

I knew from a very early age that I wanted to be in gaming. That said, I had a tough time making the leap into the gaming industry as a young adult - I think the prospect was intimidating due to the 'ol "big shoes to fill" conundrum.

Polycade came about because of my love for playing games in person with friends and family, and because I missed playing Donkey Kong Jr and Super Breakout - two arcade cabinets that I grew up with.

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IAmAModBot t1_iz63jed wrote

For more AMAs on this topic, subscribe to r/IAmA_Gaming, and check out our other topic-specific AMA subreddits here.

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[deleted] t1_iz67ger wrote

[removed]

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polycade OP t1_iz68m4o wrote

A classic ludite! "Push crypto" are the words used to flag scams, so it appears you've done no research into the technology and what it can enable.

Please educate yourself and don't hate people for being born from someone notable.

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GrombleBrongle t1_iz68vpd wrote

Maybe you should’ve researched Reddit to see that it may not be the place for you to do a Q&A

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dude-O-rama t1_iz67j7r wrote

Can I get one for free?

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polycade OP t1_iz68q5x wrote

We're doing some giveaways - keep an eye on our twitter!!

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sunday_afternoon_86 t1_iz6bfoq wrote

Tyler - favorite game of all time?

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polycade OP t1_iz6czd2 wrote

Oh I couldn't ever pick just one, here's a few:

  1. Terraria. Ok if I had to pick one this would be it, because it rolls so many fantastic genres (adventure, crafting, action rpg) into one perfect gem.
  2. The Legend Of Zelda: The first cartridge I personally purchased...and it was GOLD. Love the adventure of this game and many of it's sequels.
  3. Factorio. The first time I played this I didn't blink for 20 hours and stayed up all night. BUILD ALL THE SYSTEMS!
  4. Slay The Spire. Proud to say I unlocked every achievement in this game. Playing this on Switch is great for the new parent that needs to drop in and jump out of a game at a moments notice.
  5. Tricky Towers. A fantastic take on Tetris!
  6. Towerfall: Ascension. So fun to play with friends!
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Yakudo t1_iz6l0yc wrote

Are these games played on a central server like theSandbox?

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polycade OP t1_iz6nhhs wrote

The games are served from a central server. Migrating towards full decentralization is a goal with this project, and we're looking forward to hearing thoughts from the community about some of the tradeoffs.

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itoddicus t1_iz8mqnn wrote

So if Polycade doesn't work out, will your arcade machines and games still be playable?

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polycade OP t1_izb5ukc wrote

Always good to explore the "smoking hole" scenario (you arrive at work and there's only a smoking hole left of the place)!

We've been around for 7 years now, so that's a first step towards "staying power". However, if for whatever reason Polycade went out of business, the software that runs on our machines would get a final update that allows it to function without our centralized servers. Also worth mentioning that our arcade machines are purposefully built to be "modular" - you can install different arcade software on them, we use generic hardware components that you can swap with other generic components, etc.

For the Polycade Limiteds titles, I mentioned that we aim to move towards full decentralization, so if that has been achieved in our "smoking hole scenario", then the games live on pretty much no matter what.

If we have not achieved full decentralization, then the games persisting becomes dependent on the business model. What I mean by that is this: When a company goes out of business, more often than not another company will buy that defunct company's assets, and if the assets earn money, they will keep them around and running, and likely even expand on those assets. Because Polycade Limiteds has a built in royalty that earns money for our company (or a company that acquires us), and because hosting servers to serve up our games is inexpensive, it's going to make the most sense for any buyer of our company to continue running the Polycade Limiteds services.

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Kizejacks t1_iz8bcrj wrote

We’re you allowed to watch Roseanne growing up? I wasn’t because my parents thought it glorified obesity.

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polytrigon t1_iz6jiob wrote

Hey welcome to web3 land. I’m founder of a project that minted in February. We’ve build a casual meta verse called Turf.

We’ve actually been looking to integrate games into our platform.

Would you be interested in discussing collaborations?

Either way good luck with your launch :)

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polycade OP t1_iz6mola wrote

Cool stuff, love the pixel art! Always interested in discussing collabs, reach out to us via socials / discord / email!

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