An interview with Alfonso “Cholo” Maputol of Play It Forward

If you haven’t heard yet, play-to-earn (P2E) games are taking over 2022. Since the inception of CryptoKitties back in 2017, the combination of crypto, NFTs, and games has given rise to a whole new model of game playing, evolving from the traditional play-to-win model to the play-to-earn model.

Play it Forward (PIF) DAO is one of the running initiatives in the NFT gaming and crypto sphere that are pushing with P2E games in order to make a difference in the market. In this article, we speak to the founder of the Play It Forward DAO, Alfonso “Cholo” Maputol, to find out more about his vision, intention, and the mechanics of how the PIF model can expand the parameters of P2E and gaming in the future.

What is Play It Forward DAO?

Play It Forward DAO is the unique combination of a guild management platform (P2E Board) and a large-scale guild of 3,000+ scholars (PIF Guild). Allowing broad access to Play-to-Earn gaming, PIF DAO is positioned to be the growth engine of a Plug-and-Play Metaverse. They are an ecosystem where participants can track their performance across all games and build up immutable profiles for the pursuit of opportunities. Play It Forward, Play-to-Earn made easy.

Getting to know Alfonso “Cholo” Maputol

What was your background prior to PIF and how did you come to create it?

My background is in traditional finance, having spent many years in investment banking and capital markets. I’ve been investing in cryptocurrency and NFTs since 2017 and decided to make the switch from TradFi to crypto when I saw the potential of P2E and blockchain gaming and the amount of innovation that was happening in the space.

How did you get to know your co-founders?

All 5 of us co-founders know each other from high school and we’ve spent thousands of hours playing computer games together. We are gamers through and through and gaming is something that is very close to our hearts. When we saw the opportunity to leverage something we love (gaming) to give back to communities, it was a no-brainer for us. This is also the origin of the Play It Forward name – a group of gamers “playing” it forward to the community.

The 5 co-founders were initially managing small guilds of their own (5 – 10 players) before deciding to combine forces to make operations more efficient. Along the way, we picked up on all the pain points that limit managers in scaling their operations. This served as the inspiration to build a platform that will help onboard the next wave of players and managers into the Metaverse.

What was the core motivation and inspiration for PIF?

Having been managers ourselves, we have seen firsthand the impact that P2E can have on the lives of those who need it most. P2E and NFT gaming present a unique opportunity to enable positive financial outcomes for underserved and marginalized communities. We firmly believe that the future is Multi-Game and Multi-Guild, that players will be able to earn a living by playing a very personalized selection of games that fit their personality and skillsets best.

What can people expect from PIF?

We have a very active and exciting roadmap ahead! Our upcoming Token Launch Auction will give our community the opportunity to become DAO members and reap the full benefits of being a token holder. We are also putting the finishing touches on the P2E Board platform to be ready for full public launch in Q1 – this will truly enable the space to onboard the next wave of guilds and players into the Metaverse.

Where do you see Guilds, DAOs, P2E, and NFT games going in the future?

I am very bullish about the outlook of this space. It’s amazing how far the space has come in a little over a year. The PIF DAO itself is a project that only just turned 6 months old, but the journey has only just begun. So far, NFT games have been largely ports or migration of existing traditional game models with a blockchain element.

I am excited to see what a blockchain native game would look like and what other surprises are in store for us down the road.

Where do you see yourself or your team doing in 2022?

We remain hard at work building and ideating to bring newer and bigger things to our community. We intend to bring more scholarships to our community not just in Axie Infinity but in other games too.

Lastly, what would be your one-sentence pitch for PIF?

Play It Forward is our differentiated approach to the Metaverse. We seek to make it more accessible for guild managers and players alike.