Onchain Games I Played This Month: August

It seems like there are new on-chain games every day. Through this series with Iskra, I'll be reviewing various on-chain games that are released or available for playtesting that month. Please keep in mind that my thoughts on these games are very personal, and if you have a favorite on-chain game you'd like to see me review, please let me know on Twitter.

1. Sparkball

1.1 Summary

Sparkball is a half-MOBA, half-Brawler, and 4v4 game created by Worldspark Studios that blends elements of Rocket League and League of Legends. The goal of Sparkball is to score goals into the opponent's goal, and the game also offers the ability to purchase in-game items and attack opponents. Some cosmetic items can be traded as NFTs, but the game does not appear to have a separate tokenized economic model. The game is currently in early access and some elements are still unfinished, but it promises to be a lot of fun.

1.2 Game Introduction

Sparkball is a game created by Worldspark Studios and is a half-MOBA, half-Brawler game that feels like a cross between League of Legends and Rocket League. Sparkball is played 4v4, and the goal of the game is to score goals into your opponent's goal. Being an OCM (Optional Cosmetic Mint) model, chains are not directly used in gameplay, but some skins are currently implemented as NFTs on top of polygonal chains.The second round of early access is taking place from August 4-7, with an official launch date yet to be announced.

1.3 Team Background

Worldspark Studios, the creator of Sparkball, is a game studio comprised of former AAA game studios such as Riot Games, Bungie, and Blizzard, and in February 2022 raised $3M in seed funding from Animoca Brands, Shima Capital, Alameda Ventures, Jump Capital, AAG Ventures, Sfermion, and YGGSEA. Sparkball is the first game produced by Worldspark Studio, which was originally named Edenbrawl.

Sparkadia is a game universe and IP being created by Worldspark Studios, and Sparkball will be the first of many games the studio will produce in the Sparkadia universe. Worldspark Studios emphasizes that Sparkadia does not function as a product. Sparkadia exists to support and enhance the gameplay experience of the various games produced by Worldspark Studios, but it does not function as a game or product in its own right.

Sparkadia is not just a game, but a transmedia IP with books, comics, and anime, and the first book, "GloKat and the Art of Timing" is currently available on Amazon.

1.4 Gameplay

The goal of Sparkball is to eventually score a goal in the opponent's goal, but you can attack your teammates along the way. Ultimate moves are unleashed by acquiring objects called Ultimate Objects or dealing damage to your opponents. Destroying crates or knocking out opponents earns you gold, which you can use to purchase items.

As for the ball, it attaches itself to your character when you get close to it, and you can kick it in a targeted direction. You shouldn't hold onto the ball for too long, as it accumulates a fatigue meter from the moment you start holding onto it, and when it runs out, you'll immediately lose the ball. To reach your opponent's goal, you must first deactivate their energy tower, and finally knock out or avoid the goalie to get the ball into the goal.

I participated in the second round of Early Assault, which ran from August 4 to August 7. In my hands-on experience, the atmosphere is definitely similar to Rocket League, and the combat elements of buying items and attacking reminded me a lot of League of Legends. Sparkball's gameplay can be a bit hectic for some people. My only complaints are that you can't set the mouse sensitivity, and the game gets a little loose after a tied game goes into overtime, but overall it's not too bad.

1.5 On-Chain Elements

In the case of Sparkball, only a few cosmetic items are sold or traded as NFTs. Most of the cosmetic aesthetics can be purchased through the in-game store like in traditional games, and cannot be traded separately. Currently, a skin for one of the characters, Kana, called Ascended Kana, is available to the public.

1.6 Economic Model

At this time, Sparkball will not have a separate tokenized economic model.

1.7 Community

Currently, Sparkadia's discord server has been boosted a total of 11 times, which is not bad. There seems to be a steady stream of feedback during the early access period. On August 5, the Discord server was hacked, and there are still announcements of fake token claims by the hackers, but the issue hasn't been resolved, and it seems that quite a few community members who clicked on the link have been affected.

1.8 Overall

Sparkball, the first game from the Sparkadia IP, is a mix of the Rocket League and League of Legends games we're all familiar with, and while it looks like it's going to be a lot of fun, there are a few things that are a little disappointing at this point in Early Access. Personally, I think Sparkball's OCM model fits the game's personality, and I think the character skins need to aggressively market the Sparkadia IP in order to appeal to players.

1.9 References

• Introducing Sparkadia - brand new gameplay footage and our first NFT Collection (including free stuff!)

• Worldspark Studios Raises $3M for NFT Games From Riot, Bungie Veterans

• Sparkadia Gitbook

• Let's play Sparkball! Getting Started + Tutorial

2. Kamigotchi

2.1 Summary

Kamigotchi is a FOC (Fully Onchain) RPG game developed by Asphodel Studio, where the concept is to farm tokens by exploring various rooms with your pet Kamigotchi. Each Kamigotchi has specific stats and types, and you use their traits and characteristics to progress through the game. All of the game's logic is implemented on-chain, and there's a native token called $KAMI, which will be used in-game and act as a governance token for the game itself. While the game is currently simple, the potential for adding more content is exciting.

2.2 Game Introduction

Kamigotchi is a FOC (Fully Onchain) game created by Asphodel Studio that is an RPG game where you explore an on-chain world with your pet called Kamigotchi. It was originally intended to use Canto, a Cosmos-based Alt-L1, but Optimism was ultimately chosen. The game will be built on the MUD v2 framework and will soon be available for Kamigotchi minting and public playtesting.

2.3 Team Background

Information about the team behind Kamigotchi, Asphodel Studio, is hard to find, except that they previously created an on-chain game of the same name, Asphodel.

2.4 Gameplay

First of all, Kamigotchi's map consists of several rooms, each of which costs stamina to move through. Each room has different characteristics, for example, a "Vending Machine" where you can mint Kamigotchi for $KAMI, and a "Node" where you can use Kamigotchi to earn tokens called $MUSU.

Kamigotchi are like on-chain pets, coming in one of four types: Normal, Insect, Eerie, and Scrap, and like Pokémon, each type is compatible with the other. Kamigotchi have four basic stats: Health, Power, Violence, and Harmony.

• Health: A Kamigotchi's health, which is consumed when it harvests $MUSU from a Node. Health can be restored through food.

• Power: The efficiency of harvesting $MUSU from Nodes, with Kamagotchi with higher Power earning more $MUSU in the same amount of time.

• Violence & Harmony: Node allows Kamigotchi currently harvesting $MUSU to attack each other, where Violence refers to offense and Harmony refers to defense.

After playing, as the game hasn't officially launched yet, so there's not a lot to play right away, but I think it has a lot of potential. I don't know what features will be added when the game is actually launched, but I think it will be much more interesting if various elements such as quests, breeding, and PvP centered on Kamigotchi are added.

2.5 On-chain elements

All of the game's logic is implemented on-chain (in the case of chat, through a centralized server). On the right side of the game screen, you can see a window called "TX Queue" that shows you what transactions you've made and their status (pending, passed, failed).

Like most on-chain games, Kamigotchi uses session keys. When you first connect to Kamigotchi, it creates a new operator address, whose private key is stored in your browser, allowing you to perform in-game transactions without signing anything. Account-level transactions, such as transferring assets, require the signature of the actual wallet address, not the operator address.

2.6 Economic Model

Kamigotchi is expected to have an in-game token called $KAMI, which can only be earned in-game by mathing Kamigotchi on Node, and is expected to be used primarily to purchase in-game items, mint Kamigotchi, and power up Kamigotchi. The initial development of Kamigotchi will be done by Asphodel Studio, but the game will be managed by KamiDAO, a DAO with $KAMI as the voting currency.

Kamigotchi will also be minted in the form of NFTs, so there will probably only be a finite number of Kamigotchi.

In-game, the token that Kamigotchi earn on Node is $MUSU, so it's unclear if $MUSU is a renamed $KAMI, a testnet name, or a change to a dual token model. We'll find out at the official launch.

2.7 Community

Kamigotchi does not have its own discord, but is included in the Asphodel Studios discord. Asphodel Studios' discord currently has a total of 6 boosts, and the community is expected to develop further with a full-scale playtest or official launch event.

2.8 Overall

The idea of farming tokens while exploring a map with a pet called Kamigotchi seems pretty simple right now. However, I'm excited to see what the future holds as there seems to be an endless amount of content that can be added to the game, and I think that just as CryptoKitties succeeded in creating a bond with its pet, Kamigotchi could do the same.

2.9 References

• ポケモンライクな育成系オンチェーンゲーム「Kamigotchi」の概要と、web3ゲームにおけるModカルチャーや改変行為などについて考察

• Introducing Kamigotchi

3. Norma in Metaland

3.1 Summary

Norma in Metaland is a cooking simulator game created by Grampus CWC and based on Klaytn. In order to make money, users have to cook the food that their customers want in a limited amount of time. The game has two modes: Story Mode and World Chef Championship (WCC), where users can purchase tickets to participate and win prizes based on their ranking. The game features on-chain assets such as $GRAM, $CANDY, and Norma NFTs.

3.2 Game Introduction

Norma in Metaland (NIM) is a cooking simulator game that combines on-chain elements launched by Grampus CWC. It uses Klaytn as its underlying chain and was officially launched on July 31st of this year through the Iskra platform.

3.3 Team Background

GRAMPUS CWC, the creator of NIM, is a blockchain game subsidiary of GRAMPUS. GRAMPUS is a game studio founded in January 2014 in Seoul, Korea, and has launched games such as Cooking Adventure and My Little Chef in the past, and NIM is actually an on-chain reboot of those games. Cooking Adventure has amassed over 30M+ cumulative downloads since launch, and My Little Chef has generated over $825K in cumulative revenue and over 285K in cumulative downloads in the past year, despite being over 6 years old. GRAMPUS raised a total of $7.6M in Series B funding from GXC and Kaura on May 30, 2022, and has raised approximately $15M to date.

3.4 Gameplay

How the game works

NIM's game is simple: serve customers what they want within a time limit, and make enough money. Customers request the food they want, and you must use the ingredients and items in your kitchen to complete and deliver it to them within the time limit. If you don't make it in time, customers will complain and leave. All of the action in the game is done by clicking, dragging, and dropping, which can make the game feel too easy at first, but as you progress through the stages, the difficulty increases. The more customers you have and the more complicated the recipes, the more your hands will be tied, requiring both a fast-reaction physical skill and a cerebral skill to optimize every step of the process.

Game Modes

There are two main ways to play NIM, the first being a story mode where you complete stages linearly to unlock the next restaurant. Each stage requires you to consume vitamins, and successful completion of the stage rewards you with a Chef Star, in-game currency, Cony, and $CANDY. Starting with the first restaurant, a steakhouse, you can unlock the next restaurant by completing each restaurant's stage and increasing your chef level. There are currently 8 restaurants in total, but the original Cooking Adventure game already had over 50 restaurants, so there will be more to come. To level up your chef, you'll need chef stars, which means you'll need to successfully serve your guests. Each new restaurant has a different theme and different dishes to prepare, so you can play the game casually for a long time without getting bored. After completing the final stage of each restaurant, you'll unlock a mode called Master Mode, which is harder than the original but more rewarding, and there are also submissions, so you can earn extra Cony for solving them.

The second is the World Chef Championship (WCC). The WCC is held weekly, and players can purchase tickets to participate in the competition and win prizes based on their placement. Three restaurants are selected each season, which are voted on by NIM's governance token, $GRAM.

Upgrade

To progress in the story or perform well in the WCC, you need to upgrade your ingredients, cooking utensils, and interiors, and you need Cony and $CANDY.

• By upgrading your ingredients, you can earn more money per dish, which leads to more sales. Revenue determines the number of Chef Stars.

• Upgrading your cooking tools will increase your cooking speed, so you can fulfill your customers' needs faster.

• Upgrading the interior increases the overall opening hours and the amount of time customers can wait for their food.

The first few stages can be completed without upgrades, depending on your skill level, but as the minimum time to prepare each dish increases and the revenue targets get higher and higher, upgrades become a necessity.

3.5 Onchain Elements

NIM is an Onchain Asset game, and there are three main assets on-chain: $GRAM, $CANDY, and Norma NFT. Each asset will be described in more detail in the 'Economic Model' section below.

3.6 Economic Model

In-Game Assets

The format below is adapted from @nghtshft_eth's Portal Fantasy Deep Dive.

Core Game Loop

3.7 Community

Currently, NIM's Discord has seen a total of 6 boosts, so it's hard to say that a solid community has formed yet. Currently, Discord is mainly used to communicate community and in-game events, and since there is no on-chain governance system in place yet, it seems that restaurants are selected for inclusion in WCW through a voting function within Discord.

3.8 Overall

NIM is an on-chain reboot of an existing successful cooking simulator game, so the gameplay has been proven to some extent. It will be interesting to see what kind of additional experience the on-chain element can provide to users, but it's still early days for the game, so we'll have to wait and see. Also, the game is now available on mobile via Google Play, and since casual games are better suited for mobile than for browsers, I wonder if this will help it reach a wider audience.

The only thing you can actually 'EARN' in this game is a high ranking in WCW, which means you have to buy a ticket to attend WCW, and you can only win a portion of the prize money through your performance, so NIM can be considered more of a R2E (Risk to Earn) genre than a traditional reckless P2E.

3.9 References

• Norma in Metaland

• Whitepaper

4. Shoshin

4.1 Summary

Shoshin is an asynchronous 2D strategy fighting game developed by Topology. It utilizes the game's signature feature, "mind," to plan your strategy so that your characters can fight accordingly. Shoshin offers two modes, Campaign and Arcade, and while it's still in alpha, with limited characters and story, it's still easy to learn and offers strategic depth. A PvP mode is expected to be introduced in the future, which will provide even more excitement and fun.

4.2 About the game

Shoshin is an asynchronous 2D strategic fighting game created by Topology. It is currently available for direct play and all game loops, except for graphics, run on CairoVM. CairoVM runs on the client-side, in the user's browser, not on the blockchain, and its actions can be verified on-chain through ZKP technology.

4.3 Team Background

Topology is a team that believes in the future of Onchain Reality and has been trying to implement digital physics on-chain. From simple physics simulations to small neural networks, they have been trying to create verifiable computations in CairoVM. The founder of Topology is guiltygyoza, and I personally found his articles very helpful in understanding FOCG/AW.

In the summer of 2022, the team developed Isacc, the first FOCG on Starknet. Isacc is a game inspired by the novel The Three-Body Problem, in which users must cooperate with each other to coordinate the path of an 'EV' planet so that it can survive. The game was shut down due to TPS issues and the fact that it was not suitable for blockchain.

After Isacc, he created an on-chain puzzle game called MuMu. In MuMu, players are tasked with transforming various ingredients according to given conditions and formulas. Players must formulate a command called "spirit" and eventually send a fire emoji to the sink. The less time it takes, the higher the score.

4.4 Gameplay

The key to Shoshin gameplay is 'mind'. Just as when we fight in real life, we first strategize about various conditions in our heads before taking action, the mind allows us to strategize in our characters' heads, and the characters fight their opponents according to that strategy. As mentioned earlier, the mind is composed of conditions and actions, with multiple layers stacked on top of each other.

For example, in the image below, mind is designed so that 1) if the opponent is down, I will land a low kick, 2) if my rage is above 500, I will use a move called Cyclone, 3) if the opponent's rage is above 500, I will fall backwards, 4) if the distance is above 80, I will move forward, and 5) if the distance is within 80, I will use a move called Block. The order of the layers is also important, as they are read from top to bottom.

Once the mind was designed, the characters began to fight when the play button was pressed. Since Shoshin is a simulation and strategy game in the guise of a fighting game, you can rewind every frame of the game, just like you can rewind a movie.

First off, there are two main modes in Shoshin: Campaign and Arcade. The difference between the two modes is that Campaign, as mentioned earlier, is all about designing strategies using your mind, while Arcade is all about using the keyboard like a regular fighting game. There's not much to do in either mode right now. There are only two characters and not much of a story. However, this is probably to be expected since Shoshin is an alpha title. Another disappointment is that the moment you hit play in the campaign mode, you know if you've won or lost, which takes some of the suspense out of the simulation.

What I'm looking forward to is that the tutorial is really good, so anyone can learn the game easily, but the depth of strategy can be infinite, so it seems to be a typical easy to learn, but hard to master game. Also, since it's a fighting game, I think it will have a lot more traction if a PvP mode is introduced, and since it's an on-chain game, it will be more fun if you can put stakes.

4.5 On-chain elements

All of Shoshin's logic, except for the graphics, is implemented in CairoVM. It was originally written in Cairo 0, but has been rewritten, or is expected to be rewritten, to Cairo 1.0. Note that Cairo is the high-level language used by Starknet, and has the property of verifiable computation.

4.6 Economic Model

No economic model exists within Shosin at this time.

4.7 Community

Currently, Topology, the creator of Shosin, has boosted a total of 0 discords, so there is not much activity in the discord. However, Topology founder guiltygyoza's influence and presence in the FOCG/AW space is significant, so if you're interested in the sector, you're potentially a member of the Topology community.

4.8 Overall

I found it interesting that Shoshin is a strategy & simulation game in the guise of a fighting game, whereas most FOCGs are essentially board games, and as I mentioned earlier, I think it would be much more interesting if it allowed PvP between users rather than single player. In fact, they recently ran a Shoshin tournament for IRL participants at the Standford Crypto Blockchain Week. As a single-player, non-PvP game, the novelty of the game may initially attract users, but it doesn't seem to have enough content to last.

4.9 References

• Guiltygyoza - Shoshin: Verifiable Battle of the Minds | StarkSeoul 2023

• What happened to Isaac?

• Shoshin

• Breaking away from the coin governance model｜Topology's overview of Starknet's on-chain game "Isaac" explained

• An overview of the on-chain puzzle game "MuMu"｜Explaining the advocacy of a knowledge contribution model through the Solve 2 Mint system and the feasibility of an ecosystem where humans and bots coexist

• Shoshin: provable automatic fighting game - guiltygyoza (Topology)

5. Portal Fantasy

5.1 Summary

Portal Fantasy is a Pixel RPG game where you explore with a character named Porble, much like Pokémon. You can play the game in two roles, Hero and Architect, and it also supports an NFT-based on-chain mode. The team is made up of people from the gaming and media industries, and the gameplay is similar to Pokémon, but with unique elements. The team plans to monetize the game through on-chain elements and economic models, and is also working on activities through Discord and Naver Webtoon. The game has nostalgic value for users who love Pokémon, and it is also attractive to new users due to its unique gameplay.

5.2 Game Introduction

Portal Fantasy is a pixel RPG game in which Porbles exist in the world of Portal Fantasy, just as Pokémon exist in the world of Pokémon. Players can choose to play one of two roles: Hero, who explores the world with their Porble, or Architect, who designs and builds the world. Portal Fantasy is free-to-play with no on-chain elements, but requires Hero or Architect NFTs to play in the on-chain mode, which will be discussed later. The game is currently browser-based, but the team is looking to expand to mobile in the future, with a planned launch in Q4 2023.

5.3 Team Background

The Portal Fantasy team is made up of algorithmic traders and people from the traditional gaming and media industry, such as Ubisoft and Disney. Portal Fantasy closed seed funding on April 1, 2022 from Blizzard Fund, YGG SEA, Makers Fund, and others.

5.4 Gameplay

I was able to play Portal Fantasy through the Early Access program. While I was only able to play as the Hero, catching, battling, and growing Porbles strongly reminded me of the Pokémon games, and the pixelated graphics and maps were strangely reminiscent of the old Game Boy games.

Of course, there were plenty of differences.

• Battle mechanics: Unlike Pokémon, where all attacks are skill-based, Portal Fantasy has a basic attack, and you can unleash a skill by collecting mana through the basic attack. You can also activate something called Reckless Mode, which allows you to use only your basic attacks, but with more damage.

• Quests: Whereas Pokémon is all about running around the gym and collecting badges, Portal Fantasy follows a main quest.

• Puzzles: While there are definitely puzzle elements in Pokémon, Portal Fantasy emphasizes them more. In Portal Fantasy, stepping on a thorn or falling from a poor jump will deplete your Porble's health.

• Recovery: In Pokémon, when Pokémon are stunned, they can be healed at the hospital, but in Portal Fantasy, Porbles have a cooldown period of about 28 minutes after being stunned, during which they have to wait to regain their health.

So in conclusion, I had fun playing. It's most likely calibrated by my memories of playing Pokémon on Gameboy as a kid, but the differences between the familiar game style and Portal Fantasy were enough to keep me interested. I also liked the pixelated art style, which is more to my liking. My only complaint is that I couldn't figure out how the on-chain elements worked in Early Access, and there were times when I had to stop playing and reload my browser vertically.

5.5 On-Chain Elements

As mentioned earlier, Portal Fantasy can be played without on-chain elements, and requires Hero or Architect NFTs to play in on-chain mode. In on-chain mode, it is expected that Heroes and Porbles can be minted as NFTs and traded on the marketplace. Portal Fantasy is using Avalanche Fuji and Mumbai Polygon in the closed beta, and will likely use Avalanche and Polygon at launch.

For now, they appear to have minted a Beta Pass, a few items, and a Porble called Obsidadile.

5.6 Economic Model

According to Portal Fantasy, monetization will be through in-game cosmetic item sales + marketplace transaction fees, and there are no plans to use its own token. Portal Fantasy's core in-game currency, ORBs, are awarded as in-game rewards and used to purchase items. Premium in-game actions, such as faster mana and Porble recovery and fusion between Porbles, will be available for purchase via $AVAX, $MATIC, or fiat.

Source: Portal Fantasy Deep Dive

5.7 Community

While Portal Fantasy's discord boosts are not very high, totaling 17, it is impressive that they are constantly trying to engage the community with events such as early access and in-game item giveaways. Also, one of the things that sets it apart from other games is its own webtoon. Currently, you can see Portal Fantasy's webcomic on Naver Webtoon Canvas, which is a challenge comic on Naver Webtoon in Korea, and the quality is better than I expected, so I think it will help create a stronger community.

5.8 Overall

Portal Fantasy is a nostalgic game for those who enjoyed playing Pokémon as a child, and its art and playstyle should be appealing to those who aren't familiar with the franchise. My only concern is that it's not clear why the on-chain element is necessary; I'm not sure if people will want to sell their Porbles on the marketplace if they're attached to them like pets.

5.9 References

• Portal Fantasy Deep Dive

• Official trailer

• Game play trailer

Thanks to Kate for designing the graphics for this article.

About Iskra

Iskra is a community-driven gaming platform that aims to bring together users and game studios in a collaborative ecosystem. Unlike traditional Web3 gaming platforms, Iskra focuses on building a community of gamers and developers who run the platform together. The platform's ultimate goal is to evolve into a fully decentralized gaming platform governed by the community.

Iskra Links

• Website

• Twitter

• Introducing Iskra