Golem Go is a refreshing change of pace in Web3 that is absurdly much more fun than any of us Alpha Players could have anticipated. While web3 gaming can never truly be decoupled from the financial world, it's my belief that web3 gaming must be fun FIRST to truly ascend to the next level. It's simple design, daily changes/updates, and it's creative approach to solving exploits has really won me over and created a small, but very dedicated, cult following.
The Bear market was filled with games that looked fun in prerelease, but were never prepared for the long cold winter before them. Ambitious projects made grand promises that they would never deliver. The web3 community has been burned by increasingly more failed projects, and it shows in the jaded edge the web3 community has taken in its approach to game. Many of us have forgotten the fun component alltogether and plan our exit before our first purchase.
Golem Go's first players were no different. Many very openly talking about how hard PART would crash after the initial excitement had ended meeting almost no disagreement. And yet, the price never dropped for more than few hours, and it is now much higher than it was the first week of release. But more importantly, the tone has completely shifted. Not into the moon talk one would expect in a bull, but shifted to talking about the game itself and how fun it is.
It has been absolutely breathtaking to be part of, and at this point, I would even be content with losing the entire amount I've spent on the game so far. This is truly entertainment worthy of the designation of a game. I credit this to the following:
Lightweight
All the art is AI generated, and it's an idle game that was quite easy to code. This demonstrates that you don't need the best production value to be fun, and the simplicity can even be an advantage. There is no massive overhead or bells and whistles that would slow production to a soul-grinding rate of months or even years for pertinent updates. While simply presented without animations or AAA production value, the simplicity in no way takes away from the experience or ambiance of the experience.
Daily Changes and Events
Given the lightweight, simple desing of the game, Lightning fast changes keep the community on their toes and engaged with the Discord Server updating stats, events, and providing novel events like Mayhem which increased battle energy recharge by 25% and increased the part one in battles by 25%.
There was no protection from Mayhem like this guy:
Exploits Closed in Hours
While providing rebalances, events, and creating new content, Yixn has also responded to exploits at an incredible speeds that has earned the community's faith and excitement in a way I haven't ever seen in web3. When the community discussed small accounts with no investment earning more than a single account, Yixn pushed two updates that very day to bring the force back into balance:
The 75% Rule
The 75% rule was an absolute gamechanger on the price of PART. Yixn, listening to the feedback of the community, brainstormed with the community in the Discord Server to come up with a penalty for accounts that burn less than 75% of the total part claimed for the life of the account.
Since you burn currency to upgrade any ability ingame, it's quite easy to comply with the rule if you're playing the game to play the game instead of siphon off tokens, and this curbed a great deal of sell pressure the new currency was facing as the first day hype wore off. I don't think anyone expected the currency to more than double in price compared to the "first day hype," but this game has really left a mark on us. Yixn's breakneck out put in all three areas mentioned really won us over.
Scavenge Rate Bonus
Additionally, each player was also given a scavenge rate bonus for how far above the average scavenge rate of all accounts that the player is. With an Algorithm of 7 and a golem charge of 4, I have a scavenge rate bonus of 171%. Even for a dedicated battle build like my account, it is tempting to put more PART into Algorithm and Golem Charging Station to see that beautiful green number go up. It can even be a little addicting.
These two changes, with others added to them in the days to come, really helped the community gain faith in the game and to accelerate the burn mechanisms to the next level.
Closing Remarks
If you're interested in playing the Golem Go Alpha, PART isn't quite as cheap as it was the first day, and due to it's deflationary design, it'very hard to say how the price will go. I honestly have no clue, and may even recommend agaisnt the game as a potential financial vehicle. I really have no idea if joining the game is a sound financial decision, and I really can't advise pushing or shoving.
I do know this though: the game is damn fun, and the excitement in the community is unbelievably contagious. While some have commented that the excitement is insane, I would argue is quite sane to pay money for a game that you actually enjoy instead of treating a game like an investment.
I've never regretted any of the physical games I've bought and sunk hours of passionate play into, and this game hits the same spot for me. All pleasure centers are dialed up to childhood joy levels, and this is worth far more than the money I've spent on Golem Go so far. It doesn't hurt that PART is more expensive now than at any point when I purchased it, but I'm not shooting for the moon on this one. I'm curled up on the floor, hunched over my laptop, and enjoying life.
I truly hope golem go inspires more lightweight, easy to code, and adjust games that could really spark some joy in the web3 community again. This game really resonates with us, and I think it's at least worth taking a chance on-- you might just fall in love with it like we did: