[Article] Gaming Report (November, 2023)

Table of Contents

1. Researcher Comment
2. Major Updates
2.1 Lattice announces Redstone, their Plasma-inspired OP Stack L2
2.2 Introducing Slot
2.3 Introducing Keystone
3. Fundraising
3.1 EthXY (Source)
3.2 Bazooka Tango (Source)
3.3 Matr1x Fire (Source)
4. More Reads
4.1 Projects Updates
4.2 Suggested Reads

Researcher

Moyed

1. Researcher Comment

This month's review of the blockchain gaming industry highlights several key advancements and initiatives. Lattice's launch of Redstone, a Plasma-inspired solution on the OP Stack, and Cartridge's introduction of Slot, a managed infrastructure service, demonstrate significant technological progress in enhancing onchain gaming capabilities. Curio's Keystone, a toolkit for building high-performance onchain games, further illustrates the industry's focus on creating scalable and efficient gaming platforms. Additionally, the successful fundraising efforts by projects like EthXY, Bazooka Tango, and Matr1x Fire indicate robust investor interest in the sector. These developments, coupled with the numerous game launches and updates, paint a picture of a vibrant and rapidly evolving blockchain gaming landscape.

2. Major Updates

2.1 Lattice announces Redstone, their Plasma-inspired OP Stack L2

Source: Lattice

Lattice introduces Redstone, a cost-effective blockchain solution for onchain games and applications, built on the OP Stack and inspired by Plasma technology. It uses a Plasma-like data commitment approach with offchain storage and onchain challenge systems to ensure data availability, significantly reducing Ethereum mainnet's data posting costs. This development, in collaboration with Optimism, aims to enhance the scalability and security of onchain worlds, with its testnet already supporting various games and the mainnet set to launch next year.

2.2 Introducing Slot

Source: Cartridge

Slot by Cartridge is a managed infrastructure-as-a-service platform within the Dojo ecosystem, designed to facilitate the development and scaling of onchain games. It offers tools such as Katana sequencers and Torii indexers, enabling rapid deployment and low-latency, high-performance game environments. Currently focused on early development stages with plans for expanding to persistent and regional deployments, Slot aims to enhance onchain game scalability and efficiency.

2.3 Introducing Keystone

Source: Curio

Curio has developed Keystone, a groundbreaking toolkit for building highly performant and composable onchain games, representing two years of dedicated effort in the blockchain gaming space. Keystone integrates a table-based state management system and a game server with EVM smart contracts, offering improved performance and developer experience for onchain games. This innovation aims to enable developers to create complex, scalable onchain games with real commercial potential, pushing the boundaries of blockchain gaming technology.

3. Fundraising

*This information is taken from DefiLlama's raises page.

3.1 EthXY (Source)

EthXY is a project focused on developing innovative crypto consumer products that combine ease of use with high gratification. Their latest creation is a unique MMORPG built on Telegram chat, featuring poker combat mechanics, where players interact within a chat window and see dynamic visualizations of their character and combat scenes. The game emphasizes ease of access and minimal time commitment, aiming to make crypto more approachable and engaging for consumers.

3.2 Bazooka Tango (Source)

Bazooka Tango, a game studio established by ex-developers of the fantasy MOBA game Vainglory, has raised $5 million in funding led by Bitkraft Ventures. This funding round, which also saw participation from RW3 Ventures, Sfermion, and 1Up Ventures, will be used to expand the studio's team and further the development of Shardbound, their upcoming title set to launch on the Immutable zkEVM network. Shardbound, a combination of an NFT trading card game and a turn-based PvP RPG, involves strategic character placement on a tiled board.

3.3 Matr1x Fire (Source)

The company's flagship product, Matr1x Fire, is a mobile first-person shooter game, drawing aesthetic similarities to Riot Games' Valorant. It features team-based gameplay with a roster of playable characters, but unlike Valorant, Matr1x Fire focuses solely on gunplay without special powers or skills, aligning more with the style of CS:GO. Matr1x is looking to foster an esports scene around this game, which is still under development. They have also released two NFT collections and are planning a third, which will offer membership passes for governance access, revenue sharing in its creator economy, and an upgradeable battle pet for buyers.

4. More Reads

4.1 Projects Updates

4.2 Suggested Reads

ZKML and Autonomous Worlds

This article discusses the concept of Autonomous Worlds, and the role of ZKML in enhancing blockchain-based gaming through efficient off-chain computations, on-chain state management, and innovative game design, aiming to create immersive, autonomous digital worlds.

MUD FROM ZERO TO V2

This article reflects on Lattice's journey in developing MUD, a framework for on-chain game development, detailing their challenges and breakthroughs over two years, the creation of three games and numerous entities, and the evolution from MUD v1 to v2.

Removing Web3’s Friction: Pt.1 Progressive Onboarding and Games

This article emphasizes the need for smooth onboarding processes. Drawing insights from successful AAA games like Marvel Snap, it suggests progressive onboarding where friction is minimized and occurs as late as possible. Key lessons include letting players try the product first without account creation, simplifying gameplay initially, introducing a compelling progression system, and delaying administrative tasks like account linking to after player engagement.

Thanks to Kate for designing the graphics for this article.

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Gaming Report (November, 2023)