For the creators of blockchain trading card game The Lost Glitches, artistry is “critically important” as a tool to draw players in—something that they see as lacking in the latest crop of huge “AAA” games.

But speaking with Decrypt’s GG ahead of Thursday’s open beta launch for the card-battler, which runs on Ethereum layer-3 network Xai, the developers said they understand they must offer more than just slick and vibrant artwork to keep players engaged.

“I think for us, [art] is critically important,” said Franco De Cesare, head of publishing and marketing for Lost Glitches publisher Mimunga. “There is an artistic and creative vision behind everything we create that is integrated with the feeling we want players to have.”

From the inception of the game, the founders had a vision, placing human-made artwork as the centerpiece that would bleed into the mechanics and feel of The Lost Glitches. This comes amid what De Cesare sees as creativity feeling stunted in AAA gaming.

“[There is] a difference between innovation and creativity in art and quality of visuals. Obviously, AAA games have incredibly high quality of visuals,” De Cesare said. “But I think there's a little bit less artistry and creativity in it,” he added, noting that “it's difficult for big publishers to take this kind of creative, artistic gambles on something today.”

The Lost Glitches’ art is the first window players get into the “tech-optimistic” world that the developers are inviting gamers to explore. This is a move away from the fantasy setting that has become synonymous with the trading card genre, as popularized by Magic: The Gathering and Blizzard’s Hearthstone, but it's also much more vibrant than the sci-fi Ethereum card battler Parallel.

“Technology has created struggles in this world,” De Cesare explained, “but we embrace [technology] with optimism, with colorful diversity and variety. And I think that makes us stand out, because it has vibrant colors and different personalities. The characters have unique elements to them that are reflected in their gaming power… and there are dark forces.”

But the game has more to offer than a vibrant world underpinned by meticulously created artwork. The Lost Glitches also blends the trading card genre with role-playing game (RPG) elements to layer in depth for players.

“I think no one has been committed to really integrate the two genres,” De Cesare told Decrypt. “You're able to increase your skill and then marry those skills with your strategy into the battlegrounds.”

“[It’s] skill meets strategy,” he explained. “You can build your skill by playing into the RPG mode and improving, in a way you couldn’t by just trading.”

By completing tasks and quests in a "progression mode" of sorts, players will be able to build out their skill tree, which will then influence the way they build their decks. This is a new feature added as part of the open beta rollout, with other elements being gradually implemented in time.

The Lost Glitches is currently in open beta via the Epic Games Store, but the team is already eyeing up a full launch that’s planned for sometime later this year. With this, The Lost Glitches aims to allow players to openly trade their cards via Xai, the rising Ethereum gaming network, potentially benefiting players as they earn and purchase NFT-based cards over time.

“We think that all of our characters are works of digital art. And in that sense, we believe in their value,” De Cesare said. “We think that generates the ability for a player to accrue value and generate value, and then potentially monetize their value.”

Edited by Andrew Hayward