The State of Avalanche Subnet Gaming
Written by Edmund Tong
Brief Forward:
RE3W is developing a contributing writer program for aspiring gamefi and web3 gaming analysts. We’re early and building a new type of video game data and reporting business. That means we need to be on the forefront of fostering talent in our emerging industry. The following article is from one of our first contributing writers.
From Edmund Tong
Avalanche has been a critical topic of conversation in the web3 gaming community. Phrases such as"Avalanche subnets are the future of gaming" have become more prevalent.
So, what are subnets? Why has it drawn the attention of web3? What games are or planning to use their infrastructure in the future?
In this article, we’ll be going over:
A brief overview of Avalanche subnets
The rise of subnet gaming
The future of subnets and upcoming games releases
1. Brief overview of Avalanche subnets
Let's answer the most pressing question first - what exactly are Avalanche subnets? Is it a rollup like Arbitrum or Optimism? Is it a side-chain like Polygon or Ronin?
Subnets are a way of utilizing different sets of Avalanche validators to create brand new instances of the Avalanche blockchain. Each subnet is within the main Avalanche chain, but they will have their own validator set, their own gas currency, and their own security.
Simply, subnets allow games or other decentralized applications to leverage the existing Avalanche infrastructure and easily spin up their own blockchain environment, tailored to the needs of those specific users.
For web3 gaming to succeed sustainably in the long term, it must achieve the fluid user experience we see in traditional games today. As far as blockchain infrastructure goes, there are two elements that are non-negotiable:
High scalability
Low gas fees
High scalability is the ability of a blockchain to handle high network usage without compromising user experience. As successful as the recent Otherside demo was, the initial land sale was a disaster with respect to failed transactions. More than $157M in ETH was burned and wasted as users piled in, while the Ethereum network itself was clogged up for most of the day. Not the most optimal user experience.
Avalanche subnets are scalable because as mentioned previously, each will have its own validator set publishing transactions specific to that subnet only. If user1 was playing game A on subnet A and user2 was playing game B on subnet B, the network wouldn't have to share the same valuable validator resources to confirm and publish transactions - this would be done separately in various environments.
As an example, as of 19 May 2022, the two games currently live on Avalanche subnets handled over 250,000 and 400,000 transactions a day.
Low gas fees are also crucial to have a smooth gaming experience. Gamers will not pay a dollar (or more) every time the game demands crafting an in-game item.
This is where Avalanche subnets come in again. As an avid player of DeFi Kingdoms - the average transaction on the DFK chain costs around ~0.005 JEWEL (with each JEWEL around $0.2). This gas cost is significantly lower than the main Avalanche C-chain, or indeed any other chain used for gaming so far.
Now with that said, we’ve probably seen more than a dozen Twitter threads boasting about how using in-game currency as gas fees is utility, and that players should probably buy the token now before it goes to the moon.
The idea of buying tokens early for utility poses a question, how much value is the in-game token accruing if only a minuscule fraction of a cent is burnt per transaction? Speaking purely as a player of web3 games (and not as an investor), the user experience gained from having low gas fees triumphs any sort of token-burning utility (especially when the burn effect is almost negligible).
2. The rise of subnet gaming
There are two games currently already live on Avalanche subnets - DeFi Kingdoms (DFK Chain) and Crabada (Swimmer Network). Together, DFK and Swimmer make up half of the total amount of Avalanche's network usage - just as much as the main Avalanche C-Chain itself.
DeFi Kingdoms (DFK) Crystalvale:
Overview:
Originally hailing from Harmony ONE, DeFi Kingdoms Crystalvale is the latest expansion of DFK into the world of Avalanche subnets (DFK Chain). With the recent Harmony Horizon bridge exploits where $100M USD of user funds were stolen, a rapid migration from Harmony to DFK Chain has begun.
Gameplay:
DFK is an old-school medieval Final Fantasy-style game, featuring 8-bit style art and traditional RPG elements.
Since the initial mint of genesis heroes in October 2021, fans have been kicking and screaming for the launch of the combat system. * personal note…I'm sure my fellow DFK die-hards will join me in asking - wen combat?*
Unfortunately for now, aside from doing professional quests (mining, gardening, foraging, or fishing), which is essentially clicking your Metamask a couple of times to earn some in-game rewards, there hasn't been a whole lot of gameplay developed yet. There was a DFK Duel feature released recently, but even that is just a slightly more advanced version of rock-paper-scissors. What's more, dueling hasn't been released on Crystalvale yet!
In-game economy:
DFK features two in-game tokens, but don't be fooled that this is a dual-token system resembling the Axie Infinity model - JEWEL and CRYSTAL both align more with the one-token system (similar to ILV for Illuvium). It's just that they're on different chains (JEWEL for Harmony, CRYSTAL for DFK Chain). Both tokens have in-game utility, like summoning or leveling up heroes and can also be used for liquidity mining.
The emissions schedule for both tokens follows a similar pattern; A massive waterfall in the beginning to a half-closed tap in the end. Although the tokens are locked-up whenever they are claimed (to eventually go through year-long vesting), there is no doubt that the outrageous inflation, although helpful to attract attention to the game, ultimately contributed to the downfall of its price.
Heroes:
Heroes are the main playable characters of the DFK game, and conform to the traditional RPG-type roles, with Warriors, Thieves, Wizards, and others being available. Each hero also has their own stats (e.g. stamina, agility, intellect), which can be upgraded upon leveling up. Players can own multiple heroes and can summon more using the in-game tokens (so far it's through JEWEL only).
Pets:
Pets can be hatched from rare egg drops, of which there are currently five in variety. Aside from looking cute (some of them at least), pets are supposedly able to help Heroes out during combat or when questing, but this function has yet to be released.
Activity:
Daily active users and transactions both saw a massive spike near the end of Mar 2022 (the launch of Crystalvale), before gradually slowing down again. Activity began picking up again after the Harmony bridge exploit and more features were released on the DFK Chain. As of 26 Jul 2022, the daily transaction count is just over 530K, with over 3.1K active addresses.
Pros:
Die-hard player base
Will most likely receive the bulk of development attention post-Harmony exploit
Cons:
Lacking gameplay
Team treasury heavily affected by Harmony bridge exploit
Multiple controversies with the team (including being previously involved with rugpull projects, not fixing known bugs, and more)
Crabada
Overview:
Crabada is one of the first Avalanche-native games to generate massive hype, and definitely the first one to move from Avalanche to its own subnet.
Gameplay:
Currently available on PC, Mac, iOS, and Android, there are two main game modes to Crabada: active battle mode and idle mode (battle mining and looting).
As the name suggests, active battle allows players to pit their crabs (known as Crabada) against one another or against mobs to earn in-game rewards. Three Crabada are required to engage in combat, and the combat system is idle as well. A player only has to assemble their team in a strategic way, and the AI will take over the action.
The idle game mode allows players to send their Crabada on missions to earn in-game resources and experience for the Crabadas.
In-game currency:
Similar to the Axie Infinity model, Crabada features two in-game tokens: CRA and TUS.
CRA can be used to govern the Crabada game, and can also allow players to receive a special CRAM reward if staked. CRAM can be used to create additional Crabada sub-accounts, and also allows users to participate in the weekly lucky draw for some rare Crabadas.
TUS is the main utility and in-game token and can be used to purchase new Crabada at the NFT marketplace, or used to breed new Crabadas entirely.
Crabada NFTs:
As mentioned, Crabadas are the playable NFTs of the Crabada game. These can be purchased from the in-game NFT marketplace, or they could be minted by breeding two existing Crabadas and some TUS.
Crabadas belong to a variety of different factions and classes, each giving their own perks in combat. Like most other in-game playable NFTs, Crabadas can also be leveled up using in-game resources.
Activity:
In a similar pattern to DFK, Crabada saw a spike of user activity during the launch of the game in mid-May 2022, before eventually slowing down again. The amount of user activity has stayed roughly the same since late June, while the number of active addresses has gone up. As of 26 Jul 2022, the daily transaction count is just over 148K, with over 2.6K active addresses.
Pros:
Crabs!
Low barrier for entry, with floor Crabs costing around 20K TUS (~$5)
Cons:
Crabs?
Idle games may be less engaging depending on player preference
3. The future of subnets and upcoming game releases
Some of the most widely-anticipated upcoming web3 games will be released on Avalanche subnets. Let's go over three of them: Ascenders, Ragnarok Meta and Shrapnel.
Ascenders
Overview:
Ascenders is a game native to Avalanche subnets, meaning it hasn't been ported over after launching on other chains. With a wildly successful release announcement through encouraging players to playtest their live demo in return for subsequent in-game rewards, there is no doubt that Ascenders is one of the most widely anticipated web3 games out there.
Team:
The Ascenders team combines the best of both worlds necessary for web3 gaming - CEO and crypto-native degen Jackson Poon, and veteran game developers/designers Will Davis and Chris Rothwell.
Gameplay:
Gameplay overview:
*personal note… You can see for yourself how fluid and dynamic the gameplay looks. At first glance, this reminds me of a cross between the Overwatch art style, with the combat system of Monster Hunter.*
The team describes Ascenders as a PvEvP (player vs. environment vs. player) game. Although the finer details haven't been ironed out yet, this is likely to mean two teams of players competing to be the first to complete a dungeon or a map.
Ascenders does offer other game modes if combat isn't player desired.
In-game economy:
Ascenders follows the Axie Infinity dual-token system, with AGC being the governance token and GG being the in-game reward token. Not a lot of further detail has been released on the tokenomics or date of the tokens yet.
Roadmap:
The team had previously posted that their game release was planned for Q4 2023 - but has since released an updated roadmap without a clearly defined date. All we know is, that they're currently at phase 3.
Pros:
A perfect blend of skills on the development team: crypto-native founder and veteran game devs
Successful working demo and fluid gameplay
Cons:
Game release may be planned for Q4 2023, still a while away
Ragnarok Meta:
Overview:
Ragnarok Meta is a browser-based RPG game, allows players to interact with the open-world environment. Although initially launched on Ethereum, the game aims to expand to Avalanche subnets eventually.
Team:
The team is anonymous and led by CEO and Founder Fanfaron. Currently boasting more than 30 members, the team has a variety of skill sets, including "Game Artist", "Animator", "Chief Vibes Officer" and more.
Gameplay:
The game is playable now (but only if buyers have one of the playable character NFTs), and allows players to interact with one another.
The game is technically live now, however, there's not much to do except walk around in the open-world environment, as the character leveling and combat system have yet to be released.
Instead of a strict "game" with clear goals and objectives defined, Ragnarok aims to be more of a metaverse/game hybrid allowing friends to hang out and enjoy live in-game events.
In-game economy:
Not much is known about the game's RAG token as of now, but according to the roadmap, the team is more geared towards fleshing out the gameplay first (which is good).
For now, though, the game places more focus on the playable character NFTs - Ronin Zero NFTs. These NFTs started off as mere profile pictures, but are fully customizable
With a max supply of 7,777 for the genesis mint, these NFTs will be able to "breed" and come to form the next generation of playable characters within the game.
Roadmap:
The team hasn't committed to any hard deadlines for the roadmap, but has listed a number of things they want to achieve in sequential order:
1. Multiplayer Demo
2. NFT Minting
3. Playable Characters (we are here)
4. Breeding
5. NFT Marketplace
6. First Manga Chapter
7. Combat Monsters (PvE)
8. Level Up & Classes
9. NFT Items
10. RAG Economy (Token Release)
11. Combat Players (PvP)
12. Buildings & Billboards (customizable in-game land)
13. Pixel Dimension (a new map)
Pros:
The game is playable now (although features are limited)
Cons:
A higher barrier to entry into the community for now (only 7,777 Ronin Zero NFTs, and all are on Ethereum)
Shrapnel:
Jonah Blake has written an extensive review of Shrapnel for RE3W substack previously - please check out the article for a more in-depth review:
Conclusion
There is no doubt that Avalanche subnet gaming has been gaining steam during the last few months. With a track record of low gas fees and high scalability proven by the onboarding of two live web3 games, subnets will most likely continue to grow as they bring on more and more promising titles like Ascenders, Ragnarok Meta, and Shrapnel.
That wraps up the RE3W newsletter for this week.
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