2023 annual summary of games on the entire chain

In 2023, the blockchain infrastructure is increasingly involved in Layer 2, and the application layer such as finance and social interaction lacks sufficient innovation. Therefore, the full-chain game track that conforms to "Crypto Native" has become the leader in the application layer narrative.

Written by: Gametaverse

Introduction to the development of full-chain games in 2023

Games on the entire chain have made very significant progress in 2023, increasingly attracting everyone's attention. We think there are several reasons:

1. Jump Crypto clarified the connotation and extension of the concept of full-chain games at the beginning of the year, making a clear distinction between full-chain games and GameFi.
2. ECS-based game engines began to appear at the beginning of the year, making it more convenient to build complex applications on the chain.
3. The emergence of Ticking Chain has made a qualitative leap in the logical frame refresh rate of full-chain games, thus expanding the type of full-chain games from turn-based to real-time strategy categories that require high refresh rates.
4. AA wallets will become popular in 2023, which can greatly improve the operating experience of the entire chain game. From now on, there is no need to sign and authorize each step of the chain operation.
5. ZK technology has developed rapidly with the popularity of ZK-Rollup, helping the entire chain of games expand from making information symmetric games to "asymmetric information games".
6. The narrative of Autonomous Worlds began to seep out from the geek circle to the VC circle, mainly due to two relatively large industry events. The first one was held by ETHGlobal, 0xPARC and Lattice in May called " Autonomous Worlds Hackathon" online hackathon. The other is an offline conference called "Autonomous Worlds Assembly" held in Istanbul in November.
7. More than a dozen full-chain games will enter the testnet stage in 2023, initially demonstrating playability.
8. In 2023, blockchain infrastructure is increasingly involved in Layer 2, and application layers such as finance and social interaction lack sufficient innovation. Therefore, the full-chain game track that conforms to "Crypto Native" has become the leader in the application layer narrative.

The following will be elaborated from several aspects such as infrastructure, narrative logic, full-chain games, and industry financing.

infrastructure

We believe that the infrastructure of the full-chain game is the game engine, Ticking Chain, ZKP-based information hiding system and AA account.

Game Engine

A game engine is a software framework used for developing and creating video games. It includes many core functions required for game development. For traditional Web2 games, it generally includes rendering engines, audio processing, physics simulation and animation systems, etc. By using a game engine, developers can focus on game design and creativity without having to build an entire technical infrastructure from scratch. Game engines provide game developers with a fast and efficient tool to reduce development costs and time.

For games on the entire chain, there is also a need for a tool that can help developers quickly deploy game logic. This can not only shorten the development cycle, but also provide a unified data standard for subsequent iterative development and interoperability in the open ecosystem. If we regard the blockchain system as a distributed database, it is not easy to store and read game data efficiently in this distributed database, build large smart contracts, and synchronize with the front-end status in a timely manner. things. The full-chain game engine based on ECS architecture came into being.

ECS (Entity-Component-System) is essentially a modeling method of data structure, and its core lies in how to store and organize data.

1. Entity: In ECS mode, entity is an abstract concept. It does not directly hold data, but associates data through components. An entity can be viewed as a container for one or more components, and its main function is to provide a unique identifier for the component.
2. Component: Component is the carrier of data. In ECS mode, all data is encapsulated in components. Each component represents a specific attribute or behavior, such as position, speed, color, etc. Components only contain data and do not contain any logic or behavior.
3. System(): The system is where data is processed. The system determines how to handle entities based on their components. Each system has one or more specific tasks, such as rendering, physics simulation, AI logic, etc.

It separates data (component) and behavior (system), making data storage and processing more flexible and efficient. The advantages of this architecture are:

• Composability: By combining different components, entities with various properties and behaviors can be created without the need to create a large number of classes or structures.
• Data locality: Because components only contain data, related data can be stored closely together, improving cache utilization and thus improving performance.
• Reusability: The system only cares about the data, not which entity the data comes from, so the same system can be reused across multiple entities.
• Parallelism: Due to the separation of data and behavior, parallel processing of data in a multi-threaded environment becomes easier.

Although Jump Crypto (@jump_) also proposed an ARC (Action Registry Core) architecture game engine, we believe that this architecture is just a variant of the ECS architecture and has many limitations, so currently The so-called full-chain game engine architecture adopts the ECS architecture.

MUD: Lattice (@latticexyz)’s MUD is the oldest and most famous full-chain game engine in the Web3 field. In the previous first-generation version, it was clearly stated that MUDv1 is a framework based on ECS. Zhongshi Lattice announced the V2 version, which has made huge changes to the overall architecture of MUD. MUDv2 includes: Store (an on-chain database), World (an entry point framework that provides standardized access control, upgrades and modules), Foundry-based fast Development tools, a client data store that reflects on-chain state, and MODE (a Postgres database that can be queried using SQL and reflect your on-chain state). At the end of the year, MUD introduced its own separate Layer2 rollup (based on OP Stack), named Red Stone. Currently MUD only works on EVM-compatible chains.

Dojo: In addition to being written in Solidity, StarkNet's Cairo is also a commonly used language for games on the entire chain. However, MUD doesn't play well with Cairo. Therefore, the founders of Realms and Briq, two active projects in the StarkNet ecosystem, Fork MUD and jointly developed Dojo (@ohayo_dojo), a full-chain engine based on Cairo.

World Engine: Argus (@ArgusLabs_) is a sharded Rollup framework specially designed for full-chain games. World Engine is divided into two key parts. The first part is the core, consisting of two key elements: the EVM Base Shard, a hybrid execution layer and sequencer that supports sharding, and the Game Shard, a high-performance game engine plus execution layer. In addition to this, there are peripheral components such as transaction relay and networking code for client-server communication, and the ZK Cloud prover for ZK games like Dark Forest. To put it simply, World Engine also uses the ECS architecture and comes with an EVM-compatible Layer2 chain, and the chain can achieve efficient automatic "logical frame" refresh.

Keystone: Curio (@0xcurio) open sourced Keystone in May, an L2 chain with built-in game Tick and ECS full-chain game engines. The chain is based on OP Stack. This design allows for faster performance for all ECS operations (such as queries and status settings) compared to writing ECS state through smart contracts. Through custom pre-compilation, smart contracts can access the underlying ECS chain state. Game logic can be written in Go instead of Solidity, which can be massively parallelized.

Other chains have also developed different full-chain game engines based on the ECS architecture, such as Obelisk (@0xObeliskLabs) based on the MOVE language, BOLT (@magicblock) based on Solana, and so on.

Ticking Chain

Traditional games are loop-based because their core operating mechanism is the game loop. A game loop is an iterative process that typically includes the steps of processing user input, updating game state, and rendering the game world. This loop continues while the game is running, often running dozens to hundreds of times per second to keep the game world fluid. In this architecture, game systems (such as physics engines, AI systems, etc.) inspect and process the game entities and components they care about in each loop.

However, the architecture of blockchain is push-based. Blockchain is a distributed database that shares and stores information through nodes in the network. When a node generates a new transaction (such as transfer, contract call, etc.), the transaction will be pushed to the network. After receiving the transaction, other nodes will verify it and add it to the blockchain. This is a passive process. Nodes do not actively look for new transactions, but wait for other nodes in the network to send new transactions. Therefore, the blockchain architecture is said to be push-based.

In traditional Web2 games, the execution of the game loop function is also called "logical frame", which can be integrated into the game back-end server or set up as a separate "heartbeat server". In full-chain games, logical frame synchronization generally uses "lazy update" and "manual ticking" to perform active game loops. The disadvantage of this is that the refresh rate of the logical frame is relatively low and the gas fee generated is relatively high. @therealbytes achieves efficient, automated logical frame synchronization by precompiling loop functions to chain nodes.

Representatives here are World Engine and Keystone. They have integrated the ticking chain function into the ECS architecture, thus increasing the synchronous refresh rate of the full-chain game logic frame by an order of magnitude and expanding the themes that can be produced for full-chain games. scope.

AA Wallet

Because every step of the full-chain game operation needs to be uploaded to the chain, this brings huge inconvenience in use: it is always impossible for users to sign and authorize transactions at every step. To solve this problem, the previous method was to set up a "Burner Wallet".

The so-called Burner Wallet is a temporary wallet that is automatically generated when the user visits the game website. The private key is stored in the local browser cache and each transaction is automatically authorized. This can only be seen as a temporary solution. After all, as long as the user refreshes the browser cache, the account will disappear permanently. and lacks adequate security and privacy.

The emergence of AA account abstract wallet completely solves this problem. We know that there are currently two types of accounts on Ethereum: the first address is an externally owned account (EOA), often called a wallet account, which consists of a private key and a public key. It needs to authorize and pay gas for each transaction. . The other is a smart contract account. Various DApps deployed on Ethereum run in the form of smart contracts.

There are two routes for account abstraction: the compatible 4337 solution and the native account abstraction solution. Currently Arbitrum, Polygon, Optimism and BNB do not have natively integrated account abstractions. More are supported through 4337 related products (such as Biconomy, Stackup, etc.), and the infrastructure is still under construction; while the two chains of Starknet and zkSync support native account abstraction.

AA wallet can integrate Session keys in Paymaster, that is, users pre-approve transactions for a full-chain game based on a set of parameters, such as a given duration, a maximum Gas, the maximum transaction volume of a specific token, or a specific contract specific functions, etc. This can achieve player friendliness, that is, uninterrupted gameplay without the need for signature confirmation for every operation.

Another development is ERC-6551. It provides a smart contract account for all ERC-721 Tokens. These accounts not only enable ERC-721 Tokens to own various assets such as ERC-20, ERC-721, ERC-1155, etc., but also enable ERC-721 Tokens to interact with various Application interaction. In the field of full-chain games, simultaneous transfer of game assets and game IDs can be achieved.

Information hiding on the chain based on ZKP

"Fog of War" is a mechanism commonly found in games. Typical examples include "StarCraft" and "Warcraft 3". This design hides information by covering certain areas of the game map, which are only revealed when the player explores those areas. This mechanism increases the unpredictability of the game environment and is a typical feature of so-called incomplete information games. Most popular MMOs employ imperfect information game mechanics, which gives players more room to explore and strategize.

However, in blockchain technology, data is usually fully open and transparent, which makes it difficult to implement incomplete information mechanisms. However, the Dark Forest game successfully maintains its privacy while players need to publicly submit verifiable valid actions by using zero-knowledge proof technology zkSNARKs. In this way, Dark Forest creates a game environment with incomplete information on the blockchain.

However, this complex information hiding method requires customized ZK circuit programming, so extensive information hiding cannot be achieved in full-chain games. This is why almost all full-chain games in production in 2023 do not have " "The fog of war". The market still needs a universal ZK circuit that can implement the "fog of war" function. Several teams are trying to solve this problem, such as Zypher Games (@Zypher_Games), which launched the zk-Game SDK through optimized wasm and precompilation. The contract realizes a high-performance, low-cost decentralized shuffling process. Its on-chain randomness no longer requires traditional VRF, achieving decentralization and fair shuffling and gaming. The zero-knowledge game engine UZKGE, launched at the same time, has a highly optimized Plonk library, which is a supplement to a rapidly expanding zero-knowledge (ZK) circuit library and is carefully crafted to meet the different needs of game developers. These circuits facilitate complex calculations and ensure the integrity of game mechanics while protecting player privacy. These encryption technologies allow game developers to verify critical game data without revealing underlying details.

In October, @FlynnCalcutt of 0xPARC published an article, "ZK Hunt: an exploration into the unknown", which introduced how to use the "Commitment" method, ZK circuit and combined with token punishment to implement multiple chains Information hiding provides new ideas for making full-chain games with asymmetric information.

Narrative logic

Shanav K Mehta and Dev Bharel of Jumpy Crypto published a series of articles called "Gaming Infrastructure" in January, proposing the classification of on-chain games, the specific definition of full-chain games, the benefits of making full-chain games, and ARC-based Full-chain game engine architecture. At this point, games on the entire chain have become a deterministic track.

We now know that a simple definition is this:

A fully onchain game means that all game logic and status (assets and others) are on the chain and implemented through smart contracts. Sometimes, we also use "onchain game" to refer to it. In the literature on on-chain gaming, we often see terms like “Autonomous World” or the equivalent “On-Chain Reality”.

But the concept of full-chain games is more of a technical discussion. The more popular narrative term currently is "Autonomous World", which comes from Ludens of Lattic. He wrote a small paper in 2022 to explain his ideas, titled "Autonomous Worlds".

In the article, Ludens believes that the autonomous world is a "world with a blockchain bottom layer", that is, the autonomous world has strict narrative boundaries and formal introduction rules, and it does not require privileged individuals to maintain its existence.

This sentence describes the three core characteristics of the "autonomous world":

1. Hard narrative boundaries: This means that the world has a set of fixed and immutable baseline rules. They do not change with time or circumstances, providing a sense of stability to the world.
2. Formalized introduction rule: This indicates that there is a clear and fixed set of rules for entering and participating in this world. These rules include how to be part of the world and how to interact within it.
3. No privileged individuals are required to sustain its existence: The world is self-sustaining and does not depend on any particular individual or organization for maintenance or management.

In the concept of Autonomous World, the world does not specifically refer to a place where humans live, but a container, a place that accommodates rules and narratives. Strictly speaking, the concepts of full-chain games and autonomous worlds are not completely equivalent. All autonomous worlds are full-chain games, but not all full-chain games are autonomous worlds. Full-chain games can have no permissions. As the earth expands, it becomes an autonomous world.

In addition to the narrative of the autonomous world, there is another relatively simple narrative to understand: the full-chain game is actually a "decentralized game" (Decentralized Game). This narrative mainly imitates the formulation of Decentralized Finance: Since writing financial rules into smart contracts is called "DeFi", it is natural to write game rules into smart contracts and call it "DeGame".

Games on the entire chain

In this year, many full-chain games have entered the testing stage. Although most of them are still rough, they have initially completed concept verification, showing a certain degree of playability and combination.

Sky Strife

Sky Strife (@skystrifeHQ) is a full-chain real-time strategy game (RTS) built using the MUD engine. It is made by Lattice's in-house game designers and developers. The gameplay of Sky Strife is similar to other real-time strategy games. Taking the four-player map as an example, after the start, the four players are located in their respective main bases in the four corners of the map. Players' goal is to compete for more resources to produce soldiers and ultimately eliminate other players. The resource in the game is Gold, expressed in g. Players can consume Gold in the main base to produce units with different attack power and movement speed.

Sky Strife started a new round of public beta testing for Season 0 in November, and used a new Layer 2 expansion solution designed for full-chain games released by Lattice: Redstone.

The beginning

Primodium (@primodiumgame) is a construction simulation game developed based on the MUD engine. The game's mechanism is based on the famous business simulation game Factorio "Factorio". In Primodium, you need to design and build different automatic production lines, combine conveyor belts, various factories, and natural resources on the map with each other to create your own automated production building complex and expand your empire on the planet. The industrial empire continues to produce increasingly complex industrial products. Game activities can be divided into collection, transportation, processing, construction, scientific research and combat. Players need to continuously collect resources, upgrade technology, build weapons, defeat other players, and ultimately dominate the planet in the game.

Cell

Cellula (@cellulalifegame) is a full-chain artificial life simulation game. Players can explore, cultivate, evolve and collect unique "lives" in the game. In this game, the rules of Conway's Game of Life are seen as the genetic code of "life," determining their form and vitality. By using the game's crafting table, players can freely create various genetic sequences and breed their own "life" on the chain. These "life" have unique appearance and attributes, showing a variety of life forms.

The Ethereum block height acts as "time" in the game, and each "life" will grow and evolve in the Ethereum space-time ecosystem, just like aquatic creatures in the real world gradually adapt to land life and eventually become amphibians. However, the cycle of life is always accompanied by birth and death - when a "life" loses its vitality, it will die permanently on the chain to make room for the birth of a new "life".

Loot Survivor

Loot Survivor (@LootRealms) is a text dungeon adventure game based on Starknet's Dojo. It is the first game in the Realms autonomous world ecosystem. It was developed by Loothero, a senior member of Bibliotheca DAO, and uses a unique Play2Die mechanism. Inspired by the backstory and gameplay of the original Loot Project community, players will need to battle beasts, clear obstacles, collect gear to survive, and compete for higher positions in the leaderboards.

Dark Frontier

Dark Frontier (@DarkFrontierGG) is a remake of the famous full-chain game "Dark Forest", with exactly the same gameplay. It is a remake of the famous full-chain game "Dark Forest", and the gameplay is exactly the same. In Dark Frontier, each player controls his own planet and needs to collect resources on the planet, build bases and develop technology to improve his combat capabilities. Players can use resource production buildings, technological research, and weapons manufacturing facilities to gain an advantage in combat. As players fly through interstellar space, they need to discover other planets and resources through constant reconnaissance and exploration. When two players discover the same planet at the same time, they can choose to attack the planet or choose to escape. When attacking, players need to use their own weapons to attack the opponent's base and seize the opponent's resources.

The game was remade by Argus based on World Engine. The screen UI has greatly improved compared to the first version. It has launched a public beta in December.

There are more than a dozen other full-chain games in production or in very early testing stages, such as Gabby World, Infuence, Mississippi, Dope Wars, Mithraeum, Word3, PixeLAW, Shaoshin, Pirate Nation, etc., which will not be detailed here. introduction.

Industry Financing

Full-chain gaming is a sub-track of blockchain gaming. In the proof-of-concept stage in 2023, there are not many publicly funded projects. Let’s introduce them one by one.

1. Game engine Argus Labs completed a US$10 million seed round of financing, led by Haun Ventures, with participation from Elad Gil, Balaji Srinivasan, Siqi Chen, Kevin Aluwi, Sunny Agarwal, Calvin Liu, Scott Moore, Robot Ventures, Anagram and Dispersion Capital.
2. Game engine Curio Research completed a $2.9 million seed round of financing, led by Bain Capital Crypto, with participation from TCG Crypto, Zonff Partners, Formless Capital, Smrti Lab, Robot Ventures and multiple angel investors.
3. Game engine Paima Studios received a $1.4 million grant from Cardano, and the Paima code is available on Github, allowing the creation of on-chain games linked to NFTs, where game states can be linked to NFTs.
4. Proof of Play, a blockchain gaming startup founded by FarmVille co-founder Amitt Mahajan, completed a $33 million seed round of financing, co-led by a16z and Greenoaks. Participating investors include Mercury, Firebase, Zynga and Alchemy, and individual investors include Ravikant, Balaji Srinivasan, Twitch founders Justin Kan and Emmett Shear. Proof of Play aims to create fun and easy-to-use blockchain games. Its first social role-playing game called "Pirate Nation" released a beta version in December last year, in which players can fight, craft, trade and Explore and look for digital tokens labeled PGLD.
5. Citadel, a full-chain game, announced in November that it had completed a US$3.3 million seed round of financing, led by 1kx, with participation from Shima Capital, Hashed, Matchbox DAO, Ready Player DAO, etc.

References

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