Greetings to everyone who is part of Hive and game enthusiasts, I hope this title caught your attention. Of course, Hive is an ecosystem, and there are wonderful games operating here.
If this is in the wrong community I'm sorry, let me know in the comments and I'll move the next posts to another one.
I am very excited to share an idea that I have been developing for a new 2D game that will be powered by the Hive network for a good while, although at first, it did not focus on becoming part of a blockchain itself. The proposal is to create a game that combines engaging gameplay with the integration of blockchain technology in a way that preserves simplicity and gameplay fluidity, separating financial and blockchain interactions from the game itself. This concept is inspired by games like Gods Unchained, Guild of Guardians, and Magic Craft, where the game and the blockchain coexist but operate on different platforms or servers. I will detail how I imagine this integration would work, addressing both the game's functionality and its interaction with the blockchain.
📢 Forecast for Alfa Closed: October
Currently, the team consists of only three members, with only myself (@wlffreitas) as the Game Designer, Pixel Artist, and Developer of some more modest things having an interaction with the Hive network, although I have already started preparing onboarding for the other two, who have experience in developing Web3 games and Defi platforms and protocols.
📢 Check out some project images first Support my single game project at Hive! I present to you: Life-Bound Souls a 2D action RPG
💬 Game Structure
The game I am developing will be a semi-open world 2D RPG, with art fully inspired by pixel art, drawing inspiration from the atmosphere of games like Hyper Light Drifter and mechanics and contexts from Final Fantasy where players can explore the semi-open world even if there are tasks and achievements to be completed. But what would this semi-open world be? It's just a way to fit in a classic campaign mode mechanic, even if there is this vast map, you have a certain path to follow if you want to advance to the next level. The central idea is to create an immersive gaming experience that is accessible to both traditional players and those already familiar with the cryptocurrency universe and the features involving Hive Blockchain.
I have been working on it for some time, but before, the focus was just another 2D Action RPG game to be published on https://itch.io/. But since April this year, I have been changing my mind and trying to link this to Hive. Previously called Life-Bound Souls, it is now renamed Hivernum Odyssey.
Game Base Mechanics
Campaign Mode - Singleplayer
- As mentioned about the first exploration possibilities for the player, you have a "campaign mode" to be completed, or rather, to try to get as far as possible (this will be explained later in this post). There are exactly three types of jobs for each character that can be generated at the cost of HIVE, separated into Collector, Adventurer, and Mechanic. Collectors can more easily acquire natural resource items. Adventurers can complete campaigns with less difficulty. Mechanics tend to be able to create equipment and improvements for use.
World Conqueror Mode - Multiplayer
- Unlike campaign mode, you will enter a mode where you will compete against other players against their worlds in Singleplayer. Exactly like a player vs. player battle, with rankings between Tiers I - II - III - IV - V. Here there are no open map explorations, resource gathering, or any interaction outside of combat against the other player.
Real-time Combat / Action RPG
- I wanted to explore new gaming opportunities, avoiding idle games or those that could be played automatically by third parties. So I decided that instead of a boring card battle or something like that, it should use an action RPG system or a bit of hack-and-slash. This could embrace better popularity among more active players or fans of this style of game. You can use various weapons, each with a different gameplay style, for example, spears might be a bit slower, but they deal considerable damage.
Play to Earn or Play to Fun
- Although it still focuses on making the most of the Hive blockchain itself, besides, of course, integrating the Play2Earn method for the possibility of earning rewards by playing the game, I can't forget to also focus on those players who just want to enjoy the game itself. With this in mind, for those Play2Earn players, they must and will use HIVE to obtain HIVE, but what does that mean? During Campaign Mode, if you want to turn any item, equipment, or collectible into a tradable item, you have to spend an amount of HIVE. While Play to Fun players can just use everything they manage to obtain, with the possibility of still transforming items through a Ticket (which will be added to be obtained in some daily manner) with a chance to break the selected object.
Leaderboard Rewards
- Perhaps it is the best way to obtain a good amount of HIVE by dedicating yourself to achieving a good ranking in the season (Yes, the game resets every season, similar to games like Moland Defense). Initially, there will be only three leaderboards, being Completed Campaigns - PVE, two separate World Conqueror rankings - PVP (First leaderboard Tier I to III, second leaderboard Tier IV-V).
💬 Game Economy
First of all, I must announce that we will not have another utility token besides HIVE. That is, no floods of secondary tokens trying to create something new. I agreed to follow this path after talking with other developers from different blockchains like Ethereum. They just said that if, somehow, they could control the flow and transaction fees surrounding their projects, they would use it. It would be much better than integrating a new type of second-layer cryptocurrency, and still using second-layer protocols like Arbitrum to try to mitigate this path.
Hive itself can bypass all this, with no transaction fees or a long wait to be validated. Why create another second-layer token? Of course, there are some limitations that we will have to try to overcome, such as we will not have control over Hive distribution, after all, we do not have the right to simply distribute it to project participants or players as would happen with a new token.
This means that any trading & purchase transactions in the game will directly involve the main token HIVE.
🐝 Integration with the Hive Blockchain
Now, let's get to the heart of the idea: how the Hive blockchain will be integrated into the game. Instead of mixing blockchain transactions directly into the game's interface, making it what would traditionally be a Web3 Blockchain game, I intend to keep these two aspects separate, offering a continuous and uninterrupted gaming experience. The idea is to create a clear distinction for those who just want to play and those who want to interact and earn on the Hive blockchain.
The game itself, as mentioned, will be an independent application that can be played on desktop or mobile devices (not yet confirmed if this possibility). When playing, the focus will be entirely on the adventure and character progression. There will be no pop-ups or interruptions related to cryptocurrency transactions or interactions with the blockchain besides the simple authentication method with Hive Keychain by @stoodkev or even something more direct like HiveAuth by @arcange. With this, the player will be immersed in the game universe, without financial distractions or concerns with NFTs, which will be covered below.
But then, how could this be different from other dApps in Hive integration? Well, you can check out some options below.
Acquiring Equipment / Collectibles in-game: There is no way to buy or obtain equipment and collectibles outside the game, that is, we don't want any junk being sold for less than 1 HIVE. So there are items in this inventory that can and cannot be traded between players.
Active Communities: Each community that has good interaction and attractiveness in the Hive community, not being from similar niches, can create an organization within the game like @leofinance, @hivegc
, or even smaller ones. They could select one of their members to be the leader of the guild, who would also participate in the leaderboard and receive rewards for the entire guild every season.
Community Awards: There is the possibility of each guild earning rewards for participating in tournaments or even earning them for new members joining.
Rewards for HP Delegators: Although I have already mentioned the possibility of this being a game with possibilities only for those who want to enjoy the game itself, I am trying to reward in some way those who support both the Hive network by stacking their HIVE and delegating to the project's future account for activity and curation processes involving the game itself.
Use of RC/Hive Power: The plan is to use this resource in some way to unlock access to places and options during Campaign Mode, as mentioned above, encouraging the use of the Hive network as well as showing all the potential that can be obtained from Web3 and Interaction between Blog Posts / Comments
💬 Advantages of the Separate Approach
This separation between the game and blockchain transactions brings several advantages for both the player and the external developer. Firstly, it keeps the gaming experience pure and free from financial interruptions for everyone. The player can focus on what truly matters and what they want to do—in this case, playing and having fun. Additionally, by keeping transactions in an external portal, security is enhanced, as all financial interactions occur in a dedicated environment with all the necessary security measures to protect user information.
Another important point is scalability and ease of maintenance on separate servers. By separating the blockchain from the game, it's possible to update and improve the transaction portal without directly impacting the game itself. This means that new features, currencies, or blockchain integrations can be added to the portal without the need to modify the game code, making the update process much simpler and more efficient.
This raised a question with another artist who will be working with me on this project, who also works on another blockchain. With the game exposed on another server, without receiving and validating information through the blockchain, how can we prevent cheating by players and others involved in the project?
Although the game doesn't have full integration with the blockchain itself, there are still necessary measures to prevent cheating, starting with the generation of Equipment and Collectibles. Any movement of minting these assets, which can be transferred to another player, once registered in the game, sends this information to the second server, in this case, where the blockchain is located, containing the username, time, and the minted item to become a digital asset. This way, all the information can be found by any player. And we give the power to any attempt to bypass certain limitations or systems, thereby breaking the rules and jeopardizing the integrity of the final reward already mentioned here, we reserve the right to ban this player from any participation in the game. This is a necessary evil.
🚀 Conclusion
This game is still under development, and there is a long way to go. However, the idea of merging a 2D action game with blockchain technology in a seamless and player-friendly way is something I am passionate about. The integration with the Hive blockchain will provide additional depth and possibilities for players, without compromising the primary focus: an engaging and immersive gaming experience.
If you share this enthusiasm or have any ideas or suggestions, please leave a comment below! Your feedback will be crucial to shaping this project.
For those interested in learning more and contributing to the project's development, stay tuned for future updates! I am looking forward to building something unique and enjoyable together with the Hive community.
Thank you for your support, and let's create something amazing!
Please feel free to make any suggestions or modifications.