CoinEx Institution | Start Your P2E Investments from GameFi Platforms (II)
Today, we will continue our analysis of certain GameFi platforms in the crypto industry, with a focus on platform features, token economy, and platform-based games.
PlayDapp
PlayDapp is a DApp game portal that provides a C2C marketplace. All PlayDapp games are interoperable, thus providing a portfolio of game content that gamers can enjoy.
Platform Features
PlayDapp provides a PlayDapp SDK that lets game developers easily participate in the blockchain-based PlayDapp service ecosystem. The SDK helps game developers connect their game DApp with the PlayDapp ecosystem, featuring:
(1) An integrated payment system responsible for the security processing and verification concerning the payment and transaction of tokens including PLA, as well as in-game transaction processes;
(2) A decentralized competition system that creates & manages prize pools and reward systems while establishing the algorithmic mechanism and user communication system for matching evaluation;
(3) A verification and resource system that facilitates the unified verification of uses, as well as the storage of shared centralized resources between games.
PlayDapp offers interoperable NFTs. When users play new games on the platform, these NFTs can serve as a reward for previous gameplay and a natural cross-promotion of new games. For instance, Dozer Doll, a collectible asset in the platform’s current NFT market, can be obtained through Crypto Dozer and used in Dozer Bird, a game in the same series.
Token Economy
The maximum total supply of PLA tokens is set at 700 million, approximately 1.99 million of which are in circulation. Primary functions of PLA: Used as a built-in currency in PlayDapp games (e.g. buying game NFTs, paying for game tickets, etc.); paid as service fees (e.g. marketing events, technical support, etc.).
Ways to get PLA mainly include: 1. Rewards for completing tasks; 2. Purchase in secondary markets.
To be more specific, players earn PLA tokens by improving their skills, reaching achievements and milestones, and completing any activity where the game developer or publisher offers PLA as rewards.
Games
Games now available on PlayDapp are primarily in the casual category (as the picture below), and several of them are in the Beta stage or have gone live. On PlayDapp, game assets are normally deployed on Ethereum or Polygon.
In the last quarter of 2021, Along with the Gods (AWTG) introduced a P2E server event that allows players to earn rewards, in addition to the build-in items, by meeting the relevant requirements while enjoying the game — You can get PLA rewards from gameplay by staking PlayDapp Town PLAYZ NFTs. More specifically, players can earn 5 PLA every day from Daily Quest Rewards and up to 5,000 PLA weekly from Weekly PvP Arena Rewards.
Vulcan Forged
Vulcan Forged is a blockchain game ecosystem where players can immerse themselves in dreamlike P2E games, earn tokens and NFTs, and trade in the NFT market or participate in NFT “farming”. It relies on PYR, its platform-based token, for settlement, staking, and support of utility tokens across the entire ecosystem.
Platform Features
Vulcan Forged is a P2E ecosystem consisting of dual tokens, experience points (XP), and NFT. PYR and LAVA are the primary currencies in this gaming ecosystem (to be elaborated in Token Economy). Although XPs, needed for upgrading NFTs, are not on the blockchain and have no trading value, players need XPs to upgrade characters and unlock different functions of their accounts. It should be noted that you can only get PYR, LAVA, or XP by playing games on Vulcan Forged.
Vulcan Forged supports accounts with tokens on multiple public chains. Right now, Vulcan Forged users can deposit a number of tokens, including PYR and MATIC on Polygon, VET on VeChain, and PYR and ETH on Ethereum. The platform supports multiple chains because its NFT market is running on Polygon. Moreover, it plans to issue NFTs on VeChain and will also release Elysium, a POS-based blockchain built by Vulcan Forged. It is noteworthy that the current account wallets on the platform are still centralized wallets secured by 2FA.
However, in December 2021, Vulcan Forged was hacked, and the private keys of 148 users’ wallets were leaked, resulting in the theft of over 4.5 million PYR. After this security breach, the platform said that it is trying to build a fully decentralized wallet system, which represents an essential step for Vulcan Forged to become a blockchain game platform.
Vulcan Forged works closely with multiple guilds. In the last quarter of 2021, the platform announced partnerships with Yield Guild Games (YGG), Merit Circle (MC), and Achip & Achair Guild Ventures (AAG), which are primarily about Vulcan Verse, an open-world game on Vulcan Forged. In particular, the partnership between AAG and Vulcan Forged is worth $1 million. The former has purchased land plots in Vulcan Verse and PYR tokens, while the latter participated in AAG’s private funding round, allowing them to share funds and resources. Additionally, MC also bought $500,000 worth of Vulcan Verse land plots and PYR tokens.
Token Economy
As mentioned above, Vulcan Forged uses a dual-token model, i.e. PYR and LAVA. It should be noted that the latter is currently not available in secondary markets.
The maximum total supply of PYR tokens is set at 500 million, 1.99 million of which are in circulation. PYR tokens are primarily used for buying NFTs, staking NFT assets (land plots, Titans, or Olympians), stake mining on Vulcandex, and launching DApps on the Vulcan marketplace.
Ways to get PYR: (1) Staking rewards; (2) Earned by playing games; (3) Bought in secondary markets.
In addition to the funding of 10 million initial tokens provided by the Vulcan Foundation, the PYR rewards pool features four sources of funding:
- 50% of the fee taken from every Vulcan Marketplace transaction
- 10% of every fee taken from direct asset sales (Berserk cards, or Vulcanites for example)
- 50% of every upgrade fee for land, Titans, and Olympians
- 10% of every prize pool and tournament fee setup in the Frenzy game platform
In short, the staking revenue of PYR is closely bound up with the Vulcan Forged ecosystem.
At the moment, the total supply of LAVA remains uncertain. Players can earn LAVA tokens by playing any game on the platform. Given that LAVA’s positioning resembles Axie Infinite’s SLP, PYR and SLP are both required in many scenarios. Here, we will focus on the upgrade of land assets in Vulcan Verse as a typical case.
For landowners, the following applies: If they want to have a higher share of the rewards pool and give players the opportunity to earn LAVA, they have to upgrade their land. This will lead to a lockup and burn of both LAVA and PYR tokens. For example, upgrading a land plot to level 7 requires a cost of 1,650 PYR, a locked stake of an additional 1,650 PYR, and 1,650 LAVA to be burned. Right now, there are 9,919 land plots in the game, and demand for at least 327 million PYR tokens would be generated if all landowners were to go through this process.
Games
Vulcan claims to be a well-established game studio and ecosystem, with a top-notch NFT marketplace, 10,000 users, more than 20 DApps, and over $3 million trading volume. According to its official website, games on the platform (see the picture below) feature sophisticated graphics.
Vulcan Verse, one of the best games on the platform, is an open-world MMORPG with lore written by fighting fantasy authors. The entire world is divided into four quadrants and consists of 9,919 plots of land (20m x 20m). Each quarter has a unique style and its own terrain types. The native token of Vulcan Verse is PYR, and land plots are also a major NFT asset in the game. Before upgrading their land using PYR tokens and LAVA tokens, players have to pay a sowing cost and then wait 20 days.
Project SEED
Project SEED is a mobile-focused GameFi ecosystem that utilizes the multi-chain hybrid technology (Solana & BSC) in its product structure and integrates Game Hub, GameFi, DAO, e-sports, and Growth Program.
Platform Features
Project SEED supports multiple blockchains and cross-chain facilities. On this platform, the platform-based token SHILL, game tokens, as well as NFTs are all minted on multiple chains. Project SEED now supports Solana and BSC, and more blockchains will also be supported in the future. Meanwhile, the platform enables the cross-chain swapping of on-chain assets, including tokens and NFTs, through cross-chain bridges. Such an approach allows users to buy NFTs on Solona with SHILL tokens on BSC.
Project SEED offers a series of resources for project incubation. On the one hand, the platform will create its own e-sports club and work with other clubs to expand its user base and market recognition through e-sports. On the other hand, Project SEED has also established a Growth Program that provides consulting services with regards to game mechanisms and financial support for GameFi projects on the platform.
Token Economy
The maximum total supply of SHILL tokens is set at 1 billion, 8,573 of which are in circulation. As the native token of Project SEED, SHILL tokens are primarily used for creating Dungeons, obtaining staking rewards, DAO governance, upgrading game characters and items, payment of marketing events by vendors, buying NFTs, and the Launchpad.
Ways to get SHILL: (1) Playing games; (2) Staking rewards; (3) Bought in secondary markets.
In particular, staking rewards come from the NFT marketplace on the platform and part of the DEX transaction fee. Additionally, SHILL also features a burning mechanism that requires the burning of SHILL tokens and game tokens for minting NFTs.
Games
Project SEED has released three games: Outland Odyssey, Path of Avoria, and Seed of Destiny. Details of the latter two games have not been disclosed.
Outland Odyssey is an RPG where players experience role-playing, co-op multiplayer adventures, tournament battles, and guild wars. You can create your own Dungeon, tame Zeds, complete quests, and collect rare NFT assets. Moreover, the game also issued its own token O2. Although the token is similar to SHILL in its application, O2 is primarily used for the game itself.
Conclusion
Generally speaking, a GameFi platform is characterized by the following features:
First of all, a GameFi platform offers game developers an infrastructure that makes it easier to develop and run blockchain games. For instance, Gala Games supplies hashing power and storage resources for game operation through nodes; PlayDapp provides the SDK to help developers quickly integrate their DApps with the PlayDapp ecosystem; WEMIX has developed a hybrid blockchain that creates a high-performing facility suited for blockchain games. In addition, almost all gaming platforms come with their own NFT marketplace. These infrastructures enable developers to devote more efforts to the design and development of games.
Secondly, a GameFi platform achieves the interoperability of assets, covering platform-based tokens, game tokens, and NFTs. Platforms including Gala Games, MOBOX, and Vulcan Forged all offer a unified account (centralized/decentralized) that helps users manage assets in a unified way on the one hand and enables the interoperability of assets on different chains on the other. Moreover, asset interoperability on a GameFi platform also depends on whether the platform-based token can be used in multiple game projects. It should be noted that some NFT assets can also be used in different games. For instance, MOBOX’s MOMO NFTs can also be used in MOMO NFT Farmer and Token Master. On PlayDapp, Crypto Dolls can be used in both Crypto Dozer and Dozer Bird. The free transfer of in-game NFTs demonstrates the value of such assets even if the life cycle of a single game is short.
Thirdly, a GameFi platform provides funding and resources. In a way, a gaming platform can be regarded as a game incubator. Almost all platforms we introduced have set apart a part of their funds for their game ecosystem. Furthermore, GameFi platforms like PlayDapp and Project SEED also emphasize marketing and promotional services or gameplay consultations provided for game projects by the platform itself or through B2B collaborations.
Of course, apart from those mentioned in this article, there are also many other GameFi platforms in the crypto space, covering Enjin (ENJ), which first proposed the concept of Game Multiverse, and Ultra (UOS), a blockchain-based distribution platform that uses the tech structure of an EOS fork.
*The above content may not be relied on as investment advice.
