I would like to momentarily interrupt our series of "interviews" with members of our team to talk to you - as already asked by some in general - about a very important issue: the cards in Unlinked and how we will handle them in the Player versus Player version of the game.

It has now been a year since the start of development of Unlinked, and in that time the game has changed a lot.
We started with the idea of producing an extremely simplified digital version of the tabletop game, and we finally found ourselves working on something even different: a complex, strategic, competitive game that makes cards and player skill the central pillars of the experience.

There are many things that have led us to this path of "transformation": new artistic and creative figures have arrived, who are allowing us to bring Unlinked's identity and style into even sharper focus; new devs have come along, opening up new development possibilities. These very new technical horizons have spurred us to experiment with new mechanics, to rewrite the rules, to really increase the play value of our project, to make it unique.

At the same time these major structural changes in the rules of the game made it necessary to introduce new items, categories and values in the statistics of the game itself and - of course - in the cards.

This changes were also reflected in the appearance of the cards, which we decided to revise to make it more adherent to the lore of Unlinked.
All these changes-we are absolutely sure-are for the better.

As is more than fair you may wonder: what will happen to the cards (and all Unlinked-related assets) in my possession? Will they become useless? Will they lose their value?
Of course not.

I want to reassure you that we value every penny you have spent so far and every action we take is meant to enhance that value.
Even more, we care about you, the early adopters, the people who first made this project possible.

So, to play Unlinked Pvp you will need to own the new cards, while the current ones will no longer be usable in the new version of the game, so what will happen to them?

As the game has changed in its mechanics, we could and should also change the approach to the cards, which have become richer in variables.
In the lore of Unlinked there are 7 factions, and the deck of each will have unique gameplay characteristics drawn from the "personality" of the faction in question, and which will considerably affect the strategic solutions available to the player. The decks will also be able to be multicolored, offering a free, creative, variable-rich approach to the game.
The first deck we published was not designed, as mentioned above, with this in mind. And, more specifically, Guardian of the Gates deck mechanics were pretty different.
We are now creating for Guardian of the Gates an extremely innovative but also complex style of play, which we need to test very carefully and which we would like to propose to you at a more advanced stage of the game.

Therefore, we will give the opportunity to the owners of the current cards to replace it for free with new cards of the same type and rarity as soon as they are released.
Not only that, we would like to offer you as much freedom of choice as possible: you will be able to decide to convert cards individually, or exchange a number of these cards for new packs or individual cards of higher value.
You will be able to decide which cards to exchange and which cards to invest in these transactions.
Finally, you will also be able to decide to be patient and wait for the release of the new Guardians of the Gate deck and make a 1:1 card conversion.

Communication with the specifics of this conversion will occur closely with the release of the game.
Our priority in this operation is to ensure that the assets held by the players retain their value and that this value becomes incremental along with the growth of the project. The investments made by users are the basis for all our decisions and considerations regarding necessary gameplay changes. Our priority is and always will be transparency and honesty with the community, aimed at an outcome that can meet our and your expectations.

We are confident that the new version of Unlinked will leave you amazed and will be able to attract a large number of players and create a lively and participating community.

We will soon provide you with all the details and specifics on tokenomics as well, but we anticipate that assets such as distributors still will be at the heart of the game's economy.
We thought out every change to keep the premises of the first phase unchanged. Finding a balance between the present and new elements was more complex than start over (and took much longer) but those who believed in Unlinked deserve the best and, damn it, we will do everything to give it to you.

Stay Tuned, Sharpers!
Within three days we will reveal the layout of the new cards, in the meantime, below, you can see sketches of some of the new cards.

As development progresses, we continue to introduce you to the team members who are part of this new phase of the project. Today we talk about U.I. and U.X!

Nickname on Discord:

On Discord I am Fuchsia_Flash.

When did you join Unlinked?

Although I studied Graphic design, I started out as an illustrator. I entered during phase one to create concept art and my initial assignment was to illustrate the situations, stories and lore of the Unlinked universe.

In September 2022, I was asked if I would like to enter the second phase of work by taking care of the U.I. and U.X. Since it was within my area of expertise, I accepted without a second thought.

What are you in charge of?

I'm actually working on the user interface and user experience, balancing the artistic inputs that the various team members create every day.

I'm working on designing the graphical user interfaces that players will find when they access the game. I make sure that all components of the game are harmonized consistently.

My job is to ensure that players have the best possible game experience.
I do not consider myself an art director but a facilitator.
Buttons, screens, configurations, and menus are all my responsibility.

Why what you do is important?

It's important because there are games like this that have a lot of input and a lot of variables that players can use to customize their decks, strategies, and his style of play.

With a good U.I. we can accompany the player to intuitively understand what he needs to do and how and provide him with the best possible game experience.

For example, when a player builds his deck he will need to test it, to try out new card functions and all possible combinations. This flow will generate a lot of information and input that needs to be simple, accessible, immediate and clear for the player. Therefore, we have designed a special testing area that will be present in the game that will familiarize the player with the new card functions, enhancements, and dynamics

What are you currently working on?

I am currently working on the user experience, the flow of the game, where to place elements in the screens, and how to distribute the necessary information so that the player learns the game in a gradual and enjoyable way.

With the rest of the team we are working on the tutorial phase, the training room, the actual game interface and the visual effects of the combat between the cards

And how far along are you?

We have developed the division of the environments and elements of U.X.

By next week we have the dead line of deploying all the elements within the game screen. By the following week we may already show some previews of the interface.

It is a very satisfying challenge because you have to fit a lot of information into a small amount of space in an orderly and above all visually pleasing and intuitive way.

The time frame for seeing the finished interface?

We have given ourselves a couple of weeks before we can show something final.

What convinced you to enter this project:

First of all, the Lore. I think Unlinked possesses a very high narrative depth, a complexity of situations and meaning. A science fiction story but very believable and with consistent repercussions on society. The idea of making graphic elements to convey these feelings immediately appealed to me.

I am also passionate about the idea of bringing it to as many people as possible in the best way possible.

If you had a working portal where would you want to go?

On Nammu! Absolutely. I'm a G.O.G. fanatic and I would love to see the pilgrimage sites and how it takes place. That's the first thing I illustrated during the phase one of the game. I'm a big fan of the Doctor Who series, so the idea of taking interstellar journeys really appeals to me.

Once you finish your graphic design experience in Unlinked what will you do?

I hope to return to illustration within Unlinked, because for a concept artist, illustrating imaginary worlds and situations is always a great challenge. I would like to be able to return the complexity of the Unlinked universe, which is not only that of a science fiction game but also a cross-section of humanity, full of tales of a society coming face to face with the consequences of something bigger than itself. And that is very emotional for me.

After a Google search I found out that the name fuchsia flash is the name of: a model of glasses and a nail glitter.

I did not know this, but I can tell you that it is also the name of a plant, although there is a different story at the origin of this name.

When I was in the art academy, to be able to pay for my studies I worked as a baby sitter. When I played together with the children, I had created a super hero. We used to play super heroes all the time and mine was Fuchsia Flash, she had the power of super speed and she was fuchsia... So... it's a very original name, don't you think?

As we were anticipating, we want to keep you updated as much as possible on the production of the game and the various departments, this week we talk about development and the status of technical work on the Unity side.

We thought it was better and more interesting to do it in the form of a short interview, to better clarify all the points we want to talk to you about.

Today we have a chat with one of the new members of the Unlinked team: Etriaan, who is involved in programming and development.

Etriaan comes from the indie single player world, he has developed a few projects including a horror game and he likes games with a strong narrative component.

Who are you and what do you do?

I am Etriaan and I am in charge of programming and front end.
I am the one who programs the interface that users will interact with: the game as it will appear in its final phase.
I also develop the combat mechanics between players and how the menus work.
In simple terms we can say that I program everything that users of unlinked will be able to click on

What are you working on right now?

Right now I'm programming the game features and the interaction between the cards.
Currently there is the base: cards can be placed on the battlefield and interact with each other. The next step will be the development of online matches.

When did you start working on the project?

Officially, I joined the project 4 months ago but the possibility of a change of register, that transformed Unliked Phase II from an auto battle to a turn-based card game, officially happened at the end of August, so we can say that I have been fully operational in the team for two months

What kind of game will Unlinked Phase II be and how do you expect it to be received?

As a lover of card games I hope it will be taken with great competitiveness.
In Unlinked Phase II, players will have the opportunity to compete and improve game after game, learning how to use card dynamics well and the strategies best suited to each situation.
It will not be a casual game but one that will repay each player's skill and commitment through a steady growth curve.

If a competitive community formed around unlinked, I would go to sleep happy every night.

The way it is designed now, the game will be based on decisions made during the game and from the choices made during the construction of the deck.
There will be a lot of freedom of expression and a lot of variety, a lot of possibility to customize the game experience for all users.
Every single turn, you will be able to choose which card to attack your opponent's cards with, so expect matches with a lot of strategy and reaction to the situations. This will lead to a wide variety of scenarios and dense and exciting gameplay.

I would like to make one thing clear: the RNG factor will be limited to the choice of the ground where the match will take place (which will have different characteristics which we will reveal to you in the near future) and the ability to score critical or smear hits.

During the game development we reasoned a lot about the inclusion of RNG dynamics and how best to handle them, to favor the experience.
When we talk about RNG we always think of something bad but I would like to dispel this myth: it will not be so.

Randomness is a fundamental factor in any card game and in Unlinked Phase II, it is designed to bring players to reasoning, to adapting their game strategy and making certain choices according to the situation that will arise.

Simply put, making the right choice and using a particular mechanic of a card at the right time can lead to a reversal of even the most desperate condition.

I think this can grant the cards a diversity, almost a personality and can help users become attached to each individual card.

Each card can be the protagonist of a specific game and will acquire another kind of value, emotional as well as economic.
This is something we aim for and want to happen.

What will these mechanics be?

They will be many and they will be very different, each type of card and each faction will have their own but I can't talk about that yet.
There will be official communications as we get closer to the official release so at the moment.. ask me another question (laughs).

When will the official release be?

We expect the game to be ready by December. But because we have spent a lot of time developing it, the official release date will be announced only when we are sure that everything is working perfectly.

Will the game start immediately or will it be a testing phase?

The first testing phase will be internal, followed by a second phase of Apha Test in which a part of the players and early adopters will enter.
They will be able to contribute to the refinement of the mechanics and actively help optimize the game experience and balance.
Initially the game will be released with a limited pull of cards that will be enlarged later to increase the variety of choices available in deck building.

I already anticipate that there will be frequent updates, both on cards and gameplay, because we want Unlinked to stay fresh and competitive also in view of the future release of the 3D metaverse (whose development continues in parallel) and the table top version.

What can you show us?

Currently codes! Or if you prefer, the battlefield backgrounds! They are not final because we are also working on a different perspective to optimize the view in order to choose the one that best fits the gameplay.

Is there anything you want to tell the community about the project?

At the moment I have nothing else to say except that I hope they like the game, there has been immense work compared to where we started and that I am doing my best to make sure that everyone will like the new gameplay, especially me.

So you will also play Unlinked phase II?

Yes, absolutely yes, I am looking forward to it.

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We hope you enjoyed this interview format and we want to thank you for all the trust you have on us and our project.

We are working hard every day to get to the result we promised you.

Dear Players,

It is time for updates and news, so take some time to read this communication because we are sure you will enjoy it.

As many will know, development is underway on Unlinked PVP, which will work very differently than what it has been until now and will be for all intents and purposes a turn-based strategic card game.

In anticipation of the launch, we have begun working on the new site, which will be online in the next few weeks. In the meantime, on the current site, we opened an update log: a development diary with weekly updates to keep you up to date on the progress of the project work.

Yes, we are still here with you but what are we doing?

In the long period of silence since the last announcement, taking advantage of the bear market, we have been concentrating on designing the new Unlinked in detail, to make it a deep, strategic, fun game, immersed in a universe with an exciting and deep lore. On the technical side, we have implemented our staff with new people and consultants who can totally focus on the new release.

Due to the high demand of time and energy we have stopped, by mutual agreement, some collaborations introducing instead new figures in the development and communication part that have made our workflow more efficient and opened new possibilities and provided us with new skills.

What will the new Unlinked look like?

Our initial intention was to come out with an autobattle based on default choices, but new development possibilities have allowed us to make Unlinked a full-fledged turn-based competitive game. Introducing strategy, planning, and the ability to "play" in real time, adapting to the opponent's choices and changing one's strategy as the game progresses.
In future updates we will reveal in more detail the new gameplay dynamics and features.

Not just gameplay, not just a play to earn.

When we sat down at the table in front of the choice of a more articulated gameplay, it was not only a choice of time or pure and simple development but also to realize exactly what Unlinked represents to all of us on the team, what we dream it to be and what we really want to offer to the world of videogames and our community.

Our dream is to create an exciting, diverse, strategic, and fun game that can live and grow regardless of how the cryptocurrency market performs.
A game to "play" in which wins are fulfilling moments and not simple "click and earn" dynamics. We want the new Unlinked to live up to the universe and lore we are developing even if this will require us to invest more resources than expected.

Clearer communication and weekly updates.

The transition from autobattle to a turn based game has required us to make many changes to the created material and implement new stuff. You will now be able to see this step by step in the coming weeks and with future updates.

As we stated above, we have also decided to be closer to the community with an UPDATE LOG on our site that will be our "radio station", where you will find pictures, logs from the development team and all the real-time news about the release of phase two.

We will be back to update you shortly and frequently so stay tuned for more!