Sailing The Seven Seas: An Interview with Dmytro, Co-Founder of Coin Pirates
We caught up with this bodacious buccaneer to discuss real games, hard times, and what the true support of a wonderful community really means.
MAY 18, 2022. INTERVIEWS. WRITTEN BY JOHN NICHOLS.
The traits of a pirate go hand-in-hand with crypto’s trendsetters.
Counter-culture. Forging their own path. Creating new rules.
It’s only natural that a pirate-based NFT game would hit the chain before long – and luckily for us, the team behind Coin Pirates haven’t just set out to make another NFT game, but are looking to combine real gameplay with earnings prowess.
With the announcement of a variety of updates slated for this year – amidst the backdrop of tough circumstances for the whole team – now was the time to dive deeper with project lead, Dmytro.
John: Hey Dmytro! Could you tell me a bit about yourself, your background and how you got into NFTs?
Dmytro: Before Coin Pirates, I worked for Citigroup as a Financial Analyst. I’ve been in the position for several years, and was eager to get out of the office grind.
I met my 2 co-founders, Stas and Rost, at another startup we were working on. During that time, Rost contacted me to say he had a great idea that involved pirates and NFTs. I was intrigued, to say the least.
We started working on Coin Pirates at the beginning of 2021. Rost helped me deep dive into the NFT world – he’s worked with CryptoLions before, so he was our go-to expert regarding anything and everything in the space. Stas, who was also new to NFTs, blew us away with his design ideas for the project.
Long story short, Coin Pirates saved me from the corporate world and opened up a door to the wondrous world of NFTs.
The coinpirates1 collection hit WAX exactly 1 year ago. What is Coin Pirates all about, and what has the story been so far?
Coin Pirates is all about life on the seven seas. Our idea was to stand out and make an actual game where you can sail, mine, and engage in ship battles. Captain, Officer, and Soldier NFTs featured in our original packs, which also came with multiple additional items for the game such as ships, crew members, shovels, cannons and more. We were really surprised by the level of support and sales we received in the first few days.
The road has been bumpy at times, but it’s part of the experience. For example, we hired an artist who drew the original Soldier, Officer, and Captain packs. Later on, our community members pointed out that the art was very similar to one of the characters in Assassin’s Creed. We had to let the artist go and hire Anastasia to redo the art.
This time, we made sure it was authentic. We swapped all of the packs with old art for brand-new packs with new art. Inevitably, we got accused of being a scam or a rug-pull, but thankfully our advisors CryptoLions stepped in and vouched for us. It was definitely a interesting month for us!
Today, we’re a team of 7, and have since released additional Technical Asset NFTs, Special Battle Asset NFTs, an Alpha version of the game, and a Beta. Our plan is to publish the full version of the game in Q2 2022.
All 7 of us are Ukrainians, and unfortunately it’s a bit more challenging to work at the pace we used to before due to the war. However, Coin Pirates is our saviour – when you do the things you love, it takes your mind off the world. Our community has been amazing during this time, supporting us all the way.
Did you have any exposure to the cryptocurrency and NFT industries prior to Coin Pirates?
Prior to Coin Pirates, I only invested in cryptocurrencies – though I won’t reveal which ones. I had heard and looked into NFTs before, but my first significant exposure was through Coin Pirates.
What makes Coin Pirates unique?
The gameplay. We’ve seen a lot of NFT-based games, but very few had actual gameplay.
Of course, we’ve taken on a very challenging task. Creating a game comes with its ups and downs, but our community has helped us out a lot! They provide feedback, offer suggestions and report bugs for us to fix. Unfortunately, with the war, we’ve slowed down a bit, though we’re certain that the future for Coin Pirates is bright!
How does the gameplay, and the earning mechanics, for Coin Pirates work?
There’s still much that we want to and need to implement to have the earning mechanics function as we intended them to. The idea is that Coin Pirates is a world where you can earn no matter your playing style.
You can look for treasures on remote islands, fight and take CPR tokens from other players, and in future, we plan to implement trade routes, taxes, and a whole lot more. That’s the beauty of Coin Pirates – you can be a pirate and earn the way you want to earn.
Your Captain Jack Pack sold for a whopping 81,032 WAX! Could you tell us what was included in this pack, and were you surprised by the final hammer price?
The Captain Jack Pack was one of our favourites – we’ve even made it into a physical art piece! To say that we were blown away by the sale price is to say nothing at all.
This pack included a Captain, an Officer, a Soldier, a powerful Captain Jack Ship, 3 Cannons, a Compass, Rum, a Pickaxe, a Spyglass, and a Crowbar.
The coolest thing, in my opinion, is the visual effect. The Captain Jack Ship is all black – you’d certainly run if you saw a black ship on the horizon!
What does the Coin Pirates community mean to you?
Our community is the heart and soul of Coin Pirates. They believed in us when no one did, and they’ve supported us from the start. Even in this challenging situation, they continue to cheer us on, and understand the difficulties we face. We are very grateful, and we want to give back as much as possible.
You’ve partnered with a number of projects on WAX. What can your community expect from these partnerships, and what are some of your favourite collections on WAX?
In the long run, we plan to integrate these projects into Coin Pirates. For example, having a dedicated island for a project will let users find NFTs or Tokens specific to that project. This is just one of the ideas that we have for these collaborations.
There’s many incredible collections on WAX. Two of my personal favourites are POPCORP and Warsaken.
What is the biggest problem in blockchain gaming right now, and how do we go about fixing it?
The biggest problem is scam projects. There’s quite a few bad actors in the space and that means legitimate projects can’t evolve quickly. Although the community and marketplaces such as AtomicHub have been doing a good job identifying these, the processes for legit projects have become more difficult because of these scams
I think the process of identifying the differences between a legit project and bad actors should be further optimised to increase the flow of real projects into the space – however, I understand that’s easier said than done.
What are your plans for 2022?
We plan to survive and get back to a normal life. After that, we want to deliver on our earlier promises, such as continuing to develop Coin Pirates, adding trade routes and much more. This year is going to be tough for us, but with the support of the community, it’s more than possible!
Do you have any particular future plans for the CPR token?
For CPR specifically, we need to create the spending mechanics to inject more life into the token. The closest spending mechanic that’s getting ready for release are the upgrades. We believe it’ll boost the price, but we understand that more needs to be done.
Why should the reader play Coin Pirates?
First of all, because it’s a one-of-a-kind game. If you like pirates, ship battles and exploration – and earning a few tokens while you’re at it – Coin Pirates is the place for you.
Second of all, the community is excellent. Join our Discord and see for yourself.
Is there anything you’d like to add? Anything you’d like to say to those reading?
I want to thank all our community members (WAX & Coin Pirates). In these challenging times for our country and our team, they have been incredibly patient and supportive, so THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts.
Time for those quick-fire questions!
What fuels you?
My family, my friends, and my home.
One unusual fact about you?
I hate coconuts. Not so fitting for a pirate, haha.
If you could give one piece of advice, what would it be?
Begin with the end in mind.
You can invite three people, real or fictional, to dinner. Who do you choose and why?
Shevchenko – my childhood football idol, Volodymyr Zelenskyy – just to say thank you and ask top secret questions lol, and Elon Musk – to ask where he finds the time.
What is your purpose in life?
For my family to be happy. If they’re happy – so am I.
How can we follow you and your work?
Dmytro and the rest of the Coin Pirates team have build a tight-knit relationship with their community, and despite the difficulties brought on by the conflict in Ukraine, they’ve found nothing less than the utmost support and understanding – which tells you everything you need to know.
As they begin to look ahead to the future of their project, the foundations they’ve laid give them a strong platform from which to push forwards. With the support of their community, their inherent talent and their drive to succeed, a new golden age of piracy may be about to begin.
