Tap In, Cash Out – True Blockchain Gaming? (Developer Interview)

Hello again Cryptopians,

Crypto life is extra busy, but while we’ve been gone, we’ve been organizing a few special articles for our community.

If you’re a gamer, or have interest in video games, you’re going to love this one…

Back in early 2013, when I first discovered Bitcoin, I heard it was a virtual currency that hackers and gamers were using to exchange value between each other. I remember thinking that if gamers were earning this currency by playing games, then certainly many long time video games fans like myself should be too. I mean at the time it certainly beat delivering groceries, that’s for sure.

Now in 2017, a long way from NOT understanding Cryptocurrency as I did then, I see there have been many talks of e-sports tokens and Cryptocurrency related rewards for gamers, with companies like Digibyte and others having a go at creating the perfect crypto-gamer platform. However, most are either aimed at pro gamers, or crypto enthusiasts, which leaves the regular video game lover out of the loop. This however, may be about to change…

Early in 2017, through our BTC Bros Facebook community group, Crypto-Talk #FutureFinance, I struck up conversation with a new member, Rory Piant (Tap Project Community Manager), who introduced me to…the Tap Project.

Reading their concept and whitepaper it became clear to me that Tap seemed to be finally addressing the issue I described earlier. Is this it? Will gaming finally meet Cryptocurrency on a platform that is user friendly and accessible to everyone?

After our early coverage of their ICO (see ICO’s Page) I caught up with Haniff Knight, Co-Founder of the Tap Project, to find out more about their concept and impending ICO. Here’s a snippet of the conversation:

 OK, so can you tell us what the Tap project is about?

H.K – The Tap project is a Blockchain based, transferable, in-game Cryptocurrency that aims to decentralize the gaming industry and provide gamers the ultimate control of in-game content and currency. The “Tap Coin” pays gamers for playing games. We aren’t looking to change anything in the current developers game environments, but we want to enhance and disrupt the current space. At its core, the Tap Project creates a space where gamers can swap their in-game currencies for Tap Coins using our “Shopkeeper”.

How did the Tapcoin team come together?

H.K – Tap Coin is a hybrid of an early project called, TruPoints. TruPoints allowed gamers to earn points while “betting” on YouTube streamers outcomes. With the introduction of the Ethereum Blockchain, Tap Coin does what TruPoints could never do. It creates that immediate contract and link between the gamer and the coin.

Taking a step away from streaming, we wanted to create a true relationship between the coin and the gamer. We wanted the ability for gamers to “Tap” into their currencies and earn money whilst playing games; simply, we wanted to get rewarded for playing hours and hours of games each and every year.

 What made you guys decide to focus Tapcoin around gaming?

H.K – The team prides itself on being gamers first. We grew up playing games and even entered into some tournaments along the years. The game space has increased ten fold and it is continuing to increase. There is nothing like a form of entertainment that truly immerses the user each and every time. We believed that this was a space we knew a lot about and had a connection with.

How did you come up with the name for Tapcoin?

H.K – When we were coming up with the name we wanted to ensure it was easy to use and easy to say. Additionally, we loved the idea of Tapping into a game, or Tapping into your wallet to reap your rewards, hence, Tap Coin.

Why did you decide to use the Ethereum Blockchain and token base instead of others, or creating one?

H.K – One of the reasons we decided on the Ethereum Blockchain was the fact that you could write contracts to the Blockchain. The ability to program to the Blockchain is huge, no longer are you just a user, or participant, but you can now be a creator. The roadblocks that you once faced are now hindered by your imagination and your ability to problem solve. When we were doing our due diligence and researching the other Blockchains, we were constantly coming to “…but we can’t”. With Ethereum we were able to say “…but, if we created this contract, it could handle this function.”

The reason we did not create our own is simply because there was no reason to recreate the wheel. The Ethereum Blockchain does what we wanted it to do, it has a great team of developers and the foundation, is backed by some heavy hitters in the tech industry.

Ok, let’s talk ICO’s, when is the Pre-ICO/ICO and can you tell us the main details of these?

H.K – Our Early contribution was from October 5th to October 20th. This was primarily a way to allow early contributors to get in and receive a 30% bonus for helping the team in the early stages. These funds will be used for early partnerships, along with marketing, and development of the token. Our main ICO will be from November 5th 2017 – December 5th 2017. In total 1.5B Tap Coins will be created and between the two ICO stages, 750M (50%) Tap Coins will be available for contributors. A large chunk of the funds will go towards marketing and business developments. We believe creating those partnerships is the bread and butter of Tap Coin and want to ensure we have Tap Coins to create links between the games and the platform. Our published whitepaper outlines the upcoming ICO.

https://tapproject.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/tap-project-whitepaper-1-3.pdf

Where can people find out about or join the ICO?

H.K – People wishing to contribute, or participate can find our details at www.tapproject.net

There you can find our whitepaper, early contribution details and our Github page.

We’ve heard about the platform and companion dapps that you guys have planned, can you expand a little on these?

H.K – Yes, we are continually extending our hand and developing partnerships with some really innovative Blockchain companies. We have upcoming, meetings with companies that will be able to integrate their gateway protocol with our platform, which will allow the Tap Coin easy liquidity with any other ERC-20 tokens on the Ethereum Blockchain. We never want to be stagnant and just exist in this space. We want to innovate. We will also be releasing an initiative that brings some key stakeholders in the space together that we are extremely excited about. Additionally, our platform will be where the Tap Coin will shine, our platform has the ability to allow each gamer to create a fan base, or user base with simple follow and party systems that everyone is so used to.

Can you mention any games titles, developers, or publishers that you’ve got on board?

H.K – We want to respect our negotiations with some of these companies, but we can say that we have been talking to hundreds of developers and publishers. For example, we’ve reached out to 704 Games, Zero Game Studios, HalfBrick Studios, Eastside Games, Good Game Studios, tons of Indie Developers, and many more. At this stage we are doing a lot of teaching about the project and the crypto space as well, as both may be new areas for publishers and developers alike.

Are there any you really would like to work with?

H.K – Truly, we would love to work with ALL of them. Obviously, some big names, Activision, Blizzard, Microsoft Studios, Bungie would be great our thought here is, where there is a game; there is a gamer playing that game. Even if we partnership with a publisher or game developer that only has one daily average user, to us that is a win in this space and we will continue to grow on it. Our goal is to pay gamers for playing games and the reality is there are millions of gamers out there and we want to ensure that everyone has this opportunity.

So, how can people contact you guys, join the community, or get involved with the Tap project?

H.K – We love community feedback and encourage it. We can be reached at team@tapproject.net

For those that wish to be involved and provide feedback and suggestions for the project, our Telegram channel https://t.me/tapcoin, hosts thoughtful discussions, where users can get a true insight into the Tap Project. We pride ourselves on truly listening to the community and pushing their ideas ahead.

Lastly, what is your favorite game currently and are there any you’re looking out for?

H.K – That’s a very good question. Well, currently I have spent a lot of time playing Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) on PC. Prior to this, I was very involved in Overwatch. One of the games that I am looking forward to playing is Destiny 2 on PC as well.

Well readers, with all the information above, it seems the GPU’s in that old mining rig may be useful after all…



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