I would like to believe that Invennium projects are following Splinterlands 1 - 2 cycles behind. One could say that I merely say this because I have a stake in COLONY and GLX. Wanting one's portfolio to do great is normal and to be expected. I want to do better and try what I can do to expand the project. We are the owners of Invennium + Splinterlands. We have to do what we can to improve our business.

Updates from Arcade Colony Office Hours

The original vision that was there when Invennium launched while @splinterlands was around its peak has remained steady. Anyone who can build a game can easily turn it into a blockchain game without having to learn about blockchain development. The difficult part would be getting them to ditch the EVM trend with all of its fees. Higher active users counts on HIVE could become a tremendous help for this purpose. If there were more money for Invennium development, we would have seen these features get earlier.

We are too late to do anything about our bear market blunders and spreading ourselves too thin. The vision is clearly alive and well. There are functioning games and I have already written some reviews about them. Even the loss of MLSPA partnership was managed fine with AI generated player images for @gls.goals. MLSPA recognition is very low outside of North America. For many players, the change in player Cards will hardly matter.

I Can Recognize The AI Designs

Partially there is my already existing memory and there is a slight filter like effect going on with the newly updated Cards. I think @aggroed and the team handled the situation fine and we can move on with refining gameplay and getting people familiar with Web 3, Invennium and DeFi. Bull markets are the best times to onboard players. The competition for attention will increase as more games launch in the market. Early phase of the bull market provides the best ROI for marketing IMHO.

A Masterclass in Web 3 Onboarding

There are many great games that have small playerbases precisely because of the steep learning curve. There is a limit to how much we can simplify things. Those with skill can elegantly present complex subjects and make the learning process easier by an order of magnitude. Campaign modes in strategy games have long been used as a way of getting players accustomed with the skills necessary for multiplayer gameplay.

This campaign mode is going to increase the conversion rate of signups becoming Spellbook buyers. There are many repurposed artwork combined with all new material that drip feed the knowledge to new players. The amount of players leave the game due to the complexity and difficulty of getting started should nose dive with this new update. The best part is that there is a good sense of progression and the promise of a whole new "Book" of campaigns.

It is best to showcase what it is like for a new player who joined the game few minutes ago because of marketing campaigns or any other path of onboarding. If you decide to play through the campaign, there will be some tiny Rewards of Glint + Cards. Maybe we could see other types of Rewards such as Land Resources, Potions etc. in the future.

Splinterlands Single Player PvE Campaign

Those who are used to AAA games on PC or Console may to have many good things to say about this single player campaign mode. When compared with various browser games and mobile games, we are looking at a very competent and engaging PvE series of events that teach players through gameplay rather than text. I consider "Academy" section to be one amazing addition to the game. It kept many players from having to read the documentation, find tutorials or reach out for support. What we have with campaign mode is even better.

Updates from Discord

📚 NEW: Campaign Mode – Book 1: Waur Medge Academy
Learn. Battle. Earn. Your journey starts here.

New to Splinterlands? Campaign Mode is the perfect way to get started. Head to the Play dropdown and dive into Book 1: Waur Medge Academy — an interactive 11-chapter PvE tutorial that teaches you the game and gives you cards you can use in ranked play.

🎯 Campaign Mode: Phase 1 Highlights

✅ Earn Foundation Cards – Replaces Rebellion starter cards
✅ Ready for Ranked – Use your Foundation cards right away
✅ Glint Rewards – Earn Glint as you progress
✅ A Complete Beginner Deck – Finish Book 1 with cards you can compete with

🧱 Foundation Cards – What You Need to Know

• Playable in all formats except Survival Mode (currently paused),
• Soulbound: Not tradeable, sellable, burnable, or combinable,
• Do not contribute to collection power,
• Provide no production value on land
• May be used to earn Glint and SPS (if SPS is staked),
• Viewable by selecting the Foundation set icon and setting the status filter to “All Cards”

Suggestions To Adapt

What I have seen is enough to give me full confidence that the design team behind Splinterlands single player campaign knows what they are doing. That does not mean we cannot come up with suggestions to improve things.

School Grounds for Genesis League Goals

Unless a player is committed to doing some reading, they are going to have a tough time when the jump straight into Compete. They need to learn the core mechanics in tiny drips of engaging sections. Even a little sloppy introduction is better than having none at all IMHO. That is why we need to at least have some short clips as in game popups.

My first instinct was to call this campaign mode Training Grounds. Then I realized that we already have training grounds. We need a different name and few sections that make players grasp the core mechanics. We need to reduce the amount of players that leave the game due to the learning curve.

Lore Shorts for Arcade Colony

Racing games, shooting games and popular casino games are generally well known for the basic rules and mechanics. What is left for the players to know are the special mechanics as acquiring Cards, staking various assets and optimizing for the best earnings. These tips could be provided in the form of some engaging lore or at least few popup texts. Arcade Colony is in a great position to leverage the existing knowledge regarding various styles of arcade games.

Add Your Own Ideas

Anyone can get a stake in this business and become a partial owner and participate in governance. Splinterlands is the game that began it all and if you held SPS since the old days, you should already have GLX + Colony Airdropped to you. Instead of cashing out on the Airdrop, consider being part of the larger community and help the 3 Headed Gaming Dragon of HIVE.