Is Oh Baby Games a Web3 Success?
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The CommunityOne Builders Help forum discussed a blog post analyzing Oh Baby Games (OBB) and whether it qualifies as a Web3 success. Key points highlighted OBB's strategy of deeply hiding its Web3 roots to attract core gamers, achieving high engagement through low hype, and employing strong community management tactics. However, the analysis concluded that despite these efforts, the game itself, Oh Baby Kart, has not achieved massive success, suggesting that a strong game foundation is ultimatel...
Blog: Is OBB a web3 success? -- Probably not.
OBB is a Singaporean company that has recently caught our attention. They've raised a $6M seed round and are working on two games. One is called Oh Baby Kart (OBK), which will be our focus, and they’ve just launched a new title called Shogun Curse. We initially heard about them because some of our clients mentioned OBB as one of their favorite independent Web3 projects out there. In this part, we dug deep into OBK and shared some interesting lessons:
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Deeply Hidden Web3 Roots:
One of the most unique aspects of OBB is their strict policy against discussing airdrops in general channels. They intentionally hide their Web3 foundations so deeply that it’s almost invisible to players. This approach ensures that they are attracting true gamers, although degens do lurk around and have their own hidden channel to speculate potential token airdrop. -
High Engagement Through Low Hype:
By avoiding constant hype, airdrop and crypto talk, OBB’s community remains less hyped but far more engaged. Over the four rounds of testing for "Oh Baby Kart," the team received a wealth of excellent feedback. Those feedback tend to be much higher quality vs a traditional web3 game, although there are less objective data because web3 alpha testing tend to attract a much larger volumn. -
Top-Notch Team and Community Tactics:
OBB boasts a top-notch team, particularly within their community management. Their strategy includes innovative tactics like the “Oh Baby Awards,” meaningful giveaways (their game), and authentic announcements on Discord. -
OBB Client: beautiful idea but hard to execute:
OBB has developed its own client, positioning it as a competitor to platforms like Steam. This client houses their games, provides a beautifully designed interface, and facilitates a mini social network where gamers can comment, share tips, and interact. It's truly a great idea, but there are lots of downside of challenging Steam in this early stage because it makes it even harder to do marketing. Right now, OBB would link their steam page as their official game page. -
And the game itself is probably not a huge success
Despite their innovative strategies, OBK hasn't seen massive success on platforms like Steam—data suggests player numbers are low. Fundamentally, while a strong community and clever marketing can go a long way, they can't fully compensate for not reaching the high standards set by industry giants like Mario Kart. Ultimately, success in gaming hinges on creating a truly enjoyable experience, and no amount of community strength can save a game that doesn’t deliver on that promise.
Some more thoughts:
(1) A strong foundation is critical to a game's success; without it, marketing and community efforts may not be enough to overcome fundamental weaknesses.
(2) The importance of community truly depends on the game. Most games only involve players during testing, so the community is less important simply because players don't have a direct impact on the game and there are also less skins in the game.
(3) Some games like Roblox, Minecraft, and Banana have prioritized DIRECT community involvement, allowing early, rough versions to evolve through continuous content updates and deep community investment. Basically, in almost all these games, UGC plays the most important role in updating games.
(4) If you are a traditional game, there are other things that you can do to leverage your community. In the case of OBB, you can take inspiration from Starfox, where characters react to on-screen events. OBB could adopt similar features, such as live streaming player reactions when their cars are bumped off the road. Visible player reactions via camera would enhance the social aspect, making interactions more engaging and entertaining.
