The metaverse is arguably the biggest thing in the world which is overlooked by the most people. How do you find your way there, why would you go, and what would you do when you found it? For many people, games are what will bring them to the metaverse and provide them a reason to return. We talked with Sam Chlagou, creator of the game Cross the Ages, about games, fantasy, and the metaverse.
Grit Daily: For the uninitiated, what are some of the game titles you developed for Nintendo and XBOX?
Sami Chlagou: Guns of Mercy (1 million downloads); Finding Teddy (700,000 downloads); Andro Dunos II (rated 9/10 by Forbes and specialized media like Nintendolife) and Okinawa Rush.
Grit Daily: What’s behind the Cross the Ages name?
Sami Chlagou: The name represents “A bridge for civilization” between the physical world and the Metaverse.
It is also “a bridge” between the Cross the Ages Fantasy and science fiction story. The Cross the Ages universe tells a tale of two very distinct worlds. One world, Arkhante and the other Mantris are both housed on the continent of Artellium, however each civilization is vastly different.
The Cross the Ages project wishes to create “nostalgia.” Let’s go back to our childhood card games and go even further.
Grit Daily: Is it necessary to spend (any) of the $12M you raised so far? And if so, on what?
Sami Chlagou: We are very eager to continue the growth of the Cross the Ages ecosystem and our team of talented artists, developers, designers and writers. To that end, we are planning to use the funds raised to expand our robust development program, retain our current talent and execute on go-to-market activities for CTA. We are planning to launch our beta version of the game in May, with the physical and digital cards launching in June and the funds will aid in the launch of both games.
Grit Daily: What does it mean exactly to “enter the metaverse” (in your case in 2023)?
Sami Chlagou: If you ask five people to define what the metaverse is and how to enter it, you’ll come back with five different answers. The best way to begin exploring its use cases and unique capabilities is to understand the difference between the current iteration, Web2, and the future of the internet, Web3. Web2 connected brands, people and organizations to others around the world and removed barriers for communication. The metaverse and the next stage of Web3 takes those connections a step further and encourages true ownership of data, identities and assets in a virtual world – essentially, the integration of the physical world and the digital world can be realized through the metaverse.
Grit Daily: Inquiring minds want to know, how relevant is the mobile-versus-desktop split nowadays?
Sami Chlagou: We will have both a mobile version and desktop version of the Cross The Ages game. The reason we want to focus on releasing the mobile version of the game first is because of some of the obvious benefits over PC gaming: such as portable; economical; accessible; no requirement of any additional development kit; Available across devices, both on Android and iOS and Low barrier to entry for Indie developers. More importantly, mobile gaming has already exceeded the PC gaming market share in 2022.
Each match of The CTA lasts for 5 mins, and the mobile version would be perfectly fit for this design.