[2016-11-19] How South Africa's 'Shark Tank' Saw its First Bitcoin Investment

[tyz]

How South Africa's 'Shark Tank' Saw its First Bitcoin Investment

In what could be a world's first, bitcoin made an appearance on the popular TV series Shark Tank this week.
Launched in October, South African audiences now have their own version of the popular TV franchise (in which entrepreneurs with a business idea pitch to a panel of investors, aka the 'sharks’). But while bitcoin may not seem like an obvious fit, a notable investor in the technology is giving it small-screen visibility.

http://www.coindesk.com/south-africas-shark-tank-saw-first-bitcoin-investment/

[Nauticalam]

"For the first season, one of the four sharks is Vinny Lingham, a South Africa entrepreneur known for a string of companies including Gyft, Yola and now blockchain startup Civic. He also happens to be one of the most vocal supporters of bitcoin, having incorporated it into past products.

In the most recent episode, Lingham brought bitcoin to the fore by offering his investment to the developers of augmented reality game Augmentors in bitcoin.

In the clip, made available online by television network M-Net, Lingham tells the Augmentors founders: "The problem you’re trying to solve around creating rarity … can better be solved by using the bitcoin blockchain. So, my offer will be 500,000 ZAR, or roughly 59 bitcoins, for 20% of your business."

In interview, Lingham explained he was given confidence in his investment by the success of games like Spells of Genesis, a trading card game that integrates a blockchain-based token.

Lingham told CoinDesk:

"I made the investment in bitcoin because I believe that it's the right blockchain for the Augmentors team to leverage to build a globally accessible game where ownership of limited digital assets can be verified."

Games like Augmentors and others represent a first foray into the use of cryptocurrency tokens for gaming, but augmented reality games may prove to be an ideal place, he said, for this blurring of the lines between in-game and real-world value.

Change of direction

In short, Lingham proposed that blockchain be used as a new solution to the problems the entrepreneurs were trying to solve – generating scarcity and uniqueness in a digital environment.

Initially, the idea for Augmentors was that game characters would be summoned by real-world items, metallic "triggers" that would be sold to players in order to generate revenue.

But under the new system, the company will raise funds by selling 'databits', an in-game cryptocurrency that also makes use of the Counterparty token system and that players will be able to use buy items and abilities for their characters.

It was a quick change of direction, but one which the team behind the game seem to have taken in their stride.

"After Shark Tank, Vinny threw us in at the deep end and basically told us to figure it out," said Michael Joubert, creator of the Augmentors game and lead developer on the project.

Notably, Joubert's comments point to how difficult it remains to use blockchain technology, even for the highly technical.

A self-taught developer, Joubert built the initial prototype of the game single-handedly, before showing it to Kyle Haffenden, a friend from high school who went on to become a co-founder and current managing director of the company.

Still, he said it took about a month for them to figure out how Counterparty could be used in the token sale.

"It was a bit of a learning curve, but at the end of the day it was straightforward to do it," Joubert said.

New collaborations

Since adapting its platform for blockchain, Haffenden said the Augmentors have developed a good relationship with other game companies working in a similar space.

"We been chatting with Spells of Genesis, Book of Orbs; all of the other Counterparty games have been in touch," Haffenden said. "We've been listening to what they're doing, explaining what we're doing – you could say that there's a lot of interest between us."

At present, no date for the initial crowdsale of tokens has been announced, but by Joubert's estimate, a full launch is likely to be a year to 18 months from completion of the sale.

In the meantime, some character art for the game is already online, along with some backstory for the game world."

[Febo]

How South Africa's 'Shark Tank' Saw its First Bitcoin Investment

In what could be a world's first, bitcoin made an appearance on the popular TV series Shark Tank this week.
Launched in October, South African audiences now have their own version of the popular TV franchise (in which entrepreneurs with a business idea pitch to a panel of investors, aka the 'sharks’). But while bitcoin may not seem like an obvious fit, a notable investor in the technology is giving it small-screen visibility.

http://www.coindesk.com/south-africas-shark-tank-saw-first-bitcoin-investment/

Seems their crowdfunding will start in next week. http://www.augmentorsgame.com/token-sale/

I hope they will not ignore our forum and make an ANN here.

[Kprawn]

Shit, looks like South Africa is taking a leading role in the gaming scene with the incorporation of Bitcoin. I just hate it, when people use tokens

in games, but it is a step in the right direction. If this was Shark Tank USA, people like Mark Cuban or Kevin O'Leary {Mr. Wonderfull} would

shit all over this idea..... they think they know every thing and this makes them arrogant. I stopped watching the show, because these guys

irritate the fck out of me. Kudos for these South African Sharks for knowing about this technology. 

[SHITCOINWHALE]

ICO - postponed to January 30, 2017.

from Augmentors Twitter:
"Dear members of the Augmentors community

Thank you for being such an active group of advocates for Augmentors and for the super helpful feedback you’ve sent to us through the ICO process so far.

Earlier this week we sent out communication about the new ICO packages. We received more very helpful and positive feedback, including suggestions for a few changes that would make the ICO even more successful.

We listen to all of your feedback, discuss it internally and with our advisors, and when it makes sense to incorporate your feedback, we do so. In order to incorporate your most recent feedback and to ensure that our ICO is going to be sold out, our founders, in discussion with our investors and advisors, have taken a decision to set the final ICO start date as January 30, 2017.

We don’t take the decision to move the ICO date lightly, but it’s the right thing to do for both our pre-sale and main ICO participants, and ultimately for the funding of the development of the Augmentors game. It won’t move again.

We’ve already started developing the game using the proceeds of our original Shark Tank investment and from the Spells of Genesis Pre-Sale. We’re not going anywhere.

Thanks for your patience and continued interest in the Augmentors game. It’s going to be awesome.

Kyle, Michael and the rest of the Augmentors team"

[Kprawn]

I had a second look at this and I think this is going to be BIG. The 3D characters being pulled into the real world and doing battle, is going to

be huge. It is still a pity that they going with the tokens {Databits} but it might be a better option, if Bitcoin tanks. Just imagine if you can

take this to a new level with gloves and a game like StarCraft. {moving units around with the gloves and having huge battles on your living

room table.   .... Using the Blockchain to keep track of the characters ownership is also great. Well Done!

Edit : Wow, these characters are #@$%$% expensive. { about $170 for a Novice character? } Will they not price themselves out of the

market or are these characters this expensive?

[Kakmakr]

Holy Mackerel, I want to get in on this action. This bloody game looks awesome! I am a big fan of card based games and this one is going to top them all. ^smile^ Can we buy these tokens at a cheaper rate, before the release of the game or can you only get the bundled cards at a discount? I cannot wait to see this in 3D, the animation looks cool and I hope the combat will be even better. I like the "pink slip" concept, where you play for someone's unit. ^grrrrrrrr^ 

[MichaelDeon]

Hey Guys!

Thanks for the above, Its Michael here from Augmentors.

I am happy to answer any questions you may have

[MichaelDeon]

AUGMENTORS ICO

_______________________________________________________________________________ _______________________

http://www.augmentorsgame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Top-Banner-2.jpg

http://www.augmentorsgame.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/What-is-Augmentors.jpg

Augmentors is an augmented reality turn-based battle game and is free to play! Once you have one of the portals, you can download the free app and summon your creature into the world and start doing battle.

There will be two generic portals provided for download for players to print from the website. The two portals will represent “Player 1” and “Player 2”.

In the beginning of the game, you will be greeted with a selection of free creatures to choose from. Tap on your portal to select one of the creatures to summon & call your own and begin your journey as one of the Destined.

_______________________________________________________________________________ _______________________

Goal & vision
The end goal of the Augmentors game is to be a cross platform (iOS & Android) augmented reality game that allows users to summon creatures into the real world to battle against your enemies and foes.

Creatures
Augmentors is backed by the Bitcoin Blockchain. Each creature and relic is assigned a unique Counterparty Token ID. Creatures and relics will each be issued in finite amounts that will be locked, assuring no more will be issued in the game. Once they are all sold, that’s it! All Asset IDs will be transparent and viewable to the public, showing issued amounts and the locked status of each asset. You can trade or sell your creatures with other players in the app or through the online Creature Store.

Relics
Each creature will have its own set of unique attacks and abilities, but it doesn’t stop there. There will be unique items called relics, which act as “boosters” for creatures in the game. They will be obtainable at special events, or be given as rewards for quests completed in the game or purchased from the online Creature Store.

Databits
We have created 100 000 000 (one hundred million) Databits in total, allocating 70% of that towards a Token Sale (which forms part of a crowdfunding campaign). The remaining 30% will be split and used to create awareness, promotion and development for the game. The Databits will be locked, meaning no more Databits can ever be issued thereafter.

_______________________________________________________________________________ _______________________

http://www.augmentorsgame.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Features.jpg

Get rare creatures & relics
To acquire rare creatures and relics you will first need to have the Augmentors in-game currency Databits (obtainable through the crowdfunding sale) as well as a compatible counterparty wallet. You can then visit the online Creature Store or other creature resellers to purchase them using your Databits.

Own your creatures
Augmentors is backed by the Bitcoin Blockchain. Each creature and relic is assigned a unique Counterparty Token ID. Creatures and relics will each be issued in finite amounts that will be locked, assuring no more will be issued in the game. Once they are all sold, that’s it! All Asset IDs will be transparent and viewable to the public, showing issued amounts and the locked status of each asset. You can trade or sell your creatures with other players in the app or through the online Creature Store.

Trade and sell assets
You will be able to trade/ Sell creatures easily within and outside the Augmentors game app furthermore we will have a feature engaging special battles that allow users to battle for keeps – winner takes all (Like how marbles were played back in the day). All you will need is a compatible counterparty wallet that contains your DataBits or any other Augmentors game assets inside of them. Freely trade them on the exchange or at your own accord using your wallet or swopbot Game assets in Augmentors will all be assigned a unique Counterparty token ID. Assigning Counterparty tokens to game assets allows them to be traded/ sold freely within or outside the game on the Blockchain.

The exchange
The exchange for 1 Bitcoin (BTC) will be 15 000 DataBits (DTB). People, who have bought DataBits (DTB) during the Token Sales or from another player after the end of the Token Sales, will be able to trade their DTB on the blockchain and exchange them for other cryptocurrencies. Or they can use them to purchase some of the Augmentors blockchain-based creatures, relics & skins. Our creatures will be sold via “swapbots” – automated trading vending machines – which send the chosen creature when they have sent the right amount of DTB. Then they can summon their creature in the Augmentors game, or trade/ sell them on the blockchain.

_______________________________________________________________________________ _______________________

http://www.augmentorsgame.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/How-the-ICO-Works.jpg

The Augmentors ICO aims to raise $1 million, required for completion of the game. During the 30-day ICO ending on 28 Feb 2017, DTB tokens will be available in a ratio of 15000DTB: 1BTC and drop by 1000 every 5 days.

Even if the platform fails to raise the required $1 million by the end of the stipulated timeframe, all funds raised will be directly put to use for developing the Alpha version of Augmentors, set for release by the end of April 2017 on Google Play Store and the App Store.

http://www.augmentorsgame.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/New-ICO-Calender.jpg

_______________________________________________________________________________ _______________________

http://www.augmentorsgame.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Incentives-Packages.jpg

http://www.augmentorsgame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Package-1.jpg

http://www.augmentorsgame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Package-2.jpg

http://www.augmentorsgame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Package-3.jpg

http://www.augmentorsgame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Package-4.jpg

http://www.augmentorsgame.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Package-5.jpg

_______________________________________________________________________________ _______________________

Being rewarded with creatures in Rookie level will not subject it being a Rookie forever. Rookie creatures will have the ability to level up all the way to Hero/ Villain Status if trained & pushed to that level. All creatures on launch that aren’t part of the crowdfunding sale in the game will start on Rookie Level.

All creatures can achieve the God title, but only by beating another God creature in battle. Once a God creature has lost, it will lose its God title and drop back down to Hero/ Villain. Only the 3 Legendary Naturally Born God creatures sold in this token sale will never lose their God title. They are the originals of the game, they can never lose their God title.

Every creature will be backed by the Blockchain, allowing users to truly own their assets within and out of the game. The DataBits that backers have purchased during the Crowdfunding sale can be used to buy new game items, sold or exchanged for any other cryptocurrency.

_______________________________________________________________________________ _______________________

Join Our Community Here:

SLACK: http://augmentorsgame.signup.team/

TWITTER: https://twitter.com/AugmentorsGame

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/augmentors

YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgVMOJzZRU_6ZKW-OthznSw

_______________________________________________________________________________ _______________________

#AugmentorsICO