Building a sustainable Web3 esports mobile platform
In 2017, when my company Emoji Games decided to jump into blockchain gaming, I had to find a good answer to justify my decision to drive my whole team into this unexplored new path, leaving my 15-year legacy in the traditional gaming industry behind. At that time, I found the statement below as the answer to the question, “Why blockchain gaming?’
“Digital gaming assets ownership and its transparent trading among P2P”
As of April 2022, we witnessed that the NFT gaming or Gamfi or blockchain Play2Earn gaming market (whatever you name it) has grown so much since last year. It tells me that my decision in 2017 was the right one.
But one still wonders -What makes this blockchain gaming/Play2Earn sustainable?
Bottom-line Issues for today’s Esports P2E NFT mobile gaming platform
Regardless of blockchain gaming or non-blockchain gaming, building a sustainable esports platform requires fair gaming rules and their enforcement to get credits from the users and to be able to give out fair prizes to winners. That means centralized governance is necessary to implement and enforce fair gaming rules.
Commonly, any player can use their most mean tactics in order to win the game and some prizes. The worst scenario happens when the developer manipulates the scores, minimizing the winning chance of organic players to maximize their profit.
In the blockchain gaming world, the consequences can be dire. We need to be alert to scammers all the time, and the governing body should keep on monitoring and coming up with the most up-to-date prevention measures to maintain the Esports platform sound and fair for everyone. The reality of today’s blockchain gaming is that players use these games as sources of income, so the developer shouldn’t be surprised that there are always users who won’t stop cheating or manipulating whenever any loophole is detected.
Often, a bigger issue from the developers’ side is that these games can easily turn into Ponzi scheme-like projects, especially since most gamers are focused on investing in assets and exploiting the game for financial purposes rather than enjoying the fun parts. Common business model of NFT P2E games today is “Pay to Win” so you are required to buy and invest in their NFT assets before even starting the game, whereas Pocket Arena’s play model is Free-To-Play-To-Earn.
Connecting Metamask wallets often work under PC. There are many restrictions and hurdles on mobile to connect your wallet whilst you are playing games. Still, the majority of players are not familiar with Metamask wallets. The first-time setting can be a bit scary, and the hacking threat always looms no matter what. Yet our statistics say that more than 70% of users play our Castle Defense on mobile.
Today, my question has got to the next level — How can one build a healthy and sustainable Web3 Esports mobile platform, solving all the bottom-line issues?
Is the P2E game really sustainable in the long run?
How can one make this Web3 gaming platform profitable for all stakeholders (the developer/investor/players)?
Is it really necessary to play games on-chain all the time?
How to push up players’ mining token’s price, preventing inflation — single tokenomics or dual tokenomics?
POC utility and burning mechanism
Here are the answers from my experiences (after trials and errors) with Pocket Arena.
Today Pocket Arena runs on a database and Hyperledger, which is a private blockchain. If a user wins enough XP by playing Castle Defense, the XP can be converted to POC, and POC can be cashed out; POC is the ERC20/BEP20 utility token of Pocket Arena.
There are upcoming major utilities of POC to be burned within this game, such as upgrading Castle, trading Castles, and Strategy trading. Also, all the NFTs in Castle Town (NFT Emoji Avatar, NFT deco items, NFT buildings, etc.) will be using POC for their trading. This Pocket Metaverse is another social interaction Metaverse where more POC burning mechanisms will be in place and the unique social values are added.
However, one can still wonder if these mentioned utilities are enough to prevent the inflation? Considering most players are dumping the mining token for their daily living, and soon there will be more and more players who want to play and mine on this platform which will cause more inflation?
Another huge utility of POC — NFT gaming assets on Ethereum side-chain
Instead of dual tokenomics, I decided single tokenomics but add more utility to POC to find this balance between players and investors.
True ownership of the gaming assets will be realized when the gaming assets can be transferred on-chain and tradable freely among Peer2Peer by decentralization. That is the reason the Pocket Arena team has been researching and developing the Ethereum side-chain; this ETH layer 2 network is temporarily named Falk, whilst current NFTs are under the Hyperledger Fabric.
Thus, POC will have another big utility for its network gas fee, and the Falk will also be used for other NFT video game assets that need the ETH side-chain for their NFTs in order to expand the ecosystem. Our Castle Defense and other PA games will be the first show cased-dapps to demonstrate this Falk Side-chain.
That’s the way that POC prices can be continuously pushed up and balanced out, preventing inflation by adding bigger utility-burning mechanisms for its network gas fee.
Pocket Arena functioning with 4 layers of tech stack
The Pocket Arena as Web3 Esports mobile gaming platform would have these 4 different tech layers as the diagram above, which can be a cumbersome structure for developers, but it is the most secure, low gas fee, and user-friendly architect structure for users. Users do not need to know what technologies are used underneath.
From users’ point of view, multi-chain support ( ETH and BSC), low gas fee & fast speed without compromising security would be the most important factors which Pocket Arena 4-layered tech stack will be covering up.
Big lesson for the security of Web3 gaming assets
The recent $600M hacking incident of Ronin Network gave us a big alarm and lesson on how to architect and maintain the blockchain games’ digital assets.
This costly lesson is that we should never compromise the security level for validator nodes for transaction speed, especially when you are depositing millions of public funds. Normally this kind of crypto deposit triggers a license in most developed countries.
The validator’s server location also matters. Hackers can easily target cloud servers. Using institutional-grade servers in different locations in high-security countries could be a good approach with the integration of cold wallet storage.
Our Pocket Arena HQ team is located in Switzerland. The most peace-of-mind approach would be to locate cold storage of crypto assets in Switzerland with a multi-signature process. In addition, we are in the process of applying for a licence of the wallet depository from an European Economic Area country to be prepared for the tightening of travel rules worldwide by FATF and to protect users from these kinds of hacking incidents.
On top of having the security measures and license in place, the blockchain tech stack of Pocket Arena with Ethereum side-chain FALK would provide a great value for gamers who still enjoy an easy and fun gaming experience, ensuring minimum gas fee, safe on-chain asset transfer and true ownerships.
We aim to release the Beta version of Falk in the 2022 summertime.
CEO, Hyong Kim
Castle Defense Pro-Tips
Castle Power-up Features
Castle Shield and the Castle HP are highly beneficial features of the game. When you use the Castle Shield feature, your Castle is surrounded by an energy shield that renders any attack towards it useless for 10 seconds. As for the Castle HP feature, as the name suggests, it restores the Castle health to full.
By using these features, one can stall an opponent’s attacks, recover from the damage, and plan and strategize accordingly in order to win.
Note: Instead of spending 2XP per feature, players will have to spend 6XP now.
Efficiently Revive Your Troop Using the Pause Button
Always prefer reviving your defenders rather than replacing them with new ones as reviving costs less e-coins. When it comes to reviving though, make use of the pause button before to buy more time in order to recover from the damages.
Fill out the e-Coin Pools
As you might be aware by now, e-coins are crucial in deploying troops. The more you have it, the better your defense will be as you will be earning 0.5 e-coins every 3 seconds. So wherever you see the spot to install an e-coin pool, do it; install them as early as possible.
Early Attack Indicators
After each wave, you will see a few attack indicators scattered over your screen. By tapping on one of them, you basically allow the next wave to begin before time. By doing so, you earn extra e-coins in the process.
Note: Keep in mind that if your troops are all defeated and your Castle XP fully depleted at the end of a wave, it is wise to recover before you tap the attack indicators.
Customize XP Sharing
In Contract settings, you can customize the XP sharing system in favor of the potential renters in order to get more applications for your castle. You can then choose the most qualified player to rent the castle.
aPOC Withdrawal Policy
On account of many wPOC being exploited by bots/macro/multitap users, we have come up with the concept of aPOC in order to sustain a healthy ecosystem for Pocket Arena.
aPOC is nothing but those wPOC which have undergone a prudent audit. Initially it was announced that aPOC will also require KYC process, but the team at Pocket Arena has decided not to conduct the KYC process for the time being.
That being said, we have come up with the following withdrawal requirements and policies:
Important Things to Note
- For every withdrawal that follows the first withdrawal, the user must have a different Metamask account; a different Metamask wallet address will be used every time. The user must create up to 10 Metamask wallet addresses and withdraw via them every week. After the 10th withdrawal, the user can withdraw from the first Metamask account again. So, you see — the withdrawal process follows a cycle of 10 addresses and after the 10th attempt, the cycle shall repeat itself.
- The POC address must be an Ethereum address that supports BEP20 and BSC Network. Until POC is listed in centralised exchanges such as Binanace, Kucoin etc., please use Metamask only.
- 5 POC must be kept in the POC wallet addresses at ALL TIMES until the next withdrawal request. If one of the POC wallet addresses has less than 5 POC, the user must wait a min. 7 days in order to enable the next withdrawal.
- The withdrawal threshold per request per week is 50 POC. The withdrawal fee is 3 POC per request and that 3 POC must be paid with Metamask separately.
The audit will be carried as per the following rules:
XPs earned from playing max 20 times per hour is allowed. (ok)
XPs earned from playing more than 20 times per hour is cancelled (not ok)
In case that you would like to appeal this audit result, you can do so by sending the relevant proof and explanations to service@pocketarena.com
However, please note that once the appeal case has been submitted, your withdrawal may be delayed for an indefinite period of time until the appeal process is officially closed.
Key Features of Pocket Metaverse in Castle Town
To revisit the concept of NFT Castle Town, NFT Castle Town in the virtual city of Luzern is an exclusive area for peace and commercial activities.
Forest, Desert, Snow and Fantasy are meant for battle activities, whereas castle town will be an area where inhabitants can settle down and go about their lives in this Pocket Arena Metaverse
As published in our previous article, this NFT Castle Town will constitute an infrastructure of a real-world castle town. This means there will be government buildings, recreation centers and essential services buildings to facilitate a better way of living.
- NFT Castle Town will act as the basis of the Pocket Arena Metaverse.
- The virtual city of Luzern will depict NFT Castle Town where inhabitants in this virtual space can go about their daily activities.
- Users’ representation will be in the form of avatars known as NFT Emoji Avatars.
- 155 plots are allocated for NFT Castle Town where these buildings will be located.
The above map depicts NFT Castle Town, where in the highlighted areas show the developments in progress. These areas mostly consist of governmental, leisure, and business centric buildings that will open up.
Different colors represent different types of building in the Castle Town. For instance, the ones in blue represent government premises like Town hall, Police Station and Central Station. The ones in pink are buildings that provide essential services as it pertains to the game. Green ones are housing properties whereas yellow areas are for buildings used for socializing and engaging.
Key Features:
As you can see, a lot of thought has been put into making a commercial environment that caters to different needs and requirements. Here are the key features to look out:
1. Each building will be NFT-based and some commercial as well as residential buildings will be available for sale.
2. Each building will have gamification elements wherein POC earning/burning mechanisms are embedded. Our current set of casual PA games will be customized and integrated within Castle Town.
3. Brands will be invited to build their own NFT brand buildings & branded mini-games.
4. Chatting will be implemented in the Castle Town for social interaction.
5. Blacksmith shop & pharmacy will be specially utilized to create/sharpen tools and replenish energies respectively, for Castle Arena battles.
6. Map decoration shops will be opened
7. And last but not least, all entrants of Castle Town will wear “Emoji Avatars”. Two basic avatars (Yellow/Blue) will be given as default. The NFT emoji avatar owners will have exclusive look & feel that reflect their own personalities along with exclusive benefits in NFT buildings.
How to Earn Max XP — Efficiently and Effectively
Do you want to know how you can earn XP in an effective way?
In this article we will talk about the best methods to earn max XP. We have compiled 6 steps which will help you achieve your goal of earning XP and will help you become a better player in Castle Arena.
As a player, you start earning XP by playing Castle Defense and Castle Arena. But not all XP can be immediately converted to POC. The XP which is eligible to be converted is acquired by winning battles in Castle Arena. Follow the steps below to see how you can earn max XP.
1. Get maximum daily XP in Castle Defense.
To get enough XP to play in Castle Arena, try to meet the daily XP cap of 250 XP per day from PVE Stages and Daily Challenges. XP won in Castle Defense will help you play in Castle Arena.
2. Attack as many castles as you can
You will gain more XP if you attack more castles in Castle Arena. Your XP entry fee will be refunded and you will also get the defender’s XP entry fee and land.
3. Defend your castle all the time
You gain XP for each successful defense. If you defend successfully, you will receive your XP entry fee back, as well as the attacker’s entry fee.
4. Conquer more lands
You gain more lands by successfully attacking castles. In the Public Pool, more lands equals higher XP sharing.
5. Use player XP to play more battles in Castle Arena
Every victory earns a player more XP. Let’s talk about a player share of 85%!
6. Unlimited Play, Unlimited XP
You get to choose how much XP you wish to earn every day. The sky isn’t even the limit!
Exchange your earned XP to POC
Once your attacks and defense are successful you will earn tXP. Ultimately this is the XP that can be exchanged for POC.
The exchange rate between XP and POC varies from time to time, but the current XP rate at the time of writing this article is 30 XP = 1 POC.
To put it in simple terms, XP earned in Castle Arena and other Casual Games has its use only in Castle Arena. XP that can be exchanged to POC is earned only by winning battles in Castle Arena.