Metaverse gaming has recently become one of the most talked-about subjects, and the buzz doesn’t seem to be slowing down. Immersing oneself in a unique NFT-gaming experience can be difficult at times, but for trading card game fanatics, there is finally a product out there that is worth it!

The face behind the expansive project known as “Cross The Ages” is Sami Chlagou, and his experience, vision, and plan will be the topic of discussion.

Who is Sami Chlagou?

Sami Chlagou is the CEO of Cross the Ages and the official founder of Pixelheart. He is a true believer in the power of NFT gaming, and feels like it’s the perfect opportunity to genuinely own the assets you’re playing with. People spend thousands of dollars on Fortnite skins, so why not in-game items that are actually useful?

Not many people have spent a total of 27-years in the collectible card space like Sami, which is the reasoning for his deep understanding of the market and the cycles that come with it. Not only is he a director for StoryBird, a writing company that employs top talent from all over the world, but he is also the founder of both Free Agent Games and Rush On Games.

He knows how to approach the development of a gaming project, and also has the experience of a seasoned card collector. Blending these two skills together resulted in the amazing game that we now know as Cross The Ages.

What is Cross The Ages?

Cross The Ages is Sami Chlagou’s creation. Based in a dystopian universe, Cross The Ages is a revolutionary trading card game that gives users an opportunity to digitize physical cards or vice versa. The popularity of trading card games like Magic: The Gathering is what sparked this idea, and Sami’s ingenuity led to the first NFT game to ever allow the collection of digital cards through physical activation.

Cross The Ages is set in a universe that is ever-expanding and constantly evolving. You’ll come across many different releases and collections that you connect with, as well as several different features within the game to keep things interesting. The utilization of blockchain technology and NFTs are allowing Sami to introduce a brand new trading card game experience for both players and collectors!

Sami wanted the community to be built on morals and interacting with each other. Users will have the opportunity to contribute to the new updates, collectibles, and even adventures! You’re more than just a player within Cross The Ages, you’re a genuine part of the developmental process.

To fuel his expansive vision, Sami created a super team of reputable talent from around the world. With over 100 members on the development team and 66 visual artists, and more joining the team, Cross The Ages is looking to bridge books, NFTs, and physical card collections together like never before.

Vision: Long-Term Goals for Cross The Ages

The video game industry is worth over $545.98B, meaning there are a lot of opportunities available to those who seek them. Sami is one of them! Pair that with the fact that NFTs are becoming undeniably popular, mainly because the NFT play-to-earn model is becoming a more common occurrence, it would seem as if Sami has set up Cross The Ages for obvious success.

Cross The Ages is going to be expanded upon through the release of 7 books, all of which will be released over a 7-year span. There are over 200 artists set to help with the development of art, characters, and growth of the CTA universe as a whole. This means new card art will be produced by artists you’ve never heard of, as well as some you already love, but all of them will represent the game equally.

You’re much more than just a player when you join the CTA community. You can have a say in how the story unfolds, and how characters are developed — players are part of the creation process for nearly everything! After all, that’s what the metaverse is perfect for.

Diving Into The Mind of Sami Chlagou

We had the pleasure of speaking to Sami Chlagou personally and discovering more about his motivation and vision for this project, as well as getting the scoop on the logistics of this project and his own views of the Cross The Ages universe!

Sami, obviously you have significant experience in multiple facets of the gaming industry, But we want to know what made you think to combine that expertise with blockchain technology?

Sami -

“Since I was nine years old, I have been collecting Magic: The Gathering, Pokemon, Dungeons and Dragons, or Warhammer cards. This passion led me to working with the company Cartapapa, which trades magic cards over the counter.

I’m also a video game specialist, with the creation of a retro video game resale company, RushOnGames.com in 2015. I also run an independent video game creation studio, Pixel Heart, and we have produced about fifty games on Dreamcast, Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 5.

Thus, Cross The Ages serves to combine these two worlds, with the creation of digital trading cards. These virtual objects are all the rage today. The global market is supported by the latest internet technologies, NFT and blockchain, which allow authentication and security of transactions.

When the first games came out we had to pay for access. They were fixed in their development and their universes and overall gameplay was restricted. Eventually, they developed into free open world games where the player chose his progress and his quests. To improve and customize one’s experience, the consumer could choose to pay to access exclusive elements of the game, namely skin, maps, weapons, and small companions.

Overall, the player was spending but not gaining anything useful, although the satisfaction and experience of the game gives us a sense of well-being. We become passionate about the game, its lore and its characters. Players spend time on it, which could be used to earn financially. Blockchain allows us to give the power back to the player.

We are moving to a model where the community creates value to the game, play to earn, the more you play and use the game mechanics, the more you earn financially. This is only made possible by combining the technological innovation on blockchain technology and smart contracts with the expertise I and much of the Cross The Ages team have in the traditional gaming sector. It’s time for a real AAA gaming experience that allows you to earn as well.”

You have formed an absolute super team of international artists and illustrators, but how exactly did you recruit such talented individuals?

Sami -

“A card game inevitably needs good illustrations. So I first looked for the artists of the famous Magic: The Gathering cards. The artists who worked on the cards of my youth such as Magic: The Gathering, but also the trendy artists of the moment who worked on Avatar, Stars Wars, Game of Thrones, Marvel, Leagues of Legends.

I had to dip into my contacts and search on their different platforms to be able to propose our project and integrate them into the team. What started as a 2 artist team, quickly expanded to 10 and then 40 and finally 70. All through word of mouth amongst our artists and my own personal connections. My initial goal was 40 artists, now, we have long surpassed that with 70 onboard, and we are planning to reach 115 artists for season 2.

This path to artist acquisition means that only those as passionate about the project as us are working to bring The Cross The Ages vision to fruition. Now, many artists come to us. This path to growing out our fantastic team has almost made our artists somewhat of a family that grows and feeds off one another. Because alone you can do something but together it is infinite.

Moreover, with the arrival of NFTs, we have been able to find many talented artists who match the universe of Cross The Ages on platforms such as Opensea or Foundation.”

It’s not often that this space gets to see such long term aspirations for a startup or game. What made you commit to this decade-long venture, and how attainable is this vision?

Sami -

“NFTs and blockchain are emerging technologies. They still have time to develop and stabilize and I believe in their success over the next few years. It is in this context that I have decided to create a project that will last several years. The reason I know that this will last in a space plagued by projects that only last between 6–18 months is because we are first and foremost a fantastic brand, and story. Stories are wildly relatable, memorable, and live beyond simply movies, shows or games. They leave everlasting marks on those who read them, sometimes for generations. Cross The Ages is a remarkable story. You can copy games, but you can never copy a story.“

“No matter what generation we are, we have all been marked by various big name games such as Magic The Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh or Pokemon that have followed us from schoolyard to university, in card format, console game or TV animation. In this way, I plan to mark all generations, even children in the schoolyard. My ambition is to create great work. I have a team of passionate people who want to push our skills to the maximum to produce some of the best works that exist today.”

We want to know — in the Cross The Ages universe, are you choosing technology or magic?

Sami -

“This is a very challenging question. In Cross The Ages you don’t have good or bad, there is moral ambiguity throughout the metaverse and you are left to decide which side you prefer. Everyone has their good and their bad and it’s all about perspective. As a result, if I had to choose a place in the world, not a side, I would choose the Rift. Where technology and magic try to live in harmony. And also the ecological aspect where nature has its own power.

Feel free to read our book to discover Cross The Ages and choose your preferred world.

If I had the choice I would reside in the Rift.

However, the spiritual values of Arkhante are much more reproachful of mine and of human beings in general. The people of Arkhante, unlike the people of Mantris, do not seek immortality. They are satisfied with their present life and the exploitation of their magical power.

Moreover, in the story of Cross The Ages, the people of Arkhante have mastered the legendaries of each element (air, fire, earth, nature, water, light and shadow) in order to access their powers.”

Dominance On The Horizon for Cross the Ages?

It’s clear that Sami is trying to develop a dominant trading card game that will eventually become popular on both a physical and blockchain level.

It’s unique, offers community-driven development, and has the perfect model to naturally grow over time. Sami and his team are driven to create a successful project, and with their decade-long plans, they will not fall short of it!

Join Cross The Ages!

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