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Gm!
I’m very happy to say that Akina is back for his second piece!
Previously, Akina wrote about the different L2 stacks being used to build onchain games.
Today, he’ll stick with the theme of rollups by diving into the state of onchain gaming on Optimism.
I hope you guys enjoy this vintage Akina writeup!
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If you haven’t already, be sure to join WASD Guild, our official onchain gaming clan, by minting our free membership badge below!
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Now, without further ado, here’s todays piece!
Author: 0xAkina
Good to see you again, gamers!
After reading Ben's superb article on Arbitrum, I felt compelled to write one on its sibling L2: Optimism.
Known for its DeFi and creator economy communities, Optimism is building a leading onchain gaming ecosystem thanks to key pieces of infrastructure, and of course, by playing host to numerous different games.
This begs the question: Can Optimism maintain its pole position?
Today, we’ll aim to answer that question by delving into the state of onchain gaming on Optimism, with a focus on:
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Core pieces of onchain gaming infrastructure
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The onchain games building in the Optimism ecosystem
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My take on its future
Let’s embark on an epic gaming journey!
The Infrastructure
OP Stack
A core piece of Optimism’s infrastructure is the OP Stack.
OP Stack is a framework for creating L2s using Optimism’s virtual machine, contracts, and fraud-proof system.
There are numerous OP Stack networks live or in development today, including Base, Zora Network, Worldcoin, opBNB, Ancient8, and more.
The end vision of OP Stack is to connect these rollups through what’s known as the Superchain, a network of L2s that are interconnected and interoperable with one another through sharing bridging, messaging, upgrade, and governance systems.
As we know, onchain games have among the highest scaling requirements of any use case.
Because OP Stack provides the ability for anyone to spin up their own, application-specific L2 with abundant, low-cost blockspace, it’s been used to host an assortment of them (more on this later).
MUD
Another key piece of onchain gaming infrastructure in the Optimism ecosystem is MUD.
MUD is a framework for developing EVM applications developed by the Lattice team.
MUD streamlines the development process through various features like the Store contract, which enables easier data management, and the World contract, which holds all of a dapps state and logic.
MUD can be used to create any application, but it has found an early niche with onchain games.
This is why people refer to it as an onchain gaming “engine,” as similar to Unreal or Unity, MUD helps make the game development process easier.
Although it can be used on any EVM chain, MUD’s roots lie in the Optimism ecosystem.
The first major onchain game built using the framework, OPCraft, deployed on its own OP Stack L2 back in October 2022.
OPCraft was a 3D, Minecraft-style voxel world where players could create with blocks and mine diamonds.
Since then, many other games (some of which we’ll discuss below) have taken a similar approach by building in MUD and deploying on their own OP Stack network.
The Games
Now that we have an understanding of some of Optimism’s core pieces of onchain gaming infrastructure, let's dive into some of the exciting games building in the ecosystem.
Sky Strife
Overview:
Sky Strife is a browser-based game developed in MUD by Lattice, and holding weekly public playtests on an OP Stack testnet.
As previously discussed, Lattice is the team that’s building MUD.
Sky Strife is a real-time strategy (RTS) game where players compete in PVP combat to capture each other bases and emerge as the last man standing.
Although it doesn't have direct counterparts in the Web2 gaming world, it takes inspiration from games such as Age of Empires II and StarCraft.
My Takes:
I think Sky Strife makes for a captivating web3 gaming experience.
The game's strategic elements, unit control, and competitive gameplay are well designed and contribute to its appeal.
Although I'm terrible at these types of RTS games, I still enjoy Sky Strife as I find it to be exhilarating and challenging.
I plan to continue playing to understand all its mechanics better and improve.
Primodium
Overview:
How can you discuss Optimism’s onchain gaming ecosystem without mentioning Primodium?
Primodium is a strategy and resource management game where players mine resources, produce materials, and engage in combat to accumulate points.
The game is set in a futuristic, multiplayer asteroid, with each player being assigned their own.
Primodium was developed by Emerson Hsieh and Tax Cuts, and is currently live on a Caldera testnet.
My Takes:
Primodium offers a unique gaming experience that adapts to the constraints of the crypto landscape that fans of strategy games will really enjoy.
I really appreciate how the leaderboard is omnipresent and motivates you to keep progressing. Primodium is complex, but I think the game’s quest system and guide does a good job in helping give direction to players.
Like Sky Strife, this is not the type of game I excel at.
However, I still enjoy Primodium, as it’s one of the rare fully onchain games that you can invest significant time in.
Just ask our resident Primodium fanatic, FaultProofBen.
Cellula
Overview:
Cellula is an autonomous life simulation game.
Ceullula’s gameplay is rooted in the principles of cellular automation, as players craft cells to create lifeforms.
Ceullula is currently deployed on the Optimism Goerli testnet, but recently partnered with Altlayer for Phase 4 of their AW Quests program.
The team is also developing a secondary title in MUD V2, AW Pac-Man, which takes the concept of the classic game and gives it a futuristic twist.
AW Pac-Man is currently holding an internal playtest that will last until November 3.
My Takes:
I find Cellula well thought out, with numerous facets to gameplay. This sets it apart from most onchain games that typically rely on a single, simple mechanism.
I haven’t had the chance to try AW Pac-Man yet, but I’m on the waiting list and plan to give it a go soon.
Kamigotchi
Overview:
Kamigotchi is an immersive onchain RPG game developed by Asphodel Studios.
Similar to Pokemon, in Kamigotchi, players explore a 2D world to collect spirits known as Kami’s.
Each Kami has a different design and ratings for attributes like health, harmony, and violence.
The game takes pet-idle RPGs to a different level, as it allows players to strategically utilize their Kami’s to farm tokens and attack other players in regions of the map known as nodes.
My Takes:
Unfortunately, Kamigotchi is not yet publicly playable.
However, I’m still excited to try out the game and especially eager to participate in the combat and PVP components of the game.
Other Optimism Based Onchain Games:
The games I mentioned above are not the only ones building in the Optimism ecosystem. There are numerous other projects live or in development including:
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Words3
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Network States
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Gaul
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This Cursed Machine
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Battle for Blockchain
And more!
Optimistic on Optimism
As you can see, Optimism has a robust onchain gaming ecosystem.
Optimism’s infrastructure is rapidly evolving, with network and contract-level frameworks like OP Stack and MUD becoming widely adopted by teams to build an assortment of different games.
As previously mentioned, I consider Optimism to be at the forefront of onchain gaming on L2s.
Between its technical capabilities and strong userbase, I think the ecosystem is in a strong position to remain a leader and continue its current success into the future.
Thanks for reading!
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