In the gaming world, playing with others is no longer simply 'accompanying' in such a monotonous manner. It is becoming a comprehensive service that satisfies the diverse needs of players, especially in multiplayer online games such as MOBA, FPS, MMORPG, etc. Playmates have gradually emerged as a huge market. Whether it's socializing, skill improvement, or just pure entertainment, playmates can find their own value.
Social Needs
What is escort playing? The player of the lonely game is like a street ranger. After a long time, it is inevitable to feel lonely. At this time, escorting becomes the stranger who brightens your eyes—log in, start a game—a sentence calls you into the game, and lets you escape from loneliness. It's not just about killing time in the game, you have to find people, form a gang, to have some style. Some people play games not to win, but to be remembered. Escort playing has become their ticket to fame in the arena.
Skill Enhancement Requirements
Moreover, being a gaming buddy is not just about accompanying you, but also being able to guide you at critical moments. You see, there are many tricks in competitive games, and newcomers don't understand those routines. A gaming buddy can teach you strategies, guide your operations, and help you gradually uncover the secrets in the game, until you are no longer a novice, but a prominent figure standing at the peak of the experts. This is particularly important for competitive games such as 'League of Legends' and 'DOTA 2', as gaming buddies can help players break through the 'bottleneck period' and achieve higher ranks or levels.
Increased Game Participation and Retention Rate
From the perspective of game developers and operators, companion play is not just simple interaction, it is a secret weapon to increase game engagement and retention. Do you want players to leave? No way! Through companion play, players not only experience the thrill of victory in the game, but also establish emotional connections, fighting side by side like brothers. Who would easily let go? Especially in games that require teamwork and cooperation, companion play is like giving you teammates blessed by God's will, avoiding the loneliness of solo fighting. Churn rate? It doesn't exist!
Economic and Business Needs
Speaking of the economy, the entertainment industry is more than just a hobby for players. It has become a way of life for many people - it's a battlefield and a business. Some entertainment platforms are steadily profitable through commissions and service fees, while professional entertainers can also make a lot of money through their skills and reputation. Furthermore, this industry chain is getting longer and longer, from virtual goods to the freemium system. The existence of entertainment has driven up in-game consumption, gradually becoming an indispensable part of the game economy.
Playmates in Web3: the future is here
In the Web2 era, gaming companions have proven their worth, as evidenced by the rise of well-known platforms such as E-PAL, PlayV, and Bi Xin.
According to market research data, the global accompanying service is gradually shifting from a niche market to the mainstream, and its size is expected to reach billions of dollars by 2025. Especially in e-sports, social games, and live interactions, the demand for accompanying services is increasingly strong.
And now, in the wave of Web3 games and Decentralization social, the companion playing service also has great potential.
1. Stronger interactive experience: Web3 games emphasize Decentralization and user ownership. Playmates can enhance player experience through social and in-game interactions. For example, in Web3 games, playmates can help Newbie players become more familiar with Decentralization game mechanisms, such as Non-fungible Token transactions and virtual asset management. In addition, in social games, playmates can promote interaction between players, establish stronger community connections, which aligns with the open social principles of Web3.
2. The fusion of Token economics and Depth: Web3 games often integrate Token economics to incentivize participants through Token rewards. Playmates can integrate into this economic model, allowing players to earn Tokens by providing playmate services, while users can pay for playmate services with Tokens. This mechanism creates a new income model for playmates and players, driving economic flow within the Web3 ecosystem.
3. Decentralization identity and trust mechanism: Web3 social and gaming focus on Decentralization identity management, and blockchain-based identity verification can help companions establish a more trustworthy reputation system. This means that the companions' historical performance, user feedback, etc. can all be transparently displayed on-chain, reducing trust issues in the traditional companionship market and promoting a safer trading environment.
E-PAL is a global online playmate platform that focuses on providing playmate services for gamers. Users can find playmates on the platform, who help players improve their gaming experience or provide social companionship based on their skills and game types. E-PAL covers a variety of mainstream games, such as "League of Legends," "Apex Legends," "Valorant," and also includes more social services such as chatting, coaching, and community activities.
With these mechanisms, being a playmate is no longer just entertainment. It has become a powerful engine driving the popularity of Web3 games, bringing new economic opportunities and more exciting user experiences to Web3 social interactions. Today, we are going to talk about Balance, a Web3 integrated gaming platform that has emerged from the E-pal platform in this field.
Balance Introduction
Balance was created by the E-PAL team as a key step in establishing the Web3 gaming ecosystem, and is a Web3 platform focused on blockchain games. Balance leverages a pool of 2.4 million Web2 users, aiming to bring revolutionary innovation and change to the gaming industry through blockchain and AI technology.
The core goal of Balance is to build an open, inclusive, and fair gaming ecosystem. By integrating the additional dimensions and advantages of artificial intelligence and blockchain technology, developers can more easily build and promote their games, while players can enjoy a more diverse and personalized gaming experience. This combination ultimately drives the rise and progress of the entire Web3 gaming industry.
The technical framework of the Balance platform will achieve Cross-Chain Interaction, enabling seamless connection for game developers and players on different blockchain networks, and building a unified Web3 game ecosystem. It provides game developers with game distribution and promotion services, allowing them to release games for Cross-Chain Interaction distribution on the platform. In addition, it also provides players with one-stop game services, including game access, purchase, asset trading, social interaction, Airdrop, and game friendship.
Game Access
Balance platform will integrate all leading Web3 games and provide a unified identity for each user through Balance Passport to simplify the registration and login process across different blockchain networks. This enables users to easily access these games, rate them, and vote on them. This helps game developers understand user preferences and continuously improve game quality. We will also provide promotion services for selected excellent games to accelerate user acquisition for developers.
Game Purchase
Games integrated into the Balance platform will accept EKP as one of the payment options for in-game or marketplace transactions. Users can directly use EKP on the platform to purchase games or in-game items, extending beyond Web3 games. Building on the successful collaboration between the Balance platform and Web2 game developers, players can also use EKP to purchase virtual products in popular Web2 games, such as items and skins in games like "League of Legends," "Overwatch 2," "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds," and "Counter-Strike: Global Offensive."
Asset Trading
The Balance platform will establish a Decentralization trading market to simplify the trading of in-game Non-fungible Token assets. The Balance platform facilitates Cross-Chain Interaction asset trading through Cross-Chain Interaction interoperability protocol, enabling users to freely exchange game assets across different Blockchains without worrying about network restrictions. All assets in the market will be priced in EKP Token, promoting centralized Liquidity for all game assets and bringing economic benefits to the Balance ecosystem.
Virtual Social
Through Balance Passport, each player will have a unique identity, integrating user information, game data, assets, achievement badges, social media, etc. Balance also uses artificial intelligence technology to create virtual characters in the Balance ecosystem for social interaction, helping players build the Social Web, enhance social interaction, and improve the playability and fun of the game.
Team Background
According to official information, the four co-founders of E-PAL all have deep experience in Web2 or Web3 entrepreneurship. The CEO once founded the visual novel platform 'Wuxia Dreams' and continued to demonstrate his entrepreneurial talent after being acquired by Tencent. The COO is one of the co-founders of Oasis Pastoral. The other two co-founders have accumulated rich experience in capital management, operation of a publicly listed company in the United States, as well as Decentralized Finance and GameFi in the Web3 field. This team has not only laid a solid foundation in the traditional internet field, but also made a mark in the forefront of Web3.
Investment Background
On September 5th, E-PAL successfully completed two rounds of financing led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and Galaxy Interactive. This round of financing also received support from many well-known investors, including Animoca Brands, K5, CLF Partners, MBK Capital, New Heights Fund, AMBER, MarbleX, Sky Mantra, Tuna, Aptos Labs, IOBC, Leland, Halcyon Capital, Uphonest, Taisu Ventures, Gate Labs, DWF Ventures, BING, WAGMI, as well as YouTube co-founder Steve Chen, Riot Games CEO Marc Merrill, and League of Legends director Thomas Vu. The total financing amount reached an astonishing $30 million, which not only reflects investors' strong confidence in the future development of E-PAL, but also provides strong financial support for its further expansion in the Web3 field.
Roadmap
· March 2020: E-PAL launches version 1.0 website.
· September 2020: Completed a $3 million seed funding led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z).
· July 2021: Completed Series A financing led by Galaxy Interactive with participation from a16z.
· December 2022: Start exploring Web3 technology.
· March 2023: Establish Web3 team and develop Balance zkEVM.
· March 2024: Launch Balance zkEVM testnet and begin developing the Balance platform simultaneously.
· May 2024: Release of Balance platform version 1.0, compatible with all EVM networks, allowing users to manage gaming assets through the platform.
· May 2024: Release Balance platform 1.1 version, introducing bounty task function, users can earn reward points daily, which can be exchanged for EPT Token in the future.
· May 2024: Start selling and minting Balance ID.
· June 2024: Start a round of financing with Key Opinion Leader (KOL).
· June 2024: Start selling Balance Nodes.
· June 2024: Launch Balance Passport, providing users with unified identity authentication.
· July 2024: Launch Balance Wallet Chrome extension for easy access to the Web3 world.
· July 2024: Launch the open market on the Balance platform to provide one-stop trading of gaming assets.
· August 2024: Balance zkEVM Mainnet goes live, simplifying Block chain game development.
· September 2024: Cooperate with over 500 games.
· October 2024: Integrate AI functionality into the Balance platform, supporting users to create AI game partners.
· November 2024: Introduce AI components in Balance zkEVM to allow developers to generate Smart Contract code directly from documentation.
· December 2024: Continuously expand the compatibility of the Balance platform to include networks such as Solana, Avalanche, and Clayton.
Balance zkEVM
Balance zkEVM is a game chain based on the second-layer zk-rollup, compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). It provides an extension solution that can offer instant transactions, massive scalability, and zero gas fees. As a variant of EVM, Balance zkEVM leverages smart contracts to allow game developers to introduce customized digital ownership and Web3 mechanisms into their games.
For developers, a key benefit is that Balance zkEVM enables them to use the same programming language (Solidity) and development frameworks as Ethereum. This makes it easier to build gaming applications on a more secure and convenient Layer 2 solution.
In addition, we have incorporated AI technology into the zkEVM public chain to model the contract source code already deployed on mainstream EVM public chains (including ERC20, ERC721, ERC1155, MarketPlace, Stake, Proxy, etc. Smart Contracts). Currently, we have trained an AI model with over 200,000 lines of Smart Contract-related code, which can automatically generate Token, Non-fungible Token, DEX, Marketplaces, Staking, Drops, leveraged assets, and other asset Smart Contract codes based on the documentation, and realize automatic deployment and generation of SDK interfaces for user access. As a result, game developers only need to write simple rule documents to complete the coding and automatic deployment of the Smart Contract part, without the need to understand the logic of Smart Contracts or learn to write complex contracts. This significantly lowers the barrier for Web2 game developers to enter the Web3 field, providing strong impetus for traditional game companies to seamlessly integrate into the Web3 world.
EPT Token
EPT is the sole governance Token for the Balance platform and Balance ZKEVM. It rewards network activity within the ecosystem, such as trading, providing Liquidity, and building applications. EPT establishes an incentive mechanism between traders, creators, and markets, ensuring that all participants benefit from network activities.
EPT Token Distribution
The total amount of EPT token issuance is 1 billion, and the token distribution is as follows:
· Launchpool and public sale: 10%
· Team: 15%
· Investors: 15%, including institutional investors and individual investors.
· Ecological Foundation: 15%, used for ecological construction related initiatives.
· Reward Pool: 40%, used to reward individuals and groups for their contributions to ecological development and community development, inspiring more people to actively participate and contribute. Launch pool+public sale team investors ecological foundation incentive pool market marketing.
· Market Marketing: 3%, used for project cooperation, Liquidity provision, and marketing expenses.
· Market Cap management: 2%, mainly used to provide Liquidity for cex and dex.
Application Scenarios of EPT:
· Application construction cost: Game developers using Balance zkEVM to build games need to pay a certain fee, which can be directly paid with EPT Token. Alternatively, Balance can automatically convert purchased currencies (ETH, USDT, etc.) into EPT for payment on the open market. Users can trade through Balance zkEVM without holding EPT Tokens.
· stake: Users holding EPT Tokens can earn rewards by staking tokens. A portion of the fees paid by game developers for application development is locked in the 'reward staking pool' managed by the foundation. EPT Tokens in the pool are distributed to stakers on a fixed ratio basis each month.
· Proof of Stake and Governance: EPT Token holders can participate in Decentralization governance by voting on Balance-related proposals. Proposals may include topics such as Token reserve allocation, developer subsidy voting, adjustment of application building costs, changes in daily rewards, and Token distribution. The Balance Foundation will continue to enrich and add other categories of proposals based on community development. We aim to increase the practicality and Decentralization of EPT Token through user voting. The Foundation has the right to propose projects that are beneficial to the entire ecosystem and promote the proposal process, and all Token holders will vote on this. Individuals who wish to submit proposals for voting must first own a certain amount of EPT Tokens, and the Foundation will review them before entering the voting process. The specific amount of EPT required will be determined later.
· Maintain network security: EPT Token is used for the operation and maintenance costs of the Payment Network Node. In addition, Balance issues EPT Token as a reward to incentivize Node participants to maintain network security and complete Block confirmation.
· Payment and Medium of Exchange: EPT Token is the medium of exchange for payment and gas fees on the Balance platform, playing a crucial role in value transfer. Users can use EPT Token to purchase game items and services on the platform, as well as to pay for rewards.
· Priority Access: For games in the Alpha or Beta testing phase, players who want to access early need to hold a certain amount of EPT Tokens as access credentials.
· Social and incentive mechanisms: EPT Token is also used for social participation and incentives. It incentivizes users to participate in community building, content creation, and social interaction, promoting the development of the project and user participation.
How to participate?
Balance is currently fully launching an exciting Allowlist event:
Activity time: September 2nd - September 16th
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Login to the official website: Go straight to the Balance official website, connect your Wallet, and enter the world of this game.
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Complete tasks: complete various tasks on the platform, earn points, and join the Pioneer Points Challenge.
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Invite Friends: Bring your buddies and invite them to join, boost your ranking on the leaderboard, and compete for Allowlist eligibility.
Special Note:
You can apply for the Non-fungible Token Allowlist (WL) in the following three ways:
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Top 100 Ranking: The top 100 users who have completed tasks outstandingly will be directly locked in the Allowlist.
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Invite the first 100 friends: Players who rank in the top 100 in the number of invited friends will also have the chance to win the Allowlist.
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Points Master: Users with more than 1000 points will be randomly selected by the system to draw 200 lucky winners to obtain Allowlist.
(Note: You can participate in all three activities, but each winner can only receive one reward.)
Pioneer Badge Non-fungible Token, is the VIP pass in the Balance ecosystem. Once you have it, it's like occupying a hill, holding the initiative. Not only can you grab those rare assets, but you also have the opportunity to speak out on the life and death matters of the platform. Now, the popularity of this Non-fungible Token is like a beach landing, everyone is desperately pushing forward. The minting time is expected to be in early October, with only a mere 2000 available. Once you grab this thing, no one can say how much profit it will turn over, but you have to understand that when it comes to opportunities, even a second late means watching others get rich.
Conclusion
Overall, Balance is not just a simple Web3 user experience improvement platform, it is more like an impending ecological revolution.
This team is rooted in Los Angeles, USA. It was formerly known as Epal, the largest accompanying play platform in North America. With the support of top-notch venture capital firms such as a16z and Galaxy, even YouTube co-founder Steve Chen and Riot Games CEO Marc Merrill have placed their bets. At one time, 'Epal' became synonymous with accompanying play, with 4.2 million active users and 450,000 Epals, thriving.
But the story isn't over. In order to embrace the frenzy of the Web3 era, Epal has evolved into Balance. This is not just a change of name, but also a bold bet on the future. It is no longer satisfied with being a companion platform; what it wants to do is to become a large-scale user experience infrastructure in the Web3 world. What Balance aims to achieve is to make interactions more free, more interesting, and even more profitable in the social experience of Smart Contracts, Digital Money, and Decentralization.
No more monotonous interactive gameplay here. Non-fungible Tokens, virtual assets, and on-chain incentive mechanisms allow every user to become a builder and a driving force for this ecological revolution. Playing together? It has long surpassed one-way service and has become a three-dimensional social experience, giving users more control and opportunities to share profits.
What's the future like? The road of rivers and lakes is long, and the situation is changing. No one knows the final outcome. But one thing is certain: the grand drama of Balance has just begun.
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