The Rise of Game-centered Public Chains (I): An Analysis of WAX & Immuatable X

[CoinEx_Official]

What change will take place when games are combined with blockchain?

A few years ago, cute cryptokitties went viral. At one point, the entire Ethereum network became extremely congested and transaction fees stayed high. Today, the imaginative metaverse first attracted droves of users, but then scared them away with the high fees. Amidst the current GameFi boom, can the underlying public chains meet the gaming requirements of high concurrency, minimum latency, and low fees? Will a game-centered public chain stand out from the public chain segment as the cradle of blockchain games? Today, we will talk about the niche market of game-centered public chains, with an overview of the performance of each blockchain and the popular on-chain games.

I. WAX (Worldwide Asset eXchange)
Developed by the founding team of OPSkins, a virtual asset exchange platform, WAX focuses on NFT, Dapp, and video games. Working with big-name companies like Animoca Brands, it has jointly launched the NFT of many world-renowned IPs, including Topps, Capcom, Atari, Deadmau5, Weezer, and William Shatners. Moreover, WAX’s CEO William Quigely is also the co-founder of Tether.

Statistics

Based on the underlying logic of EOS, WAX uses the DPOS (Delegated Proof of Stake) mechanism. On WAX, 21 active WAX Guilds and 36 standby WAX Guilds generate a block every 0.5 seconds. In theory, the public chain could handle 3,000 transactions per second. In reality, WAX completes 1,418 transactions per second at its height, with almost zero on-chain gas fee. The public chain adopts the Cloud Wallet Resource Model, which is readily available to users without any charges. Furthermore, WAX automatically provides sufficient resources, which will allow each user to conduct approximately 10 transactions every day.



Features

1. WAX is backed by a high-concurrency underlying structure that enables users to trade on virtual marketplaces. To be more specific, it comes with the following features:
2. Imperceptible addresses. Unlike other public chains, WAX uses a cloud wallet. What this means is that you can get registered simply by entering an account and password, without memorizing/storing the mnemonic phrase or private key. Additionally, when buying or trading virtual goods, you only need to click on “confirm” to execute your purchase or transfer, which is a very friendly feature for blockchain beginners.
3. Negligible transaction fees. Based on the EOS structure, WAX uses RAM and CPU, meaning that it occupies NET and CPU bandwidth when executing on-chain operations without incurring any gas fees. Moreover, after its upgrade to Cloud Network Resource Model 2.0, WAX now offers each user sufficient resources for daily transactions and CPU consumption. Compared with other public chains, WAX comes with almost zero fees.
4. WAX has created vIRL® NFT, which is an innovative NFT standard different from its counterparts used by other public chains. vIRL® NFT incorporates such functions as programming, gaming, and marketing. Furthermore, vIRL® NFT can link virtual assets with real assets, which allows users to own real-world assets.
5. WAX authorizes stake through voting by WAX Guilds. By allowing 21 block producers (WAX Guilds) to determine how blocks are generated, WAX meets the need for massive transactions as a gaming platform. However, this has also been criticized as insufficient decentralization.

Games on WAX

WAX’s outstanding performance has given rise to a series of GameFi games in categories such as simulation, exploration, card, and strategy, etc. Although most of these games feature a Play to Earn mechanism, WAX tokens or the relevant in-game tokens are still needed to get started with the game. The following table lists some of the most popular WAX-powered games.



1) Alien worlds

As a WAX-powered exploration and mining game, Alien Worlds ranks first on WAX by the number of players. In this game, players can own land, use tools and weapons, and customize their avatars for battles and mining. In Alien Worlds, players earn Trilium (TLM) through mining and can spend the tokens on high-level tools and weapons, which will help them get more TLM. Moreover, you can also stake your TLM on a planet and vote for its leadership. Also, staking TLM will improve a planet’s mining rewards and attract more players to mine on it.



In this WAX-based game, players do not have to stake any tokens for mining. Instead, they can start mining using WAX’s cloud wallet at no cost, which makes it a typical P2E game. However, Alien Worlds now only features a rather limited range of elements. The early-stage item level is restricted, and few TLM tokens can be mined. At present, the supposedly breathtaking views of planets or land are still unavailable. Furthermore, in order to get high returns, players must make substantial deposits to purchase tools and weapons. Players who are not planning to make any deposits normally stay around for about 1 to 2 days.

2) Farmers World

In Farmers World, a farming game based on WAX, farmers can farm GOLD and NFTs by mining and playing in the game. They can also use GOLD and WOOD to create tools or repair their equipment. They also need to fish to exploit FOOD to maximize their STRENGTH stats. Additionally, farmers can build cowsheds and chicken coops to expand their farm, and plant seeds to grow food crops so that they can harvest food and care for their cattle. Solid cages are needed to help pets grow up healthy and fast and protect them from the attack of jungle monsters. Meanwhile, farms, cattle and trees are always destroyed by jungle monsters, so farmers’ pets can fight them and get rewards from victories. All in all, Farmers World features very entertaining gameplay.

On the other hand, its economic model is also quite complicated. There are three main resources in Farmers World: Wood, Food, and Gold corresponding to three tokens: FWW (Wood Coin), FWF (Food Coin), FWG (Gold Coin). The tokens and coins are interchangeable. More specifically, tokens can be converted into coins without any fees, while players have to pay a fee of 5% to 8% if they want to convert coins into tokens. Moreover, the game also features a circular economy. In the early stage, Wood is the most needed resource while Wood and Gold are for creating equipment. In the later stages, players will need more Gold to make and repair high-yield equipment.



It should be mentioned that to get started with the game, players should first buy WAX and store it in their Cloud Wallet.

3) Prospectors

As the blockchain version of the gold rush, Prospectors is a massively multiplayer online (MMO) game that focuses on economic strategies. Every player gets three workers who can mine resources and use tools to work. Players can also buy land to erect buildings and hire other players to earn profits. The game relies on Prospectors Gold (PGL) as its currency. You can check the PGL you’ve earned on the blockchain, trade PGL in the game, or have them withdrawn on a crypto exchange.

Prospectors seems easy — the only goal is to earn Gold. Yet the difficult part is that players must strategize to get higher returns and enjoy the game through exploration. Players owning land can mine resources by themselves, but still, they need to buy mining tools and pay transportation fees and taxes. In Prospectors, you can also erect buildings to accelerate the mining of resources. With buildings, players can hire workers to mine more resources.



II. Immuatable X

Launched in 2021, Immutable X is a Layer 2 scaling solution for trading NFTs on Ethereum. In August 2021, Immutable X started to sell IMX, its native token, on Coinlist. In the following two months, Gods Unchained and Guild of Guardians, two games developed by the Immutable X team, also started selling their tokens, GODS and GOG, on Coinlist.

Statistics

Immutable X adopts ZK-Rollup, a technology developed by StarkWare. This means that users could have their ERC-20 tokens and ERC-721 NFTs transferred from Ethereum to the Immutable X network simply by paying gas fees on Ethereum only, allowing them to benefit from fast transactions (9,000+ TPS) and zero transaction fees.

However, at the moment, users have to pay Primary Sales Fee (2%), Trading Fee (2%) and Royalty Fee when minting or trading NFT on Immutable X. It now supports a number of ERC-20 tokens across different public chains, including ETH, IMX, GODS and USDC. Moreover, although Immutable X does not support ERC-721 tokens across different public chains, users can trade and purchase such NFT assets issued on Immutable X.

As a Layer 2 protocol designed as a scaling solution for trading NFTs, Immutable X features three types of applications: NFT marketplaces, NFT collectibles, and games. According to the relevant public information, Immutable X offers 15 games. In particular, Gods Unchained, Guild of Guardians, and Highrise, all of which are included by Dappradar, now all boast over 3,000 daily active users.

Features
Generally speaking, Immutable X comes with seven features:
1. ZK-Rollup’s scaling engine keeps the Ethereum level secure while meeting the demand for the fast minting, transfer and transaction of mainstream NFTs at low costs;
2. API abstraction layer makes every interaction on Immutable X as simple as an API call;
3. The NFT wallet allows users to stay on the Ethereum network via an intermediate layer, instead of switching networks;
4. Immutable X’s SDKs now allow developers to easily access Immutable X API and wallets, and will support various programming languages and such development platforms as Android, iOS, Unity and Unreal;
5. Shared liquidity and orderbook enable Immutable X to have more trading platforms;
6. Compliance support including copyright and AML/KYC makes it easier for large companies to enter the NFT field;
7. Immutable X offers a default trading platform and a transaction history explorer.

Games on Immutable X

Generally speaking, games on Immutable X also support Ethereum. Plus, they all feature NFT and P2E elements. In particular, Gods Unchained and Guild of Guardians, both games developed by the Immutable X team, have built highly active communities. The NFT assets of Gods Unchained, Guild of Guardians, and Highrise now rank top 3 on Immutable X in terms of the NFT trading volume, according to Immutascan.



1) Highrise

With over 10 million members, Highrise is a mobile-first metaverse available on iOS and Android devices. In Highrise, players can create rooms, style avatars, trade virtual items, and socialize. In October 2021, Highrise announced its first program backed by blockchain technology: the Highrise Creature Club (HCC), which issued an NFT collection of 11,111 creatures. Ownership of a Highrise NFT will give you the following privileges:
(1) Wear creature outfits in the game; (2) Access to the HCC space (an exclusive Creature Club) in the game; (3) Breed additional Highrise Club collections; (4) Airdrops of future items and a spot on the shortlist for distribution of future NFTs; (5) Unlock SkyPass.
Plus, there will be new HCC functions, including land sale, breeding new collectibles, in-game minting, official marketplace, and Highrise tokens for P2E.



2) VYWorlds

As a Web3.0 gaming platform focusing on Play to Earn and Create to Earn models, VYWorlds has an ecosystem that covers three major elements:
(1) Vy: collectibles and playable NFT toys, each of which is unique on the blockchain;
(2) Vy Worlds: a platform incorporating playable game worlds and game world creation;
(3) Vy Society: a social and economic system.
Apart from this, the project also offers five major assets:
(1) VyNFT: the game avatar;
(2) Game Block NFT: assets used to create game worlds;
(3) Game World NFT: Games built by creators;
(4) Game Tokens (PLAY): tokens earned by playing games;
(5) Governance Tokens ($VYT): tokens used for governance voting;
(6) Social tokens: non-tradable built-in achievement rewards.
The project now remains in the Pre-Alpha stage. It is expected that Vy World will distribute its NFTs in the first quarter of 2022. By then, the creation tools and the game will be available to NFT holders. Vy World is expected to be officially launched in next May or June.