Like most children, I’m sure, my brother and I had a modest collection of toys whose purpose was to fulfill whatever role our imaginations could conjure. My Pokémon figurines were locked in an apolitical war of nebulous origin with my brother’s G.I. Joes. Hot Wheels equipped with toothpick spears and tinfoil plows engaged in deadly vehicular combat. Warzones and tracks were erected from whatever throwaway items we could stash into our room. To an uninventive observer, our creations probably appeared to be folly at best and janky at worst.
Growing up transformed our creative activity into a dormant pastime. I don’t play with toys anymore, but I do play a lot of video games (perhaps at the cost of my own innovation). Instead, my toys now live a sedentary lifestyle. Kept in windowed boxes to maintain pristine condition, they’ve been relegated to nothing more than showpieces.
As 2020 descends further into turmoil, I long for the days where I could engage in imaginative and physical play with my brother. Cultural norms aside, however, I’m not about to break my collectibles out of their cardboard prison. Fortunately, there’s a video game right around the corner that might fill the void.
Blankos Block Party is a massively multiplayer online party game as well as the debut title of Mythical Games. Player avatars are represented by vinyl collectible figures, called Blankos, who inhabit and navigate their own manufactured world. Like my brother’s G.I. Joes, Blankos can be outfitted with several different accessories like masks and jetpacks that have practical in-game use. Mythical Games built Blankos on three fundamental pillars – play, build, and collect; a foundation I got to observe in a hands-off demonstration with the developers.
There’s a lot to do in the world of Blankos. Players can hang out in the Junction, the game’s hub world, and take on gigs (quests) to accrue new accessories for their Blanko. Or they can challenge friends in minigames spanning a wide array of genres. Free-for-all races, collect-a-thons, and team-based arcade shooting were just some of the game modes the developers presented, but it’s easy to see how this could lead to new emergent modes. Tag and hide-n-seek, for example, are two such ideas that fit within the scope of what Mythical Games wants to accomplish while easily fitting within the framework it has already laid out.
It’s impossible to say, however, how well the gameplay feels. Because the demonstration was entirely hands-off, I could only observe what was going on. Certain aspects looked like a lot of fun, like pelting objects with a BB gun while gliding from the top of a map. Other aspects, like platformer control, looked to be too rigid. But this is speculative at best.
Level design is entirely dictated by the players. Each minigame is custom-built based on the tools Mythical Games has given. Some levels will be veritable masterworks exercising disciplined game design… others not so much. Either way, the developers have a system in place to guarantee that every minigame is, at the very least, accomplishable. If a creator can’t finish their own level, it can’t be published. A rating and curation system, too, make it more likely that you’ll find content suitable per your own definition of fun.
Blankos is meant to be entirely playable with a gamepad, which makes for incredibly intuitive and easy design. There are no coding elements in the game. Instead, levels are built entirely using menus, grids, and sliders. Some build elements will have to be purchased, but players will be able to build highly varied levels with just the basic set.
The build objects also matched the game’s themes. Objects like the beach balls and wooden blocks are clear inspirations of the makeshift designs we all had as children.
Mythical Games’ most ambitious goal, however, is changing how we think of digital ownership. Transactions in Blankos Block Party will use blockchain technology, which, for the purposes of this game, are meant to work as a digital certificate of authenticity. It’ll also ensure that you can always sell a Blanko or accessory should you no longer want it.
In essence, if you buy a Blanko from a popular streamer, you can verify its origin and thus give it an extra value other Blankos might not have.
Blankos and accessories are also denoted by a season, issue number, rarity, and artist to truly authenticate the collecting aspect of the game. As such, certain items might only be available seasonally or limited supply. It’s a side effect of I’m not fond of, as artificial shortage leads to higher self-evaluations for the things we don’t have rather than the things we do.
But if the implications of Blankos‘s economy are as grand as Mythical Games claims, then it’s a game I’m certainly excited for. If only to see how it pans out. But I’m most hopeful that it’ll capture a feeling of play I haven’t felt in years.
